A founding member of the PayPal Mafia is the man that Donald Trump has chosen to help America take over Greenland. Ken Howery, who formerly served as the chief financial officer of the online payments app, is also known for his longstanding ties to two other pivotal members of that aforementioned mafia: tech billionaires Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Howery, who previously served in the first Trump administration as the U.S. ambassador to Sweden between 2019 and 2021, has been selected as Trumps new ambassador to Denmark. Trump has stated that he wants to buy Greenland from Denmark, though officials from the Scandinavian country have repeatedly said that the territory is not for sale. Trump, not to be deterred, has insisted that hes going to make it happen and has even said he wouldnt rule out the use of military force to seal the deal. Howery still needs to be confirmed by the Senate for the role. If he is, he will be tasked with trying to maneuver a deal that critics have deemed insane. While Trump hasnt been particularly clear about why he wants Greenland, its generally agreed upon that the territory is of significant geostrategic importance. During the Cold War, the U.S. notably attempted to build a network of nuclear missile launch sites in Greenland for use in a second-strike capacity against the Soviet Union. The effort was a tightly held secret and, allegedly, the U.S. never even informed the Danish government it was doing this. Howerys potential involvement in the new pivotal administration role is just more evidence of the PayPal mafias political ascendance under the new Trump administration. Like many of the PayPal crew, Howery and Thiel were college buddies at Stanford. Howery wrote for The Stanford Review, Thiels student newspaper, and, together, the two would go on to create Founders Fund, the powerful venture capital firm that has backed some of the most successful tech companies in Silicon Valley, including Facebook, SpaceX, and others.As far as U.S. State Department officials go, Howery seems to enjoy an unusually colorful social life. Indeed, nearly half a dozen times throughout the Times piece, reporters refer to his capacity to party. Howery is reportedly known for his extravagant social outings, including a Halloween party at a castle in Transylvania in 2022, where Thiel and other billionaires appeared. A previous Times story from 2022 also notes how Howery threw himself a birthday party at an imposing 19th-century castle outside Stockholm in November of 2020.During the pandemic, Musk spent significant time living out of Howerys mansion in Houston, and in 2021, he is said to have hosted a party there where guests were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. At that party was Joe Rogan (who platformed Trump during the election and has hosted Musk many times on his podcast), Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, techno-optimist doofus Jamie Wheal, and other well-known VIPs, many of whom have ties to the broader techno-libertarian network that circulates around Thiel. We previously reported that the Network State movementa weird political movement that wants to build its own privately-owned, cryptocurrency-powered citieshas also expressed interest in purchasing Greenland and using it to trial its techno-colonization efforts. Dryden Brown, the CEO of the Network State-linked Praxis project, has even claimed that acquiring Greenland is part of his movements broader plan. The Network State movement has received considerable financial support from Thiel, who also financially supported Trump during his first presidential run in 2016.

Nature, Published online: 15 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00117-zNations consider increasing universities involvement in military research.

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Mob Entertainment--the development studio behind the jumpscare-heavy survival horror game known as Poppy Playtime--is suing Google over what it calls "scam" games that are ripping off the studio's intellectual property (via Polygon).The studio filed the lawsuit earlier this week, claiming that Google has allowed a number of illegal knockoff versions of Poppy Playtime into the Google Play store. Among the unofficial (and unauthorized) games are Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 and Poppy Playtime Chapter 4, neither of which were created by Mob Entertainment. Both games--developed by an entity known as Daigo--are still available for download on the Google Play store at the time of writing.These two games are proving especially vexing for Poppy Playtime's creators due to the fact that the game is episodic in nature. Mob Entertainment argues that by allowing illegitimate games to use "Poppy Playtime" in their titles and (indicate that said games are new episodes), Google is allowing other entities to profit from the Poppy Playtime brand by fooling fans into thinking they're playing new chapters of the game.Continue Reading at GameSpot

Like Indiana Jones' whip and hat, the breathing device is another essential tool in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The breathing device allows you to breathe and swim underwater safely, opening up even more ways to explore while playing as the iconic adventurer. Although it's possible to come across secret areas that require the breathing device quite early in the game, you won't be able to grab it until much later in the story. Consequently, you might wonder when and how to get the breathing device in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and what you need to do in order to get it.

Important ChangesIntroduced LuminousIntensity (expressed in candela) and Illumination (expressed in lux) classes.Replaced Spot/Point lights specular and diffuse intensities with a single LuminousIntensity value.Replaced Directional lights specular and diffuse intensities with a single Illumination value.The specular, diffuse, sheen, clearcoat, and scattering models are now fully replaceable.The default lighting model is now glTF's.

The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally revealed, and it looks more like a Steam Deck than its predecessors ever did. Its new design paints over the iconic red and blue Joy-Cons with a black finish you could almost mistake for Valves handheld PC. Details are slim on whats inside the Switch 2 as we wait to learn more in April, but for now, we can look at how it stacks up against the Steam Deck as a portable gaming device based on what was shown.Heres all the specs we can surmise about the Switch 2 from the trailer and how they compare to the Steam Deck.System sizeNintendo stretched the Switch 2s overall size out a little bit to accommodate its larger screen. While we dont have specific measurements, we did the math based on the teaser video and found that its about 14% larger than the original Switch (with Joy-Cons included). That makes the Switch 2 about 4.5 inches tall and 10.7 inches wide. The Steam Deck is a little larger at 4.6 inches tall and 11.7 inches wide.Screen sizeA report from last year said that the Switch 2 will have an 8-inch LCD screen, and the video looks close to that. Our measurements put the Switch 2s screen at 7.8 inches, a sizable upgrade from the original Switchs 6.2-inch LCD screen, and its actually a tiny bit bigger than that of both models of the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck OLED has a 7.4-inch touchscreen, and its LCD cousin has only a 7-inch touchscreen.Screen resolutionResolution remains a mystery for the Switch 2. Leaks suggest it might still have a 720p screen like the original console, but will be able to use upscaling tech similar to Nvidias DLSS to hit 4K when docked. That would put it just under the Steam Decks 1,280800 resolution, a difference you wouldnt notice without holding the screen real close to your face. But the Steam Deck can output up to 8K using its USB-C port, and the newest model has an OLED screen. Picture quality on the Switch 2 will have blacks that look more gray and duller colors than the Steam Deck OLED, but itll probably have a better battery life because of it.CPU/GPUHeres where the speculation happens. According to leaks from someone getting their hands on the Switch 2 motherboard, the system will run on an Nvidia custom Tegra T239 processor. Analysts predict itll reach a similar power level as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Its unclear how much of that power will be tied to having it docked or not, though. If thats true, the Switch 2 will be slightly faster than the Steam Deck OLEDs Zen 2 processor, but when you take into account its rumored 12 GB of memory compared to the Steam Decks 16 GB of memory the differences will be minimal.StorageThe Switch 2s storage situation isnt something you can glean from a fancy teaser video. More rumors courtesy of the motherboard leak suggest the Switch 2 will have 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage, a huge jump up from the original systems 32 GB of storage. It might also have a slot for microSD Express cards with up to 128 TB of capacity. The Steam Deck OLED beats the Switch 2 with a 512 GB NVMe SSD for internal storage in its base model and a 1 TB NVMe SSD in its upgraded version. But keep in mind, PC games are often a lot larger than Nintendo games, so the difference might not matter much. And Valves device only supports microSDXC and microSDHC cards, which gives the Switch 2 a slight advantage in terms of data transfer speeds.PortsNintendo surprised us with not one, but two USB-C ports on the Switch 2. And just like the previous model, itll have a 3.5 mm headphone jack (take that, Apple!). The Steam Deck only carries one USB-C port along with its headphone jack and, unlike the Switch 2, it doesnt have a fancy kickstand.Battery life and other specsThe Switch 2s battery life is up in the air still. Leaks can only tell us so much, because a lot of it will depend on how its hardware and software will work in concert. The original Switchs battery life ranges from around two and a half to six and a half hours, so the Switch 2 could last a little longer. The Steam Deck is a similar story: Its battery is rated for between three and 12 hours of gameplay, depending on what youre playing and how high you have the graphics settings cranked up.And that leaves us with that mysterious button and the mouse-like Joy-Cons on the Switch 2. Rumors say the new button is a C button, but nobody seems to have any idea what it does. And even though were pretty sure the Joy-Cons can be used as mice, we have no idea how you actually use them. We are certain the Switch 2 doesnt match the Steam Decks dual trackpads that also work as big buttons.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.I love Kindle e-readers, and have been using them since the first Kindle Paperwhite came out in 2012. One thing I've been looking forward to since I first had one in my hands was the color version. It finally came out in November with the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition, which is on sale for $229.99 (originally $279.99), the lowest price it has been since its release according to price tracking tools. Here's what you can expect from the Colorsoft. Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (32 GB) $229.99 at Amazon $279.99 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $229.99 at Amazon $279.99 Save $50.00 The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is exactly what it sounds like: a Kindle e-reader with color. It's essentially the same hardware and design as the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, with the same dimensions, weight, and 32GB of storage. It also has the same features, like the automatically adjusting front light, the IPX8 rating waterproof rating, wireless charging, and an ad-free lock screen that either shows the cover for the book you're reading, or generic wallpapers. The battery life is shorter than a Paperwhite, with eight weeks compared to 12, but still plenty for most people.The seven-inch color E Ink display seems to be the industry standard 300 pixels per inch (ppi) for black-and-white content and 150ppi for color, according to PCMag's review. If you love reading comics, this is where the Colorsoft Signature Edition shines. The colors looks like printed newspaper quality, and there's a feature that provides a close-up of each comic panel so you can enjoy the art and read it without having to zoom in. Although the screen doesn't get too bright (94 nits of brightness), the screen does a good job at deflecting glare. The auto light adjuster is nice if you're coming indoors and outdoors a lot. I personally love the warm and cool front-light settings, as I like to read at night and not stress my eyes before bed. Considering it's only $29.99 more to upgrade from the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition to the color version, it makes it a great deal for anyone who needs a bit more color in their life.

As the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Switch is over seven years old, so its due for a refresh. Nintendo Switch 2 rumors have been swirling for years, but now we have some signs of life. The company officially revealed the sequel to its most successful home console ever in a brief trailer on January 16.The Switch 2 looks functionally very similar to the original system, albeit with a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons and a sleeker design. The company also reaffirmed that the upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch games.While the reveal did confirm some rumors and have a few interesting details for those who were paying close attention, Nintendo is still largely keeping its cards close to its chest. We'll have to wait until a special Nintendo Direct on April 2 for all the juicy information. Annoyingly, that date is a Wednesday and not a Two-sday.The Nintendo Switch 2 was announced on January 16The rumor mill had heavily suggested that Nintendo would pull back the curtain on the Switch 2 on January 16, and that turned out to be the case.The company hasn't changed the core form factor. It's a portable console with detachable Joy-Cons. The Switch 2 can be placed in a dock for big-screen gaming. There are some significant differences from the original console, however.The most obvious one is that the next-gen Joy-Cons will no longer slide into place mechanically. Instead, they'll attach to the main unit magnetically. There is a small connector that's likely used to charge the controllers and perhaps remove the need to link them via Bluetooth. It's unclear at this point if Joy-Cons from the original system will be compatible with the Switch 2.One other big (and very welcome) change is the addition of a second USB-C port on the top of the device. That should make it much easier to plug in accessories while the Switch 2 is docked. It's great to see that Nintendo has kept the headphone jack as well. Let's just hope that Bluetooth headphone support is live from the jump this time and Nintendo doesn't leave everyone waiting four yearsfor that feature.The kickstand is getting an upgrade as well. As with the Switch OLED, it spans the length of the console. But, according to the trailer, this one looks fully adjustable, so you can tweak the viewing angle to one that works for you.However, there are still a great many unknowns regarding the upcoming console. We don't really know the specs yet, or what type of display it uses. We also don't know anything about battery life, the UI or launch games. We'll likely learn a whole lot on April 2.When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?2025. That's all we know for sure at this point.It's highly unlikely that Nintendo will release the console before the dedicated Direct on April 2, and not only because that's at the start of Nintendo's next financial year. However, accessory manufacturer Genki, which has been a major source of leaks in recent months, claims the console will be released in April.In any case, we should learn the release date during the April 2 Direct if we haven't already by then.When can I try the Nintendo Switch 2?Nintendo is planning a worldwide roadshow to let gamers go hands-on with the console. These events start in New York and Paris on April 3-6, with others taking place throughout the following two months. That lends credence to some suggestions that Nintendo will release the Switch 2 in June.Ticket registration for the Switch 2 Experience events in the US (in New York, Los Angeles and Paris) starts on January 17 at 3PM ET and will remain open until January 26. A Nintendo Account is required to sign up. Nintendo will randomly select the recipients of the free tickets.The full list of Nintendo Switch 2 Experience events is as follows:North America:New York, April 4-6, 2025Los Angeles, April 11-13, 2025Dallas, April 25-27, 2025Toronto, April 25-27, 2025Europe:Paris, April 4-6, 2025London, April 11-13, 2025Milan, April 25-27, 2025Berlin, April 25-27, 2025Madrid, May 9-11, 2025Amsterdam, May 9-11, 2025Oceania:Melbourne, May 10-11, 2025Asia:Tokyo (Makuhari), April 26-27, 2025Seoul, May 31-June 1, 2025Hong Kong, To be announcedTaipei, To be announcedWill the Nintendo Switch 2 have some weirdness?Everything we've seen and so far about this console has been fairly, well, traditional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That's awesome, but will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Maybe! There are two puzzling additions that folks can't make hide nor hair of.Genki, the accessories manufacturer, just published a landing page for their Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. This landing page features a video that includes a very detailed look at a Switch 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025 Keen eyes will have noticed a new button on the bottom of the right Joy-Con. It it not yet clear what this does. Could it initiate voice chat during gameplay? Could it calibrate the controllers? Could it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We'll have to wait and see.Now onto the updated Joy-Cons. There appears to be a new sensor on the connecting side of each controller. It looks a whole lot like an optical sensor, which is what a computer mouse uses. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse. Of note: the trailer shows the Joy-Cons moving along a flat surface, connector side down and looking suspiciously like a mouse.Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up just the Switch 2, optical sensor is literally flashing in this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd Ash (@Ashinarii) January 8, 2025 But why would anyone even want this? I can think of three words. New Mario Paint.Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?The company confirmed in November 2024 that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles.In the initial Nintendo Switch 2 press release, Nintendo reiterated that physical and digital Switch games will work on the new system. However, it noted that "certain Nintendo Switch games may not be supported on or fully compatible with Nintendo Switch 2." More details about which games those are will be revealed later.What about specs?The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so its tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: Itll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console will include 12GB of RAM.Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We actually wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series back in 2018.)There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers.As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display LCD display. The Switch 2's display certainly looks larger than that of the original Switch in a side-by-side comparison in the reveal trailer.Some analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of (surprise!) mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black. Im hedging my bets here. I think itll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so thats certainly a possibility at launch.As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch. Meanwhile, it's not yet clear if the Switch 2 will deliver performance or visual upgrades to original Switch games.How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300.However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Numerous outlets have reported it'll be $400, or potentially even more expensive. However, the same analysts who say the console will be $400 were also fairly certain it would be out by the end of 2024 and, well, that didn't happen.Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make it nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.Again, we should get confirmation of the price during the April 2 Nintendo Direct.Do we know about any launch games?Not so much. The reveal trailer offered a peek at a new Mario Kart game. Nintendo released Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U over a decade ago and it's been milking that cash cow ever since, having sold more than 64 million copies of the game across that console and the Switch. It's definitely time for a new entry!It's certainly been a long time since weve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure as well, so a new one could be a launch title. That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch.If theres a gimmick or hook involved with the console, well also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility.It's all but nailed on that we'll learn much more about the Switch 2 launch lineup during the April 2 Nintendo Direct. You'll definitely want to set your Alarmo for that one.That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.Update, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been updated to include rumors about a potential console announcement for this week.Update, January 16, 2025, 10:33AM ET: This story has been updated to include official details about the Nintendo Switch 2 from the reveal trailer and press release.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-nintendo-switch-2-has-been-revealed-heres-everything-we-know-so-far-153308308.html?src=rss

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