Home News Roundup: Top 5 News of the Week From TikToks Ban to New AI Tools from Google and OpenAI News News Roundup: Top 5 News of the Week From TikToks Ban to New AI Tools from Google and OpenAI8 min read Published: January 20, 2025 Key TakeawaysTikTok has been effectively banned in the US. Users are no longer able to access the app.Google has become the first company to be investigated under the UKs DMCC Act for abuse of its dominant position.Google Gemini will now be available to all users for free.Microsoft has launched Copilot Chat for businesses to automate all mundane, repetitive tasks.OpenAI adds a Task reminder feature on ChatGPT.Missed out on the important headlines of the week? Dont worry we got you covered. Heres a quick roundup of the 5 most important headlines from this week.TikTok Goes Offline for US UsersTikTok goes offline for US users at around 10:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. Users trying to access the app are shown this message:A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you cant use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.Trump is yet to take office hence it is currently not in his power to halt the ban. Trump, who previously supported the ban as a president, has openly said that he wants to save the app. In June, he even posted a TikTok video of his own, confirming his stance.So, it is very likely that once he takes office, TikTok might see some relief, a 90-day extension perhaps.Several lawmakers had urged Biden to delay the ban. But in that case, he needs to prove to Congress that the parties involved in purchasing the company have made significant progress towards that deal. And as we know, Bytedance has been adamantly against the sale up until now so procuring such documents will be impossible.Now, the reason we say ByteDance has been against sale up until now brings us to the second possibility. China and ByteDance, after being against selling TikTok for the entire year, might be contemplating selling at least a part of the US version to Elon Musk.There hasnt been any official confirmation of the news so far but there are obvious reasons to believe it. Its a win-win deal for both.TikTok will be able to keep its valuable US market by handing over the reins to someone who is closely connected to Trump, a TikTok supporter. While Elon Musk who identifies himself as a defender of free speech will get to strengthen his position by saving a company whose ban has sparked massive protests for allegedly violating the First Amendment rights.Google Becomes the First Company to Be Investigated Under UKs New Antitrust LawGoogle is being investigated by the UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) under their newly launched Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC). This law aims to prevent any company from gaining an unfair competitive advantage in digital industries. The law officially went into effect on January 1, 2025.The current investigation against Google is focused on its search services. It will seek to determine whether Google has strategic market status (SMS). In case it does, several changes will be imposed on how the company runs business in the country.Note: SMS refers to those companies that have a turnover of more than 1 billion in the UK or more than 25 billion annually globally.Googles dominant position in the country has become a matter of concern for the authorities. More than 90% of all general queries in the UK are directed through Google. Similarly, its advertising tool is used by more than 200,000 advertisers in the country.Sarah Cardell, the CMAs chief executive, feels that there should be a level playing field for everyone in the industry to foster economic growth. Hence, big companies like Google need to be under check.Google has addressed the news and said it has no issue with the investigation. Its more than happy to comply with the authorities and see what changes are to be made.We look forward to engaging constructively and laying out how our services benefit UK consumers and businesses, as well as the trade-offs inherent in any new regulation the statement read.Read More: Google Has Illegal Monopoly over Internet Search, US Judge RulesGoogle Gemini Is Now Available for Free on Google Workspace SuiteYou can now access Google Gemini from all the Workspace Suite apps such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Meet for free.Up until now, access to Gemini through these apps was restricted to subscribers of Google One AI Premium, which is priced at $19.99/month. But now, anyone can reap the benefits of AI for free.While this is great news, you should also note that Google simultaneously increased the price of all Workspace suite plans by around $2. For instance, the starter plan went from $12 to $14.Now the question is whether Gemini is worth the extra $2. The answer is a loud YES!Microsofts Copilot Chat for Businesses Is HereOn Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out an interesting new feature called Copilot Chat that lets you create AI agents to take over daily mundane tasks. This feature is integrated with Microsoft 365, allowing businesses to automate multiple types of tasks.Heres how these agents can automate all mundane, repetitive tasks.The service is free for now and can easily be created through natural languages like English and Mandarin. However, some features like creating PowerPoint slides and transcribing Teams calls require an additional $30 Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.Why Is Microsoft Launching a Free Copilot Chat?The company has invested a lot in its AI venture but there have been concerns about the rate of adoption. Hence, Microsoft is trying to push its uptake by offering it for free. Whether the service will remain free in the future or not remains a question.OpenAIs New Task Feature Lets You Schedule WorkOpenAI has rolled out an interesting new feature called Tasks for ChatGPT that will allow users to schedule tasks like reminders, updates, and alerts. Scheduling the task is pretty easy just use simple natural language and enter a command like youll enter a search query.For example, you can say Please remind me to cancel my Netflix subscription this Sunday. Thats it, your job is done. ChatGPT will remind you to cancel your subscription on time.Not just one-off reminders you can also schedule repeated reminders to be sent every day. Once done, ChatGPT will automatically keep doing it unless you ask it to stop.This comes after OpenAI launched a Search feature to compete with Google. Another interesting feature is that based on the interaction you are having with the bot, it might suggest some task automation. Its up to you whether you want to accept these suggestions or not.The Tasks feature is currently in beta mode and is slowly being rolled out to paid subscribers which includes users on the Plus, Team, and Pro plans. By the end of the year, it might also be extended to free users.For those who are eligible to use this feature, you need to select GPT-4o with scheduled tasks when you are picking the model. You can set up tasks through any platform, but they can only be managed and modified through the web version.Add Techreport to Your Google News Feed Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now! Subscribe now Alpa is a tech writer and editor with a wealth of experience in alternative finance, fintech, cryptocurrency, app security software, and the medical industry. Shes passionate about breaking down complex topics and sharing informative content that provides value. View all articles by Alpa Somaiya Our editorial processThe Tech Reporteditorial policyis centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written byreal authors.More from News View all News Zoho Launches Ulaa a Highly Privacy-Centered Browser Vlad MelnicJanuary 8, 2025News YouTube Rolls Out New Upgrades For Premium Subscribers Vlad MelnicJanuary 8, 2025News YouTube Rolls Out Multi-Language Audio Dubbing Feature Vlad MelnicJanuary 8, 2025 View all

We recently reviewed Intel's Arc B580, a new budget GPU designed to deliver RTX 4060-like performance featuring 12GB of VRAM for just $250. Our review included testing across 12 games, and for the most part, the Arc B580 performed extremely well.However, after that review was published, it was discovered that the Arc B580 has a rather serious CPU overhead issue that affects performance in CPU-limited games when paired with a slower processor, such as the Ryzen 5 5600.We've since retested the Intel GPU with less capable CPUs, and in short, while the Arc B580 is still very usable with a CPU like the 5600, it does struggle in CPU-demanding games, resulting in noticeably slower performance than we initially expected. This obviously hurts the overall value of Intel's GPU.The overhead issue was discovered before we completed all the testing for this review unfortunately, which uses the Ryzen 7 9800X3D to remove any potential CPU bottleneck.However, in light of this discovery, we decided to release all the data we spent weeks gathering, as it provides valuable insight into how well the B580 performs relative to the RTX 4060 across a massive range of games. In total, we tested 50 games, so there is plenty of data to examine and also if you are interested in a specific title that you like to play, there are better odds that we have benchmarked it here.Typically, we would summarize all the gaming benchmarks for about a dozen titles and present the percentage breakdown in a single graph. However, since the B580's performance can vary significantly, we felt it would be worthwhile to review all 50 graphs. So, prepare yourself there's a lot of blue bar graphs to go through. Let's dive in!BenchmarksFortniteAfter playing a few games in Fortnite with the Arc B580, which allows the shader compilation process to complete, performance was quite good. While it didn't outperform the RTX 4060, it was still more than adequate for competitive settings, achieving 218 fps at 1080p and 160 fps at 1440p.Horizon Forbidden WestThe Arc B580 excelled in Horizon Forbidden West, delivering an average frame rate almost 20% higher than the RTX 4060. It was an impressive 42% faster when comparing 1% lows, likely due to the GeForce GPU's limited 8GB VRAM buffer.At 1440p, this issue became more pronounced, with the B580 outperforming the 4060 by 56% on average and boosting 1% lows by 113%. The B580 delivered smooth gameplay, while the RTX 4060 suffered from significant stuttering.Remnant IIPerformance in Remnant II was more competitive. The B580 was 7% faster at 1080p and 18% faster at 1440p. However, to achieve 60 fps or higher, users may need to enable upscaling or lower some visual settings slightly.Rainbow Six SiegeIn Rainbow Six Siege, the B580 fell behind the RTX 4060, despite offering decent overall performance. At 1080p, it was 22% slower than the 4060, although this margin shrank to 7% at 1440p.Assassin's Creed MirageThe B580 also underperformed in Assassin's Creed Mirage, trailing the 4060 by 14% at 1080p and 8% at 1440p. Additionally, the 1% lows were nearly 20% lower on the B580.Call of Duty: Black Ops 6Using the basic quality preset for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the B580 was noticeably slower than the RTX 4060. At 1080p, it was 22% slower, and at 1440p, it lagged behind by 21%. While overall performance was decent with reduced quality settings, it was disappointing compared to the RTX 4060.Ratchet & Clank: Rift ApartThe B580 fared much better in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, outperforming the RTX 4060 by 15% at 1080p and 16% at 1440p, delivering a solid performance boost.The Last of Us Part IThe B580 performed well in The Last of Us Part I, especially at 1440p, where its 12GB VRAM buffer allowed it to handle 'Ultra' quality settings smoothly. It outperformed the RTX 4060 by a significant 29% in average frame rates and a massive 110% in 1% lows.Counter-Strike 2While the B580 delivered solid performance in Counter-Strike 2, it was still slower than the RTX 4060, trailing by 17% at 1080p and 9% at 1440p. However, at 1440p, the B580 showed higher 1% lows compared to the RTX 4060.Star Wars Jedi: SurvivorThe B580 handled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor well, achieving 79 fps at 1080p and 51 fps at 1440p with the maximum quality preset. This made it 7% faster than the 4060 at 1080p and 16% faster at 1440p.Baldur's Gate 3In Baldur's Gate 3, the B580 lagged slightly behind the RTX 4060, rendering 81 fps at 1080p, making it 6% slower, and 5% slower at 1440p.Indiana Jones and the Great CircleIndiana Jones and the Great Circle showcased interesting results. The B580 was just 2% faster than the RTX 4060 in average frame rates but 56% faster in 1% lows. This difference highlights the limitations of the RTX 4060's 8GB VRAM. Similar trends were observed at 1440p, further emphasizing the importance of sufficient VRAM for this title.F1 24The B580 handled F1 24 effortlessly. Although it wasn't noticeably faster than the RTX 4060, it powered through the game using the high preset, delivering a smooth high-refresh-rate experience even at 1440p.Forza Horizon 5Similar to F1 24, the Arc GPU excelled in Forza Horizon 5, delivering 6% better performance at 1080p with an average of 109 fps. At 1440p, performance improved by 10%, although 1% lows were slightly less consistent.Resident Evil 4The B580 performed well in Resident Evil 4, beating the RTX 4060 by an 8% margin at 1080p and 13% at 1440p, maintaining frame rates well above 60 fps.StarfieldUnfortunately, the B580 struggled in Starfield, with weak average frame rates and extremely poor 1% lows. Not only was it significantly slower than the RTX 4060, but the experience was subpar, rendering the game practically unplayable at a satisfactory standard.The Callisto ProtocolPerformance in The Callisto Protocol was much better, with the B580 outperforming the 4060 by 6% at 1080p and 12% at 1440p.Alan Wake 2In Alan Wake 2, previous testing with ray tracing showed that neither the B580 nor the RTX 4060 could deliver playable performance. With ray tracing disabled and high-quality settings enabled, the B580 achieved just 43 fps at 1080p, making it 9% slower than the RTX 4060. Performance in this title remains underwhelming.Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom LibertyThe B580 performed exceptionally well in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. It was 15% faster than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and an impressive 29% faster at 1440p, making it a clear win for Intel.Far Cry 6The Arc B580 delivered mixed results in Far Cry 6. While average frame rates appeared decent, frame rate consistency was poor, with very low 1% lows, resulting in a less-than-ideal experience.Marvel's Spider-Man RemasteredThe B580 shined in Spider-Man Remastered, delivering 20% better performance than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and 25% at 1440p, providing a significantly improved experience.Avatar: Frontiers of PandoraThe B580 edged out the RTX 4060 in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, with a 3% performance gain at 1080p and a 7% advantage at 1440p, along with 17% stronger 1% lows.Hitman 3Performance in Hitman 3 was excellent, with the B580 delivering 145 fps at 1080p using the highest quality settings (excluding ray tracing). It was 12% faster than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and an impressive 27% faster at 1440p.Dying Light 2 Stay HumanThe B580 performed well in Dying Light 2 Stay Human, beating the RTX 4060 at both resolutions. It was 17% faster at 1080p and 25% faster at 1440p, providing a noticeably better experience, especially at the higher resolution.Hogwarts LegacyThe B580 handled Hogwarts Legacy well, matching the RTX 4060 at 1080p. At 1440p, it was 11% faster, improving from 53 fps to 59 fps on average, a difference players will appreciate.A Plague Tale: RequiemThe B580 excelled in A Plague Tale: Requiem, achieving 77 fps at 1080p, making it 20% faster than the RTX 4060. At 1440p, its lead extended to 24%, providing a noticeably better experience.Dragon Age: The VeilguardPerformance in Dragon Age: The Veilguard was mixed. At 1080p, the B580 was 15% slower, a significant margin. However, at 1440p, it managed to pull ahead by 8%.War ThunderThe B580 performed well in War Thunder, outperforming the RTX 4060 by 7% at 1080p and 16% at 1440p, with no issues expected even at 4K.Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2Performance in Space Marine 2 was uneven. At 1080p, the B580 was 16% slower than the RTX 4060, but it remained perfectly playable. At 1440p, performance improved significantly, with the B580 surpassing the 4060 by 6%.Star Wars OutlawsStar Wars Outlaws uses ray tracing effects by default, which heavily impacts frame rates on the ultra preset. The B580 managed 40 fps at 1080p, making it 18% faster than the RTX 4060, but performance still leaves room for improvement.Assetto Corsa CompetizionePerformance in Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) was solid overall, though the B580 trailed the RTX 4060 by 20% at 1080p and 25% at 1440p. This was somewhat surprising, as the Arc GPU typically narrows the performance gap at higher resolutions.Black Myth WukongWith ray tracing disabled, Black Myth Wukong played exceptionally well on the B580 using the medium quality preset. It achieved 79 fps at 1080p and 64 fps at 1440p, outperforming the RTX 4060 by 20% and 45%, respectively.Borderlands 3The B580 also delivered superior performance in Borderlands 3, though the margins were narrower. It was 11% faster at 1080p and 17% faster at 1440p.Total War: Warhammer IIIThe B580 handled Total War: Warhammer III with ease, outperforming the RTX 4060 by 7% at 1080p and 9% at 1440p.Delta ForcePerformance in Delta Force was mixed. While the B580 achieved better average frame rates than the RTX 4060, frame time performance was inconsistent, with notably poor 1% lows. This made gameplay less smooth and more frustrating, despite the decent averages.Dragon's Dogma 2Performance in Dragon's Dogma 2 was underwhelming. The B580 rendered 61 fps at 1080p, but frame time consistency was lacking. Compared to the RTX 4060, the B580 was 22% slower at 1080p and 17% slower at 1440p.Gears 5The B580 struggled in Gears 5, falling significantly behind the RTX 4060. Retesting confirmed the results: the B580 was 34% slower at 1080p and 31% slower at 1440p. While the game remained playable at 'ultra' settings, this performance is disappointing and something Intel may need to address.God of War RagnarkThe B580 delivered mixed results in God of War Ragnark. At 1080p, it was 14% slower than the RTX 4060 but had similar 1% lows. At 1440p, it edged ahead by 3%, again with comparable 1% lows. Overall performance was solid but inconsistent.Gotham KnightsPerformance in Gotham Knights was highly competitive, with the B580 and RTX 4060 delivering nearly identical results at both 1080p and 1440p using the highest quality preset.Halo InfiniteHalo Infinite remains a weak point for Intel Arc GPUs, and the B580 is no exception. While the game loads and plays without major technical issues, performance was disappointing, coming in 31% slower than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and 24% slower at 1440p.Homeworld 3The B580 also struggled in Homeworld 3, performing 22% slower than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and 13% slower at 1440p. The 1% lows were particularly problematic, showing a 37% reduction compared to the 4060, leading to noticeable performance dips.Horizon Zero DawnResults for Horizon Zero Dawn were mixed. The B580 was 11% slower than the RTX 4060 at 1080p but 8% faster at 1440p, with similar 1% lows at both resolutions. Overall performance was acceptable, though not consistently better than the 4060.Hunt Showdown 1896Performance in Hunt Showdown 1896 was disappointing. Despite solid average frame rates, the game suffered from constant and severe frame stuttering. Multiple retests produced the same results, rendering the experience frustrating and unreliable.Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 proved challenging for both GPUs, as neither managed 30 fps at 1080p without lowering quality settings or enabling upscaling. At 1080p, the B580 was 17% slower than the RTX 4060. At 1440p, performance fell short of acceptable levels altogether.ReturnalNext up is Returnal, where the B580 performed very well, delivering 14% better performance at 1080p and 22% at 1440p. This is an easy win for the Arc GPU, offering excellent performance overall using the Epic preset.The RiftbreakerThe B580 also excelled in The Riftbreaker, beating the RTX 4060 by 14% at 1080p and 20% at 1440p.Rocket LeagueWhile the B580 lags slightly behind in Rocket League, overall performance remains excellent. At 1080p, it was 7% slower than the RTX 4060 and, somewhat surprisingly, 16% slower at 1440p.Shadow of the Tomb RaiderIn Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the two GPUs traded blows. The B580 was 6% slower at 1080p but 5% faster at 1440p. Performance overall was similar, and since this is an older title, gameplay was excellent using the highest in-game preset.Stalker 2: Heart of ChornobylStalker 2 is one of the newest games in this test suite, and the B580 struggled slightly, performing 15% slower than the RTX 4060 at 1080p and 10% slower at 1440p.Skull and BonesFinally, there's Skull and Bones, a game that few people have played. We included it for completeness, but it appears Intel overlooked it too, as the B580 couldn't even load the game, crashing every time it tried to load a level. This gives the RTX 4060 a clear win here, though Intel is aware of the issue and will likely resolve it in a future driver update.1080p Average PerformanceThis is interesting. The 12 games we used for evaluating GPUs in our day-one review showed the B580 to be 7% faster than the RTX 4060 on average at 1080p. However, when testing a much larger range of games, the B580 is actually 1% slower than the 4060.While a 7% margin was never substantial, these results highlight just how much performance can vary depending on the title. The Intel B580 performed particularly poorly in Gears 5, Halo Infinite, Rainbow Six Siege, Black Ops 6, Homeworld 3, and Starfield. Among these, only Starfield was part of the original review.Hunt Showdown was also problematic for the B580, though it appeared better than some of the others due to its excellent average frame rate. If we exclude Hunt Showdown, the B580 becomes 2% slower than the RTX 4060. However, this cuts both ways, as several titles exposed the RTX 4060's insufficient VRAM, resulting in shockingly poor 1% lows.Ultimately, when considering a large range of games, the B580 and RTX 4060 are much more evenly matched.1440p Average PerformanceAs we also saw previously, that the B580 stacks up best at 1440p and here we see that it's 5% faster on average across a massive range of games, which is well down on the 14% margin seen in our day one review.You could argue that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is an outlier here, but removing it only changes the margin to 7%, so half what was seen in the day one review.What We LearnedIn our day-one review of the the Arc B580 which included 12 games, the Intel GPU was found to offer 27% better value than Nvidia's RTX 4060 when measuring cost per frame. However, with this updated data across a much larger game sample, the value advantage shrinks to around 21%.Having that said, this comparison assumes the use of a high-end flagship CPU. When swapping the 9800X3D for the 5600, the B580's value proposition significantly diminishes. Because of this, it's difficult to gauge the performance differences between the B580 and RTX 4060 using a smaller sample of games as Arc's performance remains inconsistent, often due to its overhead issue.Intel still has work to do, but the good news is that there's significant room for improvement. This gives hope that Intel can fully unlock the B580's potential. It was a pleasant surprise to find the testing relatively issue-free, with only a few games experiencing frame pacing problems and one game currently not working. Despite of this, the Intel Arc program has come a long way.Building on the conclusions from our Arc B580 reviews, this new benchmark data doesn't drastically alter our assessment. The Intel GPU is still more likely to encounter performance issues compared to the more established Radeon RX 7600 and RTX 4060, which is why we believe a 20% discount is justified.The fact remains that if you're looking to spend less than $300 on a new GPU, there's no better choice than the Arc B580 provided you can actually find one for $250 and have a decent CPU to pair it with. Those savings sometimes come with minor headaches. But for the most part, the experience should be positive, and having a GPU armed with 12GB of VRAM is a huge plus moving forward.The only real problem with the Arc B580 is its current availability, that and pricing in some regions where it's not as competitive what we see in U.S. retailers. For the B580 to truly succeed, Intel needs to address both of these issues, so fingers crossed things can improve on that front.Shopping Shortcuts:Intel Arc B580 on AmazonAMD Radeon RX 7600 on AmazonNvidia GeForce RTX 5070 on Amazon (soon)Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti on Amazon (soon)AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT on AmazonAMD Radeon RX 7900 XT on Amazon

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Starbucks is in the middle of a turnaround effort.The coffee chain is making changes, including some later this month, aimed at improving sales.Here are the biggest shifts, from more free refills to the end of Starbucks' open-door policy.Starbucks is starting off 2025 with some big changes.Former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol took the helm of the coffee chain in September. Since then, Starbucks has announced a series of shifts meant to get customers ordering drinks and food again.The turnaround attempt comes asStarbucks' sales,both in the US and globally, fell during its fourth quarter.Here are the biggest changes that Starbucks has announced over the last few months:Starbucks will require a purchase to hang outStarbucks visitors will have to order something or be with someone who does in order to hang out at one of the chain's stores, starting January 27.The coffee chain confirmed the change on January 13. It replaces the previous open-door policy, which Starbucks implemented after two black men were arrested in 2018 after one asked to use the bathroom at a Philadelphia store without buying anything.The new policy, part of the "Coffeehouse Code of Conduct," is meant to "prioritize our paying customers who want to sit and enjoy our cafs or need to use the restroom during their visit," a Starbucks spokesperson told Business Insider.Starbucks is offering free refills to more patronsAnother change taking effect on January 27 will allow all Starbucks customers, not just members of the chain's rewards program, to get free refills on many brewed coffees and teas.Customers can get them by using a clean reusable cup of their own or an in-house ceramic one provided by the chain. They also have to order their drinks in-store, and refills are only available on a beverage during a single visit.Starbucks' self-serve condiment bars are returningStarbucks said last year that it would bring back self-service condiment bars in early 2025.The change means customers will have to add their own milk, sugar, and other condiments to their drinks instead of relying on baristas to do it behind the counter. It will cut the time it takes baristas to serve hot cups of coffee, Niccol said on an earnings call in October.Rewards members are getting fewer promotions through the appThe days of plentiful buy-one-get-one-free Frappuccino deals appear to be over.Starbucks has been cutting back the number of promotions that it has offered rewards members through its app, the Wall Street Journal reported in October. It's part of a push to make the coffee chain feel more upscale, the Journal reported at the time.The change was welcomed by some baristas, who previously said that they were overwhelmed when customers used the Starbucks mobile app to order multiple drinks at once, including through deals such as four beverages for $20.Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com.

In 1889 in Kyoto, craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi founded a hanafuda playing card company. He called it Nintendo a phrase whose meaning is lost to time according to Nintendos own historians, but which can be translated as leave luck up to heaven. In the 1970s, Nintendo eventually transitioned from paper games to electronic ones, making its own luck in the process. It has been a permanent fixture in living rooms across the world ever since.For budding artist Takaya Imamura, an art student who had been captivated by Metroid and Super Mario Bros 3 in the 1980s, working at Nintendo was a dream. Back in 1985 when Super Mario came out in Japan, everybody was playing it, he recalls. I was at an art university, studying design at the time. Back then, game design wasnt a thing people didnt even know what game creators were.Imamura assumed that hed need to study science to land a job designing these exciting pieces of software. But then he found out that the team at Nintendo that had created Super Mario Bros was run by someone called Miyamoto not a programmer, but a designer who had himself once aspired to be a comic book artist. Someone in the year above him at art school had just landed a job at Konami. So he decided to apply for a job in video games, too. To his surprise, he was invited for an interview at Konami and at Nintendo.People didnt know what game creators were Takaya Imamura in the 1990sAt Nintendos HQ, Imamura found himself face to face with Shigeru Miyamoto. We talked about the films that we liked, Imamura remembers. Miyamoto-san is actually a very good artist himself, and I brought in a manga Ive been working on called Omega Six. He really took a proper look at it it seemed like that impressed him.After taking sage advice from his mother on whether he should go to work at Konami or Nintendo she favoured the company with the 100-year history over the relatively novel upstart Imamura would go on to spend 32 years at Nintendo, beginning in 1989, the year of Nintendos 100th anniversary. (Imamura expected a celebratory atmosphere but then-company president Hiroshi Yamauchi deemed parties a waste of money.) On his first day, he was led through the drab office where his interview took place and into a new world beyond: the development building.Suddenly there were monitors with brand new games being developed, all of this fun stuff going on, says Imamura, It was like in a James Bond film, where they go into an office that is all prim and proper, then they go into an elevator and ta-da! I was lucky enough to be assigned to Miyamoto-sans team. Me and three or four other new recruits got called into a room with him, and he said, you guys are going to work on Super Famicom games. This was before [the console] had even been revealed! I was listening and thinking, OK, be calm but inside I was doing the Mario jump.Takaya Imamuras artwork for the SNES racing game F-Zero. Photograph: NintendoAs the Japanese gaming giant perfected the rules of platforming, wrote the rulebook for 3D and ensnared a generation with touchscreen play over the 80s, 90s and 00s, Imamuras pen designed many of the companys most iconic characters. His first ever project was the breakneck speed-racer F-Zero, and he dreamed up the games whole backstory for a comic book that would come inside the box, designing its most famous character Captain Falcon. Imamura tells me that Miyamoto favoured more western-style comic art over Japanese comics at that time, so F-Zeros look was more Marvel than manga. Nobody asked me to create these characters, or that world, he says. I just felt that if were making a game that there should be something there now, [these characters are] loved by people all around the world. It gets the old tear ducts flowing.After F-Zero, his next project was 1991s Zelda: A Link to the Past, for which he designed the logo, the map of Hyrule, and many of its iconic bosses. After that it was Star Fox. an SNES space epic. It was a science fiction game, so, at first we were thinking humans, aliens lots of aliens! Imamura recalls. Then one day Miyamato-san pops by and says, lets make these animals instead, and the main character a fox. And I was like, a fox?! At the time, Miyamoto walked past a shrine of a fox god every day on his way to work. He is not necessarily a religious man, but its something he saw daily and felt some kind of connection to, and well, hes the boss! Imamura laughs.Taking Miyamotos eyebrow-raising idea and running with it, Imamura designed most of Fox McClouds companions, taking inspiration from Japanese folklore. Miyamotos request, Imamura feels, encapsulates Nintendos unique design philosophy. A 3D space shooting game is not something thats particularly original, so Nintendo added something new to it, and in that process, you create something new as a whole, he says. Its tried and tested technology and ideas, but adding that secret sauce to create something special its what Nintendo does best.Looking back, I was extremely lucky to be a part of that moment in history Takaya Imamura todayImamura was named art director on Zeldas infamously dark Nintendo 64 offering, Majoras Mask, for which he came up with its terrifying, leering moon, and the onesie-wearing nightmare character that is Tingle. Looking back, I was extremely lucky to be a part of that moment in history, reflects Imamura. Its probably the time period when technology and the games industry itself changed the most, and in such a short amount of time.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Pushing ButtonsFree weekly newsletterKeza MacDonald's weekly look at the world of gamingPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionAs the gaming world changed rapidly, so did Nintendos leadership. Programming whiz-kid Satoru Iwata was appointed company president in 2002. He had this vision that we need to build not just Nintendos customer base, but a bigger population of people who can enjoy games, says Imamura. We as games developers were seeing that there was a contraction in the number of people playing games, but then the DS arrived It was a games machine, but it also had Brain Training, tour guides, all kinds of things that were not anything to do with games. I remember thinking, wow, thats a pretty impressive vision.As Beyonc appeared in Nintendogs adverts, and elderly relatives humiliated their families at Wii Bowling, Nintendo saw huge success something Imamura attributes to a less arrogant style of leadership. Yamauchi-san was not interested in market research at all he wasnt interested in the data. The market is something that we make, he would say. But Iwata-san would look at the data. I think that more logical, facts and figures based thinking of Iwatas was what brought about the Nintendo blue ocean strategy with Wii and DS.My vision for it back then is still my vision now Omega 6: The Triangle Stars. Photograph: Clear River GamesImamura found those years a creative struggle. He regrets that he never released a single game on the Wii, struggling to get his pitches through internally. After creating a slew of downloadable 3DS games, Imamura left Nintendo in 2021 to go independent. His very first game as an indie creator? A playable adaptation of the same manga he showed Miyamoto during his interview 32 years ago Omega Six. Its a sci-fi adventure game that, appropriately, looks like a lost SNES classic, and its out next month.My vision for it back then is still my vision now which is quite surprising! Imamura smiles. President Yamauchi used to say that the name Nintendo meant leaving luck up to heaven itself, which meant putting everything you can into these games, and once youve done that, the rest is up to luck I really think, looking back, that I got very lucky at Nintendo. And now its manifesting in Omega Six.Omega 6: The Triangle Stars is out on PC and Nintendo Switch on 28 February

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Nature, Published online: 20 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04253-wSurvey of more than 1,600 biomedical researchers also flagged small sample sizes and cherry-picking of data as leading causes of reproducibility problems.

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See how @blu1304_hs works with hair for this WIP version of Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3 created using Unreal Engine 5.Check it out: https://80.lv/articles/fan-3d-take-on-shadowheart-from-baldur-s-gate-3-rendered-in-unreal-engine-5/#Baldursgate3 #3D #3dart #digitalart #art #characterart #UnrealEngine5 #unrealengine