• How Meta Tried To Lure TikTok Users to Instagram
    www.wired.com
    In the days before TikTok went dark, Instagram and Facebook released a flurry of new features and ran advertisements promoting its platforms as a comparable alternative.
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  • What Trumps Pledge to Plant the U.S. Flag on Mars Really Means
    www.nytimes.com
    The presidents Inaugural Address linked landing on the Red Planet with Manifest Destiny, but left many of the specifics unclear.
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  • Apple Intelligence is enabled by default in iOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3
    www.macworld.com
    MacworldFrom its introduction in iOS 18.1, Apple Intelligence has been an opt-in feature. Users had to decide to enable it, with Apple even going so far as to put people on a waiting list before they could use it.With iOS 18.3 and macOS 15.3, Apples AI features become a standard default part of the experience for all compatible iPhones (iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 16), iPads, and Macs (all Macs with M1 or later processors). According to the developer documentation, Apple Intelligence will be enabled by default:For users new or upgrading to iOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be enabled automatically during iPhone onboarding. Users will have access to Apple Intelligence features after setting up their devices. To disable Apple Intelligence, users will need to navigate to the Apple Intelligence & Siri Settings pane and turn off the Apple Intelligence toggle. This will disable Apple Intelligence features on their device.Obviously, this will only be true in the regions and languages for which Apple Intelligence is available. It makes some sense; These are distinguishing features of these devices and, unlike some Siri requests and responses, Apple Intelligence features are either processed entirely on the device or via Private Cloud Compute where everything is encrypted and never saved.Still, Apple Intelligence is clearly labeled as Beta and it feels premature to make any beta features opt-out rather than opt-in. To disable Apple Intelligence, open Settings, select Apple Intelligence & Siri, and flip the toggle switch to turn it off.
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  • Marvel Snap is back online in the US after outage caused by the TikTok ban
    appleinsider.com
    Marvel Snap is once again available to users in the United States, following the aftermath of the TikTok ban and the actions against ByteDance, but it still isn't on Apple's App Store.Marvel Snap is back online, but still not on the App Store in the US.Marvel Snap is a relatively popular digital card-collecting game. The game's publisher is Nuverse, a subsidiary of none other than ByteDance the same company that owns the controversial social media platform TikTok, CapCut, and other applications.On January 19, 2025, the United States government enacted a blanket ban against all ByteDance applications, including both TikTok and Marvel Snap. As a result, the apps were no longer available to users in the United States, and they were both removed from the US App Store on iOS. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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  • Apple Maps still calls it the Gulf of Mexico, and politicians are upset
    appleinsider.com
    President Trump signed an executive order demanding that many landmarks change their names, including the Gulf of Mexico, but Apple Maps hasn't changed. Here's why it isn't quite that simple.The Gulf of Mexico remains in Apple MapsMaps are a funny thing. For a long time, we studied global geography using a map designed in 1569, but it inaccurately shows North America and Europe as much larger than they should be.Nearly five hundred years later, we've started adapting more recent models that accurately show continent size. I bring this up simply because maps are complicated and changing the ones we rely on can take a lot of time and effort. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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  • Get Lectured: Washington University in St. Louis, Spring '25
    archinect.com
    Get Lectured continues with a look at the events in store this semester for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.Kicking off the Spring are lectures from FORMAs Miroslava Brooks and Daniel Markiewicz (January 24); Alfonso Garduo (January 27); artist Blas Isasi (January 30); Jane Hutton (February 3); and author/illustrator Carson Ellis (February 6).Eric Hweler of Hweler + Yoon visits campus next for a lecture on February 14. His appearance will be followed by a February 21 panel discussion related to the exhibition 'Seeds: Containers of a World to Come' at theKemper Art Museum and a lecture from Janette Kim on February 24. Painter EJ Hauser (March 17); Beatriz Cortez (March 26); and RMA Architectsfounding principal Rahul Mehrotra (April 14) follow her to conclude the term.Want to share your school's lecture series? Send us your poster and details toconnect@archinect.com.
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  • Water-informed initiatives define SOM Foundation 2024 Research Prize and European Research Prize winners
    archinect.com
    The SOM Foundation has announced its 2024 Research Prize and European Research Prize winners as part of a competition that yearly honors the most groundbreaking initiatives on the built environment from both the United States and Europe.Two teams from Auburn University and the University of Minnesota, respectively, were awarded the $30,000 Research Prize. The firstled by Aurlie Frolet, Emily McGlohn, and Jillian Maxcy-Brownexpands on past work through the universitys influential Rural Studio to deliver better wastewater infrastructure resources to communities in the Black Belt of Alabama that had previously been forced to adapt substandard treatment options which, in turn, induced major health and environmental crises.
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  • The Blood of Dawnwalker Will Feature Narrative Sandbox Where Players Actions Will Determine Story Outcomes
    gamingbolt.com
    Rebel Wolves, the studio behind upcoming RPG The Blood of Dawnwalker, has revealed more details about the game. In an interview with PCGamer, creative director Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz spoke about the studios approach to making the game, and how when its out, players will get to experience what Tomaszkiewicz describes as a narrative sandbox.Tomaszkiewicz explained that narrative sandbox means that the game allows the player to affect the story around them by interacting with the world. This means that players will have plenty of choices to make in not only the story itself, but through gameplay to effect the titles narrative. While The Blood of Dawnwalker wont be a pure sandbox game, players will still get to make plenty of decisions to effect outcomes of various stories.So narrative sandbox refers to the way we craft our content, said Tomaszkiewicz in the interview. Its how we allow you, the player, to interact with it. So the core of it is maximising players agency and freedom of choice, while, at the same time delivering the high-quality narratives that we are known for crafting in the past. Dawnwalker is not going to be a game where its a pure sandbox, where youre just focusing on the gameplay. We do want you to experience these moments with the world of the characters, and the emotions that these situations can evoke, and so on, and so forth. But, at the same time you are looking for ways of maximising freedom as you do.He also went on to say that just about all of the quests in The Blood of Dawnwalker are being designed with this idea in mind, and not just the main quests. Even small, seemingly inconsequential encounters might end up having much larger consequences in the long run, and sometimes even tying into the games main story.Narrative sandbox informs not only the main questit also informs all the other types of content that we have, Tomaszkiewicz continued. We are trying to make tie-ins from these. You know, you might encounter seemingly inconsequential, smaller activities of the world, but we are trying to make them tie into this main narrative. It kind of feels like a synergetic approach where all this content helps each other to be this cohesive whole. Its not like there is the main story, and there are just sidequests that are unrelated to it. All of it kind of overlaps a little bit, if that makes sense.Design director Daniel Sadowski also helped further explain the concept of the narrative sandbox, by saying that the studio is trying our best to balance everything out, and there is a lot of cool content that you can interact with.We are trying to tie-in all of that content so that things affect each other in cool ways, and give you a lot of freedom as to what to do next, explained Sadowski. Sometimes it feels like playing a paper RPG where you can really just go into the world, and pick your adventures. Thats sort of what we are aiming for here with the narrative sandbox as well.Quite a few details about The Blood of Dawnwalker have been revealed through these interviews, including game director Konrad Tomaszkiewicz revealing that, not only will the protagonist not be overpowered, but also that the decision was made because it allows the studio to make a more interesting story. He also revealed that the upcoming title will not have flashy magic, and any magic players see in the game will revolve more around subtle manipulation rather than epic fireballs.The Blood of Dawnwalker is the first major title by Rebel Wolves a studio made up of industry veterans that have worked on titles like The Witcher 3. While the game doesnt yet have a release date, we do know that it is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
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  • Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Gets Gameplay Showcase in New Video
    gamingbolt.com
    A new video showcasing the gameplay for upcoming Souls-like action RPG Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has been released. The video, which you can check out below, includes Chinese commentary on the game, as well as a rundown on how development on the title has been going since it was first announced all the way back in 2021.The video gives us a rundown of the story in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. Taking place in the Ming Dynasty during the outbreak of a mysterious plague, players are put into the shoes of protagonist Wuchang, who finds herself with not only amnesia, but also some strange supernatural powers.The video also gives us a solid look at the upcoming titles gameplay, including combat against a host of different enemies, and even a quick glimpse at what appears to be a mystical boss fight. Keeping with its Souls-like roots, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers will also tell its story in esoteric ways, complete with NPCs that appear stark raving mad.The video also makes a point of mentioning how much more polished Wuchang: Fallen Feathers appears this time around, especially when compared to the rough gameplay we saw back when the title was first announced.Among the encounters showcased in the video are what appear to be minor boss fights, as well as sprawling levels that will have players fight as well as solve puzzles across various vertical levels. Bosses showcased in the video include the Man-Eating Monk, the Feathered Priest, Ogre, and the Giant Centipede. It is worth noting that these are rough translations of the boss names from the games original Chinese language.The title also seemingly helps players not get lost during exploration by providing subtle hints about what they can expect when they walk down a path. For example, a compass will show up on the UI with arrows pointing to a nearby campfire where players can rest. On the other hand, if a path has strong enemies, the game will make use of environmental storytelling.Interestingly, the Wuchang: Fallen Feathers also seemingly has fewer campfires to rest at thank other Souls-like titles, with developer Leenzee Games instead opting to make use of more shortcuts to help players traverse across its world.The video also gives us a quick idea of how progression in Wuchang: Fallen Feathers works. Rather than leveling up to raise attribute points, the title will instead allow players to get new skills through a comprehensive skill tree. Interestingly, this also allows players to focus on a single weapon type, allowing their skills to get more efficient when it comes to damage and resources spent.Leenzee Games and publisher 505 Games had revealed back in June that Wuchang: Fallen Feathers would be released some time in 2025. While no solid release date has been announced since then, we do know that the title will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. In the mean time, you can check out the trailer from back in October, which gave us a vivid look at some of the games locations, bombastic combat, and different weapons.
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  • Wikipedia picture of the day for January 22
    en.wikipedia.org
    The cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatcher. It has a disjunct distribution, consisting of one race in a region from northern Argentina and Bolivia to the north-eastern tip of Brazil, and the two other subspecies ranging from Panama to Venezuela and eastern Ecuador. It inhabits drier open and semi-open habitats, and avoided forested and wooded areas. It can be found in savannah, pastureland, parkland, agricultural land and even gardens. The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living species of rodent, classified within the genus Hydrochoerus, the only other extant member of which is the lesser capybara (H.isthmius). Its close relatives include guinea pigs and rock cavies, and it is more distantly related to the agouti, the chinchilla, and the nutria. The capybara is a highly social species and inhabits savannas and dense forests, living near bodies of water. It is hunted for its meat and hide and also for grease from its thick fatty skin. This photograph, taken in the Pantanal, a wetland region in western Brazil, shows a cattle tyrant perching on the head of a capybara.Photograph credit: Charles J. SharpRecently featured: In the LogeRacial segregation in the United StatesRoadside hawkArchiveMore featured pictures
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