Nicholas Shkoda/Getty ImagesYou'd think that Microsoft's marketing team would have learned something after last year's shambolic rollout of the Recall feature. Maybe, before trying another rollout, they might talk to a few customers, do some focus groups, even ask a few members of the press and analyst community for their advice.But no.Shortly after the New Year, someone in Redmond pushed a button that raised the price of its popular (84 million paid subscribers worldwide!) Microsoft 365 product. You know, the one that used to be called Microsoft Office? Yeah, well, now it's called Microsoft 365 Copilot, and you're going to be paying at least 30% more for that subscription starting with your next bill. Microsoft 365 gets a new logo, a new name, and a higher price. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNETAs far as I can tell, the response from customers has been overwhelmingly negative. I monitor Microsoft-focused online forums obsessively, and I read hundreds of complaints without seeing a single compliment. Seriously, the reaction to this rollout was an Excel #DIV/0 error.What went wrong? Where do I begin?They botched the price increaseLet me bend over backward to Microsoft here. They launched Office 365 (which later became Microsoft 365 and is now Microsoft 365 Copilot) more than a dozen years ago, and in that time they have not raised the price once. In case you haven't noticed, we are living through some inflationary times right now.So, there was plenty of room for Microsoft to roll out a gentle price increase. "Hey y'all, we know this isn't welcome news but we need to bump up the Microsoft 365 subscription price by two bucks a month. It's still a great deal!"Also: How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 in 2025Netflix does that every year or two and no one shows up at Netflix HQ with pitchforks and torches.But no. Instead, they made it a 30% price increase and blamed it all on artificial intelligence. Bad idea. Why? Because...No one wants to pay for AIThere's a ton of potential in AI, and it has some solid use cases today, for tasks like writing code and finding patterns in large databases.But in the places where Microsoft 365 Family and Personal subscribers are likely to see AI, the edges are still very, very rough. If you ask Copilot in Word to write something for you, the results will be about what you'd expect from an enthusiastic summer intern. You might fare better if you ask Copilot to turn a folder full of photos into a PowerPoint presentation. But is that task really such a challenge?Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)To top that off, there are similarly rough edges in the way the Copilot features are implemented. For example, I have both work and family subscriptions to Microsoft 365. This combination normally works very well; I can sign in with one account, attach resources like OneDrive from both accounts, and work with almost no friction.But good luck doing the same with Copilot features. In that configuration, I consistently get error messages telling me, "As a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriber, you'll be able to use Copilot when you're signed with your Microsoft work or school account (Entra ID) and Microsoft personal account. However, that ability is not yet available." If you pay for a personal and work subscription to Microsoft 365, you'll pay the higher price but won't get the new features. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNETLet me see if I understand this: I'm paying Microsoft for not one but two subscriptions, and they raised the price of one of those subscriptions while not allowing me to use its signature feature. That seems like a lousy way to reward your best customers.The announcement was bungled, tooI pay annually for my Microsoft 365 Family subscription. The price went up more than a week ago, but I haven't received an email telling me about it. As the account manager, I should see that notice before I see the new price in my dashboard.Instead, I learned about the new price thanks to a pop-up message on my Android phone. This po-up on my phone is the only notice I've received about a price change. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNETThat notice tells me I have a monthly plan. No, I have an annual plan that will renew in a month or two. It says I can cancel billing in my Play Store settings. No, I can't. I bought this subscription using the web browser on my Windows PC, and when I tap the Subscriptions button in the Android app it opens a web browser and takes me to my Microsoft account page, where there's no cancel option.It could be worse, I suppose. Just ask the French and Spanish subscribers who got a similar pop-up message telling them theirprice had gone from 10 a month to 13,000. (Those pesky decimals.)Also: Microsoft is changing the way you sign in - and it could be a security nightmareOh, and I've lost count of the number of people who were baffled and angry that Microsoft had forcibly installed the Copilot app on their devices. It was just a rebranding of the old Microsoft 365 app with the new name and logo, but in my case it was days later before I received yet another pop-up message telling me about the change.Well, surely you can just turn it off. Right?The smartest thing Microsoft could have done was to make this initial release of Copilot an opt-in feature for a few months. They could have said, "We're excited to let everyone try this! Just click OK here!"Instead, they turned the feature on for everyone and gave Word users a well-hidden checkbox that reads Enable Copilot. The feature is on by default, so you have to clear the checkbox to make it go away.Also: Microsoft Office support in Windows 10 ends in October too - what that really meansAs for the other Office apps? "Uh, we'll get around to giving you a button to turn it off next month. Maybe."Seriously, thesupport page that explains where you can find that box in Wordsays, "We're working on adding the Enable Copilot checkbox to Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint on Windows devices and to Excel and PowerPoint on Mac devices. That is tentatively scheduled to happen in February 2025."Meanwhile, maybe think twice about using the option to disable all of the connected features in your Office apps. Asone writer pointed out(with multiple swear words and some threats aimed in the general direction of One Microsoft Way), doing so can have unintended consequences, like making it appear as though all your files in OneDrive have suddenly disappeared.How long will the Classic option last?If you try to cancel Microsoft 365 to avoid the price increase (or just to say no to the AI features), Microsoft's subscription management page offers the option to downgrade to a Classic plan, which turns out to be exactly what you signed up for not that long ago, minus the price increase.Also: The top 10 brands exploited in phishing attacks - and how to protect yourselfThat's purely a retention play, of course. New subscribers can't sign up for this plan, and I expect that it will be discontinued in a year or two.Why is Microsoft doing this?I have yet to see a single person praising the implementation of Copilot in Microsoft 365 or telling Satya Nadella they've gotten their money's worth out of this unexpected upgrade.So why do it at all? I can think of 3 billion reasons. I could plug the numbers into Excel and tell you about it, but let's have Copilot explain instead. Microsoft Copilot understands how the subscription business model works. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNETMicrosoft is halfway through its 2026 fiscal year. It's almost like someone was given instructions at the end of the calendar year to bump up that revenue line for the Office Consumer division.Also: How I easily added AI to my favorite Microsoft Office alternativeHere's the funny thing: The price increase is so big that there will still be a huge positive impact even if 10% of Microsoft 365 Personal and Family customers cancel rather than pay the extra monthly fee. Copilot walked me through the math and concluded, "So, even with 10% of your customers canceling their subscriptions, you would still generate an additional $1.714 billion annually due to the price hike. How do you feel about this adjustment?"I feel like I understand why all those complaints are going to go unheard.More Microsoft

What to watch this weekend.Credit: Apple / Shudder / NetflixWeve come to the last weekend of January already, though we still have until next Friday before the month is officially over and February kicks off a whole new round of shows and movies for us to watch. Will 2025 go by even faster than 2024?In any case, as always Ive searched high and low for all the best new TV shows and movies that have recently made their way to the myriad streaming services we all subscribe to these days. Some of these Ive seen and written about and you can follow the links to my reviews. Others have just popped up and I havent had time to see them yet. Theres always more to watch than there is time in the day! Its a good problem to have.If you missed them, definitely take a glance at my Worst TV Shows and Best TV Shows of 2024 for more ideas on what to watchand what to avoid.If you have any tips or I missed something, shoot me a message on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. You can check out last weekends streaming guide right here.MORE FOR YOUWhats New & Notable This WeekendIts an action-packed weekend for new TV shows and movies and well start with my personal pick for the week . . . .The Night Agent - Season 2 (Netflix)I really enjoyed Season 1 of The Night Agent and while its been a couple years since I watched, I dived right into the second season and really enjoyed it also. Ive seen a lot of readers complain that its not as good, and Im not sure if its just my foggy memory or what, but I really liked the second season and felt it had a lot of the same strengths and weaknesses as the first, though now I want to rewatch the first and see if Im missing something. In any case, if you like a fun spy thriller with few frills and plenty of tension, this is a very bingeable option. Read my Season 2 review here.Prime Target (Apple TV)I havent started this one yet, but it sounds interesting. Leo Woodall plays handsome young mathematician, Edward Brooks, a man whose obsession with prime numbers leads him down a rabbit hole of danger and deception. Its getting pretty mixed reviews, unfortunately, with just 42% on Rotten Tomatoesthough audiences are more upbeat, with a 65% Popcornmeter score. It looks fun and Ill check it out this weekend. The first two episodes are available on Apple TV with the third and subsequent episodes landing on Wednesdays.The Wild Robot (Peacock)The Wild Robot was one of my favorite movies of 2024 and definitely one of the top animated films of the year (I think Inside Out 2 was better, but only barely). The story follows a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyongo) stranded on a remote island who takes on a mission to raise a young gosling and survive both the harsh elements and other dangers. Its genuinely heartwarming with a beautiful core and gorgeous animation. If you enjoy top-tier family movies, you should really give this one a shot.Blink Twice (Prime Video)Zo Kravitz makes her directorial debut with Blink Twice, a film about a group of people invited to the private island of tech billionaire, Slater King (Channing Tatum). The story follows Frida (Naomi Ackie) as the vacation to paradise turns into a trip from hell. Christian Slater, Adria Arjona, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis and Kyle MacLachlan make up some of the films star-studded cast. I havent seen this but the trailer makes it look pretty intense (though said trailer is also pretty spoilery, so maybe dont watch it if youre thinking of watching the film).Star Trek: Section 31 Paramount+Star Trek has been such a mess over the past decade or so and it sounds like things arent improving with Section 31. The Michelle Yeoh-led streaming movie was meant to be a spinoff series of Star Trek: Discovery but for various reasons that was shelved and the project became a standalone film. Apparently that did not translate well. On Rotten Tomatoes the picture has a 17% critic score and just 25% with audiences. Ouch. It seems Trekkies have it just as badokay, maybe worsethan Star Wars fans these days.Grafted (Shudder)This caught my eye because I recently watched and reviewed The Substance, a film about a miracle drug that sort of gives you eternal youth but not really. Its a muddled film that I genuinely disliked (and I remain confused about all the buzz). Grafted takes a similar premise, but with a miracle medical technology that can change your facethough in this dystopian thriller, the reality of the transformation is much more terrifying than its promise. Honestly, this looks better than The Substance to me, but Im not sure I have the stomach for more body horror anytime soon.Harlem - Season 3 (Prime Video)Ill be honest, I know nothing about Harlem despite it being on its third (and final) season. It sounds a bit like the black version of Sex and the City: Four ambitious best friends, Camille, Tye, Quinn and Angie, navigate relationships and careers in New York City. I wasnt a Sex and the City guy, either, so Im really operating from a place of ignorance and conjecture here. Forgive me! The show has great reviews from audiences and critics, however, so if this looks up your alley, give it a watch!Gladiator II (Paramount+)I thought Gladiator was a solid epic historical drama, but not necessarily a great film. It lacked the emotional resonance of something like Braveheart, though Ridley Scotts film was entertaining enough. Much of the films success rested on the stellar performance of Russell Crowe. Crowe is absent from Gladiator II, as is any sense of realism or originality. I genuinely laughed my way through this abysmal sequel and then went home and penned a scathing review. Now you, too, can witness just how bad this film really isand no amount of Denzel Washington can save it.The Brutalist (In Theaters)Not everything is streaming. There is this magical place called a movie theater where people congregate and eat popcorn and oversized pretzels and drink giant cups of soda and you all sit together and watch the movie as a community. Its awesome! You should try it sometime. Im debating whether to go to The Brutalist this weekend because while it looks amazing, its also 3-and-a-half hours long. However, unlike most really long movies, this one is split into two parts and theres an intermission! So you get a built-in bathroom break to stretch your legs, maybe head back to concessions, etc. I almost want to go the movie just for this intermission experience, which I dont think Ive ever had at a moviejust Broadway shows and other live theater. Adrien Brody is already winning awards for the historical drama. It looks phenomenal.There are a number of new movies out on Video-On-Demand to rent and buy as well this weekend. A couple highlights: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and the excellent vampire period piece Nosferatu from Robert Eggers (my review). Its funny, the first Sonic movie was the last film I saw in theaters before COVID shut everything down. I really liked it but never got around to seeing the sequels.Whats Streaming WeeklyAs always, a number of TV shows continue to air each weeknot everyone has adopted the Netflix binge model!and I list some of those here.Severance - Season 2 dropped its second episode this weekend. The second season of Apple TVs phenomenal dystopian sci-fi office drama is off to a great start. You can read my spoiler-free review of the complete season here, or check out my Episode 2 recap here. This is one show that I am literally begging everyone to watch. Its one of the best out there. New episodes drop Thursday evenings. (Apple).The Pitt is one of my favorite new series. I just published my review earlier today. Its a medical drama starring (and produced and partly written by) ER-veteran, Noah Wyle. It takes a 24-style format, with each episode a new hour in one long shift in a Pittsburgh hospital. The show deftly weaves together the stories of a pretty massive cast of doctors, nurses and other medical staff plus all the patients and families that pass through the jampacked emergency room. Its brilliant, compelling TV and Im not even a big medical drama fan, though I finally started ER after I ran out of The Pitt episodes. New episodes drop Thursday. (Max)Traitors - Season 3 continues airing weekly as well and is now the biggest unscripted show going at the moment. Its like a challenge reality show meets murder mystery dinner. I admit, Ive never watched it because I dont like reality TV that much, but it does sound entertaining! (Peacock)Dexter: Original Sin continues to be a solid offering each week, and one that I happily pop on every Friday when new episodes drop. I had low expectations for a Dexter prequel but everyone does a really great job and the combination of weekly mysteries and a season-long mystery works really well. Its all very nostalgic, thats for sure. Heres my review. (Paramount)SAS Rogue Heroes - Season 2 - Is one I havent yet started and have totally forgotten to include on this list. All the episodes are already out and Ive heard a lot of good things from readers who keep urging me to watch itwhich I will, soon, Ive just been very busy! The series follows a group of military commandos during WWII that employ...non-traditional means in their fight against the Axis powers. (MGM+)Further Reading From Yours Truly:Dont forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!What are you watching these days? What should I put on this list or add to my backlog? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook.

Companies that are moving quickly to adopt human-centric AI and integrate it deeply into their CX strategies are winning over customersand boosting their bottom lines. According to our CX Trends 2025 report, early adopters are 128% more likely to report high ROI from their AI tools in CX.Human-centric AI can amplify human abilities, making it easier for companies to understand and connect with their customers as individuals.But how, exactly?Picture this: your dear friend has had a difficult year. You send them a heartfelt birthday giftone you know will lift their spirits. But theres just one problem. The gift didnt ship on schedule, and now it wont arrive on time for their birthday.GettyYoure understandably upset when you contact the companya brand you happen to loveabout the issue. Your outreach is handled by an AI agent that senses your frustration. Capable of demonstrating empathy to handle difficult situations like this, the AI agent offers a sincere apology, determines a way to expedite the gift so it arrives on time, and even provides you with a discount off your next purchase.You were already a loyal customer, but nowthanks to human-centric AI making you feel seen, understood, and valuedyoure a fan for life.This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to better understanding your customers with the help of AI. Keep reading to learn more about what human-centric AI is, why leading CX organizations are making the shift, and how AI can help enable more human-centric experiences for your customers, agents, and organization.Powering human experiences with the help of AIWith the right AI approach, agents can be more empathetic and better able to handle difficult situationslike a delayed birthday gift.But its not just about helping customers. By streamlining tasks and enhancing their ability to communicate with customers, AI is empowering agents, too. For example, AI can help an overwhelmed agent handling a grieving customers insurance claim by suggesting real-time, sensitive, and empathetic language tailored to the situation. Meanwhile, AI can also retrieve necessary policy details so the agent can focus entirely on listening, comforting the customer, and providing faster resolutions.Quick, AI-powered resolutions lead to lasting loyaltyAccording to our research, 61% of consumers say they expect more personalized service with AIin just a short time, its had a significant impact on expectations.Match Group, which owns and operates the largest global portfolio of popular dating services is looking to human-centric AI to help their members solve their problems faster with self-service.We're looking to understand where we can improve customer experience by allowing members to resolve their issues instantly without a wait timeand how generative AI can get us there, said Meghan Hussack, Director of Strategy and Shared Service, Emerging and Evergreen Brands at Match Group.I am most excited about generative AI being able to understand the language a customers using and how to solve their problem without the customer having to go through the often clunky flow of your typical chatbot.Employing AI to handle the first touch of every customer interaction will help companies like Match Group resolve issues quickly, while also building a strong human connection with customers that translates to loyalty. It also sets brands apart from their peers: 70% of consumers believe there is a clear gap forming between companies that leverage AI effectively in customer service and those that don't.3 ways AI enables more human-centric experiencesReady to reap the rewards of creating human-centric experiences? Here are three ways AI can transform experiences for customers, agents, and your organization:1. Right-size service for every customer with AIWeve all been there (or know someone who has): you're stuck at the airport due to a flight cancellation. But instead of waiting forever in line to speak to a desk agent, AI rebooks you on the next flight out, coordinates your overnight hotel stay, and sends you all the necessary details in an empathetic email with a discount on your next trip. That's hassle-free service during a high-stress time, helping to foster reassurance and long-term customer loyalty.AI agents are increasingly able to deliver service that feels natural and personalized. And it's something that customers want and are looking for: 68% of consumers say they would engage more frequently with AI agents/bots if they had more human-like interactions.2. Empower agents with AI to free them up to form deeper customer connectionsWhen it comes to agents, AI copilots can supply real-time suggestions for language and solutions, empowering agents to deliver empathetic and effective responsesespecially during a high-pressure holiday season.Instead of being buried by a mountain of inquiries or delivering a less-than-perfect response, AI copilots can draft responses, identify repetitive questions, and flag the most emotionally charged for personal attention.This helps boost agent performance and satisfaction, not just during the holiday season, but every day. In fact, 79% of agents believe having AI as a copilot supercharges their abilitiesenabling them to deliver superior customer experiences with faster, better answers and foster deeper trust with more personalized interactions.3. Enable dynamic, more strategic teams with AIFinally, organizations can reap the benefits of human-centric AI with workforce management tools and automated triage/intelligent routing. These AI tools allow teams to be more dynamic in their responses and more strategic with their resources.For instance, youre a retail brand anticipating a flood of customer questions during a flash sale. You can use AI to help predict spike volume and plan accordingly by scaling up your support team. Then, AI not only routes inquiries to the right agents but also prioritizes VIP customers, ensuring their needs are addressed first with personalized care.This results in more streamlined, efficient interactions that are aligned with what customers and teams need in any given momentand a better experience overall.CX leaders whove embraced human-centric AI are already realizing tremendous value. Theyre harnessing the power of AI to personalize experiences, fostering loyalty and inspiring confidenceeven in the most stressful of situations. And theyre empowering their agents and teams with the cutting-edge tools they need to do their jobs well, and to end each day with a sense of satisfaction and pride.Human-centric AI experiences are already unlocking these experiences for early adopters. Isnt it time you joined them?For a deeper dive into these insightsand morecheck out our full CX Trends 2025 report.

TL;DR: Seagate was the first manufacturer to introduce heat-assisted magnetic recording hard drives to the market and continues to innovate in magnetic storage technology. The company is expanding the capacity of its next-generation storage units, though I/O performance may be a concern for some customers. Seagate started shipping hard drives with HAMR tech in December 2024, turning a long-awaited technological advancement into a commercial reality. Now, the storage specialist is announcing that even more advanced HAMR drives, with capacities of up to 36 terabytes, are on the way.The 36TB HAMR drives are being shipped to a select group of customers for testing and validation. Like the earlier HAMR units, these new Exos M drives are built on the Mozaic 3+ technology platform to deliver "unprecedented" areal density. The drives utilize a complex 10-platter design, achieving an areal density of 3.6TB per platter.According to Seagate CEO Dave Mosley, the company has already reached an areal density of over 6TB per disk in its test environments. The goal, he says, is to further increase the data density to 10TB per platter. Seagate also states that Mozaic 3+ is a highly efficient storage platform, enabling the new Exos M drives to lower the total cost of ownership and reduce energy consumption.HAMR drives have been specifically engineered to meet the needs of data centers, offering 300 percent more storage capacity within the same physical footprint. Seagate also estimates a 25 percent reduction in cost per terabyte and a 60 percent reduction in power consumption per terabyte. Dell Technologies, an early adopter of the Mozaic 3+ platform, plans to integrate the Exos M 32TB drives into its "high-density" storage products in the near future.While touted as the cutting edge of magnetic storage technology, the new drives come with a notable caveat that Seagate does not mention in its press release. According to the product page for HAMR drives, the highest-capacity models (32TB and 36TB) rely on shingled magnetic recording (SMR) to achieve their impressive areal density and overall storage capacity. // Related StoriesSMR-based drives use a sophisticated architecture with overlapping data tracks, which can negatively impact write operations. However, this limitation may not be a significant issue for data centers and startups training AI language models, as their primary focus is on storing vast amounts of data rather than frequent or intensive write operations.As IDC researcher Kuba Stolarski noted, hard disk drives remain a "critical" technology for AI applications and other enterprise-level storage demands. Stolarski highlighted that a significant majority (89 percent) of data stored by leading cloud services is still archived on hard disk drives.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Table of ContentsTable of ContentsThe Galaxy S25 supports wireless chargingGalaxy S25 battery specsThe Samsung Galaxy S25 series is set to hit showrooms worldwide soon. This lineup includes the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra, all powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. In addition, these devices will feature One UI 7 and Android 15, marking a first for Samsung.The phones have much to offer, including sleek new designs, advanced AI features, camera upgrades, and more. With all these impressive features, you may wonder whether the phones support wireless charging.Recommended VideosNirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsAll three models in the Galaxy S25 lineup, like the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S23 series, support wireless charging. You can recharge your device by placing it on a wireless charging pad, regardless of which Galaxy S25 model you choose.RelatedThere had been rumors that the new phones would support the latest wireless charging standard, Qi2. While the Galaxy S25 phones do not support Qi2 directly, they are Qi2 Ready. This means that, although the phones lack built-in magnets for charging (similar to what MagSafe offers), they can achieve Qi2 compatibility when paired with special cases from Samsung and third parties. These cases enable magnetic alignment and the faster charging speeds associated with Qi2.Additionally, Samsung is introducing a new lineup of Qi2 Ready accessories alongside the new phones. This will include wireless chargers and car mounts designed to work seamlessly with the magnetic cases.Assuming you have a new Galaxy S25 phone and a Qi2-compatible charger, you can achieve charging speeds of up to 15W.Nirave Gondhia / Digital TrendsThe Galaxy S25 Ultra, the flagship model in the series, boasts an impressive 5,000mAh battery designed to power its high-performance features. This large battery capacity ensures extended daily usage, even with demanding tasks like gaming, streaming, and multitasking. Additionally, it supports wired charging via a 45W adapter, allowing users to achieve up to a 65% charge in approximately 30 minutes. This rapid charging capability is particularly beneficial for those often on the go.Next in line, the Galaxy S25 Plus features a slightly smaller 4,900mAh battery, striking a balanced approach for mid-range users. Like its Ultra counterpart, the S25 Plus also supports 45W fast charging, offering similar benefits in terms of quick power replenishment.Meanwhile, the standard Galaxy S25 has a 4,000mAh battery. Although it may have a smaller capacity than the other two models, it effectively utilizes a 25W adapter to achieve a 50% charge in a similar swift timeframe. This makes it an excellent option for users who prioritize efficiency in a compact form.All three models come with Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, which enhances the wireless charging experience and allows quicker power restoration without cables. Additionally, the Wireless PowerShare feature lets users charge compatible devices like earbuds or smartwatches directly from their Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, or S25 Ultra, adding a layer of convenience and versatility to the device.Editors Recommendations

Its been one week since the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost mission launched on its journey to the moon, carrying NASA payloads and aiming to make the second ever commercial soft lunar landing. During this week, the spacecraft captured a gorgeous view of a solar eclipse seen from space, and now it has captured an even more impressive visual: our planet Earth, as seen from a distance of 4,000 miles away.Firefly captured the beauty of our home planet during another Earth orbit burn, Firefly Aerospace wrote in a mission update, sharing the image above. This second engine burn (and first critical burn) adjusted Blue Ghosts apogee (the furthest point from Earth) using our Spectre RCS thrusters. With just over two weeks left in Earth orbit before our Trans Lunar Injection, the Firefly team will continue operating our NASA payloads onboard and capturing science data along the way.Recommended VideosIn addition to the photo, the team also shared this video taken during the second engine burn, showing the Earth retreating as the spacecraft burns away from it:Blue Ghost, Meet Blue MarbleThe spacecraft will now spend a little over two further weeks in orbit around Earth, gradually adjusting its trajectory until it performs a maneuver called a trans lunar injection, after which it will head on a four-day journey toward the moon on a path called a lunar transit. Once it arrives at the moon it will have to enter lunar orbit, performing a maneuver called a lunar orbit injection, then it will spend 16 days orbiting the moon before attempting a landing on the moons surface.Please enable Javascript to view this contentDespite the fact that the Apollo missions saw men on the moon over 50 years ago, lunar landings remain challenging. The moons surface is covered in rocks and boulders, and has many areas which have slopes and craters that make landing difficult. The first commercial lunar landing, performing by Intuitive Machines last year, had problems as the lander came down at an angle and ended up somewhat on its side, having tipped when a foot caught on the surface. This lander was still able to collect science data, but due to its angle it could only collect a small amount of solar power and its operations on the surface lasted just a few Earth days.Firefly Aerospace will be hoping for a smoother landing operation, and will be using technology similar to that used for landing rovers on Mars called terrain relative navigation, in which on-board computers use images of the terrain below to select an appropriate landing site.Editors Recommendations

The 16th-century Italian artist undermined the Renaissance-era rules of illusionistic space with this playful, virtuosic painting.

but the GTX 1060 will never die Nvidia starts to wind down support for old GPUs, including the long-lived GTX 1060 Nvidia last dropped Game Ready driver support for older GPUs in 2021. Andrew Cunningham Jan 24, 2025 5:13 pm | 2 Some GeForce GTX GPUs based on the Pascal architecture. Credit: Mark Walton Some GeForce GTX GPUs based on the Pascal architecture. Credit: Mark Walton Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreNvidia is launching the first volley of RTX 50-series GPUs based on its new Blackwell architecture, starting with the RTX 5090 and working downward from there. The company also appears to be winding down support for a few of its older GPU architectures, according to these CUDA release notes spotted by Tom's Hardware.The release notes say that CUDA support for the Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPU architectures "is considered feature-complete and will be frozen in an upcoming release." While all of these architectureswhich collectively cover GeForce GPUs from the old GTX 700 series all the way up through 2016's GTX 1000 series, plus a couple of Quadro and Titan workstation cardsare still currently supported by Nvidia's December Game Ready driver package, the end of new CUDA feature support suggests that these GPUs will eventually be dropped from these driver packages soon.It's common for Nvidia and AMD to drop support for another batch of architectures all at once every few years; Nvidia last dropped support for older cards in 2021, and AMD dropped support for several prominent GPUs in 2023. Both companies maintain a separate driver branch for some of their older cards but releases usually only happen every few months, and they focus on security updates, not on providing new features or performance optimizations for new games.The Maxwell and Pascal architectures powered a few graphics cards that used to be a big deal. Those include the Maxwell-based GeForce GTX 750 Ti, which was widely praised for keeping pace with AMD cards that used twice as much energy, and the Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1060, which was the single most popular graphics card model in the Steam Hardware Survey for over five years. (As of this writing, the GTX 1060 still occupies the no. 12 spot, above any GPU of any model or vintage from AMD or Intel.)We've asked Nvidia if it has anything to share about its plans for these older GPUs, and will update if we receive a response.Andrew CunninghamSenior Technology ReporterAndrew CunninghamSenior Technology Reporter Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue. 2 Comments

LOOK IT UP Anthropic builds RAG directly into Claude models with new Citations API New feature allows Claude to reference source documents and reduce hallucinations. Benj Edwards Jan 24, 2025 4:05 pm | 11 Credit: Kirillm via Getty Images Credit: Kirillm via Getty Images Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreOn Thursday, Anthropic announced Citations, a new API feature that helps Claude models avoid confabulations (also called hallucinations) by linking their responses directly to source documents. The feature lets developers add documents to Claude's context window, enabling the model to automatically cite specific passages it uses to generate answers."When Citations is enabled, the API processes user-provided source documents (PDF documents and plaintext files) by chunking them into sentences," Anthropic says. "These chunked sentences, along with user-provided context, are then passed to the model with the user's query."The company describes several potential uses for Citations, including summarizing case files with source-linked key points, answering questions across financial documents with traced references, and powering support systems that cite specific product documentation.In its own internal testing, the company says that the feature improved recall accuracy by up to 15 percent compared to custom citation implementations created by users within prompts. While a 15 percent improvement in accurate recall doesn't sound like much, the new feature still attracted interest from AI researchers like Simon Willison because of its fundamental integration of Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) techniques. In a detailed post on his blog, Willison explained why citation features are important."The core of the Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pattern is to take a user's question, retrieve portions of documents that might be relevant to that question and then answer the question by including those text fragments in the context provided to the LLM," he writes. "This usually works well, but there is still a risk that the model may answer based on other information from its training data (sometimes OK) or hallucinate entirely incorrect details (definitely bad)."Willison notes that while citing sources helps verify accuracy, building a system that does it well "can be quite tricky," but Citations appears to be a step in the right direction by building RAG capability directly into the model.Apparently, that capability is not a new thing. Anthropic's Alex Albert wrote on X, "Under the hood, Claude is trained to cite sources. With Citations, we are exposing this ability to devs. To use Citations, users can pass a new "citations: {enabled:true}" parameter on any document type they send through the API."Early adopter reports promising resultsThe company released Citations for Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Claude 3.5 Haiku models through both the Anthropic API and Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, but it's apparently already getting some use in the field.Anthropic says that Thomson Reuters, which uses Claude to power its CoCounsel legal AI reference platform, is looking forward to using Citations in a way that helps "minimize hallucination risk but also strengthens trust in AI-generated content."Additionally, financial technology company Endex told Anthropic that Citations reduced their source confabulations from 10 percent to zero while increasing references per response by 20 percent, according to CEO Tarun Amasa.Despite these claims, relying on any LLM to accurately relay reference information is still a risk until the technology is more deeply studied and proven in the field.Anthropic will charge users its standard token-based pricing, though quoted text in responses won't count toward output token costs. Sourcing a 100-page document as a reference would cost approximately $0.30 with Claude 3.5 Sonnet or $0.08 with Claude 3.5 Haiku, according to Anthropic's standard API pricing.Benj EdwardsSenior AI ReporterBenj EdwardsSenior AI Reporter Benj Edwards is Ars Technica's Senior AI Reporter and founder of the site's dedicated AI beat in 2022. He's also a tech historian with almost two decades of experience. In his free time, he writes and records music, collects vintage computers, and enjoys nature. He lives in Raleigh, NC. 11 Comments

Coal power plants contribute to global warmingWalaiporn SangkeawCurrent policies of governments around the world are likely to result in Earth warming by anywhere between 1.9 and 3.7C by 2100, with potentially more to come in the 22nd century.Every year we keep emitting CO2 after 2100 results in higher and higher global temperatures, says Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Stripe, a California-based software company that invests in carbon-removal technology. AdvertisementHis conclusions are based on a review of more than a dozen studies published in the past five years looking at the implications of current policies. According to these studies, the world is most likely to warm by between 2.3 and 3C by 2100.However, these numbers dont fully take account of the uncertainties about future emissions of greenhouse gases as a result of human actions, and also in how the climate system will respond to those emissions. Including those uncertainties gives a broader range, of 1.9 to 3.7C.These numbers reflect the most likely range of scenarios the 5th to 95th percentiles meaning there is a small chance of warming of as much as 4.4C this century with current policies. Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThe good news is that all the recent studies agree that very high emission scenarios are now unlikely. In these, more than 4C of warming before 2100 would be the most likely outcome.This is partly because the worst-case scenarios considered by climate scientists werent that plausible in the first place, says Hausfather, but it also reflects real progress in limiting emissions growth, with coal use now plateauing.If climate policies are strengthened and technological advances continue to exceed expectations, future emissions could be even lower than envisaged in these studies but this isnt guaranteed, and the rise of energy-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence could do the opposite.Its definitely possible to envision a world where AI rapidly accelerates and drives near-term emissions increases beyond what we think will happen today, says Hausfather.But he doesnt think AI-related emissions will make a huge difference in the long run. Its certainly not in line with rapid emissions reductions, but hard to see it by itself putting us on track for a significantly different end-of-century outcome, says Hausfather.Journal referenceDialogues on Climate Change DOI: 10.1177/29768659241304854Topics:climate