Our Picks Best HP laptop overall HP Spectre x360 14 View details $1,465 at HP View details Best HP laptop with long battery life HP OmniBook X 14 View details $1,200 at HP View details Best HP budget OLED laptop HP Pavilion Plus 14 View details $650 at HP View details Best HP big-screen midrange laptop HP Envy x360 16 View details $850 at HP View details Best compact HP laptop for gamers and creatives HP Omen Transcend 14 View details $1,600 at Best Buy View details Best HP laptop for business HP Dragonfly G4 View details $1,400 at HP View details Best HP laptop with a foldable display HP Spectre Foldable PC View details $4,500 at Best Buy View details Table of Contents This year will mark a big transition for HP laptops as the company shutters longtime brand names like Pavilion, Envy and Spectre and fills out its new OmniBook line of consumer laptops and its new commercial EliteBook series. (The Omen gaming line will continue into 2025.) I liked the first OmniBook I reviewed and look forward to checking out the new EliteBooks that HP announced at CES 2025. While we await the release of new OmniBook and EliteBooks this year, now is a great time to find a deal on models from the outgoing lines.What's the best HP laptop overall?HP's new OmniBook X 14 set a new high-water-mark for battery life, but our favorite HP laptop remains the HP Spectre x360 14. It was one of the first laptops with Intel's new Core Ultra CPU that promises AI capabilities that will become more important in the future with improved performance that you can feel today. It also boasts a gorgeous OLED display wrapped in a beautiful and durable all-metal chassis. Even better, HP is discontinuing the Spectre line and offering the Spectre x360 14 at a deep discount. Even more of these models see major discounts during Cyber Monday laptop sales. Back to the OmniBook X 14: It's HP's first Copilot Plus PCs based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X mobile processor. It lacks the striking design of the Spectre x360 14 as well as its OLED display, but what it does offer is unprecedented battery life. Thanks to its Arm-based Snapdragon X Elite CPU, it can literally run around the clock on a single charge.Year after year, we have reviewed every type of HP laptop, performing benchmark testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and conducting extensive hands-on tests to thoroughly evaluate each product. With decades of experience, CNET's laptop experts have done the testing and research to find the best laptops that HP has to offer. And here they are.Best HP laptops of 2025 Photo Gallery 1/1 $1,465 at HP Pros CPU delivers good performance and future-proofing Intel Arc GPU offers performance bump Beautiful, all-metal chassis Strong AV output with OLED display, quad speakers Super-sharp 9-megapixel webcam Cons Always-on LED on power button gets annoying GPU upgrades not offered Limited port selection Battery Life/Runtime 595 minutesWeight 3.2 poundsDisplay size/type 14-inch 2,880x1,800 120Hz OLEDProcessor tested Intel Core Ultra 7 155HGraphics tested Intel Arc Graphics Full Review Read full review 9.0

Our Experts Written by David Carnoy Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement How we test Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET's Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable reviewer of mobile accessories and portable audio products, including headphones and speakers. He's also an e-reader and e-publishing expert as well as the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks, Kobo e-books and audiobooks. Expertise Headphones, Bluetooth speakers, mobile accessories, Apple, Sony, Bose, e-readers, Amazon, glasses, ski gear, iPhone cases, gaming accessories, sports tech, portable audio, interviews, audiophile gear, PC speakers Credentials Maggie Award for Best Regularly Featured Web Column/Consumer See full bio What to Consider Budget Determine how much you're willing to spend on wireless earbuds and how that lines up with quality and functionality. Fit Your headphones should offer a comfortable, secure fit. Ensuring the headphones you choose fit your head help minimize any discomfort from extended wear. Return Policy In case the headphones aren't a great fit for your ears, it's important that the retailer offers a good return policy. Features Premium earbuds should offer best-in-class noise cancelling as well as have great microphones for phone calls. Durability If you're going to spend a lot of money, you should have a good idea how long the headphones are expected to last. Table of Contents vs Compare Back to selection While there are plenty of decent-sounding wireless earbuds on the market, the list gets a lot shorter when you're looking for truly great-sounding earbuds. Alas, based on my 20 years of testing audio gear, most of the best-sounding wireless earbuds tend to have rather premium price tags. And that's the case for many of the buds on this list. However, I've tried to include some more affordable picks that sound very good for their modest price points. Note that I've personally used all the earbuds on this list and fully reviewed several of them. I'll update these picks as new, great-sounding earbuds hit the market. Our Picks Best-sounding wireless earbuds overall Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 View details $399 at Crutchfield View details Best for noise-canceling Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds View details $299 at Bose View details Best Sony earbuds Sony WF-1000XM5 View details $298 at Amazon View details Excellent-sounding wireless earbuds from Beyerdynamic Beyerdynamic Amiron 300 View details $280 at Amazon View details Best wireless earbuds for Samsung users Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro View details $250 at Samsung View details Best earbuds for Pixel smartphone and Android users Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 View details $229 at Amazon View details Best-sounding Sennheiser wireless earbuds Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4 View details $220 at Amazon View details

January 28, 20253 min readPristine Ancient Forest Found Frozen in Time in Rocky MountainsA melting ice patch in the Rocky Mountains uncovered an ancient forest, and these trees have stories to tell about dynamic landscapes and climate changeBy K.R. Callaway & LiveScience Long-frozen whitebark pines emerge from a melting ice patch in the Yellowstone region. Daniel Stahle, Montana State UniversityMelting ice high up in the Rocky Mountains has revealed an impeccably preserved forest, frozen in time for thousands of years.Beartooth Plateau, which sits at an altitude of over 10,000 feet (3,000 meters), is a barren, tundra-like landscape. But it hasn't always been that way; an ancient forest lies beneath layers of ice.Cooling temperatures about 5,500 years ago quickly encased this whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forest in ice, preserving the trees in nearly perfect condition. Now, as ice patches frozen for millennia melt due to climate change, researchers are finding clues about what this ancient landscape was once like, and how it was preserved. They detailed their findings Dec. 30, 2024, in the journal PNAS.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today."No one had any idea that these patches of ice had been around for thousands of years," David McWethy, an associate professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Montana State University and co-author of the study, told Live Science. "Things looked dramatically different than they do today."This ancient forest of whitebark pines thrived for centuries at much higher elevations than the same tree species that can be found in the region today. This is because the global climate went through a warm period between the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, and the time when these whitebark pines died over 5,000 years ago.This high-elevation forest was once an active ecosystem, likely sustaining animals and the humans who hunted them. From the same ice patch, Craig Lee, an assistant professor at Montana State University and co-author of the study, has recovered a wooden shaft dating back 10,000 years. This wooden shaft was likely part of a spear used by humans to hunt.At the margins of an ice patch on the Beartooth Plateau, a forest is frozen in timeJoe McConnell, Desert Research Institute"We don't think about how dynamic that alpine ecosystem has been through time: people were using it, animals were using it," Cathy Whitlock, director of the Paleoecology Lab at MSU and senior author of the study, told Live Science. "You go there now and it's beautiful it's a very dramatic landscape but it's a little stark."The trees likely died because of the gradual cooling of the climate at the end of the warm period described above, McWethy said. Very soon after the trees perished, a series of volcanic eruptions released ash and other materials into the atmosphere, which led to further cooling. This volcanic cooling was abrupt enough that ice quickly surrounded the trees and preserved them until the present day.The trees revealed by the melting Rocky Mountain ice patch look "like trees that you would see up in a windswept area," McWethy said missing their bark but otherwise pristine. Until now, the ice patch has never melted, so the ice has protected the trees from deteriorating.A frozen forest emerging "is not something I've heard of before," Philip Mote, an Oregon State University professor who was not involved in this study, but has studied snow conditions in the western United States for almost 25 years, said in an interview. "I'm sure all sorts of things got buried under the ice."Climate change driven by human activity has accelerated the warming of high-elevation areas like Beartooth Plateau. As more ice patches melt, there is the potential to learn more about the past, but Whitlock said these discoveries are bittersweet."These kinds of discoveries are scientifically really interesting, but they're also a sad reminder of how fragile these alpine ecosystems are to climate change," Whitlock said.Copyright 2025 LiveScience, a Future company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OpinionJanuary 28, 20255 min readHow Drones Can Train Bears to Stay Away from HumansDrones could be a wildlife manager's magic tools to reduce bear-human conflictBy Wesley Sarmento Hazing grizzlies away from humans by using drones was highly effective. Wesley Sarmento/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksBrown bears roam across much of the northern hemisphere from the mountains of Spain to the prairies of the US. These bears are formidable carnivores that can weigh up to 751 kg (1,656 lb) and have claws 15 cm (6 in) long. With long canine teeth and a bite force of 6,800,000 pascals (1,000 psi), these bruins can easily crush bones. All these powerful features make brown bears an imposing predator that can take down prey as large and dangerous as an adult bison.Yet, while these bears eat meat, much of their diet is plant-based because they are omnivores. Brown bears have very few dietary restrictions. They are certainly not gluten intolerant because they have been observed laying in big piles of grain, eating wheat by mouthfuls. Nor do they have nut or shellfish allergies. This large dietary breadth, however, causes them to seek out many of the same foods that humans consume. So, just about anywhere you have brown bears and people, you have human-bear conflicts.In the contiguous US, brown bears, also called grizzly bears, have been a protected species since the 1970s, which has led some populations to increase considerably and expand their range, reclaiming historic habitat.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.The number of hazing events declined over each calendar year evidence that long term aversive conditioning was occurring.Wesley Sarmento/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksThe ecosystems that contain Yellowstone and Glacier National Park have populations of grizzlies that are rebounding so much that bears are moving out from the mountains back onto the prairie, where people and agriculture now dominate the landscape. The return of the grizzly to the Great Plains has been hailed a conservation success story but has come with the unintended consequence of increased human-bear conflicts.Training bears to stay awaySome people are upset with having to live with such a fearsome animal. Grizzlies can kill livestock, people, and cause property damage. Fortunately, people are not on the typical bear menu and attacks are extraordinarily rare.Nevertheless, their presence makes all these risks possible, and therefore, it is essential for wildlife managers to prevent these conflicts and resolve issues quickly when they do occur. Addressing peoples concerns over grizzly bears is necessary for the successful long-term conservation of the species.In the contiguous US, grizzly bears have been a protected species since the 1970s, which has led some populations to increase considerably and expand their range, reclaiming historic habitat.Wesley Sarmento/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksWith the expansion of grizzlies onto the prairie, locals demanded more responsiveness to address peoples worries. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the state and federal agencies tasked with managing the protected species, responded by hiring me in 2017.I was the first bear manager based entirely on the Great Plains. Initially, I held a dozen public meetings to hear what people wanted. Resoundingly, people said they didnt want bears near homes, in town, or damaging property, namely livestock. This seemed like a reasonable request, so I offered to haze bears away. Hazing is the act of the chasing an animal away from an undesirable place or stop it from doing a specific behavior, like attacking livestock.Some people jumped at the idea and offered to help, while others were skeptical. The disbelievers said hazing wouldnt work or it would merely move a bear to someone elses land.With limited information available on hazing, I decided to start collecting data to test if it worked. I wanted to know if hazing was effective at moving bears away from undesirable places. In addition, I wanted to know if it taught grizzlies to stay away from people long-term, which is called aversive conditioning.From dogs to dronesI started the program with the basic tools of any bear manager - a truck and shotgun with non-lethal deterrents, like cracker shells and rubber rounds. One day, I got a call about a bear in some trees near a familys house. I drove out to the farm on that rainy day to chase the bear off so the kids and livestock would be safe. My truck, however, was limited by the wet ground - I couldnt drive up to where the bear was because I would get stuck.So, I went out on foot, shooting the firecracker-like cracker shells from my shotgun. The big, agitated male grizzly didnt take kindly to my hazing work and charged out at me! Luckily, I was able to stop the large bear with a well-placed cracker in front of him, which spun him around and caused him to flee. After that risky encounter, I decided to get a widely touted, but scientifically untested tool bear dogs.One method of bear hazing included working with Airedales, named Gum and Hucksley.Sarah Zielke/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksA month later I had two adult Airedales known as the king of terriers, to help me haze grizzlies. I picked this type of dog because the local people favored the breed and conservation outcomes are supposed to be more successful when those local perceptions are considered. It didnt take long for me to realize that the bear dogs werent all they were hyped up to be.Much of the time the two dogs couldnt detect a bear that I could see across a field, or they chased whatever animal they discovered first. Oftentimes they went after feral cats and porcupines. I tried relentlessly to better train the dogs, but the effort had little effect. Realizing the dogs werent a miracle solution, I decided to try a more technological approach that had also never been tested before drones.Airedale 'Gum' after an unfortunate run-in with a porcupine.Wesley Sarmento/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksEquipped with a highly maneuverable, buzzing drone I was scattering bears with accuracy. I could precisely chase bears exactly where I wanted them all from the safety and comfort of my truck. The unmanned aerial vehicle was exactly the magic tool that I had been needing. Even at night, I could find bears from afar with the thermal camera, and then fly in closer to move them away from towns, homes, and livestock. The drone was such an asset that I couldnt imagine doing the job without it.Even though all the tools had some success at moving bears away from people, the drone performed notably better than dogs. With the drone I was no longer limited by fences, canals, and other obstacles that wouldve stopped me or limited my range with the other tools.All the hazing work seemed to pay off. Older bears required less hazing, and the number of hazing events declined over each calendar year evidence that long term aversive conditioning was occurring. Bears appeared to learn to stay away from people. The aversive conditioning likely prevented some conflicts from occurring, which meant bears would be less likely to get into trouble. It was a win-win.A bear dog is searching a bear den on the prairie.Wesley Sarmento/Montana Fish, Wildlife, and ParksThis article was reproduced with permission and originally published on Frontiers. Read the original article.

Gwyneth Paltrow officially has one less home in her portfolio of West Coast properties. The actor and Goop founder sold her longtime Los Angeles manse for $22 million, per the Wall Street Journal.Paltrows Brentwood, California, abode, which was left unscathed by surrounding (and still ongoing) wildfires, first hit the market in May 2024 for $29.9 million. She lowered the price to $24.9 million in October before landing on its final list price. The buyers identity has not yet been revealed.Paltrow first purchased the home with her ex-husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, in 2012 for $9.95 million. After finalizing their divorce in 2015, she retained the propertya 1950s single-story equestrian estate in the Mandeville Canyon community. Following a series of renovations in 2009, the 8,000-square-foot property now features six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. The main house has sky-high ceilings, a professional-grade kitchen, wood-paneled walls, and a built-in outdoor barbecue area. Theres also a one-bedroom guesthouse complete with an office, wine cellar, gym, movie theater, and entertainment room. An extra apartment above a detached two-car garage and a horse stable are situated out back. If the amenities arent appealing enough on their own, the property comes with a major A-lister neighbor; Paltrows now-former pad sits right next door to rapper Kendrick Lamar, who bought a mansion in the area last year for $40 million.Join NowBecome an AD PRO member for only $25 $20 per month + receive an exclusive toteArrowAs for why shes leaving the well-appointed dwelling, Paltrow told WSJ last year that her children were getting older and have since moved out. She also noted that she plans to split her time between LA, her Hamptons home in Amagansett, and her newly-renovated compound in Montecito, California.

Ted Cruz vs. Wi-Fi hotspots Senator Ted Cruz is trying to block Wi-Fi hotspots for schoolchildren Cruz: Hotspot lending could "censor kids' exposure to conservative viewpoints." Jon Brodkin Jan 28, 2025 3:23 pm | 80 Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at a hearing on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Credit: Getty Images | Tom Williams Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) at a hearing on Tuesday, January 28, 2025. Credit: Getty Images | Tom Williams Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreUS Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is trying to block a plan to distribute Wi-Fi hotspots to schoolchildren, claiming it will lead to unsupervised Internet usage, endanger kids, and possibly restrict kids' exposure to conservative viewpoints. "The government shouldn't be complicit in harming students or impeding parents' ability to decide what their kids see by subsidizing unsupervised access to inappropriate content," Cruz said.Cruz, chairman of the Commerce Committee, yesterday announced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would nullify the hotspot rule issued by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC voted to adopt the rule in July 2024 under then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, saying it was needed to help kids without reliable Internet access complete their homework.Cruz's press release said the FCC action "violates federal law, creates major risks for kids' online safety, [and] harms parental rights." While Rosenworcel said last year that the hotspot lending could be implemented under the Universal Service Fund's existing budget, Cruz alleged that it "will increase taxes on working families.""As adopted, the Biden administration's Wi-Fi Hotspot Order unlawfully expanded the Universal Service Fund (USF) to subsidize Wi-Fi hotspots for off-campus use by schoolchildren, despite the Communications Act clearly limiting the Commission's USF authority to 'classrooms,'" Cruz's announcement said. "This partisan order, strongly opposed by then-Commissioner Brendan Carr and Commissioner Nathan Simington, represents an overreach of the FCC's mandate and poses serious risk to children's online safety and parental rights."Cruz's press release said that "unlike in a classroom or study hall, off-premises hotspot use is not typically supervised, inviting exposure to inappropriate content, including social media." Cruz's office alleged that the FCC program shifts control of Internet access from parents to schools and thus "heightens the risk of censoring kids' exposure to conservative viewpoints."The Cruz resolution to nullify the FCC rule was co-sponsored by Sens. John Thune (R-S.D.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).The FCCs planUnder the CRA, Congress can reverse recent agency actions. The exact deadline isn't always clear, but the Congressional Research Service estimated "that Biden Administration rules submitted to the House or Senate on or after August 1, 2024" are likely to be subject to the CRA during the first few months of 2025. The FCC hotspot rule was submitted to Congress in August.The FCC rule expands E-Rate, a Universal Service Fund program that helps schools and libraries obtain affordable broadband. The hotspot order would let schools and libraries use E-Rate funding for "lending programs to loan Wi-Fi hotspots and services that can be used off-premises to the students, school staff, and library patrons with the greatest need," the FCC says.The FCC's hotspot order said "technology has become an integral part of the modern classroom," and that "neither Congress nor the Commission has defined the term 'classroom' or placed any explicit location restrictions on schools or libraries.""We conclude that funding Wi-Fi hotspots and services for off-premises use will help enhance access for school classrooms and libraries to the broadband connectivity necessary to facilitate digital learning for students and school staff, as well as library services for library patrons who lack broadband access when they are away from school or library premises," the FCC order said.Off-premises use can help "the student who has no way of accessing their homework to prepare for the next day's classroom lesson, or the school staff member who is unable to engage in parent-teacher meetings or professional trainings that take place after the school day ends, or the library patron who needs to attend a virtual job interview or perform bona fide research after their library's operating hours," the FCC said.The FCC order continued:Thus, we conclude that by permitting support for the purchase of Wi-Fi hotspots and Internet wireless services that can be used off-premises and by allowing schools and libraries to use this technology to connect the individuals with the greatest need to the resources required to fully participate in classroom assignments and in accessing library services, we will thereby extend the digital reach of schools and libraries for educational purposes and allow schools, teachers, and libraries to adopt and use technology-based tools and supports that require Internet access at home. For these reasons, we conclude that the action adopted today is within the scope of our statutory directive under section 254(h)(2)(A) of the Communications Act to enhance access to advanced telecommunications and information services for school classrooms and libraries.The FCC order said it would be up to schools and libraries "to make determinations about acceptable use in their communities." Schools and libraries seeking funding would be "subject to the requirements under the Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires local educational agencies and libraries to establish specific technical protections before allowing network access," the FCC said. They also must certify on an FCC form that they have updated and publicly posted acceptable use policies and may be required to provide the policies and evidence of where they are posted to the FCC.Hotspots were distributed during pandemicThe FCC previously distributed Wi-Fi hotspots and other Internet access technology through the $7.171 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which was authorized by Congress in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. But Congress rescinded the program's remaining funding of $1.768 billion last year.The Rosenworcel FCC responded by adapting E-Rate to include hotspot lending. Overall E-Rate funding is based on demand and capped at $4.94 billion per year. Actual spending for E-Rate in 2023 was $2.48 billion. E-Rate and other Universal Service Fund programs are paid for through fees imposed on phone companies, which generally pass that cost on to consumers with a "Universal Service" charge on telephone bills.Carr, who is now FCC chairman, said in his July 2024 dissent that only Congress can decide whether to revive the hotspot lending. "Now that the ECF program has expired, its future is up to Congress," he said. "The legislative branch retains the power to decide whether to continue funding this Wi-Fi loaner programor not. But Congress has made clear that the FCC's authority to fund this initiative is over."With the previous temporary program, Congress ensured that Universal Service Fund money wouldn't be spent on the Wi-Fi hotspots and that "the program would sunset when the COVID-19 emergency ended," Carr said. But the replacement program doesn't have the "guardrails" imposed by Congress, he argued."The FCC includes no limit on the amount of ratepayer dollars that can be expended in aggregate over the course of years, no limit on the locations at which the hotpots can be used, no sunset date on the program, and no protection against this program increasing consumers' monthly bills," Carr said.Even if Congress doesn't act on Cruz's resolution, Carr could start a new FCC proceeding to reverse the previous decision. Carr has said he plans to take actions "to reverse the last administration's costly regulatory overreach."Ex-chair said plan didnt require budget increaseRosenworcel said the temporary program "demonstrated what a modern library and school can do to help a community learn without limits and keep connected.""Today we have a choice," she said at the time. "We can go back to those days when people sat in parking lots to get a signal to get online and students struggling with the homework gap hung around fast food places just to get the Internet access they needed to do their schoolwork. Or we can go forward and build a digital future that works for everyone."She argued that the FCC has authority because the law "directs the agency to update the definition of universal service, which includes E-Rate, so that it evolves over time," and "Congress specifically directed the Commission to designate additional services in this program as needed for schools and libraries."Cruz's press release said the FCC "order imposes no overall limit on the amount of federal dollars that can be expended on the hotspots, lacks mean-testing to target children who may not have Internet at home, and allows for duplication of service in areas where the federal government is already subsidizing broadband. As a result, the order could strain the USF while increasing the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse."However, Rosenworcel said the program would work "within the existing E-Rate budget" and thus "does not require new universal service funds nor does it come at the cost of the support E-Rate provides to connectivity in schools and libraries." Addressing the budget, the FCC order pointed out that E-Rate demand has fallen short of the program's funding cap for many years.While there wouldn't be mandatory mean-testing, the FCC program would rely on schools and libraries to determine who should be given access to hotspots. "In establishing a budgeted approach to the lending program mechanism, we expect that the limited number of available Wi-Fi hotspots will more naturally be targeted to students, school staff, or library patrons with the most need," the FCC order said.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 80 Comments

Chinese AI company DeepSeek made global headlines for helping spark a massive sell-off in U.S. tech stocks on Monday, with Nvidia dropping almost 20%.In China, the hype around DeepSeek has sent shares of some public companies with supposed ties to it soaring. The problem: Theres no evidence these companies ever invested in or cooperated with DeepSeek to begin with.Rumored DeepSeek investors Huajin Capital and Zhejiang Orient popped by 10% on Monday, while a research company called Sublime China Information jumped 20% for supposedly cooperating with DeepSeek on its AI models. (Those are the legal maximum daily gains in Chinese exchanges.)However, Sublime China Information denied cooperating with DeepSeek in a disclosure, and Huajin Capital denied to a Chinese business news outlet that it ever disclosed a DeepSeek investment. Investment company Zhejiang Orient hasnt responded to a request for comment from TechCrunch, but theres no public evidence that theyre an investor in DeepSeek, either.The rumors appear to have originated from unsubstantiated Chinese lists which have gone viral of various publicly-traded companies supposedly tied to DeepSeek.DeepSeek, a private company, has never publicly announced any VC investments, while Chinese corporate records make no mention of VC firms on DeepSeeks cap table. Instead, its founder Liang Wenfeng is listed as the beneficial owner of all three entities that form DeepSeek. DeepSeek is funded by the quant firm High-Flyer (which Wenfeng is CEO of) and has no plans to fundraise, Wenfeng told Chinese media outlet Waves last year.In a 2023 interview with the same outlet, Wenfeng said he had discussions with different funding sources, but VCs seemed hesitant about investing in a research-focused company, prioritizing commercialization instead.DeepSeek did not respond to TechCrunchs comment request.

Indie bookstore backer Bookshop.org launched an e-book platform on Tuesday, making it easier for readers to buy e-books without padding Jeff Bezos pockets. For years, Amazons chokehold and sway in the publishing industry have been so strong that authors and booksellers have accused the company of operating a monopoly.Amazon is dominant in the sale of e-books because of its Kindle, which is one of the leading e-readers on the market. Conscious consumers can turn to companies like Kobo for their hardware, but even so, there often arent options to buy e-books directly from publishers and independent booksellers, which means that readers usually resort to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other big box retailers.Bookshop.org and Libro.fm have emerged as alternatives to Amazon, sharing a cut of sales with independent bookstores around America. But for e-book readers, its been challenging to buy new titles without going through Amazons ecosystem. Bookshop.orgs expansion into e-books gives consumers a long-awaited option to buy these digital books while also supporting small businesses.When we launched Bookshop.org, the vision was to support local bookstores in their battle against Amazon and other online retailers, Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, said in an announcement of the services new capabilities. This launch represents our commitment to keeping bookstores afloat.As it stands, Bookshop.orgs e-books are only available in the web browser, or on the Bookshop.org apps, which are available for Android and iOS. To maximize its impact in the market, however, Bookshop.org will need to offer ways to download its e-books onto e-readers like the Kindle.Bookshop selling e-books is not a cure-all. Amazon has monopolized the e-book space for way too long for it to be, wrote book critic Maris Kreizman on Bluesky. But its an important first step and thats worth celebrating.

Propositions for combining residential and cultural uses atop publicly owned land are gaining traction, as the national housing crisis worsens. Last November, Fogarty Finger and Andrew Berman Architect delivered The Eliza174 affordable apartments which sit above a New York Public Library branch in Inwood, Manhattan. And now, a similar scheme is underway in Boston. An affordable housing-plus-library proposal by MASS Design Group and The Architectural Team (TAT) was recently selected for construction in Bostons West End neighborhood, city officials shared. The plan will replace an existing, midcentury, single-story library at 151 Cambridge Street with a new 12-story residential building with a 2-story public library at grade.The building is set in a historic Boston neighborhood, not far from Downtown Boston and Beacon Hill. (Courtesy City of Boston)The design celebrates the community programming throughout the building, MASS Design Group said in its submittal to the city of Boston. Community spaces and outdoor zones are treated as subtle exceptions for the organizing architectural language of the rest of the building.Howd We Get Here?MASS Design Group beat out stiff competition for the job. The city first shared its intent of replacing the library in 2020. Then, in 2021, a programming study was completed by Ann Beha Architects (nowAnnum Architects), the Mayors office, Boston Public Library (BPL), the Public Facilities Department, and the Department of Neighborhood Development. An RFP went out in 2023 for the commission and a number of architects threw in their hat. The shortlisted firms were announced in 2023 with proposals from MASS Design Group;Davis Square Architects;Stull & Leeand John Ronan Architects;The Architectural Team;Pennrose,DiMella Shaffer, andMikyoung Kim Design; and The Community Builders and JGE Development.Ultimately MASS Design Group came out on top and The Architectural Team is also listed as project architect. The forthcoming building will top out at 176,000 square feet. It will contain 119 units of affordable housing; each of these flats will be reserved for households that earn below 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The 2-story library beneath the homes will be 19,000 square feet.An axon view of the project showing its urban context. (Courtesy City of Boston)Renderings, shared in the Project Notification Form submission, show a stately but contemporary building well suited for Bostons historic core. The choice to use brick was, indeed, a strategic and contextual one, MASS Design Group shared. Brick is prominently used here throughout as a timeless material with the richness, warmth and texture that is linked to the context, but here it is deployed in a manner that is confidently contemporary and of its time, MASS Design Group said.The area across from Otis House will have a plaza lined with trees and benches. (Courtesy City of Boston)The elevation will feature brick frames and vertical piers that create depth thanks to corbelling and bonding patterns, the architects elaborated. This brick framework is meant to organize the facade, which becomes visually and physically heavier closer to the sidewalk level, a Richardsonian motif. Panels adorn select parts of the facade which are meant to evoke the historic windows of nearby Beacon Hill and their shutters.The library and housing replace an existing library from the 1970s. (Courtesy City of Boston)As for the library, that space will sit adjacent to Otis House, a historic residential estate. Trees and walkways will line that portion of the site to create a rich and inviting connection to the library, faced with generously sized window walls.The building is slated for completion in 2027.

All images Michelle Robinson, shared with permissionMichelle Robinsons Passementerie Weavings Demonstrate Elaborate Detail and DesignJanuary 28, 2025CraftJackie AndresContinuing her practice rooted in the extensive art of passementerie, Michelle Robinson weaves vibrant threads into geometric wall hangings that curve, puff, and meander. Over the last two years, the Sydney-based artist has been learning how to spin fiber. I didnt expect the pure meditative state spinning allows, which is in stark contrast to the complex pre-planning that is involved for my weaving practice, especially passementerie, she explains. I am a chronic over-thinker and the countless options afforded in fiber work can often lead to a writer-block of sorts.Though Robinson initially had goals to scale up her work, shes instead found more growth in creating an ongoing series of small-scale iterations, experimenting with different fibers, yarn denier, and and color palettes.Robinson has been also been working on incorporating her vast personal collection of of woven textile cloths, embellishments, and wallpaper, which she still keeps from her previous endeavors in soft furnishings.Find more on the artists Instagram.Next article