Saber Interactive founder Matthew Karch has shared some pointed words about the state of the AAA video game market. Speaking to reporter Stephen Totilo aboard a private jet that he paid $23 million for, Karch said incredibly expensive AAA games may become a thing of the past and are contributing to the string of job losses in the market today."I think that the age of the $200 million, $300 million, $400 million AAA game is on its way out. I don't think it's necessary. I don't think it's appropriate," Karch said.The executive went on to say he believes the costs associated with making such big-budget games may help explain why the video game industry is seeing so many layoffs today.Continue Reading at GameSpot

The original Left 4 Dead is one of the most influential PvE FPS games of all time, spawning its own subgenre of games as well as laying the blueprint for many PvE shooters. From Destiny to Overwatch's PvE events the 'DNA' of Left 4 Dead can be felt throughout the cooperative shooter genre.

One of the best parts of Disney Dreamlight Valley is its character additions. Since launching into early access in 2022, Disney Dreamlight Valley has added forty-seven characters, with several more characters confirmed to be on the way in 2025. However, Disney Dreamlight Valley could explore the realms both players and its characters travel to if it leaned into promoting one specific Pixar film.

Theovenis the first of many cooking stations inHello Kitty Island Adventure youll run into, allowing you to bake some delicious cakes and pastries for your friends. Officially, the game refers to these treats as baked goods (not to be confused with desserts, which you need the dessert machine for).Unlike the other cooking stations, youll have access to the oven right away at the start of the game, as you can just use it in Hello Kittys cafe. No need to unlock it or venture out for it. Yay! You will still need to hit friendship level 20 with her if you want your own usable oven to craft and place in visitor cabins, though.Using the oven, you can make Hello Kittys favorite gift, the Red Bow Apple Pie, a pie that looks like her. (Jeez, self-centered much? Just kidding, Kitty. Im a big fan.) Below, we explain how to upgrade the oven and all the oven recipes available inHello Kitty Island Adventure.How to upgrade the ovenTo upgrade the oven, youll need to reach a whopping friendship level 15 with Hello Kitty, which will take quite a while. Doing so will allow you to add an extra ingredient to the oven, opening the doors for a lot of new recipes.You can rank Hello Kitty up pretty quickly by giving her Mamas Apple Pie, which you can use the oven to make using apples.You can also expedite this process by using items like Friendship Bouquets and Friendship Blossoms to gift Hello Kitty more without having to wait until the next day (ortime travel).All oven recipesBelow, we listall of the permanent oven recipesinHello Kitty Island Adventure.Note that there are a bunch of limited-time recipes, like the Confetti Cake, but theyre not counted as part of the collections page and you cant make them consistently, as they use a limited-time material, so we dont have them on our list.There are also multiple recipes for the same good, but they are registered individually in your collections. For example, using cinna blooms or magma blooms will both give you Cinnamon Bread, but it will register as Cinnamon Bread Recipe (Cinna Blooms) and Cinnamon Bread Recipe (Magma Blooms) in your collections, so you may want to make all of these to collect all the recipes fully.Ingredient #1Ingredient #2Baked GoodAnything not listed below.CakeMoon CheeseCheesecakeChocolate CoinChocolate BallsMagma BloomCinnamon BreadCinna BloomCinnamon BreadEggEgg TartToasted AlmondMacaronAppleMamas Apple PieCoral MilkMilk BreadCandy CloudPastryPineapplePineapple Stack CakePumpkinPumpkin PieSakuraSakura CakeStrawberryStrawberry ShortcakeSugarkelpSugarkelp CakesTofuTofu BreadSpinipVeggie BreadCandy CloudToasted AlmondAlmond Pound CakeCandy CloudPineappleBeignets with Pineapple DipEggCinna BloomChiffon CakeMoon CheeseChocolate CoinChocolate CheesecakeCandy CloudCinna BloomCinnamon RollEggAppleFruit TartEggBananaFruit TartEggPineappleFruit TartEggStarfruitFruit TartEggStrawberryFruit TartMoon CheeseAppleFruity CheesecakeMoon CheeseBananaFruity CheesecakeMoon CheeseStarfruitFruity CheesecakeMoon CheesePineappleFruity CheesecakeEggToasted AlmondNutty TartMoon CheesePumpkinPumpkin CheesecakeMoon CheeseSpinipPurple CheesecakeAppleMagma BloomRed Bow Apple PieMoon CheeseSakuraSakura CheesecakeMoon CheeseMagma BloomSpiced CheesecakeMoon CheeseCinna BloomSpiced CheesecakeSwampmallowPumpkinSpooky CakeStrawberryToasted AlmondStrawberry Almond GaletteMoon CheeseStrawberryStrawberry CheesecakeEggCandy CloudSweet Custard TartEggSwampmallowSweet Custard TartEggSugarkelpSweet Custard TartMoon CheeseToasted AlmondTurtle CheesecakeEggPumpkinVeggie TartEggSpinipVeggie TartChocolate CoinMagma BloomVolcano CakeFor more onHello Kitty Island Adventurecooking, you can check out ourpizza oven recipe guide, coffee and espresso recipe guide, dessert machine recipe guide, and soda recipe guide.

Dont mistake the 8BitDo Ultimate Controller as a Cousin Controller just because it doesnt come directly from Xbox or PlayStation. This innocuous third-party controller includes better features than most of the competition at a third of the price, and its currently discounted to its lowest price ever at Woot. While the white version of the wireless controller is already sold out, you can pick up the black model for just $39.99 (was $69.99).The 8BitDo Ultimate Controller will feel familiar to those whove used a Nintendo Switch Pro or Xbox gamepad, but with some extras you wont find on either. It features a pair of back paddle buttons, and its Hall effect joysticks will combat drift. Another cool feature is the ability to remap buttons using the 8BitDo Ultimate app on your phone, which can even fine-tune the sensitivity of each joystick and the travel distance of both triggers.The controller comes packaged with its own charging dock, which houses a 2.4 GHz wireless dongle to pair the device with your PC. While the controller can only be used in wired mode with Xbox consoles, it also features Bluetooth connectivity to pair with mobile devices.

After a brief scare yesterday, the USPS has lifted the worlds shortest shipping suspension, confirming that it will continue to deliver packages from China and Hong Kong to the U.S.The news follows a temporary halt on Chinese parcels following President Trumps executive order that applies a 10% tariff to Chinese goods and lifting the de minimis exemption for shipments from China. The USPS says its currently working on a plan to implement these fees with the least disruption to package delivery, but that it will continue to accept impacted packages in the meantime.While other shipping services like UPS or FedEx have yet to announce their own responses to the Presidents order, all will have to come up with some sort of plan. Still, it seems your grandparents overseas will still be able to send you care packages. But that doesnt mean were out of the woods yet. While packages will continue to flow, expect delays as shippers learn how to navigate new fees, as well for prices to jump.While a 10% tariff is fairly self-explanatory (goods from the tariffed country will be 10% more expensive to import), the loss of the de minimis exemption is a little harder to understand, and is likely to be a major thorn in the side of low-cost online Chinese marketplaces like Shein and Temu.Enacted in 1930, the de minimis exemption was intended as a way for the U.S. to save itself some hassle, by waving duties and fees on international shipments where the collected revenue would take more effort to charge than the government would get out of them. It typically applies to all packages worth less than $800, which has been a boon for online e-commerce. According to a 2023 U.S. Congressional committee report cited by Reuters, almost half of all de minimis exemptions to this point have been for Chinese packages, with 30% of daily de minimis shipments coming from Temu and Shein.With those protections going away, said stores would now be subject to customs on all goods, in addition to the 10% tariff, which could raise prices and shipping times. American stores that rely on Chinese warehouses, such as Amazon Haul, could also be impacted.Its unclear at this point how much of that additional pain will be passed on to customers. Speaking to Reuters, the CEO of warehouse management software ShipHero, Aaron Rubin, said the fees are probably about 5 points of margin difference, using de minimis or not, and e-commerce businesses usually have a 10% or 15% margin, so this is a very significant impactConversely, University of Delaware fashion and apparel studies professor Sheng Lu told the outlet that the new rules might only add a few cents to each product. However, despite sounding like a modest price hike, it could still greatly impact smaller Chinese businesses who dont have the cost-absorbing resources Temu or Shein do.Note that the de minimis exemption as a whole is not goneTrumps new rules are currently only directed at China (originally, they would have also impacted Canada and Mexico, but the Presidents recent deals with those countries have given them a 30-day stay on enforcement for now). With that in mind, its possible another countrys own version of Temu could dethrone the e-commerce giant, or that Chinese shippers could use an intermediary to slightly reduce their fees.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.If you tend to get overwhelmed by the prospect of cleaning your house, heres some good news: One of the best cleaning methods out there is designed for people like you. Called the 20/10 rule, its been around for a few years, but has really withstood the test of time because of its simplicity and how effective it is.What is the 20/10 method of cleaning?The 20/10 method comes from Rachel Hoffmans 2017 book, Unf*ck Your Habitat: Youre Better Than Your Mess. The title is at once bracing and comforting, just what you need as motivation to clean your place and keep it clean. While the book goes into a lot of detail about all the methods you can use to do that, like taking progress pictures and tidying up spaces in a certain order, its first tipthe 20/10 methodis key here.At its most basic, the method calls for you to spend 20 minutes cleaning and 10 minutes chilling. Thats it, essentially. Its similar to other productivity techniques, like the Pomodoro method, but gives you less work time and more break time than those do. For maximum efficiency, devote each 20-minute block to a certain surface or area, like a messy desk or a pile of laundry. Chunk by chunk, the task will get done.What makes 20/10 one of the best cleaning methodsThe importance of taking breaks in between bursts of hard work is well-documented. If you work too much, too hard, for too long, youll burn out and give up. When youre using a work-and-rest technique to study or work, you have to think deeply during your on times; cleaning, on the other hand, can be slightly more mindless, which is a good thing. You dont need 25 minutes, as the Pomodoro technique calls for, but you should devote 20.The breaks are super important, so dont skimp on them. Try to use them to enjoy the space you just cleaned. If you cleaned a desk, sit at it for your 10 minutes, relishing the experience of using it while its tidy. If you folded all the laundry piled on a chair, you should sit in that chair, by God. Giving yourself a full 10 minutes to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor gives you immediate gratification and time to recharge before getting back at it. How to adapt this method to fit your needsIf you want to try out the 20/10 method, I recommend slotting it into your cleaning schedule for a week or two, but keep track of how it goes. Take notes on whether you feel rested enough after the 10 minutes of break time, or whether you find it hard to sink into a groove in just 20 minutes of effort. After all, these are just guidelines, not rules set in stone. Even the vaunted Pomodoro method has seen adaptations like "animedoro" crop up that make it work better for some people. Feel free to tinker with the 10/20 timing to suit your own needs, provided you are still prioritizing that all-important break.

Researchers from Kaspersky have identified malware being distributed within apps on both Android and iOS mobile storefronts. Dmitry Kalinin and Sergey Puzan shared their investigation into a malware campaign, which they have dubbed SparkCat, that has likely been active since March 2024."We cannot confirm with certainty whether the infection was a result of a supply chain attack or deliberate action by the developers," the pair wrote. "Some of the apps, such as food delivery services, appeared to be legitimate, whereas others apparently had been built to lure victims."The Kaspersky duo said SparkCat is a stealthy operation that at a glance appears to be requesting normal or harmless permissions. Some of the apps where the pair uncovered malware are still available to download, including food delivery app ComeCome and AI chat apps AnyGPT and WeTink.The malware in question uses optical character recognition (OCR) to review a device's photo library, seeking screenshots of recovery phrases for crypto wallets. Based on their assessment, infected Google Play apps have been downloaded more than 242,000 times. Kaspersky says "This is the first known case of an app infected with OCR spyware being found in Apples official app marketplace."Apple often promotes the rigorous security of the App Store, and while instances of malware appearing have been rare, this discovery is a reminder that the walled garden is not impervious to attacks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/kaspersky-researchers-find-screenshot-reading-malware-on-the-app-store-and-google-play-211011103.html?src=rss

OpenAI is showing no signs of slowing down its recent pace of updates. On Wednesday, the company announced the expanded availability of ChatGPT Search. After rolling out the tool first to paid subscribers last fall, and then making it available to all logged-in free users at the end of 2024, now anyone can use ChatGPT Search with no account or sign-in necessary."Like the logged-in experience, ChatGPT can search the web and get you fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources directly in ChatGPT," OpenAI said.In most cases, ChatGPT will automatically search the web to source the most up-to-date information related to your question. Users can also force the chatbot to scour the internet by tapping the "Search" button below the prompt bar.ChatGPT search is now available to everyone on https://t.co/nYW5KO1aIg no sign up required. pic.twitter.com/VElT7cxxjZ OpenAI (@OpenAI) February 5, 2025 Effectively, today's announcement means OpenAI is ready to take on Google's dominance in search, though, if I had to guess, right now it's more concerned about staying ahead of upstarts like DeepSeek. In just the last week, the company announced the availability of its latest AI model, and a new ChatGPT feature called Deep Research. Oh, and it even showed off a new logo.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-search-no-longer-requires-an-openai-account-to-use-205538282.html?src=rss

Contrary to rumors being spread on TikTok and elsewhere, iOS 18.3 doesnt install Elon Musks Starlink tech on your iPhone.