Looking to pick up a quality big-screen TV without spending a fortune? Amazon is offering the 75-inch TCL Q65 for just $550, saving you almost 30% on one of the already most affordable big-screen TVs.

Samsung Galaxy S25 (left) and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (right). Photo by Firdous Nazir/NurPhoto via ... [+] Getty Images)NurPhoto via Getty ImagesThis story was updated on February 17th with new details about Samsung S25 Ultra deal. Samsung has launched a new Galaxy S25 Ultra trade-in offer that pays a high price for your old, unused smartphone.The deal applies to the U.K. Samsung shop and promises to pay 200 ($251) for any smartphone, in any condition, when buying the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Korean company has run similar promotions before, offering 100 ($126) off its Galaxy Watch FE for any smartwatch in any condition.This deal, though, is one of the more generous discounts because there appears to be no restriction on how old the traded-in phone is. The terms and conditions dont mention any constraining caveats on accepted devices for this offer.There is, however, a dedicated Samsung website for devices it will accept. A specific section for the any smartphone promotion doesnt appear to be up to date because theres no Galaxy S25 category, nor is the 200 offer mentioned.MORE FOR YOUYour Old Phone Is Still Worth SomethingI checked with Samsung to confirm if the deal truly means any smartphone (using the 2016 Google Pixel 1 as an example) and the company confirmed that the wording is accurate. The proof will be in the pudding, so if anyone successfully gets their 200 off for sending in a ludicrously old device, get in touch.If the Korean company does honor the promotion, you can rummage through your storage for an old device and pick up an easy 200 off your next phone. Or, head to eBay, Swappa (or a local second-hand phone shop) and buy a super cheap phone.Trawling through eBay, I found the Pixel 4a selling for under 50 ($62.98), the Galaxy S2 for 21 ($26.45 and listed as a collectible), or the Galaxy S6 for under 40 ($50.38). Samsung says any condition, but I suspect that is marketing speak that actually means scratches and dents are acceptable.The trade-in questionnaire asks if the phone adheres to the below criteria. But I am not convinced this dont applies to the new promotion. Any condition and no cracks to screen are contradictory.The device powers on and holds charge.Have a functioning display.No signs of screen burn, ghost imaging, discoloration, colored hues or image retention.Normal wear and tear.No cracks to the screen.At the very least, you will likely need to ensure the phone turns on and the battery isnt damaged (you can see if it has expanded by looking at the back of the phone). It may be harder to find eight-year-old phones that are still in working order. If you do decide to take this Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra deal and it works, let me know.Update February 17th: Samsung has not extended this promotion to U.S. buyers, but it has launched a new deal for the Galaxy Z Fold 6. The offer knocks $300 off the headline price for Samsungs foldable phone, bringing the price down to $1,599.99 without a trade-in. If you do have a device to hand over, Samsung will pay good money for old tech.Strategically, the Korean company is offering the top amount ($1000) for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Typically the full trade-in amount is reserved for last years technology, which is a not a good deal. Extending the $1000 to a two year old phone is obviously more tempting and mildly more justifiable. A more realistic trade to make is $900 for the Galaxy Z fold 3, or $750 for the Galaxy S23 Ultra.Elsewhere, if you bundle the Galaxy Ring with the S25 Ultra, Samsung will knock $179.55 off the wearable. The company will also discount any other wearables (bought with either the Fold 6 or S25 Ultra) by 30%.

This newly discovered poison frog may represent an evolutionary step on the pathway towards developing brilliant warning coloration associated with other poison dart frogs.A small reddish-brown frog roughly 2/3rds of an inch long is the latest species new-to-science that ... [+] has been described and named. (Credit: Juan Camilo Rios Orjuela)Juan Camilo Rios OrjuelaScientists recently described and named a frog species that is new to science. This new frog lives in dry and humid tropical forests from sea level to 1800m elevation across the Pacific lowlands and foothills of the western side of the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru (ref). Although the new frogs range (Figure 1) includes areas of severe deforestation, it was surprisingly abundant.Figure 1: Map of research area. The southern half of the Pacific lowlands of Colombia, part of the ... [+] Choc biogeographical region, hosts at least three species of Epipedobates.doi:10.3897/zookeys.1226.123803We observed individuals actively moving among the grass and leaf litter, or actively calling at the edges of water bodies, said the studys senior author, herpetologist Rebecca Tarvin, an assistant professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, where she integrates studies of natural history with genomics and phylogenetics, especially in poison dart frogs.The frogs were easy to find and collect because they live on the ground and are active during the day, are plentiful along roadsides and the edges of young forests, where they mainly live close to marshes and slow-flowing streams and are even found in semiurban areas.MORE FOR YOUThe (place where the primary specimen was found) includes tiny forest fragments among human dwellings, Professor Tarvin reported. Usually, these areas are contaminated with garbage or agricultural residues.The frogs are small, roughly 0.7 inches long, and therefore, are easy to overlook. Previously, this frog had been confused with another local species of frog in the same genus, Epipedobates, but this new species has a yellow-orange blotch on the side of its body whereas this stripe is white-yellow on other frog relatives.In addition to its unique coloring, this frogs mating calls are what really set it apart.We find that the advertisement call of (the new species) is unique compared to other Epipedobates distributed in Colombia, write to the studys authors. The frog, which is especially vocal in the morning and late afternoon, makes a single call whilst others in the area are known for producing a series of calls consisting of up to three notes.Professor Tarvin originally came across this frog species eight years ago when, as a graduate student studying toxins in the skins of poisonous frogs, she and a collaborator, who is this studys lead author, behavioral ecologist Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar, collected a frog in Colombia that they suspected was a new species. Dr Betancourth-Cundar is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, where she is especially interested in the evolutionary dynamics of territorial behavior and mating systems in Neotropical Poison Frogs.Now, eight years later, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators returned to Colombia to find and collect more of these tiny frogs to confirm their original suspicions about its species status. To do this, the researchers collected a holotype specimen that is used to describe the species for the scientific literature, and is then housed in the reference collections of a natural history museum.If you want to refer to a species, you have to go through this process of assigning, basically describing. How do you tell them apart from other species, and what sort of attributes make them unique? Professor Tarvin said. Thats what we did. Its actually a lot of work to do that. It took us about four years to do the description.As part of the process of describing a new species, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators must also give it a scientific and common name. After hearing a recording of local marimba bands, one musical style, known as currulao, caught everyones attention.We ended up going with currulao because we liked how it brought in the human perspective, Professor Tarvin said in a statement.Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators wrote in their report that currulao is a type of musical genre found on the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. Currulao is based in Afro-Colombian culture that originated when African slaves were brought to Colombia to work in gold mines and it was later part of a land rights movement in 1993.We named this species in honor of, and as an homage to, this musical genre that represents the culture of the southern Colombian Pacific because: la msica, como la vida, no se pueden dejar perder, which translates to music, like life, cannot be allowed to be lost, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators wrote in their report.The frog is part of the sound landscape; when they call, its part of the background noise in the region, Professor Tarvin said. Similarly, currulao is more than just a genre of music. Its also the cultural practices around the music, the gathering, dancing and the relationship-forming aspects of the experience.And so Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators named their new frog, Epipedobates currulao, or the Currulao Nurse Frog.Currently, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators are continuing their investigations of the phylogeny of the genus Epipedobates (Figure 2).Figure 2. Phylogenetic position and genetic distances of E. currulao sp. nov. and other species of ... [+] Epipedobates.doi:10.3897/zookeys.1226.123803Their recent assessment of the genetic and phenotypic diversity of the Epipedobates species reveals a small group of eight or nine frogs with very similar appearances but with their own distinct evolutionary lineages in other words, cryptic species (ref). In view of this finding, its hardly surprising that a number of previous studies failed to resolve some species relationships in Epipedobates. Additionally, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators phylogenetic studies find that the genus, Epipedobates, is the most recently evolved group of poisonous frogs in South America and that all of the Epipedobates frogs acquired their chemical defenses more recently than any other group in the poison frog family.Which came first: bright warning colors or toxic poisons?Using comparative genetic studies with other poison frog groups, Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators hope to understand how poison frogs chemical defenses evolved. In contrast to most poisonous animals, which advertise their toxicity to would-be predators with bright colors, the Epipedobates frogs are more subtly colored. This observation raises the question: which came first: bright warning colors or toxic poisons? This question has been explored in detail before, and the authors of that study concluded there is an evolutionary transition period where a cryptic animal conceals its bright coloration in body parts such as the limbs or the underbelly (more here).What makes poison frogs poisonous?Whats unique about poison frogs, specifically, is that they sequester toxins from their food, so its an entirely different kind of defense that requires an entirely different physiology, compared to venom-producing animals, like snakes and bees, said Professor Tarvin.Poison frogs eat arthropods that have small amounts of chemicals that can be either toxic or distasteful. And then they accumulate those to levels that become relevant for their own predators.Several things about this frog discovery stand out for me, and are amongst the reasons I shared this study with you. First, its a wonderful example of evolution in action, where we can actually see with our own eyes a group of frogs that are apparently transitioning into poisonous frogs with brilliant warning coloration, as predicted by a previous study that I shared with you (more here).Second, this discovery demonstrates how little we really know about the planet and its residents even species that live in our own neighborhoods and that advertise their presence with their own distinctive songs.Third, this frogs toxins may prove helpful to human medicine in the future by, for example, providing a painkiller that lacks some of morphines more dangerous side-effects.Nevertheless, despite this frogs seeming abundance, this situation can rapidly change, so Professor Tarvin, Dr Betancourth-Cundar and collaborators suggest that the species be listed as near threatened because of the many environmental stressors facing them, ranging from construction and garbage to forest fragmentation and loss of habitat as well as infection by the deadly chytrid fungi (more here).Source:Mileidy Betancourth-Cundar, Juan Camilo Ros-Orjuela, Andrew J. Crawford, David C. Cannatella, and Rebecca D. Tarvin (2025). Honoring the Afro-Colombian musical culture with the naming of Epipedobatescurrulao sp. nov. (Anura, Dendrobatidae), a frog from the Pacific rainforests, ZooKeys 1226:139-170 | doi:10.3897/zookeys.1226.123803 Copyright by GrrlScientist | hosted by Forbes | LinkTr.ee

Franken-phone: In today's episode of "the most unholy tech mashups known to man," we have an iPhone SE 3 brain transplanted into the body of a classic Nokia Lumia 1020. The Lumia lineup still enjoys a cult-like following among Windows Phone diehards mourning the platform's demise but with Microsoft winding down Windows 10, the ancient Windows Phone 8 OS is deader than ever. Keeping that iconic polycarbonate design alive required a truly unholy resurrection and for one modder, shoving iOS into the Lumia's corpse was the only way. Dubbed the "NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE," this hybrid fuses the best of two worlds into one wild creation and it looks surprisingly polished. At first glance, it's every bit the vintage Lumia, complete with its cheerful polycarbonate unibody and signature camera hump. But power it on, and instead of Windows Phone, you'll find it running the latest version of iOS.The mod's creator, Reddit user OceanDepth95028, took a fully functional third-gen iPhone SE and carefully transplanted its internals into the Lumia chassis. That includes the A15 Bionic chip and 128GB of storage. They even re-laminated the iPhone's LCD onto the Lumia's front glass for a seamless look.All of the buttons function as expected, except for the shutter button. While you could argue it should've been repurposed as an Action button, the creator instead rewired it to serve as an additional volume-down button. Unfortunately, the capacitive buttons below the display had to be sacrificed to accommodate the iPhone's larger screen.Around back, the Lumia's renowned 41MP camera is gone, replaced by the iPhone SE's 12MP shooter and dual-tone LED flash. However, given that the SE is nearly a decade newer, this is arguably an improvement.Interestingly, the circular camera module now also houses a Touch ID sensor, mimicking the mid-2010s Android aesthetic before under-display fingerprint scanners became the norm.Unfortunately, the headphone jack had to be sealed shut. The creator explained that retrofitting it back into an iPhone is simply impossible. On the bright side, the micro USB port has been swapped for a Lightning port, though whether that truly counts as an "upgrade" is up for debate. // Related StoriesLast but not least, this Lumia now boasts 5G connectivity surely a first for any device in the lineup.The end result is a brilliantly executed labor of love that makes you do a double take. It's an iPhone, yet unmistakably a Lumia.

In a nutshell: Only 73 percent of Bolivians have access to the internet, which is notoriously spotty in the country. Many are taking matters into their own hands, smuggling in Starlink kits to tap into the service's blistering speeds. In a world increasingly reliant on high-speed internet, Bolivia finds itself at a crossroads. The South American nation, known for its diverse landscapes and rich cultural heritage, is grappling with a significant technological challenge: providing reliable and fast internet access to its population of 12 million.The issue came into sharp focus last month when American streamer Darren Jason Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed, experienced severe connectivity issues during a livestream in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia's largest city. "There's no internet in Bolivia," he declared to his 35 million followers, highlighting a problem that many Bolivians face daily.Statistics paint a stark picture of Bolivia's digital divide. As of 2022, only 73 percent of Bolivians had internet access, lagging behind neighboring countries like Brazil and Chile, where over 80 percent and nearly 89 percent of the population are online, respectively. Moreover, Bolivia holds the dubious distinction of having the slowest internet speeds in Latin America.The root of this issue lies in Bolivia's state-run internet infrastructure, which partially relies on the Chinese-built Tpac Katari 1 satellite. Launched in 2013 as part of a $300-million program funded largely by the China Development Bank, this geostationary satellite was intended to bridge the digital gap, especially in rural areas."The purpose of Tpac Katari 1 is clear," Ivn Zambrana, director of the Bolivian Space Agency told Rest of World. "To provide communications to people who did not have communications in rural areas." However, the satellite's coverage is limited, with Zambrana estimating that only 10 percent of the national territory has mobile coverage, mostly concentrated in urban centers.Faced with these limitations, many Bolivians have turned to alternative solutions, most notably Starlink, the satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. Despite being banned in Bolivia since August 2023, desperate citizens have resorted to smuggling Starlink kits across borders or purchasing them from sellers in neighboring countries where the service is legal. // Related StoriesRicardo Guilln, a content creator from Santa Rosa in central Bolivia, acquired a Starlink kit from Peru. "Starlink's speed is incredible, and the word 'unlimited' means that we can work, download, upload without stopping," Guilln said, who celebrated his purchase with an unboxing video for his 61,000 followers.He estimates that there are about 10,000 Starlink kits in use across Bolivia, serving various needs from remote work to managing livestock herds.However, the Bolivian government maintains its stance on regulating internet providers. Nstor Ros Rivero, executive director of Bolivia's Telecommunications and Transport Regulation and Oversight Authority (ATT), pointed to the law, noting that companies wishing to operate in Bolivia must comply with ATT regulatory standards, including obtaining licenses and permits.But there are efforts to change this. Mariela Baldivieso, an independent lawmaker campaigning to regularize Starlink, argues that high-speed internet "is an essential foundation for the country's development and a priority that we cannot continue to postpone." But her efforts to seek explanations from regulators regarding the Starlink ban have yet to yield results.As the Tpac Katari 1 satellite approaches the end of its operational life, expected around 2028-2030, Bolivia is exploring future options.Zambrana revealed that talks have begun with other satellite internet providers, including Amazon's Project Kuiper and Canada's Telesat. Meanwhile, Ros Rivero, a member of the Digital Innovation Board at the U.N.'s International Telecommunication Union, hints at potential changes, stating, "Currently, work is being done on updating regulations to enable Starlink and similar companies to enter the Bolivian market."

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsPromising benchmarks well, kind ofPaper launch woesAMD is right around the cornerBye-bye, RTX 5080?Nvidias RTX 5070 Ti is mere days away. Set to launch on February 20, the GPU marks the beginning of Nvidias mainstream RTX 50-series. With similar specs to the RTX 5080, the RTX 5070 Ti has every chance to rank high among the best graphics cards but its also going to face a number of obstacles that might impact its success.Thanks to some leaked benchmarks, we now have a better idea of how the card might perform, and that rough ballpark is really a bit of a mixed bag. Heres why I think the RTX 5070 Ti might have an uphill climb when it first hits the shelves, but also why it might completely displace the RTX 5080.Recommended VideosNvidiaWhen Nvidia first announced the RTX 5070 Ti, it promised an up to 2x uplift over the RTX 4070 Ti. Of course, these scores had to be taken with a huge grain of salt, what with the Multi Frame Generation tech that gives DLSS 4, and consequently the RTX 50-series, a major boost. The real difference in performance was bound to be different a fact that was quickly proven by the reviews of the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Dont get me wrong: Both of those GPUs are faster than their last-gen counterparts, no questions asked. However, its not quite the amazing twice as fast boost that Nvidia promised during its announcement. The RTX 5090, while undoubtedly a beastly card, is only around 30% faster than the RTX 4090. While thats still a solid uplift, its not quite the eye-watering 80% difference that we witnessed going from the RTX 3090 to the RTX 4090.Meanwhile, the RTX 5080 came with its own disappointments. Many hoped that itd beat the last-gen RTX 4090, but it failed to meet that mark. Its around 18% faster than the RTX 4080 Super, which is a solid result, but again not groundbreaking.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsBased on the leaked benchmark scores shared by VideoCardz just days of the review embargo being lifted, it looks like the RTX 5070 Ti is doomed to share the same fate.Obligatory disclaimer: Were dealing with benchmarks from a single source, and more importantly, from synthetic tests. The scores come from 3DMark, which is a solid way to test a GPU, but doesnt tell us much about its gaming performance. Seeing as gaming is what matters the most in a card such as this, were still yet to see the juicy parts.With that out of the way, lets dig in. According to scores shared by VideoCardz coming from unknown sources, the RTX 5070 Ti is 16.6% faster than the RTX 4070 Ti Super. This isnt an outstanding result, but comparing it to the RTX 4070 Ti would likely give us something over 20%, which falls in line with what wed expect from a new generation of GPUs. These days, Nvidia saves the big gen-on-gen gains for the flagship, and thats just a reality that we all have to live with.The more interesting tidbit is that the RTX 5070 Ti is only about 13.2% slower than the RTX 5080, all the while being 33% cheaper. I expected as much, as the cards have fairly similar specs outside of the RTX 5070 Ti sporting fewer CUDA cores. The memory interface is almost the same, although the RTX 5070 Ti was given slower 28Gbps memory modules, but both have 16GB VRAM.At $250 cheaper and just 13% slower, the RTX 5070 Ti sounds like a no-brainer when compared to the RTX 5080. Unfortunately, its really not all that simple.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsIn theory, Nvidias RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 launched on January 30.Yes, in theory, because the reality is that most people still havent been able to get their hands on one of the new cards.Three days before the launch, hopeful shoppers were already camping outside of various retailers in order to try and score a new GPU. Good thinking, too, because its long been rumored that the RTX 5090 would be in highly limited supply. This pushed some retailers to host lotteries for a chance to buy the GPU one of which has ended in screams and destroyed property.Although the RTX 5090 appears to be the most impacted, the RTX 5080 is not doing any better. The cards are hard to come by unless youre willing to pay scalper premiums (to which I say, please dont). Both the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 are nowhere to be found on Amazon outside of prebuilt PCs made by largely unknown builders.Unfortunately, the RTX 5070 Ti might share the very same fate. Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-known market analyst, revealed that the RTX 5070 and the RTX 5060 will sell out in seconds due to the limited stock and increased demand. Some leakers disagree, with MEGAsizeGPU on X stating that the supply of the RTX 5090 will be stupidly high soon enough. Ill believe it when I see it, though. Right now, market conditions are harsh, and I worry that the RTX 5070 Ti will suffer from the same problems that currently plague its more powerful siblings.Availability is just one part of the puzzle the pricing is another. The RTX 5070 Ti will not appear in Nvidias Founders Edition, which is guaranteed to launch at the recommended list price (MSRP). This means that the pricing of the card falls entirely to Nvidias partners, and while some are bound to launch at $750, many models will cost way more.Early leaks show some of the GPUs priced at up to $1,200, and with the RTX 5080 largely sold out, theres nothing there to stop the prices from rising. We might end up in a situation where the RTX 5070 Ti is scarcely available at launch, but also very expensive from the get-go. That performance per dollar comparison I brought up earlier only holds true if both the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5080 are sold at MSRP, and thats not something we can expect to happen right now.Shortages and price hikes are just one side of the coin. Nvidia has one more thing to worry about AMD. Team Red will soon announce its upcoming GPU, and if priced correctly, the RX 9070 XT could truly shake things up.In all likelihood, the new GPU wont have quite enough juice to outperform the RTX 5070 Ti; this is especially true when we factor in Multi Frame Generation. But, as we all know, theres more to the success of a graphics card than just raw performance, and in that regard, AMD might be competitive.Performance-wise, the RX 9070 XT is expected to be at around the level of the RTX 4070 Ti and will therefore likely fall between the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5070. However, its hard to judge how big a dent itll make in the sales of Nvidias RTX 5070 Ti, and thats because AMD has kept everything very hush-hush.AMD is said to be planning an aggressive pricing strategy for the RX 9000 series. Personally, Im not sure what to think at this stage. Weve seen leaks of the RX 9070 XT being priced at $500 (which would indeed be pretty great), but also signs of it costing up to $900. Im keeping my expectations low to avoid disappointment.With limited availability on Nvidias part, all AMD really needs to do is make its new GPUs a little bit cheaper and offer better stock levels for them to sell well. However, for a card to truly be a hit, itd need to be both solid performance-wise and priced with the consumer in mind. Undercutting Nvidia is one thing; making a card that offers good performance per dollar is another.The RX 9070 XT is a potential threat to the RTX 5070 Ti, but its too early to judge how this will play out too many moving parts.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsNvidias RTX 5070 Ti might truly have what it takes to displace the RTX 5080 and take its place in the market, but there are a lot of things that would need to go well for the GPU to be a success.One: Gaming benchmarks. If the RTX 5070 Ti fails to deliver a meaningful gen-on-gen improvement, its bound to struggle. The RTX 5070 will always be a more popular choice, and if the 5070 Ti doesnt impress, many may choose to settle for the $550 GPU instead.Two: Availability, both in general and at MSRP. Most people wont want to pay $900 and more for an overclocked RTX 5070 Ti. Low stock levels create scarcity, but that doesnt change the fact that many gamers may not buy this GPU if the pricing doesnt add up.Three: AMD. If AMDs RX 9070 XT scores favorable reviews and is and priced well, Nvidias RTX 5070 Ti may struggle, especially if the other two issues also turn out to be real.So, whats it going to be: A smash hit that replaces the RTX 5080 or a GPU that most of us will choose to skip? Well find out in just a few days when the first reviews of the RTX 5070 Ti drop. Right now, anything could happen.Editors Recommendations

Recent filings with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) by popular GPU manufacturer Zotac (spotted by @harukaze5719 on X), have unveiled potential new additions to Nvidias RTX 50-series lineup the RTX 5050, RTX 5060, and RTX 5060 Ti. These registrations suggest that Nvidia is preparing to introduce budget-friendly options within its latest GPU series.The RTX 5050 is particularly noteworthy, as it would mark Nvidias potential return to the sub-$250 GPU marketa segment it hasnt actively targeted since the RTX 3050. The absence of a 50-class card in the RTX 40-series left a gap that was filled by older RTX 30-series GPUs and offerings from competitors. The introduction of the RTX 5050 could provide an affordable entry point for gamers seeking to leverage Nvidias latest technologies without a significant financial outlay.EECWhile the EEC filings indicate Zotacs intent to produce these models, its important to approach this information with caution. Registrations with regulatory bodies like the EEC often include placeholder names, and not all listed products make it to market. However, the inclusion of the RTX 5050, RTX 5060, and RTX 5060 Ti aligns with industry expectations for a more diverse RTX 50-series lineup catering to various budget levels.Recommended VideosThe RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti are expected to offer mid-range performance, with rumors suggesting multiple VRAM configurations. Specifically, the RTX 5060 Ti may come in both 8GB and 16GB variants, providing consumers with options based on their performance needs and budget. The standard RTX 5060 is expected to launch with 8GB of memory, similar to its predecessor, the RTX 4060.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming As of now, Nvidia has not officially announced these models, and details regarding their specifications, pricing, and release dates remain speculative. Reports suggest that more concrete information may emerge around Computex in late May, a period often used by tech companies to unveil new products.Editors Recommendations

Deep Sneak South Korea pauses DeepSeek app downloads over privacy concerns DeepSeek acknowledges it may have "partially neglected" South Korea's laws. Lee Hutchinson Feb 17, 2025 11:31 am | 0 Credit: Bloomberg / Getty Credit: Bloomberg / Getty Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIn a media briefing held Monday, the South Korean Personal Information Protection Commission indicated that it had paused new downloads within the country of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek's mobile app. The restriction took effect on Saturday and doesn't affect South Korean users who already have the app installed on their devices. The DeepSeek service also remains accessible in South Korea via the web.Per Reuters, PIPC explained that representatives from DeepSeek acknowledged the company had "partially neglected" some of its obligations under South Korea's data protection laws, which provide South Koreans some of the strictest privacy protections globally.PIPA investigation division director Nam Seok is quoted by the Associated Press as saying DeepSeek "lacked transparency about third-party data transfers and potentially collected excessive personal information." DeepSeek reportedly has dispatched a representative to South Korea to work through any issues and bring the app into compliance.It's unclear how long the app will remain unavailable in South Korea, with PIPC saying only that the privacy issues it identified with the app might take "a considerable amount of time" to resolve.Western infosec sources have also expressed dissatisfaction with aspects of DeepSeek's security. Mobile security company NowSecure reported two weeks ago that the app sends information unencrypted to servers located in China and controlled by TikTok owner ByteDance; the week before that, another security company found an open, web-accessible database filled with DeepSeek customer chat history and other sensitive data.Ars attempted to ask DeepSeek's DeepThink (R1) model about the Tiananmen Square massacre or its favorite "Winnie the Pooh" movie, but the LLM continued to have no comment.Lee HutchinsonSenior Technology EditorLee HutchinsonSenior Technology Editor Lee is the Senior Technology Editor, and oversees story development for the gadget, culture, IT, and video sections of Ars Technica. A long-time member of the Ars OpenForum with an extensive background in enterprise storage and security, he lives in Houston. 0 Comments

courts playing catchup Despite court orders, climate and energy programs stalled by Trump freeze Chief of the EPA is also trying to claw back $20 billion, citing alleged wrongdoing. Marianne Lavelle, Dylan Baddour, Lisa Sorg, and Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News Feb 17, 2025 11:05 am | 14 Credit: Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK) Credit: Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK) Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn morePresident Donald Trumps freeze on federal funding shows little sign of thawing for climate, energy and environmental justice programs.Despite two federal court orders directing the administration to resume distributing federal grants and loans, at least $19 billion in Environmental Protection Agency funding to thousands of state and local governments and nonprofits remained on hold as of Feb. 14, said environmental and legal advocates who are tracking the issue.EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has vowed to seek return of an additional $20 billion the agency invested last year in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program, calling for a Department of Justice investigation into what he characterized as a scheme purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.Environmental advocates said Zeldin was unfairly smearing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, or green bank, program, on which EPA worked for more than a year with the Treasury Department to design a standard financial agent arrangementthe kind the government has used many times before to collect and distribute funds.Critics believe the Trump administration, thwarted last week in its effort to get an appeals court to reinstate its sweeping government-wide freeze on federal funding, is resorting to a new tacticlabeling individual programs as nefarious or fraudulent. Although that approach has met with some successa federal judge last week allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to freeze $80 million in funding from a migrant shelter program in New Yorklegal experts said courts will be looking for specifics and evidence, not broad assertions that programs are improper.They cannot challenge an entire program based on charges of fraud and waste, said Jillian Blanchard, a vice president of the nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government. If they had actual concerns about fraud or waste, they would need to follow clear procedures and protocols in the regulations, going grant by grant to address this, but thats not whats happening here. They are challenging entire programs whole cloth without evidence.The executive does not have the authority to change policies simply because they dont like them, Blanchard said at a virtual briefing for reporters on Friday. Congress makes the law, not the president and certainly not Elon Musk, she said, referring to the billionaire donor whom Trump has deputized to cut government spending.Feeling the freezeAcross the country, the spending freeze has thrown into chaos the environmental, resilience and community improvement programs that Congress authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Among the efforts on hold: clean drinking water, air monitoring, hurricane recovery and electric school buses.Real people on the ground are being hurt by the stop-start situation, said Blanchard, whose group is working with the Natural Resources Defense Council on the cases of 230 grantees in 44 states.Grantees are in a state of confusion because they have not heard directly from EPA, she said.Michelle Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, a coalition of former EPA employees that is also working with Lawyers for Good Government, said many grantees are not sure what is happening because the agencys employees have been forbidden to talk to people outside of the agency.Several grantees reached by Inside Climate News said that they were not talking to the press, or did not want to say whether or not they could access their funding.MDC, a nonprofit in Durham, North Carolina, along with the Hispanic Federation, was supposed to receive a $3 million environmental justice community change grant for disaster recovery and resilience programs in Latino areas of eastern North Carolina.We were thrilled to receive federal support to do this work, but unfortunately, like many others, we have experienced an interruption in accessing this funding, said Clarissa Goodlett, MDCs director of communications.Many neighborhoods, especially those that are home to low-income, Black and Latino residents, are still rebuilding from hurricanes that hit in 2016 and 2018.During the storms, rural counties in eastern North Carolina did not provide real-time emergency alerts or evacuation orders in Spanish, according to Enlace Latino NC, a Spanish-language digital news outlet.The MDC grant would help Latinos connect with local governments to ensure their communities are included in discussions and decisions about the impact of climate disasters.We are investigating and pursuing whatever options and channels are available to us to ensure we can follow through on our commitment to communities in eastern North Carolina, Goodlett said.Dorothy Darr, executive director of the Southwest Renewal Foundation in High Point, near Greensboro, North Carolina, said she doesnt know if the groups $18.4 million grant is frozen. Southwest Renewal is teaming up with eight partners to support not only environmental projectstree planting, water testing and building an urban greenwaybut also workforce training and infrastructure improvements. These include upgrades to old, leaking sewer lines and inefficient HVAC systems and a new energy-efficient cool roof at a Guilford County school.The money would also pay for nine new public electric vehicle charging stations, anti-littering campaigns and other improvements in historically Black and low-income neighborhoods in the southwest part of the city.Darr said the foundation only recently received an account number from the EPA, and she plans to try to access the funds Monday.The grant titleEnvironmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grantshas the words environment and justice in it, Darr said. If youre just slashing programs based on words, then were a sitting duck.In Texas, the nonprofit group Downwiders at Risk received word in a Feb. 4 letter that it had received a $500,000 EPA environmental justice collaborative problem-solving grant it had applied for last year. The money was to be used to install community air monitors in neighborhoods near Dallas. But the notification didnt provide instructions on how to access the money, and no followup ever came.Executive Director Caleb Roberts called around his local EPA office, but no one could give answers.People are still unsure. Our project officer at the EPA has no idea. Ive emailed people higher up, Roberts said. They have no idea if things are funded or not. They are just as in the dark as we are.Downwinders award letter said they had 21 days to pull their first block of funding. If no instructions to access the money arrive before then, Robert worries they may lose it.The city of New Haven, Connecticut, only received word on Jan. 21the day after Trumps inaugurationthat it and its local nonprofit partners had received a $20 million environmental justice community change grant, according to Steve Winter, who heads up the citys Office of Climate and Sustainability. But he had never been able to access the funds; the online system originally said unavailable for payment; that changed on Feb. 10 to suspended.The money was supposed to help fund whole-home energy efficiency retrofits in a city where one-quarter of the population lives in poverty and where energy costs have skyrocketed since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Winter said. Connecticut, like much of New England, relies heavily on heating oil in winternot only the most expensive home heating fuel, but the most polluting. The grants also would have helped with asbestos and mold remediation in the homes, which are necessary before energy efficiency upgrades can be done.Winter said the city has warned its partners that they now may need to lay off staff that theyve hired for outreach for energy efficiency programs, and the future of a community geothermal project is at risk. Also up in the air: a local food rescue organizations plans to increase staff and food storage capacity.People might say, oh this environmental justice grant is some frivolous thing, but its about helping people with quality affordable housing, with lowering their energy bills, alleviating hunger in the community, providing affordable transportation options, Winter said. These are all trying to meet basic needs that also have an environmental impact.A rush job accusationThe Trump administrations drive to root out diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI programs, throughout the government has swept up environmental justice programs at EPA, even though the two are distinct policy initiatives similar only in that they often involve people of color. After taking office two weeks ago, the first employees that Zeldin announced he was eliminating from the agency were those in DEI and environmental justice programs.The previous Administration used DEI and Environmental Justice to advance ideological priorities, distributing billions of dollars to organizations in the name of climate equity, Zeldin said in a statement. This ends now. We will be good stewards of tax dollars and do everything in our power to deliver clean air, land, and water to every American, regardless of race, religion, background, and creed.Last week, as thousands more employees at EPA and other federal agencies were placed on administrative leave or accepted the deferred retirement offer, Zeldin escalated his critiques on environmental justice and climate programs.In a video first posted on X, Musks social media platform, on Wednesday night,Zeldin called out $20 billion for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that he said had been parked at an outside financial institution, suggesting that the money was given away in a rush job in the waning days of the Biden administration. In fact, the money in question was awarded to eight recipients in August, well before the election. The programs defenders say it went through a rigorous selection process that began more than a year before the awards were announced.The $20 billion falls under two programs within the EPAs Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and is intended to support nonprofits and financial institutions to serve as green banks. The eight recipients, which received between $400,000 and $7 billion, are supposed to use that money to finance projects by businesses and nonprofits around the country that would cut climate pollution. Much of the money is dedicated to low-income communities, where it is often harder for businesses to raise private financing.The recipients have already begun using the funding to support businesses, including $250 million for an electric truck financing program beginning at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, $31.8 million in financing for a solar project for the University of Arkansas System and $10.8 million for solar projects on Tribal lands in Oregon and Idaho. An electric truck is delivered to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif. on Dec. 17, 2021. Credit: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images An electric truck is delivered to the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif. on Dec. 17, 2021. Credit: Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images Unlike most of the grant recipients under the IRA, who draw down their money over time as work is completed, the green banks already received their money. Zealan Hoover, who administered IRA programs at EPA during the Biden administration, said the money was placed into bank accounts at Citibank under terms of financial agreements worked out with the Treasury Department.Although EPA had never used such an outside financial agent before, the Treasury Department had made such agreements with outside institutions many times in the past to distribute or collect money. The system used for electronic federal tax payments, for expanding access to retirement savings and for getting money to assist businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic are just a few of the examples he cited.What is underway is not a good-faith effort to fight fraud, Hoover said. If it was, federal agencies would not be firing thousands of employees who are hired to conduct robust management and oversight of these programs.Zeldin said he was calling for termination of the financial agent agreement for the green bank program, and for the immediate return of the entire fund balance to the United States Treasury. He also said he was referring the issue to the EPAs Office of the Inspector General and Congress and would work with the U.S. Department of Justice. In fact, EPAs inspector general was dismissed in the early days of the Trump administration along with those at 16 other agencies. EPAs press office said the agency currently has an acting inspector general but when asked, did not respond with that persons name. EPA did not answer further questions on the financial agent program, referring only to Zeldins video post.The American public deserves a more transparent and accountable government than what transpired the past four years, Zeldin said in the post. We take our obligations under the law as seriously as it gets. Ive directed my team to find your gold bars and they found them. Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps.Citibank declined to comment. Each of the eight recipients of the green bank funds either declined to comment or did not reply to requests for comment.Hard for courts to catch upWhat happens next for the grant recipients is not entirely clear. Courts have issued temporary restraining orders to halt the funding freeze until the issue can be argued on its merits. In a five-page order issued Feb. 10, U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island said that it was clear that the administration had in some instances continued to improperly freeze federal funds.McConnell ordered the administration to immediately end any funding pause, but EPA and other agencies that are administering IRA climate programs, like the Department of Energy, are continuing to hold back funds.Were talking about funding for families to make upgrades that help them save on their monthly energy bill, funding for people to buy energy efficient appliances and to retrofit their home so that cold air stays out in the winter and hot air stays out in the summer, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a briefing with reporters on Thursday. Those programs arent just important to tackling the climate crisis. They are saving our families money.What is painfully clear is that Trumps illegal funding freeze is causing chaos and confusion, Murray said.But Murray and other Democrats, who helped shepherd the IRA to passage in 2022 with no Republican votes, now have little power to force a showdown in a Congress controlled by Republicans. And although multiple studies have shown that most of the $379 billion Congress devoted to funding the clean energy transition in that legislation has flowed to Republican districts, there has been little sign so far that GOP leaders are inclined to clash with the administration. In a few instances, Republicans have sought protection for individual programs that affect their own states.Blanchard and other legal experts said the courts will have the final say on whether the Trump administration can continue to selectively freeze federal funds. But the decisions may not come soon enough for the programs that are relying on the money they were promised.The problem is, as a practical matter, its very hard for the courts to catch up, said Richard Lazarus, an environmental law professor at Harvard Law School. And the impact on these communities is immediate. The place is closed down, the services arent provided for these communities. So the impact can be immediate and devastating, and the practical remedy may be illusory.Lazarus was one of the legal scholars writing about environmental justice in the 1990s, before President Bill Clinton signed the first executive order to address communities that suffer a disproportionate burden of pollution. He said that although these communities now have a fight on their hands, it is not a new situation for them.Its not as though the government turning against their hardship is something the EJ communities dont know, he said. They dont welcome it, but they know what this is. Its how theyve lived their lives for decades. They fought, and theyll continue to fight. And thatll be fighting in cases and lawsuits, and itll be fighting politically.This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News.Marianne Lavelle, Dylan Baddour, Lisa Sorg, and Nicholas Kusnetz, Inside Climate News 14 Comments

"SNL50: The Anniversary Special" aired on Sunday to celebrate 50 years of "Saturday Night Live."The star-studded event featured live performances, sketches, and references to current events.Ryan Reynolds made a veiled nod to his legal drama, and Aubrey Plaza paid tribute to her late husband."Saturday Night Live" celebrated half a century of existence with a primetime special that featured all the show's favorite tricks: celebrity cameos, impressions, character revivals, musical performances, and clever references to current events.The beloved sketch comedy show aired its first episode on October 11, 1975. Sunday's anniversary special broadcast live from Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as always saw the return of many original castmembers, including Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, and Garrett Morris, as well as alums like Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolph.Here are five details you may have missed from the star-studded event.Ryan Reynolds made a veiled reference to the 'It Ends With Us' dramaDuring a question-and-answer bit hosted by "SNL" veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds stood up."Ryan! How's it going?" Fey said."Great!" He replied. "Why, what have you heard?"Blake Lively, his wife, was sitting next to him and pretended to be surprised by his answer.The joke appeared to be a reference to the couple's ongoing legal battle with Justin Baldoni, Lively's costar on "It Ends With Us."Aubrey Plaza paid tribute to her late husband with her outfitAubrey Plaza, who hosted her first show in January 2023, introduced the anniversary special's musical guests Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard. She wore a tie-dye shirt underneath a black blazer, a tribute to her late husband, Jeff Baena, who died on January 3, 2025.When Plaza appeared on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in December 2021, she explained Baena's interest in tie-dye led to their unique wedding outfits."Jeff got really into tie-dyeing during the quarantine," she said. "So, I decided that Jeff and I were going to wear tie-dye pajamas that he had made for us."Kim Kardashian appeared to ignore her ex-boyfriend, Pete DavidsonPopCrave posted a video of "SNL" regular Pete Davidson talking with some of the other celebrity guests who attended the show. The footage showed a potentially awkward moment, as Kim Kardashian appeared to ignore her ex-boyfriend when walking past him.In the short clip, Davidson then follows the people walking behind her. It's not clear whether they spoke afterward.The pair dated for nine months between October 2021 and August 2022 before their amicable breakup.Jack Nicholson made his first on-screen appearance in 10 yearsJack Nicholson, who's best known for films like "The Shining" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," was also in attendance. It marked his first on-screen appearance in a decade after the "SNL" 40th anniversary in 2015.He introduced Adam Sandler, his "Happy Gilmore" costar, who sang a song about the show. At the start of his performance, Sandler said, "Let's hear it for Jack, baby! Jack made it out tonight. Love you, brother."Bill Hader did not return for the anniversary Bill Hader did not return for the "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary show. Amanda Edwards/FilmMagic/Getty Bill Hader starred on "SNL" for eight years between 2005 and 2013, and many expected him to return for the 50th anniversary. However, the comedian was absent from the show.A representative for Hader told Business Insider that he was not in attendance due to "a longstanding schedule conflict."Fans voiced their disappointment online, as many wanted to see him reprise his role as Stefon, the memorable party correspondent on "Weekend Update."Hader did, however, make one pre-taped appearance tied to the "SNL" anniversary, appearing in revival of "The Californians" sketch with costars Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen as part of a Volkswagen ad.