The official White House social media account is under fire for posts that resemble something typically found on the internet forum 4chan.A post shared on February 14, styled like a Valentines card, read, Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally and well deport you. It has since been viewed 36.6 million times. While many of President Donald Trumps supporters praised the message, others condemned it as callous. I thought this was a parody account at first. Absolutely disgusting! one X user commented. Classless, another simply put.Happy Valentine's Day pic.twitter.com/6d7qmo7gtz The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 14, 2025 On February 18, another post tapped into the ASMR trendshort for autonomous sensory meridian response, a term for the tingling sensation some people experience in response to certain sounds or visuals. The video featured audio of a plane, chains clinking against the ground, handcuffs being fastened, and footsteps ascending a metal staircase. It was titled, ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight.ASMR: Illegal Alien Deportation Flight pic.twitter.com/O6L1iYt9b4 The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 18, 2025 X owner and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk reposted the video writing, Haha, wow, accompanied by Frankenstein and gold medal emojis. Many commenters, however, were alarmed by the apparent trivialization of a serious humanitarian issue. And youre telling me this isnt a fascist dictatorship? Making ASMR about a human being being deported is beyond cruel. Thats some cartoon type evil, one wrote.Another commented: As a European watching this reality show called American Politics unfold, I didnt think they could go any lower at this point.The White House posts signal a shift in tone and strategy from the norm for official accounts of those governing the country. Rather than maintaining a neutral, bureaucratic voice, the White Houses official X account now resembles that of a social media troll. In response to the backlash, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The New York Times, President Trump is committed to using every direct line of communication to the American people.While the 2024 electionand the interminable discourse surrounding Kamala HQ and Brat summerproved there is room within politics for internet lingo, the question remains: Where should the line be drawn for an official government account?

TECNO is making a significant leap in mobile imaging with an upgraded Universal Tone technology designed to enhance skin tone accuracy and representation in smartphone photography. The update introduces a multi-skin tone color card featuring 372 patches, providing a scientifically advanced and more inclusive dataset. With these improvements, TECNO aims to set a new benchmark for real-world, natural skin tone reproduction across various lighting conditions and environments.The latest advancements will debut in the TECNO CAMON 40 Series, which will be unveiled at MWC Barcelona 2025 in March. Attendees will have the opportunity to see firsthand how TECNOs latest imaging technology is improving mobile photography for users of different skin tones and ethnic backgrounds.Expanding the Skin Tone Database for More Realistic PhotographyAccurate skin tone representation has been a long-standing challenge in smartphone photography. Many cameras struggle to authentically capture a wide range of tones, often over-brightening darker skin or giving an unnatural cast to lighter complexions. TECNOs expanded 372-patch multi-skin tone color card directly addresses this issue by creating a more detailed dataset for its imaging algorithms, enabling cameras to render different skin tones with greater realism, depth, and consistency.This improvement has been designed with global inclusivity in mind, ensuring more natural photography for users in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. At MWC 2025, TECNO will showcase two dedicated versions of this color cardone optimized for darker skin tones and another for lighter skin tones, demonstrating how the system can accurately adjust for different tones without unnatural oversaturation or desaturation.Taking its approach a step further, TECNO has also developed a region-specific color card for Saudi Arabia, featuring 186 custom skin tone patches. Created in collaboration with the University of Leeds (UK) and Dar Al-Hekma University (Saudi Arabia) in late 2024, this dedicated dataset improves accuracy in local skin tone representation, lighting conditions, and imaging preferences. This regional focus ensures that users in Saudi Arabia get a more precise and culturally relevant photographic experience.Enhanced Imaging Algorithms for Greater Precision and AccuracyBeyond an expanded color database, TECNO has significantly upgraded its Multi-Skin Tone Color Restoration Engine to ensure these improvements translate into real-world benefits. This update incorporates:CCM Skin Tone Calibration Algorithm improves color fidelity by ensuring that skin tones remain true to life and adjusting for color deviations often caused by artificial lighting, camera processing, or environmental factors.Spectrum-Based Automatic White Balance (AWB) AlgorithmThis algorithm prevents unnatural color shifts, especially in monochromatic settings or when multiple people with different skin tones appear in the same frame. It ensures better color accuracy, balance, and exposure consistency for all subjects in a photo.Intelligent Skin-Tone Grading Exposure AlgorithmAdjusts brightness dynamically, ensuring skin tones remain well-lit without washing out highlights or darkening shadows. This is particularly useful in backlit conditions or when shooting against solid-color backgrounds, where traditional smartphone cameras often struggle.The combined effect of these refinements results in a 50% improvement in skin tone accuracy, delivering more authentic, natural-looking portraits that retain detail and depth in all lighting environments.What This Means for Real-World Mobile PhotographyFor everyday users, these advancements translate into a smoother, more accurate photography experience without the need for excessive manual adjustments or editing. With TECNOs upgraded Universal Tone technology, smartphone cameras will now be able to:Capture diverse skin tones naturally Whether shooting a group photo with friends of different ethnicities or taking a selfie under harsh lighting, the camera will balance colors correctly without introducing unnatural tints or flattening out skin tones.Prevent over-brightening or dullingMany smartphone cameras overexpose lighter skin or underexpose darker skin, leading to inconsistent and unrealistic results. TECNOs new skin-tone-aware algorithms correct these issues dynamically, ensuring true-to-life rendering.Handle different lighting environments more effectively Whether in bright daylight, indoor fluorescent light, or low-light conditions, the upgraded algorithms ensure more accurate skin tones without needing post-processing corrections.Optimize color grading in video and photography Skin tones often shift between photo and video modes, leading to inconsistencies. TECNOs expanded dataset and improved AWB algorithm maintain accurate tones across different media formats, making it easier for users to capture professional-quality content straight from their phones.TECNOs Commitment to Inclusive Mobile ImagingBy continuously refining Universal Tone, TECNO is taking a firm stand in reducing bias in mobile imaging. Historically, many smartphone cameras have been calibrated primarily for lighter skin tones, resulting in color inaccuracies for darker complexions. TECNOs approach ensures that every user gets an accurate and natural representation, no matter their skin tone.With the launch of the CAMON 40 Series at MWC 2025, TECNO is setting a new standard in mobile photography. The combination of expanded skin tone datasets, refined color restoration algorithms, and region-specific calibration makes Universal Tone one of the most advanced smartphone imaging systems today. Whether capturing portraits, group shots, or candid moments, users can expect greater accuracy, consistency, and realism in every frame.The post TECNO Expands Universal Tone with a More Inclusive Skin Tone Color Card, Bringing Real-World Accuracy to Mobile Photography first appeared on Yanko Design.

The cybersecurity lead for VA.gov was fired last week. He tells WIRED that the Veterans Affairs digital hub will be more vulnerable without someone in his role.

Lenacapavir, a twice yearly injection that prevents HIV transmission, was named the breakthrough medicine of 2024. But without US foreign aid dollars, its delivery to millions worldwide is under threat.

Law enforcement in the country was pressuring the company to create a tool that would act like a back door into customers data.

MacworldEarlier this month, news broke that Apple had been served an order from the U.K. government demanding extraordinary access to its customers cloud data. The order, which was issued secretly and forbids Apple from publicly discussing it, was extraordinary in its scope: The U.K. government demanded the ability to view all Apple customer data stored in the cloud, regardless of location. In no uncertain terms, the U.K. government wanted Apple to build a backdoor to access its cloud encryption, globally. In response to this extraordinary demand, Apple is removing its Advanced Data Protection tool from the U.K.Apple has consistently, and rightly, resisted creating backdoors to its customers data. Data for which Apple holds the encryption key is submitted to law enforcement and other agencies after a lawful request (in the U.S., that means a warrant signed by a judge), but it does not make tools that allow outside agencies to decrypt and access data on its own. Whats more, Apple has worked to make more of your data end-to-end (E2E) encrypted, meaning only the customer has the encryption key and Apple does not have the capability to decode it, even if ordered to.A handful of iCloud services are end-to-end encrypted, but by enabling a tool called Advanced Data Protection (ADP), nearly all iCloud services become so. We have an article that explains the difference between the two encryption methods and shows which services have regular encryption and which are E2E encrypted, both as standard and with ADP enabled.According to the BBC, the Advanced Data Protection feature is being eliminated from the U.K. in response to the governments order. If a new customer tries to enable to feature, they are met with a message stating, Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users. The BBC says the feature will be disabled for existing users at a later date.The UK government did not respond, and would not confirm nor deny the existence of the order that sparked this move. Apples comment to the BBC also did not mention the order or any other compliance steps it may be taking, but said it was gravely disappointed that the feature will no longer be available for UK customers: As we have said many times before, we have never built a backdoor or master key to any of our products, and we never will.Its not clear if Apple has taken any other steps to comply with the demand (as it cannot even acknowledge receiving it, by law), other than taking the extraordinary step of vastly weakening the privacy and security of all its users in the U.K.

MacworldiOS 18.4 is destined to be a big release. The headline feature of iOS 18 is Apple Intelligence, and the various AI features have been rolling out piece by piece. After getting no major new AI features in iOS 18.3, Apple is bringing Apple Intelligence to many more countries in iOS 18.4 as well as a new deviceVision Pro.However, the anticipated Siri update has to wait. There are several big Siri updates coming, including personal context, app intents, and screen reading, but theyre missing from the first iOS 18.4 beta. Instead, Apple says Apple Intelligence will receive additional features in the coming months, including expanded capabilities for Siri. That likely means the whole update has been pushed to iOS 18.5.The iOS 18.4 beta began on February 21 and we expect the final release in early April.Whats new in iOS 18.4Well update this section with the features and changes found in the latest iOS 18.4 beta, as they are found. Apple Intelligence languages: Including Simplified Chinese, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanishalong with localized English for Singapore and India.Apple Intelligence regions: With iOS 18.4, iPhone and iPad users in the EU will gain access to Apple Intelligence features for the first time.Prioritize Notifications: Apple Intelligence will attempt to show notifications that may be important in a separate section on the lock screen. Go to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications to enable.Apple Intelligence for Vision Pro: Apple is bringing Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro for English-speaking users in the U.S. with the visionOS 2.4 update.Apple Vision Pro app: iOS 18.4 brings a new iPhone app that offers users a new way to download Vision Pro apps and games from the App Store on your iPhone, as well as browse Apple TV content and access your library of spatial photos and videos. It only shows up if you have a Vision Pro associated with the same Apple ID.Food in News+: A new section in Apple News+ for curated recipes, restaurant reviews, and curated stories about food and dining.iOS 18.4: How to install the developer betaYoull need to be registered as an Apple developer. Beginning with iOS 18.4, you dont need to be in the $99 per year developer program to access the developer beta. A free developer account will do. You can get one via Xcode or the Apple Developer app in iOS. Heres how to do it via the Apple Developer app:Download the Apple Developer App from the App Store.Open the app.Tap on Account.Sign in using your usual Apple ID.Registered developers can choose to get the Public Beta instead by selecting iOS Public Beta in the Software Update screen. It may take a little time after registering as a developer for the option to appear in Software Updates.iOS 18.4: How to install the public betaIf you want to be among the first to test iOS 18.4, you can sign up for the public beta test, which should arrive in late February. The process for installing a beta has changed in iOS 16.4. Heres how the new process works now:Click Sign Up on the Apple Beta page and register with your Apple ID.Log in to the Beta Software Program.Click Enroll your iOS device.Open the Settings app, tap General, then Software Update.In the Beta Updates section, select the iOS Public Beta.It may take a few moments after registering for the beta option to appear in Software Update.Find out everything you need to know about iOS 18 in our iOS 18 superguide.

Coming with iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 in April, Apple News+ subscribers will have access to the new Apple News+ Food feed.

Captured on iPhone 16 Pro Max, a recent shoot by photographer Karston Tannis showcased the vibrancy of the African diaspora.

Apple just dropped visionOS 2.4 Beta, packing powerful new tools, a new guest experience, a fresh Spatial Gallery app, and the debut of Apple Intelligence on Vision Pro.Apple Vision ProApple is kicking off 2025 with a bang, unveiling the visionOS 2.4 Beta packed with exciting features that set the stage for the upcoming public release in April.The company is finally bringing its suite of generative artificial intelligence tools with Apple Intelligence. The update brings Image Playground, allowing users to create playful images, Genmoji for crafting custom emojis, and Writing Tools, which is poised to become a favorite for content creators. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums