The sequel may be the game that's making all the headlines right now, but the original Path Of Exile is still an excellent ARPG. There are some obvious similarities between the two games, but with the sequel's focus on skill-based gameplay, there is definitely a different feel to both games. The original Path of Exile balances its difficulty more like a typical ARPG numbers game.

In the wake of recent reports of Chinese publisher NetEase pulling funding and cancelling games, some studios funded by the maker of Marvel Rivals and Eggy Party have spoken up to calm fears that they too might be affected. Over the weekend, veteran game designer Greg Street of Fantastic Pixel Castle, which is making an MMORPG with NetEase, said his studio is still working on its game, still hiring, and has a great relationship with NetEase and their full support.Other NetEase-backed studios are reporting similar status updates. Tomasz Tinc, co-owner and chief publishing officer at Rebel Wolves, indicated on LinkedIn that he does not expect NetEases retreat from overseas studios to affect development of The Blood of Dawnwalker, an action role-playing game.The Blood of Dawnwalkers production is fully funded, Tinc wrote, and we work alongside our partners and friends from Bandai Namco, our games global publisher, to bring the first chapter of the Dawnwalker saga to life.Tinc explained that NetEase is a minority shareholder in Rebel Wolves, and that the vast majority of the studios ownership rests in the hands of Konrad Tomaszkiewicz and other studio co-owners, all of whom are employed by Rebel Wolves.Paul Ehreth, creative director at Anchor Point Studios, said Monday on Linkedin that his studio has not been affected and is still full steam ahead building our game. Anchor Point is developing an unannounced action-adventure game.So far, NetEase has been a great partner for us, giving us creative control and development support, and we look forward to the prospect of shipping an exceptional game together in the future, Ehreth wrote. While it may be stormy seas at the moment for the industry, we are very much still growing, and we have several positions open for anyone looking for a safe harbor.In an email to Polygon, Greg Street said that Fantastic Pixel Castle is aggressively working on its MMORPG Ghost, adding, I feel like we are in a stronger position now because NetEase has clearly been evaluating their portfolio and decided our game is one they want to focus on. A public playtest for Ghost is scheduled for this week, Street said.While NetEase may be scaling back, it appears that some international projects may come to fruition as planned.

Amazon-owned Twitch Interactive is suing former League of Legends professional Kirill Konstantinovich Malofeyev, better known online as Likkrit, after he sued the company and won in a Russian court over the suspension of his Twitch account. Twitch filed the 25-page lawsuit, which has been reviewed by Polygon, in a San Francisco court on Thursday.Malofeyevs Twitch account was shut down in 2022 months after Russia invaded Ukraine and the United States government imposed sanctions on some Russians; Malofeyev was sanctioned for his role in a worldwide sanctions evasion and malign influence network, per the lawsuit, led by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev his father.Alongside the younger Malofeyevs suspension, Twitch also adhered to sanctions that required it to cease payments to Russian streamers. Twitch informed Russian streamers via email in March 2022, according to The Washington Post. We appreciate how frustrating and difficult this is and would like to reassure you that if you cant provide an alternative financial institution, we will do our best to pay you revenue you have earned as soon as we are permitted to do so, Twitch wrote to impacted Russian streamers at the time. Game developers in Ukraine and Russia were also impacted by U.S. sanctions that blocked payments from Valves Steam marketplace.Malofeyev sued Twitch in a Russian court in June and October 2022, two moves Twitch called a violation of its terms of service. (The first lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, Twitch said in its complaint.) The court decided, citing Russian law created to counter sanctions, that Twitch (and Amazon) violated his rights by suspending and demonetizing his account. The Russian court demanded Twitch restore the account or pay a compounding penalty for non-compliance. Twitch hasnt reinstated the account, and its racked up a hefty fine: 100,000 rubles for each day that account is not reinstated. It also doubles each week without limit, per Twitchs lawsuit, reaching astronomical levels. Twitch said in its complaint that it received inadequate notice for a December 2022 hearing, and so it was unrepresented entirely.Because this penalty doubles each week, it purportedly is now larger than all the money in the world, Twitchs lawyers wrote. The astreinte is unjustified on any measure and is wholly disproportionate to the less-than-$2,000 in revenue generated by Malofeyevs Account while active.In 2023, Malofeyev filed a Turkish Enforcement Action to enforce the Russian ruling, serving the action on Amazons Turkey office. Twitch maintains that the agreements Malofeyev signed were with Twitch not Amazon making the actions invalid.[Twitch and Amazon] have been deprived of legal certainty provided by those agreements and subjected to Russian courts application of Russian laws specifically designed to undermine U.S. sanctions, Twitchs lawyers wrote.Twitch is looking to the U.S. court system to prevent the Russian judgment from taking hold and to compel arbitration, as is written in the terms of service agreements all Twitch users sign.Russias war on Ukraine is entering its fourth year.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.I wear my Apple Watch continuously, only removing to to charge it or when I'm showering. I wear it to sleep and to work out, under heavy sweatshirts, on the beachbasically anywhere and everywhere. As you can imagine, the device gets dirty. But as you might also imagine, I have no interest in cleaning my expensive smartwatch in a way that might damage it. Here are the two methods I use to clean my fitness tracker without harming itplus some other things to keep in mind when cleaning yours. Before doing any kind of cleaning, remove your watch band to make it easier to access all of its crevices. It's also a good idea to power it off; even if it's waterproof, cleaning can result in unintended button presses. Smartwatch cleaning method #1: Soap and waterThough the device is high tech, the simplest cleaning method isn't at all: You can use water and a drop of mild soap to help scrub away any dirt or grime. If you're confident the device is waterproof, you can actually dunk it in a bowl full of warm water and a drop or two of dish or hand soap. If it's not, or you'd rather not risk it, you can also use a q-tip or soft cloth dipped in a soapy mixture. (I prefer the q-tip because it's easier to get in and around the buttons and the crevices where the band connects to the device.)Smart watch cleaning method #2: Isopropyl alcoholSoap and water works fine for me when it comes to general cleaning, but from time to time, I like to use 70% isopropyl alcohol to remove oils or more serious grime. Again, I use a fresh q-tip and focus my attention on the face of the watch as well as the sensor underneath. To the extent possible, I avoid scrubbing around holes or buttons with the wet end. Instead, I use the dry end to dislodge any dirt in those areas. Even if your watch is extremely dirty, use soap and water first. The alcohol should only be dabbed quickly on the exterior, then left to air dry. Those little alcohol pads can come in handy here. Before and after some soap and water followed by isopropyl alcohol. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson Different companies recommend different cleaning techniques I use the methods above to keep my Apple Watch clean, and they're pretty broadly applicable across other devices. However, some brands get more specific about what you should or shouldn't do to clean their watches. Google Pixel users, for instance, are advised by the company not to use anything but fresh water on a damp cloth to rub the Pixel down, while Withings and Samsung recommend the same. Why? As Samsung advises, "Do not use soap, cleaning agents, abrasive materials and compressed air when cleaning your Galaxy Watch and do not clean it with the external heat sources. Doing so may damage the Galaxy Watch. Skin irritation may be caused by soap, detergents hand sanitizers, or cleaning agents left on the Galaxy Watch." Considering the watch is waterproof, it seems the warning about skin irritation is more relevant, but as long as you rinse it well, it shouldn't be a problem.Spend some time reading the specific information related to your own device, but if it's really dirty, consider some tech cleaning wipes. The way I see it, you're not introducing any more soap and water than you would be if you, say, took a shower or washed your dishes while wearing the watch. Other things to keep in mind when cleaning a smart watchIf you have visible gunk in the tiny holes on your watch, gently (very gently!) try to dislodge it with a soft toothbrush or blow on it at an angle. If that doesn't work, wipe gently with a dry cloth. There really arent any holes big enough on an Apple Watch to cause problems, but if your device has some, be careful not to push the icky stuff further inside.Get in the habit of running a damp cloth over your watch after a sweaty workout or before you put it on the charger to stop it from getting quite so dirty before you next clean it. Allow it to dry before you power it back on, charge it, or wear it.You should also clean your watch band regularly, but how you do that will depend on what its made of. Most of mine are fabric, so they go in the washing machine, but rubber or silicone ones can be cleaned with soap and water or disinfectant. If its leather, wipe it with a dry cloth, then use a drop of gentle soap (like hand soap) on a damp cloth to rub any messy spots. Use a clean, damp cloth to wipe away any soap residue and let the leather air dry, then hit it with some leather conditioner.

Maintaining a home is expensive, with many financial advisors recommending you set aside around 2% of its purchase price for upkeep each year. That cost is well worth it, as it prevents small problems from becoming bigger ones, and keeps your home in good shape so you can actually enjoy living there.Its reasonable to assume that if youre doing at least the bare minimum home maintenance tasks, you can rest easier. But even if you repair stuff as needed and do all the recommended annual checks and upkeep, you might still be damaging your house in a myriad of ways. Thats because many things homeowners without thinking about it can actually damage a house over the long term. Doing these 10 things occasionally likely isn't a big deal, but over time and with repetition, they can contribute to some major headaches.Using too many bath bombsIf you soothe the stress of home ownership with a nice hot bath spiced up by a fizzing, colorful bath bomb, you may be slowly ruining your homes plumbing. Bath bombs typically contain stuff like citric acid, cream of tartar, Epsom salts, and baking soda, not to mention scented oils, glitter, or other decorations intended to give your bath a whimsical or romantic vibe. Over time, all that stuff can easily congeal in your pipes, or get caught on existing clogs, making them worse. A bath bomb once in a while wont cause much trouble, but if you have a regular habit, youre risking paying a plumber a lot of money sooner rather than later.Using chemical drain cleanersIf you have a clogged drain and you turn to a chemical drain cleaner to open it up, youre probably not going to destroy your house in the process. But if you have frequent clogged drains that you use drain cleaner to clear, youre not only putting a band-aid on a bigger problem (why are your drains always clogged?) youre probably damaging your pipes. Most of the drain cleaners you buy in a store are either caustic or oxidizing, and both release heat as part of the process of turning clogged material into something more easily dissolved and cleared away. That heat can soften PVC pipes and warp metal pipes over time. If your drains are always clogged and slow, its probably better to call a plumber and implement some basic drain maintenance steps.Putting your appliances in the wrong spotJust about every appliance in your home, from the refrigerator to the television, generates heat as a byproduct. If you place an appliance or two near your homes thermostat, this can have a real negative impact on two things: Your heating or cooling bills, and your HVACs lifespan. Thats because the heat from the appliance will fool the thermostat into thinking your home is hotter than it actually is, causing the air conditioning to run more in the summer and the heat to run less in the winter. With the former scenario, your HVAC system will suffer more wear and tear, leading to a shorter lifespan, more repair bills, and more frequent replacement costs. In the latter scenario, youll find yourself turning the heat up to compensate, leading to a similar situation.Painting over brickIf youve got exposed brick in the interior of your home that youve painted, congratulations: You may have just lit the fuse on an expensive home repair bomb. Brick is a porous material, and it needs to breathe properly. Paint can seal the brick, trapping moisture within, which can lead to deterioration of the brick, mold growth, peeling paint, and spalling. The problem is worse when its an exterior brick wall, but even a totally interior wall can be slowly destroyed if improperly painted.If you must paint that wall, prepare the surface carefully and use a paint designed for masonry work. Then keep an eye on it. Inspect it regularly for bubbling, peeling, and brick dustall evidence that moisture is doing your walls dirty.Painting over rotSpeaking of paint, its important to note that its not magic. If you notice that wood in your homes interior or exterior is suffering a bit of rot, cleaning it up and painting over it will absolutely not arrest the progression. It will, in fact, make things worse as the paint traps moisture, likely accelerating the process of rot that is eating your house aliveplus, that trapped moisture will cause the paint to bubble and peel soon enough anyway. Even if the rot youve discovered is minor, you have to figure out where the moisture is coming from and address that, then repair or replace the wood as needed before painting.Flushing wipes down the toiletIts a weird fact of late-stage capitalism that items clearly marked flushable on their packaging are often not flushable at all. Neither is a long list of stuff that seems like it should be flushable, like food (which can persist a long time in your pipes, forming cement-like clogs) or kitty litter, including the clumping kind. If youve been flushing flushable wipes down the toilet, youre on a countdown to plumbing disaster.Using the wrong cleanersCleaning your house requires time, elbow grease, and the right cleaning productswhich is more important than you think. Vinegar can be an effective cleaner, to the point where its suggested for just about any cleaning job. But vinegar is a weak acid, and as such it can damage surfaces like natural stone, television and monitor screens, hardwood flooring, and wood furniture. It can also do a lot of damage to washing machines and dishwashers if you toss it in to freshen things up, because the vinegar will weaken the rubber seals inside those appliances over time. Similarly, bleach is a powerful cleaning agentbut it's powerful it can actually corrode metal surfaces (like those on your kitchen appliances) and natural stone. If youre cleaning your house with vinegar and bleach regularly, youre basically slowly dissolving big parts of it over time.And if youre using a steam cleaner on wood or laminate floors, youre probably slowly ruining them, too. Unlike a spilled liquid, steam is pushed under pressure into the tiny seams in your floor, infiltrating the wood and making it swell-resulting in permanent and irreversible damage.Not sweeping enoughEven if youre not steaming your floors, you might be ruining them by not doing something: Sweeping (or vacuuming) regularly. As in, daily. Even if the floors look superficially clean, dirt thats invisible to you is busily destroying your floors. It gets pushed into the tiny cracks and seams, dulling the finish and discoloring the floor. And the tiny particles of dirt and debris act like sandpaper, and as you walk around youre grinding that stuff into the floor, creating scratches. When you do sweep, notice how much stuff youre cleaning off a floor that didnt look dirty to the naked eye, and realize that youre scraping that stuff along your floors all the time.Planting climbing vinesIf you think a vine enveloping your house is charming, think again: Creeping and climbing plants that grow up and over homes are eating those homes bit by bit. They trap moisture and open up cracks in your homes exterior that allow that moisture to infiltrate, their weight can damage siding and other exterior cladding, they offer shelter to damaging insects and small animalsthey can even tear stuff off your house, like gutters and downspouts.Misusing your garbage disposal Garbage disposals are garbage (if you ask me, anyway), but if you have one, you probably use it. And if you use it, you might be setting yourself up for a big repair bill in the future because people seem to believe that garbage disposals are magical bags of holding that simply make anything disappear. The list of stuff that will wind up clogging your pipes and/or septic system includes most fats, oils, and grease (including stuff like peanut butter or heavy cream), egg shells (or any kind of shell, actually), vegetable peels, and corn husks. The list is so long you might wonder what even is the point of a garbage disposal, anyway, and you would not be wrong.

Another week, and there's another new AI model ready for public use. This time, it's Anthropic with the introduction of Claude 3.7 Sonnet. The company describes its latest release as the market's first "hybrid reasoning model," meaning the new version of Claude can both answer a question nearly instantaneously or take its time to work through it step by step. As the user you can decide what approach Claude takes, with a dropdown menu allowing you to select the "thinking mode" you want it to take."We've developed Claude 3.7 Sonnet with a different philosophy from other reasoning models on the market. Just as humans use a single brain for both quick responses and deep reflection, we believe reasoning should be an integrated capability of frontier models rather than a separate model entirely," writes Anthropic. "This unified approach also creates a more seamless experience for users."Anthropic doesn't name OpenAI explicitly, but the company is clearly taking a shot at its rival. Between GPT-4, o1, o1-mini and now o3-mini, OpenAI offers many different models, but unless you follow the company closely, the number of systems on offer can be overwhelming; in fact, Sam Altman recently admitted as much. "We hate the model picker as much as you do and want to return to magic unified intelligence," he posted on X earlier this month.Anthropic says it also took a different approach to developing Claude's reasoning capabilities. "We've optimized somewhat less for math and computer science competition problems, and instead shifted focus towards real-world tasks that better reflect how businesses actually use LLMs," the company writes. To that point, current Claude users can look forward to "particularly strong improvements in coding and front-end web development."Claude 3.7 Sonnet is available to use starting today across all Claude plans, including Anthropic's free tier. Developers, meanwhile, can access the new model through the company's API, Amazon Bedrock and Google Cloud's Vertex AI.Speaking of developers, Anthropic is also introducing Claude Code, a new "agentic" tool that allows you to delegate coding tasks to Claude directly from a terminal interface. Available currently as a limited research preview, Anthropic says Claude Code can read code, edit files, write and run tests, and even push commits to GitHub.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-new-claude-model-can-think-both-fast-and-slow-203307140.html?src=rss

The Apple iPhone 16e looks like a solid handset for most consumers. Its got plenty of power, a gorgeous display and the Action button that first debuted with the iPhone 15 Pro series. It doesnt, however, offer any way to wirelessly charge the device using MagSafe. Just because Apple excluded the feature doesnt mean youre completely out of luck. Here are a couple of options for using MagSafe charging on an iPhone 16e. The easiest way to get this going is to pick up a MagSafe-compatible smartphone case that has been specifically designed for Apples latest handset. This ESR case seems like a solid entry, and its on the cheaper side. We havent gotten a chance to review it yet, but an older ESR release with MagSafe functionality easily made our list of the best iPhone cases. The second option is to go with a simple adapter ring. We recommend this one from PopSockets. Its budget-friendly, easy to use and allows integration with other MagSafe accessories. Just pop it on a pre-existing case. It's not compatible with silicone, textured or anti-fingerprint coated cases. The final option? Charge your phone the old-fashioned way, via USB-C, and just tuck the cable out of the way. This may not fool anyone, but itll juice the phone up quicker. The iPhone 16e uses the older Qi1 wireless charging standard and maxes out at 7.5w, while the other iPhone 16 models support Qi2 at speeds up to 25w, provided you have the right charger.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/heres-how-to-get-magsafe-charging-on-an-iphone-16e-201026681.html?src=rss

Microsoft has unveiled Majorana 1, a quantum chip with a Topological Core architecture, paving the way for a one-million-qubit quantum processor.

The first trailer for Andor's second and final season has finally made its way online, and it's a confident showing from Lucasfilm.

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more.Most ordinary people know little about the calculus, statistics, linear algebra, logic, and programming languages required to design projects and products to leverage artificial intelligence.However, we are not exempt from using products and services that rely on AI. If we do not learn how to maximize these tools, our organizationsbusinesses, schools, and governmentswill have less ability to generate income and a lower quality of life compared to those who do.What is most unsettling is the general lack of knowledge about logic, mathematics, and grammatical syntax that may affect AIs creation and usage.Set theoryConsider set theory in mathematics, introduced indirectly in elementary school. Basic concepts like classification, grouping, and counting objects, form its foundation.During middle school, students learn set definitions, notation, and representations (listing elements, Venn diagrams), set operations (union, intersection, difference, and complements), and relationships between sets (subsets, empty sets, disjointed sets, universal sets).By high school, students face set theory with greater complexity. Applications are presented in discrete mathematics, relationships between sets and probabilities, numerical sets and related algebraic operations, and advanced concepts to introduce mathematical logic.You might be wondering where this is going.Logical reasoningSet theory feeds into logic: the science and art of reasoning correctly. Logic studies the principles of valid thought, structuring rules and methods that help evaluate the consistency and validity of arguments, deductions, and propositions.Modern mathematics is built on set theory, itself a logical system. Logic provides the structure and principles underpinning mathematical reasoning. Concepts such as implication, equivalence, negation, and quantification are fundamental logical tools used in mathematics.Logical reasoning uses symbols and formulas to represent propositions and inferences. It is essential for solving mathematical problems. In mathematics, logic explores topics like set theory and computability theory.Were circling back to the topic again.Logic helps children (and adults) break problems into smaller, more manageable parts and tackle them systematically. When solving a puzzle, logical reasoning helps them identify patterns, rules, or constraints. Chess, Sudoku, mazes, and building blocks simultaneously develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills. In math and science, solving problems logically is intrinsic to solving equations, understanding patterns, and conducting experiments.GrammarAnd what about grammar? Although the proposition might seem counterintuitive, grammatical syntax has a direct relationship with mathematics, particularly set theory and logic.In traditional grammar, syntax refers to the set of rules dictating how words and phrases are organized to form sentences. Grammatical classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives) combine according to rules, and sentences have hierarchical structures (clauses, phrases). Syntax rules determine whether a sentence is grammatically correct, and in linguistic analysis (parsing), understanding sentences involves breaking them into parts.Noam Chomskys generative grammar theory describes the implicit rules and principles underlying natural language structure. It demonstrates how sentences are generated from a finite set of rules to create infinite possible expressions in a language.Programming languages also have syntaxrules determining the correct structure of commands and expressions. Code elements (variables, functions, loops) combine using the specific rules of the language to form programs, which also have hierarchical structures (functions, blocks, modules). Like linguistic analysis, compilers and interpreters analyze code by breaking it into tokens (parts) and examining its structure.Algorithms and AIYou might think this article was supposed to be about using artificial intelligence, not creating computational models. And youre right.One important concept for using AIs capabilities is the notion of intervals. Defining intervals enable users to separate, structure, search, and manipulate information in databases or directly within documents.This concept, widely used in set theory, is fundamental to logic, and connects logic to computer science, artificial intelligence, and dynamic systems. It also plays a critical role in syntax, particularly in structural analysis, grammatical hierarchy, and even natural language processing.Ultimately, mathematics, logic, and grammatical syntax are fundamental to structuring algorithms.Its worth emphasizing the classical definition of an algorithm, originating in the 9th century: a finite set of well-defined, step-by-step instructions for completing a task or solving a problem.Develop natural algorithmsThe brain has specialized areas for numerical and logical processing (parietal lobe) and specific regions dedicated to grammar and syntax (Brocas and Wernickes areas).These regions integrate their functions to create dynamic problem-solving strategies that mimic algorithmic thinking, unconsciously generating natural algorithms to tackle everyday challenges, such as planning a route or making decisions based on available data, evaluating options, and predicting outcomes.The correlation between mathematics, grammar, and the brains ability to create natural algorithms for solving daily problems reveals a shared reliance on structured logical thinking and generative creativity.This interconnectedness highlights the brains remarkable ability to abstract rules, recognize patterns, and develop natural algorithms to navigate the complexities of daily life.A logical proposition is that our young people must be well-versed in fundamental mathematics and written language proficiency for a single purpose: to train their cognitive engines to develop natural algorithms, and then artificial ones, which increasingly mimic the human brain.This way they can keep up with the times, which are being radically reshaped by humanitys computational capabilities.For parents, a logical takeaway is the idea of increasing their childrens instructional time in this cognitive set.What skills are most important?Calibrating the educational curriculum and workload has been a persistent challenge for educators. The current technological revolution makes this challenge even more pronounced. What is the correct workload for each subject to keep young people in step with evolution? Will mathematics, logic, and grammar gain more importance than subjects like history, geography, or chemistry?A realistic perspective considers these skills as foundational as others, which are also taught in knowledge blockslessons, sections, chapters, numbered exercises, and, ultimately, structured intervals. Indeed, this structure is what students use globally, with tools like Google and now ChatGPT to support their studies (in best-case scenario).Value creationWe are not looking for passive users if we aim for a better world. Technologies based on set theory, grammar, and logic were the foundation for social media and other revolutionary applications in recent years. Billions around the world improved their cultural awareness and their daily life, but we cant exactly say that these applications created value for all of them.The common usability of AI, such as addressing everyday inquiries, solving household essentials, drafting texts, creating videos, or using preset tools in the workplace, will certainly deliver significant benefits to the general population, much like its predecessor technologies did. However, this time, technology should go further by driving value creation that is more equally distributed, enhancing economic output for people around the world.Rodrigo Magnago is the director of rere.eco.