Despite being one of the most popular genres across all the home console generations, it isnt often platformers are mentioned on lists of the best PC games. Normally, the conversation centers around the best FPS games on PC, the best Metroidvanias on PC, or the best co-op games on PC. Aside from a few key exclusives, mainly from Nintendo, the PC is home to all the best platformers. These can be delightful frolics through colorful worlds or tough-as-nails tests of skill and perseverance. We looked at all the 2D and 3D platformers across the years to pick out the best ones you should jump into.If you somehow already played all our top choices, check out the list of upcoming PC games to see which one you will play next.Recommended VideosGet your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Editors Recommendations

Cynthia Erivo and Arianda Grande in Wicked Universal Pictures / Universal PicturesTable of ContentsTable of ContentsBEST PICTUREBEST DIRECTORBEST ACTORBEST ACTRESSBEST SUPPORTING ACTORBEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSBEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYBEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYBEST ANIMATED FEATUREBEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMBEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMBEST ORIGINAL SCOREBEST ORIGINAL SONGZoe Saldaa Sings "El Mal" from EMILIA PREZ | NetflixBEST SOUNDDune: Part Two | Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune | Warner Bros. EntertainmentBEST PRODUCTION DESIGNBEST CINEMATOGRAPHYBEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLINGBEST COSTUME DESIGNBEST FILM EDITINGBEST VISUAL EFFECTSFilm critics make for notoriously spotty Oscar soothsayers. We sometimes prognosticate with our hearts instead of our heads. Were often too close to a year in movies to guess what a bunch of industry professionals might decide are its highlights. That said, almost nobody is all that good at predicting the Oscars, even people whose job it is to predict the Oscars. There are huge surprises every year, and whatever system or Nate Silver-like science you apply to the matter, were talking about the voting habits of 10,000 strangers with their own unique logic for filling out a ballot. Its all just grasping at straws.Last year made it easier on everybody. This year, theres no Oppenheimer pulling in statuettes like a giant magnet. The field is wider. The frontrunners are fewer. And some of the major races, like Best Actor, Best Actress, and even Best Picture, are basically coin tosses. Its one of the most competitive award seasons in years in part because many of the films that looked like frontrunners have endured cycles of backlash and controversy. Thats bad news for the bloggers, but good news for anyone hoping for a little excitement on Oscar night.Recommended VideosAhead of this Sundays Academy Awards, were making an earnest attempt to call the winners in 20 categories all but the shorts, where your guesses truly are as good as ours. Take the predictions below with a grain of salt, because theyre really just educated guesses conclusions drawn from a combination of history, precursor awards, and gut feeling. As for the preferences, for what we merely hope wins, were on firmer ground there. If theres one thing film critics are good at, its endlessly spouting opinions, unsolicited and with undue confidence.RelatedBEST PICTURERalph Fiennes in Conclave Focus Features / Focus FeaturesNominees: Anora; The Brutalist; A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Prez; Im Still Here; Nickel Boys; The Substance; WickedWill win: With a near-record 13 nominations, the atrocious Golden Globe-winning cartel musical Emilia PrezThe Brutalist, or will they tack in the opposite direction, towards the populist cotton-candy song and dance of Wicked?Increasingly, the odds have shifted to them splitting the difference with Anora, whose frontrunner perception faded for a few weeks, only to come roaring back with wins from the producing, directing, and writing guilds a historically unbeatable trifecta of precursor support. All the same, were going way out on a limb here and putting our no-guts, no-glory faith in Conclave, a respectable, well-liked middlebrow drama of classical Academy appeal that just won the BAFTA and the SAG ensemble award. What it really has going for it is an idealistic election narrative that should appeal to Sorkin-pilled liberals still licking their wounds after November 5.Should win: How often is the best movie of the year also its most purely entertaining? What an incredible tightrope writer-director Sean Baker walks by folding a heartbreaking tale of thwarted upward mobility into a screwball comedy of Old Hollywood vintage. Anora,Best Picture winner since oh, right, last year.BEST DIRECTORAdrien Brody in The Brutalist A24Nominees: Sean Baker, Anora; Brady Corbet, The Brutalist; James Mangold, A Complete Unknown; Jacques Audiard, Emilia Prez; Coralie Fargeat,The SubstanceWill win: Bakers recent win from the Directors Guild inches us ever closer to a world where the creator of Greg the Bunny has an Oscar. But the Anora filmmaker will probably achieve that earlier in the night with Original Screenplay, leaving voters to spread the wealth and instead reward Brady Corbets grander, more traditionally award-friendly orchestration of The Brutalist especially given the appealing parallels between the ambitious artist on screen and the one behind the camera.Should win: The tonal juggling act Baker pulls off in Anora is richly deserving of recognition, as is Coralie Fargeats boldly stylized assault on the senses in The Substance, a directorial showcase through and through. All the same, theres no denying the big-canvas historical vision of The Brutalist, which transcends an uneven script through the performances Corbet coaxes and his sheer sumptuous marshaling of limited resources. He does a whole lot with relatively little.BEST ACTORTimothe Chalamet in A Complete Unknown Searchlight PicturesNominees: Adrien Brody, The Brutalist; Timothe Chalamet, A Complete Unknown; Colman Domingo, Sing Sing; Ralph Fiennes, Conclave; Sebastian Stan, The ApprenticeWill win: Its a dead heat between Adrien Brodys BAFTA-winning turn as a traumatized, visionary Holocaust survivor and Timothe Chalamets carefully studied, SAG-winning impression of a young, selfish, brilliant folk hero. Given the Academys longstanding inability to resist famous people playing other famous people, Chalamets spot-on Dylan has the razor-thin edge. But this one is shaping up to be a real nail-biter.Should win: Speaking of uncanny impressions, Sebastian Stans slow metamorphosis into the fat cat currently running/ruining our country is disturbingly impressive. But there is no Brutalist without Brody, who makes Lszl Tth a figure of tragic, anguished humanity; the performance feels as carefully crafted and as built to last as one of Toths towering architectural masterpieces.BEST ACTRESSDemi Moore in The Substance MUBI / MUBINominees: Cynthia Erivo, Wicked; Karla Sofa Gascn, Emilia Prez; Mikey Madison, Anora; Demi Moore, The Substance; Fernanda Torres, Im Still HereWill win: Hollywood loves a comeback story apparently even one buried under mounds of prosthetics. Which it to say, it seems increasingly likely that Demi Moore will follow in the artificially bloated footsteps of Brendan Fraser and win an Oscar for her vanity-free performance as an aging star monstrously clinging to fame in that unlikeliest of award contenders, The Substance.Should win: Its hard not to root for Moore, whos ferociously sympathetic as Elisabeth Sparkle, anchoring this darkest of dark comedies to some genuinely aching feeling. But forced to choose, we slightly prefer Mikey Madisons tough, heartbreaking, and layered performance in Anora another portrait of a woman raging against the world that objectifies and then abandons her.BEST SUPPORTING ACTORKieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain Searchlight PicturesNominees: Yura Borisov, Anora; Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain; Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown; Guy Pearce, The Brutalist; Jeremy Strong, The ApprenticeWill win: The safest bet of the night is that Jeremy Strong will once again lose to his Succession costar, Kieran Culkin, whose funny, moving performance as a charismatic screw-up in A Real Pain has won every other prize under the sun.Should win: Thing is, Culkin is plainly a lead in A Real Pain. The best genuinely supporting performance in this uniformly strong lineup comes from Guy Pearce, laying bare the petty pathology of a wealthy, capricious art patron who giveth and taketh back at a whim. Hes such a captivating villain that he almost makes dramatic sense of the purely allegorical well say choice his character makes during The Brutalists swerve of a final act.BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESSZoe Saldaa in Emilia Prez Shanna Besson / NetflixNominees: Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown; Ariana Grande, Wicked; Felicity Jones, The Brutalist; Isabella Rossellini, Conclave; Zoe Saldaa, Emilia PrezWill win: If anyone has emerged unscathed from the Emilia Prez controversy, its Zoe Saldaa. Like Culkin, shes poised to take home a Supporting performance Oscar for a role every bit as central and hefty as her costars in this case, that of a conflicted lawyer who helps Karla Sofa Gascns title character get gender reassignment surgery and escape the brutal life of a cartel kingpin.Should win: Its tempting to go Ariana, whose breakout star turn in Wicked is unexpectedly, cartoonishly delightful (albeit very much in the key of her Broadway predecessor, Kristin Chenoweth). But since hers is yet another mischaracterized lead turn, lets throw support to the likewise vocally gifted Monica Barbaro, making a soulful impression in the largely reactive (which is to say, suitably supporting!) role of exasperated Dylan collaborator/flame Joan Baez.BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYMark Eydelshteyn and Mikey Madison in Anora Neon / NeonNominees: Anora; The Brutalist; A Real Pain; September 5; The SubstanceWill win: The Writers Guild has sewn this up for Baker, whos penned the kind of snappy, human-scaled, dialogue-driven American indie that regularly wins screenplay awards. It helps that the other two Best Picture nominees Anora is up against in this category are triumphs more of direction than writing.Should win: Another award Anora earns for its audacious structure, and for its entwining of delight and discomfort, hilarity and heartache.BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAYRalph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci in Conclave Focus FeaturesNominees: A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Emilia Prez; Nickel Boys; Sing SingWill win: Big speeches, thunderously heavy themes, and an immersion into the private world of papal politics ordain Peter Straughans talky (if rather silly) take on the Robert Harris bestseller Conclave.Should win: Though its power arguably derives much more from how its shot than how its written, Nickel Boys is an easy choice in a ho-hum lineup. Its certainly the most adventurous adaptation here, bending Colson Whiteheads chronologically scrambled Pulitzer winner into a rush of first-person memories and moments.BEST ANIMATED FEATUREFlow Janus FilmsNominees: Flow; Inside Out 2; Memoir of a Snail; Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl; The Wild RobotWill win: Big animation houses have had a stranglehold on this category for most of its lifespan, which is one reason why its been so refreshing watching Pixar and DreamWorks lose one award after another to Flow, a wordless, independently produced marvel from Latvia. That the film is also up for International Feature is a good sign that its underdog (undercat?) success story will culminate with a trip to the stage on Oscar night.Should win: Without a line of dialogue or state-of-the-art animation (its blocky aesthetic is a choice, not a liability), Flow endears viewers young and old to the plight of its floating menagerie. Its a beautiful environmental fable about empathy, community, and the eccentric sentience of animal kind.BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMFernanda Torres in Im Still Here Sony Pictures ReleasingNominees: Emilia Prez; Flow; The Girl with the Needle; Im Still Here; The Seed of the Sacred FigWill win: Heres another big test of how much Karla Sofa Gascns tweeting history has hurt Emilia Prez, which was basically a sure thing for this award less than a month ago. Today, it seems very vulnerable to fellow Best Picture winner Im Still Here, a straightforward true story of survivors grief under authoritarian rule with a plain emotional appeal, a timely resonance, and a lead performance not suddenly freighted with baggage.Should win: Faced with films about murderous dictatorships, cultural revolution, the transgender experience in cartel-controlled Mexico City, and postwar despair, it feels a little silly to root for the cute cat movie again. But oh well: Flows pure visual storytelling is as engaging as any of the explicitly adult themes explored, with varying degrees of success, by the other nominees.BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILMNo Other Land Yuval Abraham / Antipode FilmsNominees: Black Box Diaries; No Other Land; Porcelain War; Soundtrack to a Coup derat; SugarcaneWill win: Will the years most universally acclaimed documentary complete its winning streak on Oscar night? No Other Land, about a whole town in the West Bank forcibly displaced by the Israeli military, is the clear favorite. Just dont be too shocked if the Academy goes a different way, one year after some of its members booed an acceptance speech calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.Should win: It may not be the most formally adventurous of the nominees (that would be Soundtrack to a Coup derat), but No Other Land is a vital act of cinematic journalism, witnessing and chronicling an ongoing injustice with clear eyes and a full, enraged heart. Its the right movie for this horrifying moment.BEST ORIGINAL SCORENominees: The Brutalist; Conclave; Emilia Prez; Wicked; The Wild RobotWill win: Never put it past Academy voters to confuse score and songbook (no, a vote for Wicked in this category is not a vote for Popular), but the two musicals in contention will probably cancel each other out. That leaves a close contest between Conclave composer Volker Bertelmann, who won this award two years ago for his similarly bombastic score to All Quiet on the Western Front; and experimental musician Daniel Blumberg, whose avant-garde symphony of noise supplies so much of The Brutalists eerie, ambivalent power.Should win: Just listen to the part where the horns come in as the Statue of Liberty floats into upside-down view, and try to say with a straight face that this award should go to anything except The Brutalist.BEST ORIGINAL SONGZoe Saldaa Sings "El Mal" from EMILIA PREZ | NetflixNominees: El Mal, Emilia Prez; The Journey, The Six Triple Eight; Like a Bird, Sing Sing; Mi Camino, Emilia Prez; Never Too Late, Elton John: Never Too LateWill win: After 15 nominations and no wins, will songwriter Diane Warren finally add an Oscar to her mantle? Probably not for the drippy The Journey unless the Emilia Prez partisans fail to rally around one of the films two awkward contenders. Awards bloggers seem to think quasi-rap-rock number El Mal is the one, maybe because its the only song with much of a pulse in this lineup of typically Academy-friendly ballads.Should win: But then, El Mal is also kind of terrible. The rest of the nominees are merely boring. Pressed to pick something, well go with the other Emilia Prez selection, Mi Camino, a pleasant-enough synthy self-love anthem for Selena Gomez, with a marginally more memorable melody.BEST SOUNDDune: Part Two | Deeper into the Desert: The Sounds of the Dune | Warner Bros. EntertainmentNominees: A Complete Unknown; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Prez; Wicked; The Wild RobotWill win: While music movies often claim an obvious advantage in the sound category, this is another race where they could split the vote: Those bewitched by the siren call of pop tunes might go for Wicked, Emilia Prez, or recent Cinema Audio Society winner A Complete Unknown. That gridlock of choices benefits the roaring desert-combat cacophony of Dune: Part Two.Should win: Nice as it would be to support a more aurally subtle candidate, theres little denying the rumbling Dolby immersiveness of Dunes otherworldly sonic design a sci-fi soundtrack of war you can feel in your rattling bones.BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNAriana Grande hugs Cynthia Erivo in Wicked Universal PicturesNominees: The Brutalist; Conclave; Dune: Part Two; Nosferatu; WickedWill win: No matter how badly its sometimes lit, the sparkling Oz of WickedThe Brutalist).Should win: No great surprise that a movie about a brilliant architect boasts stunning production design. Any time were lead into one of Lszl Tths temples of reflection an elegant reading room; a community center forged from memories of a place without hope or light The Brutalist earns every bit of admiration bestowed upon its revered fictional subject.BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYAdrien Brody in The Brutalist A24Nominees: The Brutalist; Dune: Part Two; Emilia Prez; Maria; NosferatuWill win: The American Society of Cinematographers just bucked predictions and gave this award to the opera-singer biopic Maria. But with the full Academy voting, something more widely admired seems likelier on Oscar night. Pencil in The Brutalist, a striking VistaVision epic whose shooting specs have played a big role in its instant mystique and A24 marketing campaign.Should win: The only nominee here with more memorable imagery than The Brutalist is Nosferatu, which elevates an umpteenth take on Bram Stoker with one ravishingly seductive shot after another. I mean, just look at this!BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLINGThe Substance MubiNominees: A Different Man; Emilia Prez; Nosferatu; The Substance; WickedWill win: When it comes to predicting most Oscar races, a good rule thumb is to simply replace best with most. By that metric, the appalling parade of body-horror abominations that is The Substance should come out ahead in a lineup absolutely stacked with elaborately transformative prosthetic achievements (and also Wicked).Should win: But actually, The Substance really is the best of these nominees: a jaw-dropping anatomy theatre of mutilation and mutation that calls back to the 1980s heyday of practical effects work including the very first Best Makeup winner, An American Werewolf in London.BEST COSTUME DESIGNCynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in Wicked Universal PicturesNominees: A Complete Unknown; Conclave; Gladiator II; Nosferatu; WickedWill win: As with Production Design, this category often comes down to lavish period pieces versus fanciful fantasies. And without any truly extravagant runway shows of Victorian fashion in contention, Wickeds storybook couture should prevail.Should win: You just know that Linda Muir devoted a small lifetime of research to getting every sartorial detail right for the baroque but tasteful 19th-century wardrobe chest of Nosferatu.BEST FILM EDITINGRalph Fiennes in Conclave Focus FeaturesNominees: Anora; The Brutalist; Conclave; Emilia Prez; WickedWill win: Were the Academy to revert to a classic five-deep Best Picture lineup, the nominees in this category would probably be the five which is one reason it might be the toughest race to call this year. (Another is that the editors guild doesnt announce its winners until Oscar night!) The fast-paced screwball comedy of Anora has a shot, but if were going to predict Conclave for the big one, we should acknowledge how well its chamber-piece urgency might do here, too.Should win: Editing is so crucial to the ingenious rude-awakening design of Anora, which unfolds via a fluid flood of ecstatic montage for its first half, before slowing to a grueling crawl once Anis fantasy of a dream life as a dream wife falls apart.BEST VISUAL EFFECTSTimothe Chalamet in Dune: Part Two Warner Bros.Nominees: Alien: Romulus; Better Man; Dune: Part Two; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; WickedWill win: Sorry, Dune heads. This feels like the only guaranteed win for Denis Villeneuves monolithic space opera. Going up against three movies featuring the same essential effects achievement CGI simians! can only boost its more varied offering of vessels and worms.Should win: But what if the chimps look really good? Astonishing as the massive sci-fi spectacle of Dune often is, its past time the Academy recognized the motion-capture marvels of the rebooted Apes series, which reaches a new peak of nuance and expressiveness with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.The 97th Academy Awards will air on ABC and stream on Hulu on Sunday, March 2, 2025.For more of A.A. Dowds writing, visit hisAuthorypage.Editors Recommendations

ASM International posted orders below analysts expectations for the fourth quarter amid weak demand from China for the companys tools to produce more sophisticated semiconductors.

Twitch personalities frequently appear on one anothers streams. The distinction between creator and fan is often blurred.

ISPs lose, again Supreme Court rejects ISPs again in latest bid to kill NYs $15 broadband law Supreme Court not swayed by AT&T pulling home Internet service out of New York. Jon Brodkin Feb 25, 2025 12:56 pm | 39 The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC, in May 2023. Credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto The Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, DC, in May 2023. Credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreThe Supreme Court has once again rejected a telecom industry challenge to New York's $15 broadband law.The court first refused the hear the case in December, which meant that an appeals court ruling upholding the law was not disturbed. New York started enforcing the law in January, but broadband industry groups made another attempt to get the Supreme Court's attention.AT&T stopped offering its 5G home Internet service in New York entirely instead of complying with the law, and the industry hoped AT&T's exit would convince the Supreme Court to change its decision. Lobby groups filed a supplemental brief on January 17 urging the court to reconsider its denial of their petition, saying that AT&T's exit proves that "some providers will cease offering broadband service in New York rather than sell at a loss."The Supreme Court still was not swayed. In a list of orders released yesterday, the court denied the broadband industry's request for a rehearing without comment.The New York law requires ISPs with over 20,000 customers in the state to offer $15 broadband plans with download speeds of at least 25Mbps, or $20-per-month service with 200Mbps speeds. The plans must be offered to people who meet income-eligibility requirements.ISPs fear laws in more statesAs we wrote yesterday, New York's court victory over the telecom industry has inspired lawmakers in Vermont, Massachusetts, and California to propose similar laws. ISPs are afraid that many states will require cheap plans for people with low incomes.New York won its case in part because telecom lobby groups were able to get Federal Communications Commission regulation of the industry thrown out in court. Judges have made it clear that states have more power to impose requirements on broadband providers when the FCC isn't regulating ISPs as common carriers."To broadband ISPs and their friends complaining about the New York law and proposed Massachusetts laws mandating a low-income broadband service offering: you asked for complete deregulation at the federal level and you got it. This is the consequence," Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, wrote today.Sohn called on ISPs to join with consumer advocates to support a federal law guaranteeing "limited but meaningful oversight over broadband... Until then, my colleagues and I will go to every state that will listen to ensure that Internet users are protected from anticompetitive and anticonsumer practices."AT&T exit has limited significanceAT&T's partial exit from New York likely doesn't indicate that there will be a rush of ISPs fleeing the state. AT&T still offers mobile service in New York, and it only offered the 5G home Internet plan in 10 cities and towns. AT&T would have a much more difficult time pulling home Internet service out of the 21 states where it offers wired Internet service.The lobby groups that tried to overturn the state law are the New York State Telecommunications Association, CTIA-The Wireless Association, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association, USTelecom, ACA Connects-America's Communications Association, and the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.The groups convinced a federal judge to block the New York law in 2021, but that judge's ruling was reversed by the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in April 2024. Appeals court judges rejected arguments that the New York law was preempted by federal rules, saying that "a federal agency cannot exclude states from regulating in an area where the agency itself lacks regulatory authority."The FCC lacked authority over broadband after the 2017 repeal of net neutrality rules and related common-carrier regulations. The Biden-era FCC voted to restore that authority but lost a court case brought by USTelecom and the Ohio Telecom Association.Jon BrodkinSenior IT ReporterJon BrodkinSenior IT Reporter Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry. 39 Comments

Extended Support Qualcomm and Google team up to offer 8 years of Android updates Starting with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, Qualcomm enables up to eight years of update support. Ryan Whitwam Feb 25, 2025 12:28 pm | 23 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreQualcomm and Google have joined forces to extend software updates on Android devices. With Google's assistance, the chipmaker has committed to providing extended vendor support to any OEM building on its most powerful chips, pushing the theoretical lifespan of Android devices to eight years. There are plenty of caveats, but this move could make your next phone more useful for longer.The extended support window only applies to Android devices with the latest Qualcomm chipsets. To start, the eight-year support timeline will be extended to devices running the new Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, which has powered devices like the OnePlus 13 and Galaxy S25. Later this year, the same policy will be applied to the company's new Snapdragon 8 and Snapdragon 7-series chips, and you can expect the same deal for at least the next five generations of Qualcomm silicon."Through this collaboration, OEMs can more seamlessly update the software and security on their devices, ensuring a more secure and long-lasting Android experience for our users," said Google's Android Platform manager Seang Chau.Snapdragon 8 and 7 chips are used in flagship and almost-flagship phones, so don't expect a new Qualcomm-based budget phone to get anywhere near the same update commitment. There's nothing stopping Qualcomm from offering the same deal with cheaper components, but people tend to expect phones that cost more to last longer. A cheap phone might not even make it eight years before something breaks or you get tired of how slow it is, and OEMs aren't incentivized to spend the money supporting cheap hardware.Currently, Samsung and Google lead the market with seven years of guaranteed security patches and OS updates. With Qualcomm's help, other companies could reach similar heights. With Qualcomm's support, OEMs will be able to provide eight years of security patches, and there will also be at least two updates to the vendor's Android Common Kernel during that time. This will make it easier for OEMs to release full Android OS updates even toward the end of a device's lifespan.How long should your phone last?This is just the latest attempt from Google and its partners to address Android's original sin. Google's open approach to Android roped in numerous OEMs to create and sell hardware, all of which were managing their update schemes individually and relying on hardware vendors to provide updated drivers and other componentswhich they usually didn't. As a result, even expensive flagship phones could quickly fall behind and miss out on features and security fixes.Google undertook successive projects over the last decade to improve Android software support. For example, Project Mainline in Android 10 introduced system-level modules that Google can update via Play Services without a full OS update. This complemented Project Treble, which was originally released in Android 8.0 Oreo. Treble separated the Android OS from the vendor implementation, giving OEMs the ability to update Android without changing the low-level code.The legacy of Treble is still improving outcomes, too. Qualcomm cites Project Treble as a key piece of its update-extending initiative. The combination of consistent vendor layer support and fresh kernels will, according to Qualcomm, make it faster and easier for OEMs to deploy updates. However, they don't have to.Update development is still the responsibility of device makers, with Google implementing only a loose framework of requirements. That means companies can build with Qualcomm's most powerful chips and say "no thank you" to the extended support window. OnePlus has refused to match Samsung and Google's current seven-year update guarantee, noting that pushing new versions of Android to older phones can cause performance and battery life issuessomething we saw in action when Google's Pixel 4a suffered a major battery life hit with the latest update.Samsung has long pushed the update envelope, and it has a tight relationship with Qualcomm to produce Galaxy-optimized versions of its processors. So it won't be surprising if Samsung tacks on another year to its update commitment in its next phone release. Google, too, emphasizes updates on its Pixel phones. Google doesn't use Qualcomm chips, but it will probably match any move Samsung makes. The rest of the industry is anyone's guesseight years of updates is a big commitment, even with Qualcomm's help.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 23 Comments

This mummified wolf pup, found in Yukon, Canada, is 57,000 years oldGovernment of YukonThe ivory hunters knew they had found something special. It was 2020 and they were tunnelling into the banks of the Badyarikha river in Siberia. The permanently frozen soil of the river basin is a rich hunting ground for woolly mammoth tusks, which fetch a pretty price on the Chinese ivory market. Occasionally, however, rarer treasures turn up more complete remains of mammoths and other long-dead animals.This, however, was on a different planet. Inside a block of ice, the prospectors spotted a furry carcass unlike anything they had seen before. They alerted scientists, and eventually the ice block reached Alexey Lopatin at the Borissiak Paleontological Institute in Moscow for analysis. Last year, he and his team concluded that the remains were those of a juvenile scimitar-toothed cat, an animal only distantly related to living cats, and one that hunted like no predator does today.For the first time in the history of palaeontology, the appearance of an extinct mammal that has no analogues in the modern fauna has been studied, says Lopatin. Its a fantastic feeling.And it is one that might become more familiar to palaeontologists in the years ahead. Although frozen mummies have been emerging from the permafrost of Russia and North America for two centuries, we entered a golden age of discovery about 15 years ago. In that time, some of the finest known woolly mammoth mummies have come to light, as well as the first mummies of predators including

Black squirrels have advantages and disadvantages, depending on where they areDoug Wechsler / naturepl.comRoad accidents seem to be behind the natural selection of black squirrels in US cities, as they may be easier than grey ones for motorists to spot and swerve to avoid.Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), known as eastern gray squirrels in the US, have been introduced in countries throughout the world, but their native range is eastern North America. Despite their name, theyhave actually evolved a variety of colours. The grey version is the most common, but there are also black forms and

2025-02-25T18:24:02Z Read in app Some home designs that look great are actually impractical when it comes to function and upkeep. C Woods Photography/Shutterstock This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? As an interior designer, I've seen things that look incredible but can be frustrating to live with.Intricate light fixtures, open shelving, and velvet furniture can be difficult to upkeep. I like complex tile patterns, but they can be a pain to keep clean. As an interior designer, I love creating spaces that are visually stunning.However, I've learned that not everything that looks great on Pinterest or in a magazine translates well into real life. Some stylish pieces and designs can quickly become a headache when it comes to everyday living.In the end, it's all about finding the balance between what looks good and what works. By prioritizing both form and function, it's possible. to avoid common design regrets and create a home that's as practical as it is beautiful.That said, here are five things I think can look fabulous but are so impractical I wouldn't put them in my own home. Ornate light fixtures can be a nightmare to clean. Crystal light fixtures can be difficult to keep clean. Jawcam/Getty Images I once fell in love with a chandelier full of tiny crystals that sparkled beautifully in the showroom. However, after installing a similar one in a client's home, I realized what a dust magnet it was. Maintaining its pristine appearance required constant cleaning, which quickly made it more of a hassle than a source of joy.If you're set on a statement light fixture, consider one that's easier to clean but still offers that wow factor. Trust me, your future self will thank you.High-maintenance furniture is rarely worth it. Light-colored fabric can be difficult to keep clean. Joseph Hendrickson/Shutterstock White sofas and velvet chairs look like the epitome of luxury, but in reality, they can be a nightmare to maintain especially if you have kids or pets. I've seen many clients regretting these choices as they tried to keep up with the inevitable stains and wear.Opting for performance fabrics or darker hues can give you the elegance you crave without the stress of constant upkeep.Open shelving isn't practical for a kitchen. Open shelving can be difficult to keep looking organized. Kristen Prahl/Shutterstock Open shelving looks great in styled photos and 3D renderings, but in practice, it's tough to keep them looking tidy. After incorporating them into a few projects, I realized they require a level of organization that most people don't have time for daily. If you really like this look, consider using a mix of open shelves and closed cabinets. This way, you can display a few pretty items while keeping the less attractive necessities out of sight.Complex tile patterns can be a nightmare to scrub. Grout can appear grimy and stained over time. Dariusz Jarzabek/Shutterstock I've always admired intricate tile work, but after living with it, I wouldn't recommend it. I've learned that the more complex the pattern, the harder it can be to keep clean. Grout lines in detailed designs are particularly prone to staining, turning what should be a showstopping feature into a maintenance nightmare.If you're drawn to unique tiles, consider using them in smaller areas where they'll make an impact without overwhelming your cleaning routine.Oversized furniture doesn't belong in small spaces. A large couch won't make a small space feel bigger. AleksNT/Shutterstock Big furniture can make a large space feel cozy, but sizable pieces can easily overwhelm a small room.I've seen clients choose oversized sofas or tables for a small area only to find that they dominate the room, leaving little space for anything else.When furnishing a smaller space, choose pieces that fit the scale of the room and offer flexibility, like a modular sofa or a compact dining set.

Meta has been pushing lawmakers to make Apple and Google's app stores responsible for verifying age.Several states just introduced bills that would require parental consent for teens to download apps.Apple has squashed this attempt before, but this is a small win for Meta.Thebackstory to the ongoing feud between Meta and Appleis so ancient and entrenched like the Hatfields and McCoys, House Atreides and Harkonnen, or Katie Maloney and Tom Sandoval that it's hard to remember all the slights and tiffs along the way.Here's an incomplete backstory: Meta doesn't like Apple's tight-fisted control over its devices, which Meta says is preventing it from developing more features for its smart glasses. Apple's Tim Cook has publicly taken swipes at Meta over its privacy stumbles. And in January, Mark Zuckerberg went for the jugular, saying on Joe Rogan's podcast that Apple hasn't "really invented anything great in a while."Vicious.One front of the current battle is over who should be responsible for restricting kids and teens from accessing social media apps something both companies argue the other should do.Meta has published a blog post from its head of safety stating its position that the app stores Apple and Google should be the ones restricting app downloads for younger users. Apple has concerns this would invade privacy, and critics worry this would encroach on free speech.And it appears Meta just won a small victory.The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that nine states have introduced bills in the last two months that would require Apple and Google to take up the unwanted task:Both Apple and Meta think the onus to verify user ages shouldn't be on them. Apple last year helped kill a bill in Louisiana that would have forced app stores to handle age verification. Meta, along with social-media companies Snap and X, last week sent a letter to legislators in South Dakota arguing app-store verification would be simplest since app stores already collect user information."It looks like the policy-debate equivalent of a game of 'not it,'" said Kate Ruane, director of a free-speech campaign at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit that has opposed many child-safety laws on the grounds that they are ineffective and infringe on free speech and privacy.Keeping kids safe online is a multifaceted issue with no single good, clear answer.Lawmakers are finding themselves vexed by how to come up with solutions to a problem their constituents clearly care about. According to a 2024 Pew Report, 38% of parents said they argued with their teens about screen time, and 43% said that it was "hard" to manage their kids' phone use.But don't count this as a total win for Meta just yet. These bills are merely introduced, not passed, and a similar bill introduced in Louisiana was eventually shut down after intense lobbying efforts by Apple.