By Matt Novak Published May 13, 2025 | Comments (19) | U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks to reporters during a news conference on Newark Liberty International Airport at the Department of Transportation Headquarters on May 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. © Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy keeps going on TV and insisting it’s safe to fly in and out of Newark Liberty Airport in New Jersey, despite a string of extremely frightening outages and workforce shortages recently. But Duffy has now admitted he changed a flight booked for his wife on Monday so that she wouldn’t have to travel through Newark. Duffy made the startling admission to David Webb, a conservative radio host, during his SiriusXM show on Monday. And it’s a shocking thing to hear from the guy who’s supposed to make sure American air travel is safe. “My wife was flying out of Newark tomorrow. I switched her flight to LaGuardia,” Duffy told the host of The David Webb Show as they discussed the recent problems at the airport. It’s not clear if Duffy really understood what he had just admitted to publicly. Because Duffy has repeatedly claimed that it’s perfectly safe to fly through Newark, even as things seem to be falling apart there. Trump’s Transportation Secretary after saying that Newark Airport was safe to fly from: “My wife was flying out of Newark tomorrow. I switched her flight to LaGuardia” [image or embed] — FactPost (@factpostnews.bsky.social) May 12, 2025 at 12:34 PM   Newark has had three significant tech outages in the past two weeks at the Philadelphia facility where air traffic is monitored for the New Jersey airport. Radar screens went black and radios fell silent on April 28 for about 30 seconds in an experience so harrowing that flight traffic controllers have taken trauma leave. Screens again went dark on May 9 for about 90 seconds, and on May 11, an equipment outage caused a group stop for 45 minutes. The New York Times also reported late Monday that just three air traffic controllers were monitoring traffic at Newark during a shift that day when 14 should have been working. The paper reported that the number of “fully certified controllers” on duty was sometimes even just “one or two” during a shift. Duffy was asked Tuesday morning on CNBC about Newark Airport specifically and appeared rather confident that it was safe. “It’s safe and that’s because we have numerous redundancies in place at the FAA,” Duffy told CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin. “So when you have issues with your telecom, we slow down traffic, which is exactly what we’ve done at Newark. And then even if you lose telecom, like you saw twice in the last two weeks, there’s procedures in place with the air traffic controllers and for pilots. And so it’s safe.” Duffy has repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden’s administration for the failures that have been experienced on his watch and deflected when asked about whether recent cuts by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency have played any role. DOGE fired hundreds of people at the FAA, but Duffy insists none of them were critical to the agency’s safety mission. “We actually have staffed up. We’ve hired more air traffic controllers during this time,” Duffy said Sunday on Meet the Press. “There were probationary workers that were let go—those were employees who were there less than a year—and again, we excluded the safety positions… most of them have come back.” His assertion has not been independently verified, and we’re forced to just take him at his word on that one. Members of the Trump regime aren’t exactly known for their honesty. Republicans like Duffy also aren’t great at understanding how systems work. Many seem to believe that you can fire support staff and assume everything will continue operating smoothly. For example, the FDA under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently fired a bunch of staffers who booked flights and organized logistics for scientists who needed to conduct safety inspections in foreign countries like India, according to the Associated Press. Those people were vital to making sure the inspectors could do their jobs, something DOGE cost-cutters didn’t seem to get. Reached for comment about Duffy’s cancelled flight for his wife, a spokesperson at the FAA told Gizmodo to ask the folks at the Department of Transportation, which oversees the FAA. DOT has not yet responded to our questions. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back. Daily Newsletter You May Also Like By Matt Novak Published May 9, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published April 30, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published April 25, 2025 By Matt Novak Published April 16, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published March 31, 2025 By AJ Dellinger Published March 19, 2025

nicoreese Member Jan 18, 2018 1,466 Sony just announced its financial forecast for the next year, and it's expecting to be impacted by tariffs to the tune of 100 billion yen (about $680 million). To compensate, the company says it's considering options including moving manufacturing to the US and increasing prices for consumers. The PS5 did get a call out from CEO Hiroki Totoki when discussing the possibility of moving manufacturing to the US to avoid the brunt of Donald Trump's tariffs. He admitted that the console "can be produced locally," and that it would be "an efficient strategy" that "has to be considered going forward." Click to expand... Click to shrink... Sony considers PS5 price hikes to cover Trump’s tariffs That US PS5 price increase may still be on the way. www.theverge.com   Ramathevoice Member Oct 26, 2017 3,480 Paris, France I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market?   Wrexis Member Nov 4, 2017 29,237 I'm open to a few million bucks if anyone wants to help out. This is political theater. The cost to build a new manufacturing plant and hire/train people to manufacture in another country is immense and takes years. Trump will be long gone by the time this would be ready - not that it will go ahead.  SnatcherHunter The Fallen Oct 27, 2017 14,964 Unfortunately, this is what Orange Turd wants.   Athrum Member Oct 18, 2019 1,794 "moving manufacturing to the US and increasing prices for consumers." exactly what Trump wants. Hope people like to pay $1199 for a console.  Xando Member Oct 28, 2017 37,329 1.5k PlayStation 6 made in the US   Jammerz Member Apr 29, 2023 1,515 Ramathevoice said: I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market? Click to expand... Click to shrink... I can't imagine the digital ps5 price increase is enough to cover that.   Lkr Member Oct 28, 2017 12,020 even if they moved manufacturing here, won't they get hit by tariffs since they have to import every part?   NotLiquid One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 37,813 Ramathevoice said: I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market? Click to expand... Click to shrink... There's only so much you can subsidize before that becomes unsustainable, and in the case they're in, that's not actually much.   CuriousTom92 Member Jul 1, 2022 770 I very much doubt they will move it to US no matter what they say   RailWays One Winged Slayer Avenger Oct 25, 2017 18,230 Manufacturing PS5 in America would certainly jack the price up   Kouriozan Member Oct 25, 2017 24,692 I swear if they are going to rise the price everywhere again. Making them in the US would certainly do that.  Tobor Died as he lived: wrong about Doritos Member Oct 25, 2017 33,943 Ramathevoice said: I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market? Click to expand... Click to shrink... They stockpiled units in the US to try and hold off. Stockpiles don't last forever.  OP OP nicoreese Member Jan 18, 2018 1,466 Wrexis said: I'm open to a few million bucks if anyone wants to help out. This is political theater. The cost to build a new manufacturing plant and hire/train people to manufacture in another country is immense and takes years. Trump will be long gone by the time this would be ready - not that it will go ahead. Click to expand... Click to shrink... The problem is that no one knows what the political landscape will be after Trump. It might continue the way it is now. Also, the PS6 launch will likely fall into Trump's administration still.  Blue_Toad507 Member May 25, 2021 3,767 That Astro Bot PS5 bundle ain't gonna be the best console deal for long, that's for sure lol.   Xando Member Oct 28, 2017 37,329 CuriousTom92 said: I very much doubt they will move it to US no matter what they say Click to expand... Click to shrink... Of course they won't. It's not economic to be made in the US but we have to pretend it's a option so the US doesn't retaliate   Sho_Nuff82 Member Nov 14, 2017 20,098 Ramathevoice said: I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market? Click to expand... Click to shrink... The projected losses are probably with those price increases factored in. Also, where in the US could they easily manufacture millions of consoles?  Aegus Member Oct 29, 2017 1,236 Anyone else remember the days when there were price drops every year for older consoles? Like PS1 at £99 kind of levels. What happened?  345 Member Oct 30, 2017 10,135 Lkr said: even if they moved manufacturing here, won't they get hit by tariffs since they have to import every part? Click to expand... Click to shrink... yes  Tobor Died as he lived: wrong about Doritos Member Oct 25, 2017 33,943 If the two options are a price rise or moving manufacturing to the US, then it's a price rise. If you're in the market for a Pro, buy it now and lock in the price. I already did a week or so ago.  Calabi Member Oct 26, 2017 3,869 Wrexis said: I'm open to a few million bucks if anyone wants to help out. This is political theater. The cost to build a new manufacturing plant and hire/train people to manufacture in another country is immense and takes years. Trump will be long gone by the time this would be ready - not that it will go ahead. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Yeah won't all the parts still be tarrifed. Like motherboards are all manufactured from 100s of sourced parts there's no way this could be done.   RailWays One Winged Slayer Avenger Oct 25, 2017 18,230 Sho_Nuff82 said: The projected losses are probably with those price increases factored in. Also, where in the US could they easily manufacture millions of consoles? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Nowhere. They're just saying shit   cmdrshepard The Fallen Oct 30, 2017 1,604 Considering they have already very recently raised their console and their Plus prices WW outside of the US, i really hope they are only conidering raising the price in the US.   Clefargle One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 15,484 Limburg How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more?   Patitoloco Member Oct 27, 2017 28,065 They're not going to move to the US.   gundamkyoukai Member Oct 25, 2017 24,548 Xando said: Of course they won't. It's not economic to be made in the US but we have to pretend it's a option so the US doesn't retaliate Click to expand... Click to shrink... Correct got to make it sound like you going to try . We see it with other companies in other ways lol.  Tobor Died as he lived: wrong about Doritos Member Oct 25, 2017 33,943 Patitoloco said: They're not going to move to the US. Click to expand... Click to shrink... They're going to move higher prices to the US!  pappacone Member Jan 10, 2020 3,971 they won''t rule it out, but it dount it will ever happen   Tobor Died as he lived: wrong about Doritos Member Oct 25, 2017 33,943 Clefargle said: How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Not in the PS5's lifetime.  AstralSphere Member Feb 10, 2021 13,039 If they end up moving manufacturing to the US (which would not be a small endeavor and could take a long time to happen), I just hope they don't end up having manufacturing only in the US. Those of us in the rest of the world already pay more to subsidise the US market, adding our reciprocal tariffs on top of that would be unfair.  RailWays One Winged Slayer Avenger Oct 25, 2017 18,230 Clefargle said: How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more? Click to expand... Click to shrink... It would still take many years. Enough for the gen to be over   boris_feinbrand Member Oct 26, 2017 7,181 Clefargle said: How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Manufacturing in the US at any scale that would supply the north american market? Around 10 years (optimistically if everything goes right)  Scarecrow The Fallen Oct 25, 2017 4,488 Got a used PS5 last month in anticipation for this. $280 is much more swallowable than a new one at $1000   Xando Member Oct 28, 2017 37,329 Clefargle said: How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more? Click to expand... Click to shrink... They would have to build up a complete supply chain in the US, train workers and debug equipment so probably not before 2030 at the earliest. Probably more like a decade. It's not like they can just build a factory and put 500 american kids work the assembly line  The Boat Member Oct 28, 2017 5,237 This is just lip service, they won't move to the US.   Universal Acclaim Member Oct 5, 2024 2,234 Hope he considers it further and realises it's not so efficient   Charcoal Member Nov 2, 2017 9,644 andherewego.gif   LinguisticGoblin Member Jul 19, 2020 1,276 In theory, how fast could Sony move production of hardware to Ohio? 2-3 months?   Clefargle One Winged Slayer Member Oct 25, 2017 15,484 Limburg Tobor said: Not in the PS5's lifetime. Click to expand... Click to shrink... RailWays said: It would still take many years. Enough for the gen to be over Click to expand... Click to shrink... boris_feinbrand said: Manufacturing in the US at any scale that would supply the north american market? Around 10 years (optimistically if everything goes right) Click to expand... Click to shrink... Xando said: They would have to build up a complete supply chain in the US, train workers and debug equipment so probably not before 2030 at the earliest. Probably more like a decade. It's not like they can just build a factory and put 500 american kids work the assembly line Click to expand... Click to shrink... Thanks!   Crossing Eden Member Oct 26, 2017 58,381 Clefargle said: How fast could they realistically do this if they wanted to spin up production and charge more? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Longer than Trump will remain president.   Mars People Comics Council 2020 Member Oct 25, 2017 18,844 Wait they haven't increased prices in the US?   construct Saw the truth behind the copied door Member Jun 5, 2020 11,080 𖦹 this isn't a real thing. it's essentially impossible   Lkr Member Oct 28, 2017 12,020 LinguisticGoblin said: In theory, how fast could Sony move production of hardware to Ohio? 2-3 months? Click to expand... Click to shrink... the children of ohio yearn for the factories   Mr.Deadshot Member Oct 27, 2017 23,071 Cool, maybe they can ask their non-american customer base to pay for the factories in America.   The elusive man Member May 19, 2024 780 Mars People said: Wait they haven't increased prices in the US? Click to expand... Click to shrink... You can get the astro bot bundle now for 449.   Xando Member Oct 28, 2017 37,329 AstralSphere said: If they end up moving manufacturing to the US (which would not be a small endeavor and could take a long time to happen), I just hope they don't end up having manufacturing only in the US. Those of us in the rest of the world already pay more to subsidise the US market, adding our reciprocal tariffs on top of that would be unfair. Click to expand... Click to shrink... Selling US made consoles worldwide would be the deathknell for PlayStation as long as you have competitors producing hardware outside the US. Who's going to buy a 1.5k US made PlayStation when you can get a 500€ vietnam made Switch?  mhjswe Member Dec 9, 2024 159 I love paying higher prices to subsidise USA. 1. Say you will move manufacturing to USA 2. Trump is happy. Says he made a good deal, the best deal in fact. Best deal ever. Tarrif is removed. 3. Do nothing 4. Trump goes to the next shiny object he can disrupt to get his name in the news  snowblack Member Oct 30, 2024 563 Curious to see how long Sony can go without raising prices. They know they are in the best position right now for consumers wrt to literally everybody.   Andromeda Member Oct 27, 2017 5,241 Ramathevoice said: I mean, didn't they already raise the price in other regions specifically to avoid having to raise it in the US, to protect their primary market? Click to expand... Click to shrink... This. So he is saying price will continue to increase everywhere except in US.   RailWays One Winged Slayer Avenger Oct 25, 2017 18,230 Mars People said: Wait they haven't increased prices in the US? Click to expand... Click to shrink... Nope, they've been holding out with their current stockpiled inventory. They raised the prices recently for everyone else  

Sony’s $699.99 PS5 Pro could get especially expensive if prices go up. Sony just announced its financial forecast for the next year, and it’s expecting to be impacted by tariffs to the tune of 100 billion yen (about $680 million). To compensate, the company says it’s considering options including moving manufacturing to the US and increasing prices for consumers. Speaking to investors during the company’s earnings call, Sony CFO Lin Tao confirmed that the company is considering “passing on” the price of tariffs to consumers in order to mitigate the impact on its bottom line. Tao didn’t mention the PS5 by name though, and it’s possible that Sony could try to protect pricing on its console through increases elsewhere in its electronics business. Sony has already increased the price of the PS5 this year, but only in the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The PS5 did get a call out from CEO Hiroki Totoki when discussing the possibility of moving manufacturing to the US to avoid the brunt of Donald Trump’s tariffs. He admitted that the console “can be produced locally,” and that it would be “an efficient strategy” that “has to be considered going forward.” As expected Sony is considering passing along the tarrif impact by increasing the price of their products. So it's assumed the PS5 price could be impacted. pic.twitter.com/a7nR1BZ9Rv— Destin (@DestinLegarie) May 14, 2025 Over the 12 months ending in March, Sony shipped 18.5 million PS5 consoles — down slightly from 20.8 million the year before — bringing its lifetime shipments to 77.7 million. Sony still manufactures the majority of its PS5 hardware in China, and so its gaming business is especially at risk right now. Even after the 90-day pause and reduction in rates announced this week, the 30 percent tariff on imports into the US from China is substantially higher than the 10 percent rate levied on other countries, and games consoles were not included in the exemptions for select other electronics. Microsoft has already raised the price of its Xbox consoles by up to $100, though Nintendo has so far elected to keep Switch 2 pricing the same ahead of its launch next month. We may learn more about Sony’s pricing plans going forward when it announces the flagship WH-1000XM6 headphones tomorrow, which succeed the $399 XM5s.

A modern Windows PC works without much tweaking — mostly. But some settings out of the box are simply bad, undercutting your PC’s full performance or keeping you from getting the best picture from your monitor, for example. And somehow, File Explorer still doesn’t show file extensions by default in the year 2025. That’s just bad for security! I recently spoke to someone who was surprised to find he had been using his display incorrectly for years and found a few quick clicks instantly made his experience better. Lots of things in Windows are like that; every time I set up a new PC — and I do that often — there are settings I change immediately. Follow this roadmap, and you’ll find yourself getting a much better Windows experience than the software ever gave you out of the box. Want more Windows PC tips? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. I’ll send you free in-depth Windows Field Guides as a special welcome bonus! Windows default #1: Wrong Power Mode Windows 11 has a “Power Mode” option in its Settings window. On a high-performance desktop PC, it may be set to “Balanced” mode by default, likely making your CPU perform worse than it otherwise would. You likely want the best performance on your system — not slightly lower electricity use. The same is true on laptops. Windows 11 can now set different performance modes that will be used when your machine is plugged in and when it’s unplugged. But your laptop may not be set to run at maximum performance, even when it’s plugged in. To check this on Windows 11, head to Settings > System > Power and look under Power Mode. On a laptop, you’ll find those different options for when the PC is plugged in vs. running on battery power. I expect you’ll want Best Performance while plugged in — even if it may use a bit more electricity. It’s worth selecting maximum performance while your desktop or laptop is plugged in.Chris Hoffman, Foundry On Windows 10, you’ll find power plan options at Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options. Windows default #2: Low refresh rate A modern monitor “just works” out of the box — or so it appears. But while Windows will generally choose the right resolution, it’ll usually default to a low 60Hz refresh rate. This is true both for desktop PCs and laptops. On a laptop, a lower refresh rate means more battery life. But a higher refresh rate means a smoother picture. To check available refresh rates on Windows 11, head to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display and look at the “Choose a refresh rate” box. On Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Display, scroll down, and click “Advanced display settings.” Another tip? Windows also offers variable refresh rates if your hardware supports that feature, but sometimes that, too, is disabled by default. Be sure to activate the “Dynamic refresh rate” option here if it’s available, too. (If it’s not, your hardware likely doesn’t support it. Also, note that this feature is only available on Windows 11, not Windows 10.) You don’t have to stop there. Check out other ways to make your display easier on the eyes. Windows default #3: Hidden extensions Everyone should have file extensions visible on Windows. It’s crazy they’re not enabled by default in 2025. This isn’t just a geeky thing — it’s important for security. This will help you distinguish between a virus named Report.pdf.exe and a real document named Report.pdf. To unhide file extensions in Windows 11, launch File Explorer, click the “View” button on the toolbar, point to “Show,” and activate “File name extensions.” On Windows 10, open File Explorer, click the “View” button on the ribbon, and activate “File name extensions” under Show/hide. Windows default #4: Browser data access Whenever you launch Edge for the first time, it asks if you want to make your Edge experience better by importing data from other browsers. Edge can do this automatically if you don’t read closely, and it may be regularly slurping up browsing data from Chrome. Here’s how to stop Edge from copying your Chrome data. Windows default #5: Bing, Bing, everywhere Personally, I don’t want web searches in the Start menu. They slow down my searches and take me to Bing and Edge, a search engine and browser I don’t use. You can stop seeing web search results by turning them off with a registry hack or switching to a third-party Start menu, but Microsoft doesn’t provide an easy graphical toggle for this. Or, you can try using a different launcher entirely. Command Palette integrates web search results that respect your choice of default browser and search engine. The launcher Microsoft bundles in PowerToys is much more respectful of user choice than the Start menu.Chris Hoffman / Foundry Windows default #6: HDR mistakes Some modern desktop displays (and laptop displays) support HDR content. However, like those smooth higher refresh rates, HDR may be deactivated by default until you hunt it down. And, even if it’s activated, it might not be calibrated correctly for your display unless you do it yourself. To check whether HDR is available for your display on Windows 11 — and to activate it, if it is — head to Settings > System > Display. You’ll find an HDR toggle here, and you can turn it on or click it to see more settings. (On Windows 10, you’ll find HDR options at Settings > System > Display > Windows HD Color.) To calibrate your HDR display — assuming you have HDR available and turned on —download and run Microsoft’s Windows HDR Calibration app. It’ll walk you through choosing settings that look good to your eyes on your display and installing a color profile that’ll make HDR look better in Windows. Windows default #7: OneDrive aggression Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud syncing software is built right into Windows, which is convenient if you use it. But even if you do, you might not want OneDrive syncing your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos folders to the cloud. If nothing else, these might use a good amount of space — and that’s a pain unless you have a Microsoft 365 subscription with 1TB of data (which is admittedly a good deal). The decision is up to you, but OneDrive often seems to make choices to sync data on its own. (And when it comes to data in particular, you should always make your own decisions.) To control what OneDrive is syncing, look for the “Manage backup” option in its Settings window. Here’s how to take control over folder backup and fight other OneDrive annoyances. Windows default #8: Taskbar and Start mess The standard Windows taskbar, Start menu, and Widgets pane are packed with things you probably don’t care about. To make a PC feel more like your own, I recommend customizing them. Here’s how: Taskbar: Unpin any shortcuts you don’t want by right-clicking them and choosing “Unpin from taskbar.” Then remove other items (such as the search box) by right-clicking an empty spot on the taskbar, selecting “Taskbar settings,” and tweaking the settings on this screen. Start menu: Unpin any shortcuts you don’t want by right-clicking them and selecting “Unpin from Start.” You can also select “Uninstall” to remove preinstalled apps you may not want. Then head to Settings > Personalization > Start to configure which exact elements are and aren’t included. You can hide lots of the recommendations, for example. Widgets: Here’s how to make the Widgets menu worth using on Windows 11. If you hide the feed, the Widgets experience instantly gets better.Chris Hoffman, Foundry Windows default #9: Ad overload By default, Windows is extremely noisy with advertisements all over the place, from the lock screen to the taskbar to the Start menu and notification popups. To trim this down and make Windows leave you alone, follow my guide to turning off ads in lots of places throughout Windows. Windows default #10: Disappointing app selection While Windows includes a variety of default apps that work fine, many of them aren’t the best. But you don’t have to pay for alternatives. I’ve got a list of my favorite free upgrades for built-in Windows applications. From better search tools to surprisingly powerful image editors and Notepad replacements, these are tools Windows enthusiasts like me have long relied on. Don’t just limit yourself to changing settings. Swap some of those default apps for ones you might prefer, and enjoy an enhanced Windows experience from start to finish. Let’s stay in touch! Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter today. I’ll send you three new things to try each Friday.

As part of Sony's fiscal year 2024 fourth quarter financial report, we learned that PS5 shipments have reached 77.8 million units to date. In the last quarter, Sony only shipped 2.8 million units of the PlayStation 5 console, a significant decrease from the 4.5 million units shipped in Q4 FY 2023. Full-year PS5 sales are also down: Sony sold 18.5 million units in fiscal year 2024, down from the 20.8 million consoles sold in fiscal year 2023. Sony also shared the forecast for fiscal year 2025, and the expectation is that PlayStation 5 hardware sales will decrease even further. However, this will be offset by first-party software sales, which are expected to increase with the release of titles like Ghost of Yotei, now set to launch on October 2. FY2025 Forecast (year-on-year) ◼ Sales: 370.0 billion yen (8%) decrease ·(ー) Decrease in sales of hardware due to a decrease in unit sales ·(ー) Impact of foreign exchange rates ·(+) Increase in sales of first-party game software titles ·(+) Increase in sales of non-first-party game software titles including add-on content ◼ OI: 65.2 billion yen（16%) increase ·(+) Impact of increase in sales of first-party game software titles Truth be told, even this year's PS5 hardware sales decrease was largely offset by software sales on PS4 and PS5, which increased from 2023's 286.4 million units to 2024's 303.3 million units. However, most of them were for third-party games, whereas first-party game sales decreased from 39.7 million units to 28.9 million units year-over-year. The digital download ratio of full game software sales on PS4 and PS5 rose from 2023's 70% to 2024's 76%. Sony also highlighted the 5% year-over-year increase in Monthly Active Users (MAUs), which rose from Q4 2023's 118 million to Q4 2024's 124 million. Admittedly, there's the fact that some PC games now require access to the PlayStation Network, which wasn't really the case last year. This could have contributed to the higher figure registered in 2024.

This article contains spoilers for Andor season 2 episodes 10-12 and Rogue One. The final three episodes of Andor may not pack quite the same emotional punch as the Ghorman arc, but they definitely bring this story together in an impactful way. It was revealed fairly early on that this season was going to lead up to the events of Rogue One, but how it did so was still very much a surprise. From the reveal of Krennic’s secret weapon program, to Bail’s arrival on Yavin 4, and so much more – the last three episodes have lined things up perfectly and added new context to the events of Rogue One in the process. Here’s everything you need to know about the Andor finale and how it connects to Rogue One. Luthen and Lonni’s Sacrifice This arc begins a year after the last, as all the others have, in 1 BBY. Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) and Luthen (Stellan Skarsgård) receive an urgent message from Lonni (Robert Emms) asking to meet. For the first time, Luthen and Lonni meet in public rather than in their secret elevator hideout in the depths of Coruscant.  Lonni begs for safe passage for him and his family in exchange for the information he has, claiming that he’s been burned and that the Empire will likely be after him soon. Luthen agrees to take them to Yavin, giving Lonni just enough hope to spill what he knows. Lonni starts by warning Luthen that Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) knows he’s Axis and is trying to covertly assemble a team to apprehend him.  Then Lonni reveals what really has him shaken up – the truth about the Emperor’s Energy program. After holding on to Dedra’s code cert for a year, he finally dug through her files and found out about Krennic’s (Ben Mendelsohn) secret weapon program a.k.a. the Death Star. He says that the massacre on Ghorman, and the Imperial occupation of Jedha and Scarif are all connected. He tells Luthen all about the Kyber crystals on Jedha, Galen Erso’s involvement, everything that the Rebel Alliance needs to start looking into this. Luthen kills Lonni after he shares this information, presumably paranoid about the Empire finding out what he now knows. He relays all of this to Kleya and urges her to flee and get this information to the others as quickly as possible. He stays behind and starts destroying their comms relay when Dedra appears. She comes alone, cocky and confident that she has him on the ropes, but Luthen isn’t going to go out so easily. While Dedra is waxing poetic about how she finally has him, Luthen stabs himself with a nearby relic. Dedra attempts to keep him alive by transporting him to a hospital, but Kleya is able to sneak in and take him off life support, as she knows he would want. Dedra’s Folly Even though Dedra is finally successful at capturing Luthen, we find out that her “victory” came at a cost. As soon as she gets Luthen to the hospital, she’s arrested by the ISB and Krennic is brought in to interrogate her. He asks who she told about the secret project and how she heard about Galen Erso’s involvement. He also assumes that she gave Lonni her code cert. She denies this, but also admits that there were intel bundles that were forwarded to her office by mistake. Instead of reporting them, she sifted through them for information that could lead her to Axis. But that also left the information readily available for Lonni to steal. In the final moments of episode 12, we see Dedra is now a prisoner in an Imperial prison like Cassian once was. We don’t know for sure that this is Narkina 5, the Empire is a fan of uniformity after all, but it’s pretty safe to assume that it’s at least a similar work camp environment. The Empire turned on her as soon as she outlived her usefulness and because her desire to capture Axis put the Death Star plans at risk. Rescuing Kleya and Knowledge of the Death Star Meanwhile, Cassian (Diego Luna), Melshi (Duncan Pow), and K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) are bonding on Yavin when Wilmon (Muhannad Bhaier) hears a mysterious transmission that Cassian recognizes from his time with Luthen. Cassian, Melshi, and K-2SO immediately set off for Coruscant despite the protocols on Yavin forbidding them from doing so. Wilmon tells Draven (Alistair Petrie) why Cassian left, and he isn’t too thrilled about it. Join our mailing list Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! On Coruscant, Supervisor Heert (Jacob James Beswick) is put in charge of finding and capturing Kleya. He seeks advice from Dedra, which she begrudgingly gives from behind bars. The ISB is able to get Kleya’s comm table functioning enough to track her distress signal, arriving at the Coruscant safe house right after Cassian and Melshi do. At first it seems like the ISB might have them cornered, but K-2SO puts his brute force to work taking out the Imperial agents and helping them get Kleya out of Coruscant. A Meeting On Kafrene When Cassian returns to Yavin, he relays the information about Krennic’s program and the Death Star that Kleya and Luthen got from Lonni to Rebel leadership. Kleya was injured in the ISB attack and is still recovering, and Cassian knows that they need to act on this information as soon as possible. Luthen died for it, after all. The Rebel council isn’t sure if they can trust this information, but Mon wants to believe Cassian. One of Saw’s men, Tivik, has put out word that he has information, but will only speak to Cassian about it if he comes to Kafrene. Mon and Draven try to convince Bail to let Cassian follow this lead even though he’s currently being reprimanded for sneaking off Yavin to go rescue Kleya. He relents, sending Cassian and K-2SO off to Kafrene, which is where we first meet them in Rogue One. What Happened to Bix? In the final moments of the finale, we return to Mina-Rau, the planet that Bix, Brasso, and Wilmon sought refuge on after Ferrix. B2-EMO is still there, playing with the children. Finally we see Bix, standing in a field holding a child that we can probably assume is Cassian’s, and part of the reason she left a year ago. She knew that he would leave the rebellion for both of them, and she didn’t want him to do that. But now she and their child look out into the distance, at a sunrise that Cassian is currently fighting for, but will never see for himself. Both full seasons of Andor are available to stream on Disney+ now.

By the time you read these words, it’s quite possible that Adorama will be out of stock of the new DJI Mavic 4 Pro. But when I wrote them, the US-based retailer was still selling a drone that wasn’t supposed to go on sale in the US at all, with roughly 70 left in stock.This morning, I wrote how DJI was skipping the US with its most advanced drone yet, citing Trump’s tariffs among other reasons for the decision. DJI did not send the drone to US reviewers, and it wouldn’t provide US prices when we asked.But Adorama and B&H, two rival camera stores based in New York City, apparently didn’t get the message!Today, they both listed the drone for $2,699 — or $3,549 for the Fly More Kit, or $4,649 for the Creator Combo with the fancy new controller with the folding sticks and swiveling 1600-nit screen, or $1,299 for that controller all by its lonesome. B&H even issued a press release.B&H is only offering preorders today; I confirmed with Miguel Perez in the store’s drone department that “we don’t yet have it in stock,” and he wasn’t sure when stock might arrive. “It’s a little bit of a grey area for logistics between the US and China for aircraft,” he admits. But he says B&H isn’t taking anyone’s money — “we don’t charge until it ships” — and that he’s heard other US retailers like Adorama are selling the drone this very week.Adorama sales rep Steve Chill confirms that over the phone, and offers to put one on hold for me, because he says they’re moving fast. “We had a few hundred in stock, now we’re down to 70,” he says. “They’ll be gone tomorrow.”Over the phone, he says he has the $3,549 Fly More Combo right now if I want, though he’s out of the $2,699 base model. (At the time I reached out, Adorama’s website was showing the entry model in stock, shipping next week, though it’s now just listing a preorder again; however, the new DJI RC Pro 2 controller appears to be in stock too.)It’s not clear what’s happening. Did DJI ship some to the US early, but not enough for a full launch, perhaps? DJI spokesperson Daisy Kong doesn’t have an answer for me yet.If you want to try your luck, here are the links:DJI Mavic 4 Pro: Adorama, B&HDJI Mavic 4 Pro Fly More Combo: Adorama, B&HDJI Mavic 4 Pro Creator Combo: Adorama, B&HDJI RC Pro 2 Controller: Adorama, B&HOr, you could just call, like me.See More:

13 May, 2025 Clare Dowdy finds out how the iconic car brand taps into the appetite for personalisation among the super-rich, and the incredible range of options these customers can decide on. At Rolls-Royce’s site in West Sussex, visitors are asked to put on a purple overall-style jacket. Nothing unusual there, it’s routine at manufacturing facilities to be handed a coat. But this jacket is made by Norton & Sons of Savile Row. If you weren’t picked up from the station in a Roller and driven up the drive past the 65 box-cut lime trees to the factory’s front door (as I was), then the jacket might be your first whiff that things are done differently here. A constellation of the night sky picked out in tiny lights on the headliner (ceiling) of a new car This factory has cornered the – admittedly niche – market in bespoke one-off motor cars, an object that is becoming increasingly desired by the very wealthy. From the welcoming reception desk to the pristine production line, from the embroidery workshop to the private dining room, the atmosphere is deferential. These people know their target audience. At Rolls-Royce, it’s all about making customers feel special. For example, staff know customers like to mark important anniversaries. So a customer can decide to celebrate the day they made their first billion by having the exact constellation of that night sky picked out in tiny lights on the headliner (ceiling) of their new car. This makes particular sense if you have a chauffeur, as you get a great view of the headliner from the back seat. That service isn’t on offer to off-the-peg Rolls-Royce customers, but to those who pay the extra to have their car personalised. The home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, outside Chichester And though it takes around three years to make an individualised car, demand is going up. Called Bespoke and Coachbuild, this service provides customers with a one-off Rolls-Royce, as they can choose their own detailing, materials, marquetry, patterns and paint colour. With Coachbuild, they can even dictate the shape of the car. That’s a four-year process. There was a surge in bespoke commissioning during the pandemic, when billionaires, like the rest of us, were twiddling their thumbs at home. These hand-crafted projects are increasingly complex, high-value and – all-importantly – high-margin. Meaning they need a lot of design input. So in January, Rolls-Royce earmarked £300million to extend its Bespoke and Coachbuild capabilities at Goodwood, outside Chichester. “Clients want more intriguing levels of bespoke, so we needed more space,” the RR spokesperson explains on my visit. Hence the new facility. Production takes place at the Goodwood site, designed by Grimshaw Architects, and opened in 2003 When RR’s Goodwood site, designed by Grimshaw Architects, opened in 2003, 300 staff made just one car a day. Now there are 2,500 staff at the site, producing 28 cars a day. Rolls-Royce was founded in the UK in 1904. Since 2003 it’s been part of BMW Group, when the German company acquired the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars marque. And that’s where Martina Starke comes in. Having joined BMW in 2001, she left her role as head of BMW Designworks’ Munich studio to become general manager of RR’s Bespoke Design in Goodwood in 2024. She oversees more than 30 designers, who collaborate with the engineers, craftspeople and artisans of Bespoke. These designers have backgrounds in 3D, colour trim, textiles, fashion, automotive and industrial design. Three designers work in the accessory design team, which can include creating anything from chess sets to picnic hampers “They not only create products, they create experiences and moments of wonder for our clients,” she says of the team. “I guide and support them as they look into the lifestyle of our clients to understand and capture their personal taste – so we can curate their beautiful masterpieces with material, colours and craftmanship.” She describes the work of Bespoke as storytelling. “My job is to nurture these stories as they come alive. They ask for something emotional and made for them – it’s a personal product.” But first the client must settle on the brief. This is either discussed at Goodwood, or with a designer and salesperson based at one of the company’s private offices in New York, Seoul, Dubai and Shanghai. The Middle East is the largest Bespoke region by average value per motor car, closely followed by North America and Europe. The ambition is to have a private office in every region, as having designers based in these key markets allows RR to react fast, Starke adds. These designers have a four-month induction course at Goodwood before they go into the field. Customers can choose their own design to have embroidered onto seats “There’s a conversation with the customer to understand what the idea is,” Starke says. So apart from headliners depicting the night sky, a customer might ask for a particular rose from their garden embroidered into the headliner, “or the face of your child, or dog, or horse painted in your vehicle so you have the loved ones with you in the car.” While imagination is limitless, the engineers need to confirm that it’s feasible. “If it’s possible, we might do several iterations. In the end we visualise the perfect wish,” Starke says. The fruits of this process include solid 18-carat gold sculptures, mother-of-pearl artworks, and holographic paint finishes. One client in Japan is having a cherry blossom design embroidered onto their headliner with 250,000 stitches. And when it comes to colour options, RR has 44,000 to choose from. But if the client can’t find the one they want, RR can make it up for them. This service was invaluable for the client who wanted the car exterior to match the colour of their dog’s fur. The private office at the Rolls-Royce site in Goodwood “What they really like is that we bring together the design and the craftmanship,” Starke says. “When they come to Goodwood and look at the woodwork or leather shop, they can touch, experience and understand it. When you have this high level of craftmanship it’s a different connection to people. It connects you to the makers.” This type of customisation is sought by clients who define luxury as something deeply personal to them, she adds. Starke’s department includes a three-strong accessory design team. “We’re not competing with other car brands, we’re competing with other luxury brands,” the spokesperson explains. Pieces in the accessories range include pens, luggage and dog leads Accessories designer Nick Abrams shows us a new magnetic chess set, which will sit along other pieces in the accessories range including pens, luggage and dog leads. This chess set costs €29,000, pre-tax. But of course, the client could customise it. All these opportunities for what Starke calls meaningful personal expression tap into a global trend. “Individualisation is growing because people want the storytelling. It’s self-expression, encapsulating your taste and philosophy,” she says. The exterior of Phantom Goldfinger, created to honour the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger Timandra Harkness is a broadcaster and author of Technology is Not the Problem explains why hyper-personalisation is a trend that’s still growing. “We live in an age increasingly obsessed with identity: consumers want what they buy to express who they are.” Now, mass production means most people in advanced economies can afford nice things, so merely wearing tall boots or gold lace isn’t enough, according to Harkness. “Standing out from the crowd today means buying things that only a few people can have, because they are artisanal, or limited-edition, or personalised. “Because mass production has put even luxury products within reach of the mass market, personalisation offers a way to stand out from the crowd,” she says. The interior of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Scintilla What does that mean for the top end of the market? “Bespoke products have added value: customers will pay a premium to own a commodity that nobody else owns, and that says something about them.” In 2024, RR’s one-off Arcadia Droptail was reported as costing its anonymous buyer $31million. 100 years ago, merely owning a car was a sign of wealth and status – and probably meant you could afford to employ a driver, Harkness points out. “Today it’s not even enough to drive a top-of-the-range car, so the wealthiest consumers need other ways to look – and feel – special. And feeling special is as important as outward signals,” she adds. “Nobody else will know this car matches your dog’s fur, but you will, and that will remind you every time you see it that nothing is too good for you, or your dog.” With the expansion of its personalisation capabilities, RR is betting on the continuation of this trend. If they’re right, then that will be good for the company and good for its designers. The interior of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Goldfinger Design disciplines in this article Industries in this article Brands in this article What to read next The car after the storm – Jaguar unveils new concept EV Automotive Design 3 Dec, 2024

A California judge slammed a pair of law firms for the undisclosed use of AI after he received a supplemental brief with “numerous false, inaccurate, and misleading legal citations and quotations.” In a ruling submitted last week, Judge Michael Wilner imposed $31,000 in sanctions against the law firms involved, saying “no reasonably competent attorney should out-source research and writing” to AI, as pointed out by law professors Eric Goldman and Blake Reid on Bluesky.“I read their brief, was persuaded (or at least intrigued) by the authorities that they cited, and looked up the decisions to learn more about them – only to find that they didn’t exist,” Judge Milner writes. “That’s scary. It almost led to the scarier outcome (from my perspective) of including those bogus materials in a judicial order.”As noted in the filing, a plaintiff’s legal representative for a civil lawsuit against State Farm used AI to generate an outline for a supplemental brief. However, this outline contained “bogus AI-generated research” when it was sent to a separate law firm, K&L Gates, which added the information to a brief. “No attorney or staff member at either firm apparently cite-checked or otherwise reviewed that research before filing the brief,” Judge Milner writes.When Judge Milner reviewed the brief, he found that “at least two of the authorities cited do not exist at all.” After asking K&L Gates for clarification, the firm resubmitted the brief, which Judge Milner said contained “considerably more made-up citations and quotations beyond the two initial errors.” He then issued an Order to Show Cause, resulting in lawyers giving sworn statements that confirm the use of AI. The lawyer who created the outline admitted to using Google Gemini, as well as the AI legal research tools in Westlaw Precision with CoCounsel.This isn’t the first time lawyers have been caught using AI in the courtroom. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen cited made-up court cases in a legal document after mistaking Google Gemini, then called Bard, as “a super-charged search engine” rather than an AI chatbot. A judge also found that lawyers suing a Colombian airline included a slew of phony cases generated by ChatGPT in their brief.“The initial, undisclosed use of AI products to generate the first draft of the brief was flat-out wrong,” Judge Milner writes. “And sending that material to other lawyers without disclosing its sketchy AI origins realistically put those professionals in harm’s way.”See More: