“APPstinence,” which as you may have guessed, refers to abstaining from using your apps, is a movement encouraging people to get off social media and become less attached to their smartphones. It was founded by Harvard graduate student Gabriela Nguyen. The 24-year-old, who grew up in the center of Big Tech in Silicon Valley, realized she was addicted to both social media and her phone, probably from an early age, so she decided to something about it and started a club at the Ivy League school for her fellow students, along with the website APPstinence. Aimed at her Gen Z and Gen Alpha peers — although it applies to everyone who feels they have an unhealthy relationship with tech (which is basically all of us, right?) — APPstinence forgoes popular quick fixes like screen time controls, algorithm hacking, or digital detoxes, and offers something much more radical: a five-step method (which sounds Alcohol Anonymous’ 12-step program) to free yourself once-and-for-all from the chains of technology addiction. Appstinence’s 5-steps method can be summed up in just as many words: Decrease, Deactivate, Delete, Downgrade, and Depart. The point of this process is to reduce the sources of stimulus gradually. The idea isn’t to be completely phone-free, but to eventually be able, over time, to downgrade to some type of dumb-ish phone without social accounts. (Nguyen herself has three dumb phones, including the Light Phone.) According to her, people, and Gen Z specifically, should know they have the choice to opt out of social media. How does the process work? Sure, quitting cold turkey is hard. (Am I the only person who regularly deletes Instagram off my phone, only to reload it at 1:00 a.m in a panic?) Instead, Nguyen’s 5D Method decreases your usage incrementally, by deactivating your social media accounts one-by-one, which automatically deletes your apps 30 days later, allowing you to downgrade your phone, and finally depart from the digital world. Interested in trying it out? Here’s a full breakdown of the steps. Before you start: Make a list of family and friends you are in regular contact with, and who are important for you. Let each know, one-by-one, you’ll be moving offline and to reach you by text or phone instead. Step #1, Decrease: Delete all of the apps from your smartphone, and only access them through the browser on your laptop. Unfollow non-essential accounts and turn off non-essential notifications. After a few weeks, you can move to the next step. Step #2, Deactivate: Social media apps have a 30-day deactivation period before your account is deleted. Start by deactivating the app you feel you use the least. Step #3, Delete: As your accounts automatically delete in 30 days, spend this time strengthening your connections in the real world, for example, exercising, calling your relatives, hanging out with friends, or reading. Refer to your list from before you started. Set a regular schedule to call loved ones (or text, if necessary) and propose a time to hang out in person. Doing this regularly will help you stay connected with the people that matter, and more intimately so. If you panic during this withdrawal stage, re-activate, it’s not a race. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you’ve deleted the last app. Step #4, Downgrade: Get a “transition device” like a low-fi smart phone with limited functionality, something cheap that will allow you to access the basic apps you need (banking, Double Factor Authentication for students, QR codes) and keep it shut off in your bag on outings when you may need it. Also get a flip phone, which you should use most of the time. Step #5, Depart: It could take several weeks, months, or over a year to get to this final stage.

Anthropic’s new Claude Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 models blend extended thinking, memory, and tool use.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple aims to release smart glasses by the end of 2026. This product would be equipped with cameras, microphones and speakers so that a wearer could interact with the Siri voice assistant. The glasses would also support activities such as listening to music, taking phone calls or hearing step-by-step directions to a location. Apple has long been working toward an end goal of true augmented reality glasses, but it has faced several hurdles in getting its AI endeavors to parity with other rivals. We're expecting a lot of AI announcements during WWDC 2025 in a few weeks, but some of them may be met with skepticism after the slow and sometimes rocky rollout of its Apple Intelligence suite. Meanwhile, other companies have already made waves with AI-enabled smart glasses. Meta has seen a fair amount of success from its partnership with Ray-Ban. Google recently unveiled new plans for its Android XR mixed reality glasses with a demo during its I/O showcase earlier this week. And OpenAI is getting in on the hardware game thanks to its acquisition of Jony Ive's io design startup, although it hasn't offered details yet on planned projects. Apple's project sounds more akin to the Meta option than to the display-equipped model Google showed off, but we'll likely hear more specifics soon. While Apple pushes to ready smart glasses for next year, it has abandoned some other wearables projects. According to Gurman's sources, the company has left the idea of a camera-equipped Apple Watch and Apple Watch Ultra by the wayside. However, AirPods with cameras appear to still be in development.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apple-will-reportedly-release-smart-glasses-next-year-211050767.html?src=rss

If you use the internet, you've probably had at least some personal information go missing. It's just the nature of the web. But this latest discovery, as reported by Wired, is something different. Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler found a public online database housing over 180 million records (184,162,718 to be exact) which amounted to more than 47GB of data. There were no indications about who owned the data or who placed it there, which Fowler says is atypical for these types of online databases. Fowler saw emails, usernames, passwords, and URLs linking to the sites where those credentials belonged. These accounts included major platforms like Microsoft, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Roblox, Apple, Discord, Nintendo, Spotify, Twitter, WordPress, Yahoo, and Amazon, as well as bank and financial accounts, health companies, and government accounts from at least 29 countries. That includes the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, India, Israel, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. Fowler sent a responsible disclosure notice to the hosting provider of the database, World Host Group. Fowler was able to detect signs that the credentials here were stolen with infostealer malware, which bad actors use to harvest sensitive information from a variety of platforms—think web browsers, email services, and chat apps. Following Fowler's notice, World Host Group restricted the database from public access. The provider told Wired that the database was operated by a customer, a "fraudulent user" who uploaded illegal information to the server. In order to ensure these credentials were real, and not just a bunch of bogus data, Fowler actually contacted some of the email addresses he found in the database. He got some bites, and those users were able to confirm the records that he found associated with their emails. That's no guarantee that all 184,162,718 records are accurate, but it's a good sign that most are. As such, it's entirely possible you and I both had credentials exposed in this database. What's worse, Fowler says there's no telling how long the database was open to the public before his notice shut it down.There's a lot bad actors and hackers can do with this type of information. If they know the username and password combo to one of your accounts, they'll not only see if they can use it to break into that account, but they'll use it on other accounts of yours as well. If you reuse passwords, as many do, you could be facing a mass breach. It's bad enough when that concerns Facebook and Roblox accounts, but seeing as there were financial, health, and even government accounts here, the implications are huge.How to protect yourself If you don't have access to the database, you can't say for sure whether your credentials are listed there, or which credentials they have.Still, if you haven't changed the passwords for your accounts in some time, now might be a good time to do so. You don't need to change your passwords as frequently as traditional security advice has taught us, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to give your accounts a quick security audit. Make sure you're using a strong and unique password for each and every one of your accounts. If you repeat passwords, you run the risk of credential stuffing (hackers trying the same stolen password on multiple accounts). In order to keep tabs on those passwords, use a secure password manager. Make sure you're using two-factor authentication (2FA) on all of the accounts that allow it. That way, even if a password is exposed, hackers won't be able to break into your account without the device containing the 2FA code. To boost your security, avoid SMS-based 2FA when possible, and opt for more secure 2FA options, like an authenticator app or physical security key. If your account offers it, try a passkey to combine the convenience of a password with the security of 2FA.

There is no shortage of first-person shooters out there, to the degree that some of them can start to blur together. Mouse: P.I. For Hire, however, has one of the most unique art styles I’ve ever seen in the genre. Think Cuphead, but with more explosive action — and way more mice to kill. The monochromatic visuals, which are all hand-drawn, are coupled with a catchy jazz soundtrack. The game is a 1930s noir where you’ll be investigating a corrupt city full of crooks. The premise sounds serious until you notice the protagonist running around with an arsenal fit for a circus. Here’s a fun trailer: You’ve got period staples like Tommy guns and sticks of dynamite right alongside a can of spinach and a finger gun. All of these weapons have special animations that make Mouse: P.I. look like a playable cartoon where every death is comical. Count me in. There’s no set release date yet, but the game will be coming to all major modern platforms, including Nintendo Switch 2. The game was highlighted today as a part of Six One Indie, an hourlong indie showcase that packed 48 different titles from all sorts of genres, which you can check out here.

Microsoft is testing AI-powered text generation in Notepad for Windows 11 Insiders with Copilot Plus PCs, allowing users to draft content from prompts or build on existing text through a right-click menu. The update also introduces Paint's AI sticker generator and Snipping Tool enhancements including automatic screenshot cropping. The Write feature requires Microsoft account sign-in and uses the same credit system as other Windows 11 AI features. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google issued 100 announcements during its Google I/O developers conference this week, none of which involved the smart home. That apparent lack of enthusiasm for a topic close to our heart didn’t dissuade TV and smart-appliance manufacturer Hisense from announcing plans to integrate new Google Home APIs into its own ConnectLife app, so that third-party smart home devices can be folded into that ecosystem. Hisense first announced that it would open its ConnectLife app to third-party products in December, 2024. Today, it announced it will incorporate the latest Google Home APIs into the app by the fall of 2025, Hisense says this will enable users to onboard a wide range of third-party smart home devices—including Matter and Works With Google Home-certified products—to create a more integrated smart home experience. Hisense cited two examples of how this would benefit ConnectLife users: “One-touch modes and customized automations can blend Hisense products with third-party devices to create intelligent home responses, such as air conditioners automatically adjusting based on third-party air quality sensors, or smart lights providing visual notifications when the Hisense refrigerator’s VersaTemp drawer reaches the ideal temperature for chilling drinks.” “At Hisense, we are committed to simplifying smart living for everyone,” said Hisense Director of Smart Home Experiences, Hisense Americas Region Miguel Becerra. “This integration enhances ConnectLife to create seamless experiences that make everyday life more convenient and enjoyable for our consumers.” Further reading: Smart home got the cold shoulder at Google’s I/O keynote The new version of the Hisense ConnectLife app is expected to be available this fall for both the Android and iOS platforms. As for the new Google Home APIs, they were quietly announced on May 15, ahead of Google I/O, and aren’t included in the “100 things we announced at I/O” list that was published on May 21, after the conference wrapped up.

Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover) $23.60 (was $45) See at Amazon Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia (Hardcover) $25.19 (was $28) | Releases October 7 Preorder at Amazon The annual Warhammer Skulls livestream provided a look at what's next for Games Workshop's popular multimedia franchise. Because of the sprawling nature of the Warhammer IP, it can seem a bit intimidating for newcomers. If you're interested in learning more about the history and lore of the tabletop wargame that has evolved to include dozens of video games and hundreds of novels, the first official Warhammer encyclopedia is up for grabs for nearly 50% off at Amazon.Published last October, Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide is discounted to $23.60 (was $45). The hardcover book has been a mainstay on Amazon's Warhammer and video game reference book charts since its release, and the current deal is the best we've seen. Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide (Hardcover) $23.60 (was $45) The Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide was written by Guy Haley and Gav Thorpe, both of whom have extensive experience writing about the franchise. Haley and Thorpe are two of the best-known authors of Warhammer prose novels published by Games Workshop's Black Library division.The 336-page hardcover encyclopedia is packed with lore for each of 40K's many factions, plus illustrations and hundreds of high-quality photos of the tabletop miniatures, including detailed looks at how each army and their most important characters have evolved over each edition of the game.Warhammer 40,000: The Ultimate Guide offers a convenient way to get up to speed on the in-game universe. Even if you aren't a Warhammer newcomer, the book's full-color, exclusive illustrations make it a great collectible and art book for longtime fans. This is especially true if you're interested in the tabletop game.If you're curious to learn more about the Imperium of Man, its super-powered Space Marine soldiers, and its many enemies (and victims), or you're a veteran looking to admire some professionally painted minis, this book has it all. See at Amazon Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia (Hardcover) $25.19 (was $28) | Releases October 7 The Ultimate Guide will soon be complemented by an official encyclopedia dedicated to Warhammer characters. Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia covers 120 characters from the tabletop and video game universe and will come with a free miniature.The 200-page Character Encyclopedia will be published on October 7 and is available to preorder for $25.19 (was $28). Preorder at Amazon Gallery Continue Reading at GameSpot