It was shortly after moving into Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood that I saw the sign for the first time: American Science & Surplus. My curiosity piqued, I pulled into the strip mall and walked into a store filled with an unimaginable variety of lab equipment, military surplus, tools, electronics, toys, and so much more.

Now, nearly 90 years after its launch selling “reject lenses” as American Lens & Photo, American Science & Surplus is facing an existential threat. The COVID-19 pandemic and increased costs hit the business hard, so the store has launched a GoFundMe campaign looking to raise $200,000 from customers and fans alike. What’s happening in suburban Chicago is a microcosm of the challenges facing local retail, with big-box retailers and online behemoths overwhelming beloved local institutions. It’s a story that has played out countless times in the last two-plus decades, and owner Pat Meyer is hoping this tale has a different ending.

American Science & Surplus owner Pat Meyer holds the two most popular items in the store: $4 solenoid switches that are used to repair a well-known brand of single-cup coffee makers.
Credit:
Eric Bangeman

Launching a fundraiser was a tough choice for Meyer. “I don’t like asking people for money,” he said.

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As we’ve mentioned previously, Nintendo did not see fit to provide press with early review hardware for the Switch 2. Today, though, with the June 5 launch of the Switch 2 having already arrived in regions like Japan and Australia, the ever-efficient UPS driver delivered final retail hardware straight from Nintendo of America to the Ars Orbiting HQ.

The 14-hour lead time between our receipt of the hardware and the midnight launch of the Switch 2 on the US East Coast isn’t close to enough time to put together a comprehensive review. For now, though, we thought we’d take you through a pictorial journey of our unboxing and initial setup process, ahead of much more coverage to come.

And while you peruse the images, we recommend listening to the absolute bop that is the Switch 2 setup music, which we’ve embedded below:

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Epic has yet to find a platform it hasn’t wanted to put Fortnite on — only ones it wasn’t allowed to put the game on — so its not surprising the developer is going all out with the Nintendo Switch 2. Not only will the Switch 2 version of Fortnite support both graphical and performance improvements that bring it in line with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S, it’ll also offer mouse controls if you’re playing with the Joy-Con 2.

Mouse control will let you aim with one or both Joy-Con 2 and navigate the UI with a cursor, bringing the console experience closer to how the game works on PC. “With mouse controls, the right analog stick will be disabled, and you’ll rotate your character by using the selected Joy-Con 2 controller(s) as a mouse,” Epic says. The primary click will be assigned to the ZR button unless you’re using the left Joy-Con 2, and you can swap which analog stick controls movements to accommodate whichever controller you want to use.

Epic

Without an extended period of time to try mouse control out, its hard to say whether it’ll make Switch 2 Fortnite players more accurate, but there’s other benefits to running the game on Nintendo’s new console. For example, Fortnite on Switch 2 will run at 60 fps, at a 2,176 x 1,224 resolution while docked and a 1,600 x 900 resolution while undocked. The game will also support things like greater view distances, clothing physics and Nintendo’s new GameChat social feature for streaming what you’re playing to friends.

The game, as ever, remains completely free. If you managed to secure a Switch 2, though, you’ll want to delete your old copy of Fortnite for Nintendo Switch after transferring your data from your old console to your new one. Graphical improvements and mouse control are only available from the Switch 2 version of the game, which you can download directly from the Nintendo eShop on June 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fortnite-will-support-mouse-controls-on-switch-2-190623477.html?src=rss

When I think of Nothing (the phone company), I think of value. The Nothing Phone 3a, for example, is $379, but it doesn’t feel like it: It looks cool, it performs well, and checks many of the boxes you’d expect from a phone that costs twice as much, if not more.

These phones aren’t perfect, of course, and are missing some features that the best iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxies might have. But that’s kind of the point: The company cuts features that most users don’t want or need at this price point, while offering features that many “budget” phones often omit. In a world of expensive flagships, it’s cool to see a company continue to prioritize a premium smartphone experience while keeping the price in check.

Even the Phone 2, which was not considered a “budget” phone, launched at $599—more expensive than the 3a for sure, but not quite premium iPhone pricing. That’s why I find the Nothing Phone 3 to be a bit confusing. The company officially announced on Wednesday that its newest phone will arrive in July of 2025:

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Nothing hasn’t revealed too many details about the new phone yet, other than what CEO Carl Pei shared at Google I/O. Back in May, Pei said that Nothing Phone 3 would be the company’s “first true flagship smartphone,” and will include “premium materials, major performance upgrades, and software that really levels things up.”

That all sounds good. I mean, who doesn’t want those three elements in their smartphone of choice? Unfortunately, it appears that trifecta comes at a cost. Pei followed up that vague announcement with the Phone 3’s price tag: £800, or roughly $1,085 when converted to USD. Essentially, the Nothing Phone 3 will directly compete with the iPhone 16 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro, and Galaxy S25+.

Now, it’s possible the U.S. pricing could differ: As spotted by 9to5Google, leaker MysteryLupin posted on X that Phone 3 will cost $799, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, while the 16GB RAM variant with 512GB of storage costs $899. That $200 could make a difference, and would make the Phone 3 cheaper than the iPhone 16, and in the same arena as the Galaxy S25 and Pixel 9. Leaks and rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt, but Nothing only disclosed the U.K. pricing, so we’re not necessarily locked into that £800 price.

We also don’t know enough to say whether that $800 to $1,000 MSRP would be worth it, and we likely won’t until reviewers get their hands on the Phone 3, but I have to admit some skepticism at this early stage. Maybe the Phone 3 will be the phone to beat this year, but to me, Nothing’s strength is in its simplicity: I like that the company makes a phone that looks, well, nothing like the competition, while also finding a way to keep an exceptional price. Sure, extra features and performance are always welcome, but for potentially an additional $700, I’m not sure they’re that welcome.

Reddit had filed a lawsuit against Anthropic, alleging that the AI company behind the Claude chatbot has been using its data for years without permission. The lawsuit comes after Reedit has increasingly taken a hardline stance against scrapers and companies that use its data to train AI models.

In their filing, Reddit alleges that Anthropic was training its Claude chatbot on Reddit data as early as December 2021. The lawsuit also includes a screenshot in which Claude seems to acknowledge it was trained on Reddit data. In a statement to Engadget, a Reddit spokesperson said the lawsuit was the company’s “final option to force Anthropic to stop its unlawful practices” after repeated warnings.

“We believe in the Open Internet—that does not give Anthropic the right to scrape Reddit content unlawfully, exploit it for billions of dollars in profit, and disregard the rights and privacy of our users,” the spokesperson said. “In clear violation of Reddit’s terms and despite repeated requests to stop, Anthropic has been caught accessing or attempting to access Reddit content via automated bots at least 100,000 times. This isn’t a misunderstanding, it’s a sustained effort to extract value from Reddit while ignoring legal and ethical boundaries.”

Reddit’s vast archive of online discussions has become a particularly valuable commodity for the company as generative AI companies race to train new models. The company has struck lucrative licensing deals with companies like Google and OpenAI for access to its data. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has previously called out Anthropic (along with other AI firms) for scraping Reddit. Last year, the company took steps to limit automated scraping and warned AI companies that they would need to pay up.

In their lawsuit, Reddit says that “Anthropic refused to engage” in discussions about licensing. “Unlike its competitors, Anthropic has refused to agree to respect Reddit users’ basic privacy rights, including removing deleted posts from its systems,” it says. “This case is about the two faces of Anthropic: the public face that attempts to ingratiate itself into the consumer’s consciousness with claims of righteousness and respect for boundaries and the law, and the private face that ignores any rules that interfere with its attempts to further line its pockets.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for Anthropic said, “we disagree with Reddit’s claims and will defend ourselves vigorously.” 

Update, June 4, 2025 12:03 PM ET: This post was updated to include a statement from Anthropic.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/reddit-is-suing-anthropic-for-allegedly-scraping-its-data-without-permission-185833267.html?src=rss

Reddit is giving users more control to choose which activity other users can see on their public profiles. A new “curate my profile” feature allows users to selectively show or hide posting and commenting activity, as well as follower counts and NSFW content and communities.

What’s changed with Reddit profile settings

With new “Content and activity” settings, Reddit users can choose to hide all public posts and comments or selectively display activity from some subreddits on their profiles while keeping others hidden. Users can also hide follower counts as well as NSFW content and communities from their profiles.

Previously, all posts and comments were visible on a user’s public profile, which remains the default. While users are largely anonymous, anyone could see their activity, such as posting history and which communities they’d participated in. As Engadget notes, this allowed the broader community to hold users accountable for bad behavior, and some users are concerned that the ability to hide activity from a public profile will make said behavior more difficult to see.

On the flip side, TechCrunch points out that the option to limit public post visibility may encourage more participation. Users who wanted to engage in communities on sensitive topics may have created throwaway accounts to avoid having that activity appear on their profile—or chosen not to participate at all.

Note that hiding activity on your profile won’t hide your username on posts and comments in the community itself. You also cannot hide individual posts or comments from your profile—you can only show or hide all activity from an entire community. Moderators may still have access to your history even if you’ve changed your visibility settings.

How to change your Reddit profile visibility

According to Reddit’s announcement, the feature began rolling out on June 3. However, it may not be available to all users immediately—I don’t have it yet—so be sure to update your app to the latest version and keep an eye out for the new Curate your profile menu, which will appear just under View profile when you open your profile pane in the app.

When you select Curate your profile, you’ll see options to toggle NSFW content and follower count on and off. You can also tap Content and activity, which will give you a pop-up to show all, hide all, or customize what’s visible on your profile. If you choose Customize, you can select or deselect specific subs to show or hide activity from those communities.

The Voxel Agents has significantly expanded its indie hit game, The Gardens Between, and has remade it for virtual reality. It has debuted the new version of the time-bending puzzler at the Shacknews E4 Indie Showcase, which featured 15 game developers showing off content for their upcoming titles. The new game, now called Hidden Memories of the Gardens Between, still revolves around childhood best friends Arina and Frendt. But now the story begins two decades after the original one when Frendt finds Arina’s old diary in the midst of moving. 

Frendt is transported back into the events in the original The Gardens Between, but he’s now guided by Arina’s diary, which will show her perspective as they traverse the dreamlike landscapes of the game. The new version comes with 40 new puzzles across levels with immersive interactions made specifically for virtual reality. Players will be able to reach out to assemble toy parts, for instance, lift a brush to paint and even craft a friendship bracelet with their hands. 

“We wanted to tap into something relatable, familiar, and nostalgic through the lens of VR. The magic of being a kid is fleeting, but the story of Arina and Frendt captures that enchantment in a beautiful package,” said Simon Joslin, co-founder of The Voxel Agents. 

The developer will be releasing a demo of the game at Steam Next Fest, which will take place from June 9 to June 16, 2025. Hidden Memories of the Gardens Between has no release date yet, but it will be available sometime this year for the Meta Quest and SteamVR.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/indie-hit-the-gardens-between-has-been-reworked-for-virtual-reality-193050098.html?src=rss

Reddit is suing AI startup Anthropic for what it’s calling a breach of contract and for engaging in “unlawful and unfair business acts” by using the social media company’s platform and data without authority. From a report: The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco on Wednesday, claims that Anthropic has been training its models on the personal data of Reddit users without obtaining their consent. Reddit alleges that it has been harmed by the unauthorized commercial use of its content.

The company opened the complaint by calling Anthropic a “late-blooming” AI company that “bills itself as the white knight of the AI industry.” Reddit follows by saying, “It is anything but.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) teamed up with DOGE to fire 10,000 employees while relying on “hopelessly error-ridden” personnel records, a class action complaint filed yesterday alleged. The lawsuit said the HHS terminated thousands of workers on April 1, shortly after sharing the flawed personnel records with the US DOGE Service, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“These agencies knew that the records were hopelessly error-ridden, and that the records should have been used, if at all, with great caution,” said the lawsuit filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia. “Instead of taking steps to verify the contents of the records and correct the systemic inaccuracies, the agencies promptly used them to fire 10,000 employees.”

The case was filed by a law firm founded by former Justice Department attorneys on behalf of seven named plaintiffs and all others who were laid off as part of the April 1 Reduction in Force (RIF). It alleges that the government violated the Privacy Act, which requires agencies to verify the accuracy of information used as the basis for adverse actions against employees.

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king*jojo shares a report: Linux desktop darling KDE is weighing in on the controversy around the impending demise of Windows 10 support with a lurid “KDE for Windows 10 Exiles” campaign. KDE’s alarming “Exiles” page opens with the text “Your computer is toast” followed by a warning that Microsoft wants to turn computers running Windows 10 into junk from October 14.

“It may seem like it continues to work after that date for a bit, but when Microsoft stops support for Windows 10, your perfectly good computer will be officially obsolete.” Beneath a picture of a pile of tech junk, including a rotary telephone and some floppy drives, KDE proclaims: “Windows 10 will degrade as more and more bugs come to light. With nobody to correct them, you risk being hacked. Your data, identity, and control over your device could be stolen.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Over the years, scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls have analyzed the ancient parchments with various methods: for example, X-rays, multispectral imaging, “virtual unfolding,” and paleography, i.e., studying elements in their writing styles. The scrolls are believed to date back to between the third century BCE and the first century CE, but those dates rely largely on paleography, since only a handful of the scrolls have calendar dates written on them.

However, the traditional paleographic method is inherently subjective and based on a given scholar’s experience. A team of scientists has combined radiocarbon dating from 24 scroll samples and machine-learning-based handwriting analysis to create their own AI program—dubbed Enoch. The objective was to achieve more accurate date estimates, according to a new paper published in the journal PLoS ONE. Among the findings: Many of the scrolls are older than previously thought.

As reported earlier, these ancient Hebrew texts—roughly 900 full and partial scrolls in all, stored in clay jars—were first discovered scattered in various caves near what was once the settlement of Qumran, just north of the Dead Sea, by Bedouin shepherds in 1946–1947. (Apparently, a shepherd threw a rock while searching for a lost member of his flock and accidentally shattered one of the clay jars, leading to the discovery.) Qumran was destroyed by the Romans, circa 73 CE, and historians believe the scrolls were hidden in the caves by a sect called the Essenes to protect them from being destroyed. The natural limestone and conditions within the caves helped preserve the scrolls for millennia.

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No matter how locked down your identity information is, there’s probably a gaping hole in your security efforts: your car. Just like you, your car is linked to a few numbers. Unlike you, it rolls around with those numbers—your license plate number and the vehicle’s VIN—out in the open. Your car’s identity is even more vulnerable than yours, and that vulnerability can have a huge negative impact on you. Here’s what to know about car identity theft and how to protect your vehicle.

Plates and VINs

Your car’s public identity is tied to two things, its license plate number and vehicle identification number (VIN). The license plates are on display by law, making it easy to copy down—or just steal outright—and your car’s VIN is often displayed on the dashboard, or in other easily accessible locations on the car (as well as your title, registration, and insurance documentation).

With your license plates and VIN, criminals can do some real damage to your life by running a few basic scams:

• VIN swapping. Thieves can use your car’s VIN when they have a stolen or damaged car to sell. Swapping in your VIN for the real one can erase flood or accident damage or hide the fact that the car is stolen. After a private cash sale (usually on a platform like Facebook Marketplace), the thieves vanish and the new owner is stuck. For example, a couple in Ohio lost $33,000 when they unknowingly purchased a car with a swapped VIN via Facebook Marketplace.

• Hacking. VINs are useful for modern cars, because they can help hackers figure out everything they need to access the car’s software (you can see some of the information encoded in it here). Manufacturers use VINs to generate access codes, and the VINs encode information about where and when the car was built, which hackers can use to figure out what version of the software they’re dealing with—along with the known exploits and vulnerabilities.

• Stolen cars. Stolen license plates can be placed on stolen cars so the plate numbers don’t ping law enforcement at red light camera, speed cameras, or toll booths.

• Toll and ticket evasion. Stolen license plates can also be used to evade automatic tolls or to avoid paying tickets. A thief can brazenly rack up violations that accrue to your vehicle, leaving you holding the (expensive) bag.

• Identity theft. While your car’s license plate number can’t allow thieves to steal your identity directly, it can be used as part of an information-gathering scheme with the goal of stealing your identity. Your vehicle’s make and model, your home address, accident history, and other pieces of information can be accessed and used as breadcrumbs to discover even more information about you.

Protect your numbers

Unfortunately, there’s not much you can physically do to protect your car’s identity. You can’t legally obscure your license plates, and while you can likely get away with hiding the VIN if it’s embossed on the dashboard (by covering it with tape, a piece of paper, or a file folder) when the car is parked in a public place, you can usually look up a vehicle’s VIN if you have the license plate number, so this is only a partial deterrent.

What you can do is take basic precautions and pay attention:

• Check the VIN. You can check your VIN’s history at the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s website to see if it’s been involved in any fraud. You should do this regularly to make sure that no one’s using your car’s VIN for shady purposes. The sooner you’re aware, the less damage it will do.

• Park inside. Keeping your car off the street as much as possible can help make it more challenging for people to copy down your VIN or steal your license plates. If you have the option to keep your vehicle in a locked garage, that’s your best bet.

• Avoid sharing. There are many instances where you’ll need to provide the VIN (when selling the car, for example). You can ask if the full VIN is really needed, or if you can just give out the last few digits as you can with your Social Security number, thus keeping the full VIN out of as many records as possible. You can also offer to provide a vehicle history report from a reputable company that doesn’t include the VIN.

• Secure the plates. Use tamper-proof screws or an anti-theft license plate cover to make it difficult for thieves to steal the plates off your car.