This Thursday is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), and as has been its custom for the last few years, Apple‘s accessibility team is taking this time to share some new assistive features that will be coming to its ecosystem of products. In addition to bringing “Accessibility Nutrition Labels” to the App Store, it’s announcing the new Magnifier for Mac, an Accessibility Reader, enhanced Braille Access as well as a veritable cornucopia of other updates to existing tools. 

According to the company’s press release, this year in particular marks “40 years of accessibility innovation at Apple.” It’s also 20 years since the company first launched its screen reader, and a significant amount of this year’s updates are designed to help those with vision impairments. 

Magnifier for Mac

One of the most noteworthy is the arrival of Magnifier on Macs. The camera-based assistive feature has been available on iPhones and iPads since 2016, letting people point their phones at things around them and getting auditory readouts of what’s in the scene. Magnifier can also make hard-to-read things easier to see, by giving you the option to increase brightness, zoom in, add color filters and adjust the perspective. 

With Magnifier for Mac, you can use any USB-connected camera or your iPhone (via Continuity Camera) to get feedback on things around you. In a video, Apple showed how a student in a large lecture hall was able to use their iPhone, attached to the top of their MacBook, to make out what was written on a distant whiteboard. Magnifier for Mac also works with Desk View, so you can use it to more easily read documents in front of you. Multiple live session windows will be available, so you can keep up with a presentation through your webcam while using Desk View to, say, read a textbook at the same time. 

Accessibility Reader

Magnifier for Mac also works with another new tool Apple is unveiling today — Accessibility Reader. It’s a “new systemwide reading mode designed to make text easier to read for users with a wide range of disabilities, such as dyslexia or low vision.” Accessibility Reader will be available on iPhones, iPads, Macs and the Apple Vision Pro, and it’s pretty much the part of Magnifier that lets you customize your text, with “extensive options for font, color and spacing.” It can help minimize distractions by getting rid of clutter, for instance.

Accessibility Reader also supports Spoken Content, and as it’s built into the Magnifier app, can be used to make real-world text like signs or menus easier to read as well. You can also launch it from any app, as it’s a mode available at the OS level. 

Apple

Braille Access

For people who are most comfortable writing in Braille, Apple has supported Braille input for years, and more recently started working with Braille displays. This year, the company is bringing Braille Access to iPhones, iPads, Macs and Vision Pros, and it’s designed to make taking notes in Braille easier. It will come with a dedicated app launcher that allows people to “open any app by typing with Braille Screen Input or a connected braille device.” Braille Access also enables users to take notes in braille format and use Nemeth code for their math and science calculations. Braille Access can open files in the Braille Ready Format (BRF), so you can return to your existing documents from other devices. Finally, “an integrated form of Live Captions allows users to transcribe conversations in real time directly on braille displays.”

Apple Watch gets Live Captions; Vision Pro gets Live Recognition

Wrapping up the vision-related updates is an expansion of such accessibility features in visionOS. The Zoom function, for instance, is getting enhanced to allow wearers to magnify what they see in both virtual reality and, well, actual reality. This uses the Vision Pro’s cameras to see what’s in your surroundings, and Apple will make a new API available that will “enable approved apps to access the main camera to provide live, person-to-person assistance for visual interpretation in apps like Be My Eyes.” Finally, Live Recognition is coming to VoiceOver in the Vision Pro, using on-device machine learning to identify and describe things in your surroundings. It can also read flyers or invitations, for example, and tell you what’s on them.

For those who have hearing loss, the Live Listen feature that’s already on iPhones will be complemented by controls on the Apple Watch, plus some bonus features. When you start a Live Listen session on your iPhone, which would stream what its microphone picks up to your connected AirPods, Beats headphones or compatible hearing aids, you’ll soon be able to see Live Captions on your paired Apple Watch. You’ll also get controls on your wrist, so you can start, stop or rewind a session. This means you can stay on your couch and start Live Listen sessions without having to go all the way over to the kitchen to pick up your iPhone and hear what your partner might be saying while they’re cooking. Live Listen also works with the hearing health and hearing aid features introduced on the AirPods Pro 2. 

Background Sounds, Personal Voice, Vehicle Motion Cues and Eye Tracking get updates

While we’re on the topic of sound, Apple is updating its Background Sounds feature that can help those with tinnitus by playing white noise (or other types of audio) to combat symptoms. Later this year, Background Sounds will offer automatic timers to stop after a set amount of time, automation actions in Shortcuts and a new EQ settings option to personalize the sounds.

Personal Voice, which helps those who are at risk of losing their voice preserve their vocal identity, is also getting a major improvement. When I tested the feature to write a tutorial on how to create your personal voice on your iPhone, I was shocked that it required the user to read out 150 phrases. Not only that, the system needed to percolate overnight to create the personal voice. With the upcoming update, Personal Voices can be generated in under a minute, with only 10 phrases needing to be recorded. The resulting voice also sounds smoother and with less clipping and artifacts. Apple is also adding Spanish language support for the US and Mexico.

Last year, Apple introduced eye-tracking built into iPhones and iPads, as well as vehicle motion cues to alleviate car sickness. This year, it continues to improve those features by bringing the motion cues to Macs, as well as adding new ways to customize the onscreen dots. Meanwhile, eye-tracking is getting an option to allow users to dwell or use a switch to confirm selections, among other keyboard typing updates. 

More across Apple TV, CarPlay, Head Tracking and Settings

Apple’s ecosystem is so vast that it’s almost impossible to list all the individual accessibility-related changes coming to all the products. I’ll quickly shout out Head Tracking, which Apple says will enable people to more easily control their iPhones and iPads by moving their heads “similar to Eye Tracking.” Not much else was shared about this, though currently head-tracking on iPhones and iPads is supported through connected devices. The idea that it would be “similar to Eye Tracking” seems to imply integrated support, but we don’t know if that is true yet. I’ve asked Apple for more info and will update this piece with what I find out.

Speaking of connected devices, Apple is also adding a new protocol to Switch Control that would enable support for Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs). Theoretically, that would mean brainwave-based control of your devices, and Apple lists iOS, iPadOS and visionOS as those on deck to support this new protocol. Again, it’s uncertain whether we can go as far as to say brainwave-based control is coming, and I’ve also asked Apple for more information on this.

For those who use Apple TV, Assistive Access is getting a new custom Apple TV app featuring a “simplified media player,” while Music Haptics on the iPhone will offer the option to turn on haptics for an entire track or just the vocals, as well as general settings to fine-tune the intensity of taps, textures and vibrations.

The Sound Recognition feature that alerts those who are deaf or hard of hearing to concerning sounds (like alarms or crying babies) will add Name Recognition to let users know when they are being called. Sound Recognition for CarPlay, in particular, will inform users when it identifies crying children (in addition to the existing support for external noises like horns and sirens). CarPlay will also get support for large text, which should make getting glanceable information easier.

Other updates include greater language support in Live Captions and Voice Control, as well as the ability to share accessibility settings quickly and temporarily across iPads and iPhones so you can use a friend’s device without having to painstakingly customize it to your needs.

There are plenty more accessibility rollouts from Apple across its retail locations, Music playlists, Books, Podcasts, TV, News, Fitness+ and the App Store, mostly around greater representation and inclusion. There isn’t much by way of exact release window for most of the new features and updates I’ve covered here, though they have usually showed up in the next release of iOS, iPadOS, macOS and visionOS. 

We’ll probably have to wait until the public rollout of iOS 19, iPadOS 19 and more to try these on our own, but for now, most of these seem potentially very helpful. And as always, it’s good to see companies design inclusively and consider a wider range of needs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/apple-brings-magnifier-to-macs-and-introduces-a-new-accessibility-reader-mode-120054992.html?src=rss

Each year, on the same week as Global Accessibility Awareness Day, the accessibility team at Apple shares a slew of upcoming assistive features ahead of their public release. This time around, the company has a huge number of updates as it commemorates “40 years of accessibility innovation at Apple,” according to a press release. This year’s group of enhancements covers all its platforms and a variety of types of disabilities, and one of them is a new initiative that should make more apps more inclusive.

Later this year, the App Store will get “Accessibility Nutrition Labels,” which will be a new section in app pages. These will give a quick preview of the accessible features that each listing offers, including things like support for the VoiceOver screen reader, Larger Text, Sufficient Contrast, Captions, Voice Control, Reduced Motion and more. Tapping on each preview will bring up a page with more details on other accessibility features that are available and explanations on each of them. 

The labels will be available worldwide, and Apple will make more guidance available to developers on the criteria their apps should meet before they display the relevant accessibility information on their pages. 

With these labels, people can find out if apps will meet their needs without having to first download them. If you are colorblind, for example, you can see if a matching game offers “Differentiate without color alone” before installing it and going into its settings to verify. 

By bringing these labels to the App Store, Apple is delivering what the gaming industry is seeking to do with the Accessible Games Initiative (AGI) that was announced in March. While the AGI is a broader effort with promised participation from companies like Microsoft, Nintendo and Electronic Arts, it has yet to share a firm timeline for the implementation of the system. The Entertainment Software Association said in March that timing would depend on each company. 

Now, we’ll have to wait and see exactly how much later in the year Apple will start displaying these labels, but the company will be sharing more guidance with developers at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, so it might take till the second half of 2025 for the changes to appear. 

Apple also shared plenty more on new assistive features coming to iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches and the Vision Pro, including a new Magnifier for Mac, an Accessibility Reader and updated Braille Access.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/apple-is-bringing-accessibility-labels-to-the-app-store-later-this-year-120020185.html?src=rss

DJI’s much-awaited Mavic 4 Pro drone has launched, but there’s bad news. Due to Trump’s tariffs and other market uncertainties (like a potential DJI ban), it’s not yet on sale in America and there’s no word on when it will be, or for what price. That will disappoint US buyers, because the Mavic 4 Pro is the most technologically advanced consumer drone ever.

With a triple-camera system housed in a wild-looking round gimbal, it can shoot up to 6K at 60 fps with 16 stops of dynamic range, beating any drone and even most cameras. DJI also boosted top speed, battery life and range, while improving obstacle avoidance in low light via a new LiDAR system. Plus, the company introduced an all-new RC Pro 2 controller with a useful new foldable design.

I’ve had the Mavic 4 Pro for a couple of weeks now and it performs even better than the specs would suggest. Though a bit expensive, this drone is so polished and capable that nothing else remotely compares to it.

Design

The trademark feature, as we’ve seen from leaks and a teaser last week, is the big round triple-camera “Infinity Gimbal” module at the front. The idea is to allow the gimbal to rotate freely for improved stabilization and interesting camera angles. It boosts the tilt-up angle from 60 to 70 degrees and lets the gimbal rotate at any angle, allowing off-kilter “Dutch” camera angles for more interesting shots. And of course, it can rotate 90 degrees to deliver full-resolution vertical video for social media.

With that new housing and slightly larger batteries, the 2.3 pound Mavic 4 Pro is 0.2 pounds heavier than the Mavic 3 Pro. The propeller arms have been updated so they can be folded and unfolded in any order, unlike the previous model. The body is also more aerodynamic to boost efficiency and speed.

Tucked in the left propeller arm is a forward-facing LiDAR sensor that greatly aids nighttime obstacle detection. The drone also has six omnidirectional fisheye sensors that work in as little as 0.1 lux, which is equivalent to a night sky lit by a full moon.

Where the Mavic 3 Pro had just 8GB of internal memory, the standard Mavic 4 Pro is equipped with 64GB of storage (42GB usable), and the Creator Combo version comes with a generous 512GB of high-speed storage (460GB usable). Both models have a microSD card slot as well.

Steve Dent for Engadget

The Mavic 4 Pro ships with the RC2 screen controller first seen with the Air 3 in the basic and Fly More kits. However, DJI also introduced the RC2 Pro, a controller unlike any I’ve seen before. The bright 7-inch HDR display folds up to provide a multi-angle view and tilts 90 degrees (automatically flipping the Mavic 4 Pro’s camera 90 degrees) for vertical video. 

There’s no longer a need to stow the joysticks (though you can) as they automatically collapse into the body when the screen is folded back. It has a full complement of controls for flying and camera operations, including a button that flips the camera 90 degrees. The RC2 Pro also has an HDMI and a USB-C port, along with Wi-Fi 6 support for high-speed data transfers.

The new 95Wh batteries are rated to offer up to 51 minutes of flight time, or around 40-45 minutes in typical use. That’s a significant boost from the 30-35 minute real-world battery life on the Mavic 3 Pro. Better still, they charge faster than ever at 51 minutes for one battery (via USB-C) or 90 minutes for three with the Fly More kit charger.

Performance and features

The Mavic 4 Pro can now hit 56 mph (90 km/h) in sport mode without obstacle detection, up from 47 mph before, which will be a big help for filming motor vehicles. Top speed in normal mode with tracking and obstacle detection is also faster at 40 mph. It’s still a big SUV of a drone, though, so it lacks the agility of DJI’s Mini 4 Pro. And with no prop guards, it’s not advisable to maneuver around people or in tight spaces like the Avata 2.

Noise from the Mavic 4 Pro is unchanged from the Mavic 3 Pro at 83 dB. However, the frequency is lower and less bothersome, especially when it’s flying close to people — so, er, props to DJI for that improvement.

With the new O4+ transmission system, the Mavic 4 Pro now offers up to 18.6 miles (30 km) of video transmission range, double that of the Mavic 3 Pro. Though most pilots won’t venture that far away, I found the Mavic 4 Pro less susceptible to interference and dropouts than before. It also supports bright 10-bit HDR 1080p live video transmission for a higher-quality backup capture and better visibility in sunlight.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Subject tracking is available via the ActiveTrack 360 function (first seen on the Mini 4 Pro), which allows you to manually control the camera position while keeping your subject in frame. It’s also designed to keep subjects in focus even if they’re partially obscured.

I tested it with a car, mountain bike and while walking to see how it worked at various speeds. The Mavic 4 Pro stayed locked on a car driving at up to 30 mph with full obstacle avoidance. When filming the bike rider, the Mavic 4 Pro chose interesting and random routes around trees that often yielded cinematic greatness. That behavior also caused a crash into a small tree branch, but luckily, it caused no visible or functional damage. The drone also worked well as a vlogging tool, following me on a preset ActiveTrack 360 path.

Later, I took the Mavic 4 Pro out at night to test the LiDAR and low-light sensors, flying it up around trees and next to buildings. That would have been risky with past models, but it successfully detected and avoided all obstacles in my testing. The low-light capability will also help you bring the drone home safely at night, as long as you remember that the LiDAR only works in the forward direction. Return-to-home now functions without GPS in sufficient light, as the Mavic 4 Pro can memorize flight paths.

Video quality

Steve Dent for Engadget

With its new camera system, the Mavic 4 Pro has the best video quality I’ve seen on any consumer drone. The main Hasselblad-branded 28mm wide camera has a 100-megapixel , dual ISO 4/3 sensor that supports 6K 60 fps or 4K 120 fps capture along with DJI’s professional D-Log and D-LogM modes to max out dynamic range. It also delivers up to 100MP photos. The Mavic 4 Pro is one of few drones with a variable aperture (f/2.0 to f/11) for better depth of field control and more usability in sunlight.

The Infinity Gimbal also houses a 70mm medium telephoto lens with a 1/1.3-inch sensor like the one on the Mini 4 Pro. Plus, there’s a longer 168mm camera with a 1/1.5-inch sensor that should be ideal for things like wildlife tracking. Both feature an f/2.8 aperture, 4K 60p video and D-Log/D-LogM and HDR, along with subject-tracking AF and dual native ISO.

6K and 4K video quality on the Hasselblad camera is incredibly sharp and color-accurate, while providing good dynamic range, particularly with sky and cloud details. Switching over to D-Log mode further boosts dynamic range, but makes color correction a bit trickier. I liked using D-LogM to get a good balance between ease of adjustment and dynamic range.

The base Mavic 4 Pro captures H.265 video up to 180 Mbps, but the Creator Combo version — with its faster internal storage — also supports 1,200 Mbps H.264 All-I for easier editing. However, DJI dropped the ProRes 4:2:2 HQ option that was available on the Cine version of the Mavic 3 Pro.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Where the Mavic 4 Pro really beats other drones is in low light, thanks to the native dual ISO capability. When shooting a cityscape at dusk at ISO 6400 and up, grain was easy to tamp down with a bit of noise reduction. And if shooting at dawn or dusk, the D-Log mode provides enough dynamic range to balance light sky and dark ground areas.

Photo quality is also outstanding in the 100MP mode with so much detail that I could zoom in and clearly see tiny objects. For low-light shooting, though, it’s best to stick with 25MP to reduce noise. DJI’s RAW DNG capture makes it easy to fine-tune photos shot in contrasty lighting conditions.

The 70mm (3x) 1/1.3-inch telephoto camera is great for taking portraits or getting in tighter when shooting landscapes. With support for 4K at up to 120 fps and D-Log or D-LogM, it can easily be mixed and matched with footage from the main camera, though detail and low-light capability isn’t as good. The 168mm 1/1.5-inch camera produces mediocre video quality, but it’s great for capturing wildlife.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent for Engadget

The Mavic 4 Pro is a great example of how DJI stays far ahead of rivals by consistently updating and perfecting its products. It’s an improvement over the Mavic 3 Pro in nearly every area, and as mentioned, it doesn’t really have any competition in the consumer space. The closest alternative in price and capability is Autel’s Evo II Pro 6K, but that drone has a single-camera system with a smaller sensor, less endurance and shorter range.

The lack of US availability is a major issue that’s bound to cause a furor with drone enthusiasts in the States. And there’s still a great risk that sales of DJI drones will be completely banned in America by the end of the year. The company insists that its drones pose no national security risk and says it welcomes any scrutiny.

The Mavic 4 Pro is now on sale in most regions except the United States starting at €2,099 or £1,879 (about $2,360) with the RC2 controller. You can also get it in the Fly More kit with the RC2 controller, a bag, three batteries and a charger for £2,459 and €2,699 ($3,040). The Creator Combo, which includes everything in the Fly More kit plus the RC2 Pro controller, 512GB of storage and All-I video capture, is €3,539 (£3,209) or about $3,980. The RC2 Pro controller by itself is €999 and €879 (about $1,125).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-mavic-4-pro-review-a-new-standard-for-consumer-drones-120006235.html?src=rss

Everything is more expensive this year, and that likely includes utilities like your water bill. While growing vegetables in your yard can be enchanting and empowering, it isn’t very efficient (compared to farms) in terms of water usage. There are a number of ways to become more efficient and sustainable, including using drip irrigation, but another way is to only plant vegetables that don’t need too much water to begin with.

Watering at the root is key

Before I get to the specific vegetables, it’s important to go over a few general watering tips.

Remember that vegetables get hydration through their roots, which live underground. Watering from above, like a hose or sprinkler, has problems: you’re getting the plants wet more than the roots, which creates conditions for disease spread; you’re watering less precisely, therefore wasting water; and the impact of the water against the dirt causes droplets to bounce back up with whatever fungus or viruses are in the dirt, also spreading disease. Watering gently and consistently at ground level with drip irrigation is the best option for both the plant and your wallet. 

To ensure you’re watering efficiently, group plants with similar watering needs together in your garden, so you can set the drip appropriately to water less. 

But even more important is remembering that roots grow over time. A new seedling has shallow roots, whereas an end-of-season plant has deeply established roots. More roots means that the plant can absorb more water from deeper underground. Less roots means less hydration from the soil, so more water is needed at a shallower depth. (Though some vegetables, like corn and lettuce, will always be shallow rooted, and thus aren’t good candidates for less water.)

Hothouse plants

According to Oregon State University, a tomato plant’s need for watering is negated by the deep roots the plants establish over the season. As above, you want to water sufficiently early in the season as roots are established while taking care not to over water, which will result in those roots staying close to the surface.

If the plant needs water, those roots will grow deeper in search of moisture. Reducing water greatly, if not cutting it off entirely mid-season, shouldn’t harm your harvest. The lack of surface water will reduce disease spread, and tomatoes will ripen if you reduce their watering. It’s not only tomatoes, either: Squash, which includes zucchini, summer and winter squash, as well as melons, eggplants, and hot peppers all behave the same in terms of water needs and roots. 

Beans

Credit: Amanda Blum

Most beans, particularly pole beans, have adapted to drought conditions over time. As such, they can survive and produce flowers and fruit with minimal moisture. Beans require water to germinate, so if you direct sow, ensure the seeds have consistent moisture levels. Once germinated, you can reduce (but not eliminate) water. Since beans have such a short season (usually 60 days or less), they require less water simply by existing for less time. Less moisture is going to reduce common bean problems like powdery mildew, a quickly spreading surface fungus.

Chard and okra

Credit: Amanda Blum

For some heat hardier vegetables like chard and okra, they still require water, but do better with weekly or every-other-weekly deep watering, as opposed to daily drip. Okra is native to drier climates and prefers less water. The deep roots of the plant allow it to draw enough water from the soil to sustain itself. Chard and kale can use their huge leaves to shade the ground, which is an effective form of moisture retention. Occasional deep waterings will be enough for the plant to continue growing.

Blueberries prefer less moisture

I know, blueberries are a fruit and not a vegetable, but I felt compelled to include the advice here anyway. Consider it a bonus tip.

A few years ago, Micah Geiselman, a blueberry farmer from Morning Shade Farm in Canby came to inspect my many bushes, and he had surprising advice: “People over-water their blueberries,” he explained to me. They appreciate good drainage and do better with less water. 

I’ve since changed the elevation of my blueberries to ensure better drainage and moved watering lines further away—the results were astounding. I experienced better yields, but the berries themselves were plumper and better tasting. This isn’t conclusive, of course, since there are too many variables to account for, but I take the advice of a blueberry expert seriously. 

Samsung’s long-teased Galaxy S25 Edge has arrived, way ahead of the rumored iPhone Air. It’s a very S25-looking device, but the company is pitching it as a design-centric addition to its, let’s admit, bulging S25 family. The S25 Edge’s body is 5.8 millimeters (0.22 inches) thick if we ignore the camera bump like everyone else does. Granted, it’s not a huge bump.

Samsung says it engineered the lenses to be substantially thinner than those on the S25 Ultra while keeping the same 200-megapixel camera sensor. And there are only two cameras on the back this time. Gasp! Unfortunately, Samsung has gone for an ultrawide secondary shooter rather than a telephoto, likely due to the handset’s size constraints.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

This makes the S25 Edge the latest addition to the trend of fewer cameras, joining the Pixel 9a, but for a very different $1,100. You can check out my first impressions and all the crucial specs in my hands-on. Are you willing to handle possible battery life decreases and less zoom on your smartphone camera?

— Mat Smith

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Even more Switch 2 stuff

• Ticketmaster proudly announces it will follow the law and show prices up-front

• Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad

• How to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

• Philips Fixables will let you 3D print replacement parts for your electric razors and trimmers

iOS 18.5 arrives with a new wallpaper for Pride Month

And not much else.

Apple pushed iOS 18.5 to devices on Monday, and the biggest visual change is a new rainbow-shaded wallpaper in honor of Pride Month. I’m honored. Otherwise, it’s a few minor tweaks and bug fixes.

Continue reading.

You can actually turn lead into gold

All you need is a Large Hadron Collider.

Bones

Scientists with the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known as CERN, have converted lead into gold using the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Unlike the examples of transmutation we see in anime pop culture, scientists smashed subatomic particles together at ridiculously high speeds to manipulate lead’s physical properties to become gold. Briefly. Lead atoms only have three more protons than gold atoms. The LHC causes the lead atoms to drop just enough protons to become a gold atom for a fraction of a second — before immediately fragmenting into a bunch of particles.

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The only thing I want from Apple’s big 2025 redesign is a

That’s a, not α.

Apple

This is where Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham decries one of Apple’s latest design quirks. For over 600 words. Apple’s decision to use α instead of a in its Note App has got him mad. 

We’ve reached out to check if he’s OK.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111526456.html?src=rss

Most robots rely on complex control systems, AI-powered or otherwise, that govern their movement. These centralized electronic brains need time to react to changes in their environment and produce movements that are often awkwardly, well, robotic.

It doesn’t have to be that way. A team of Dutch scientists at the FOM Institute for Molecular and Atomic Physics (AMOLF) in Amsterdam built a new kind of robot that can run, go over obstacles, and even swim, all driven only by the flow of air. And it does all that with no brain at all.

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This week’s Tuesday Telescope photo is pretty meta as it features… a telescope.

This particular telescope is under construction in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, one of the darkest places on Earth with excellent atmospheric visibility. The so-called “Extremely Large Telescope” is being built on a mountaintop in the Andes at an elevation of about 3,000 meters.

And it really is extremely large. The primary mirror will be 39 meters (128 feet) in diameter. Like, that’s gigantic for an optical telescope. It is nearly four times larger than the largest operational reflecting telescopes in the world.

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Amazon’s decade-old acquisition of Annapurna Labs has emerged as a pivotal element in its AI strategy, with the once-secretive Israeli chip design startup now powering AWS infrastructure. The $350 million deal, struck in 2015 after initial talks between Annapurna co-founder Nafea Bshara and Amazon executive James Hamilton, has equipped the tech giant with custom silicon capabilities critical to its cloud computing dominance.

Annapurna’s chips, particularly the Trainium processor for AI model training and Graviton for general-purpose computing, now form the foundation of Amazon’s AI infrastructure. The company is deploying hundreds of thousands of Trainium chips in its Project Rainier supercomputer being delivered to AI startup Anthropic this year. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who led AWS when the acquisition occurred, described it as “one of the most important moments” in AWS history.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dutch researchers have recalculated the timeline for cosmic decay via Hawking-like radiation and found that the universe may end much sooner than previously thought — around 10^78 years, rather than 10^1100. Phys.Org reports: The research by black hole expert Heino Falcke, quantum physicist Michael Wondrak, and mathematician Walter van Suijlekom (all from Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands) is a follow-up to a 2023 paper by the same trio. In that paper, they showed that not only black holes, but also other objects such as neutron stars, can “evaporate” via a process akin to Hawking radiation. After that publication, the researchers received many questions from inside and outside the scientific community about how long the process would take. They have now answered this question in the new article.

The researchers calculated that the end of the universe is about 1078 years away, if only Hawking-like radiation is taken into account. This is the time it takes for white dwarf stars, the most persistent celestial bodies, to decay via Hawking-like radiation. Previous studies, which did not take this effect into account, put the lifetime of white dwarfs at 101100 years. Lead author Heino Falcke said, “So the ultimate end of the universe comes much sooner than expected, but fortunately it still takes a very long time.”

The findings have been published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Over 400 prominent UK media and arts figures — including Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Ian McKellen — have urged the prime minister to support an amendment to the Data Bill that would require AI companies to disclose which copyrighted works they use for training. The Register reports: The UK government proposes to allow exceptions to copyright rules in the case of text and data mining needed for AI training, with an opt-out option for content producers. “Government amendments requiring an economic impact assessment and reports on the feasibility of an ‘opt-out’ copyright regime and transparency requirements do not meet the moment, but simply leave creators open to years of copyright theft,” the letter says.

The group — which also includes Kate Bush, Robbie Williams, Tom Stoppard, and Russell T Davies — said the amendments tabled for the Lords debate would create a requirement for AI firms to tell copyright owners which individual works they have ingested. “Copyright law is not broken, but you can’t enforce the law if you can’t see the crime taking place. Transparency requirements would make the risk of infringement too great for AI firms to continue to break the law,” the letter states.
Baroness Kidron, who proposed the amendment, said: “How AI is developed and who it benefits are two of the most important questions of our time. The UK creative industries reflect our national stories, drive tourism, create wealth for the nation, and provide 2.4 million jobs across our four nations. They must not be sacrificed to the interests of a handful of US tech companies.” Baroness Kidron added: “The UK is in a unique position to take its place as a global player in the international AI supply chain, but to grasp that opportunity requires the transparency provided for in my amendments, which are essential to create a vibrant licensing market.”

The letter was also signed by a number of media organizations, including the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, and the National Union of Journalists.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.