Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7: Beta Date, New Maps & First Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer

Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7: Beta Date, New Maps & First Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer
Yesterday, Call of Duty staff shared a deep dive on Black Ops 7’s multiplayer, including the launch date and extensive details of the upcoming cross-platform beta on October 2nd. Among the several details revealed, including a list of modes and maps available at launch, a new game mode called Overload is being introduced into Black Ops 7.

Overload

I Added the Fitbod Strength-Training App to My Cardio Routine, and I Love It

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When I first reviewed Fitbod (which you can read here), I approached it with the skepticism of someone whose idea of strength training was lifting my water bottle during long runs. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but there’s some truth in my inability to squeeze proper strength training into my schedule. The big promise of Fitbod is that your strength program is AI-powered to be perfect for you personally. For me, that means a strength program that works around my limited free time and already fatigued muscles.

Like many endurance athletes, I usually fall into the trap of “not having time” for anything but running. My weekly routine has easy runs, tempo runs, long runs, and maybe some yoga if I’m feeling fancy. And when minor injuries started creeping in—IT band tightness here, some knee discomfort there—I just take a few days off and get back to pounding the pavement.

The truth is, I can be pretty afraid of strength training. Not just afraid of looking foolish in the gym (though that’s part of it), but genuinely convinced that building muscle would slow me down. Wouldn’t all that extra weight just make running harder?

Fast forward a few months, and I’m writing this after completing a deadlift set that would have terrified past-me. Here’s how Fitbod transformed my relationship with strength training and, unsurprisingly, made me a better distance runner.

How Fitbod works with a running-focused schedule

What drew me to Fitbod initially was its promise of efficient, customized workouts. As someone juggling 30+ mile weeks with a full-time job, I didn’t have hours to spend in the gym figuring out what exercises to do or how many sets and reps were optimal.

Fitbod’s interface impressed me from day one. After inputting my goals (I selected “gain muscle”), available equipment, and time constraints, it generated 30-45 minute workouts that felt manageable alongside my running schedule.

Fitbod's customization options.
Fitbod’s customization options.
Credit: Meredith Dietz

Another major factor to understand about Fitbod’s programming is its “non-linear” approach. A ton of beginner strength programs go by linear progression. This means you add small, consistent increments of weight to a given lift each workout or week, keeping the exercises, sets, and reps the same. Fitbod doesn’t go by this linear “add 5 pounds every session” approach of traditional programs. The whole AI-powered promise here is that Fitbod pushes you to increase weights when it deems you ready, not according to an arbitrary schedule. So, during my peak mileage weeks, either Fitbod automatically adjusted to lighter loads and fewer sets, or I could easily adjust this manually. Then, in recovery weeks, Fitbod’s program knew to ramp up the intensity. This intelligent programming meant I wasn’t trying to PR my squat the day before a 22-mile long run.

What I like about Fitbod’s approach

After a few weeks of testing, I can report that Fitbod really doesn’t just throw random exercises at you. And if you say you’re a runner, then tts selections make sense for runners—lots of single-leg work, core stability, and posterior chain strengthening. That posterior chain strengthening that Fitbod prioritized (deadlifts, hip thrusts, rows) is so, so important to complement all the forward-focused motion of running. The app’s algorithm seemed to understand that I needed functional strength, not just bigger muscles.

On its website, Fitbod explains its algorithm and how the app generates workouts, but simply put, it starts by analyzing multiple factors: previous workout data, muscle recovery status, available time, and your feedback on individual exercises. As you keep using the app, it analyzes your logged data, calculates muscle recovery, measures training volume for progressive overload, adjusts for your specific goals (hypertrophy vs. strength), applies intelligent variation to prevent plateaus, and generates your next customized workout. This process repeats with every session, allegedly making your program increasingly personalized over time.

Going into this, most important for me were two factors: Schedule flexibility and education. For the latter, the built-in video demonstrations and form cues are solid as can be. They helped me feel confident with movements I’d always avoided. (Shamefully, this includes deadlifts. I’m terrified of injuring myself during marathon season!)

For schedule flexibility: Some days I only had 20 minutes, other days I could spare 45. Fitbod easily adapts without making me feel like I was shortchanging my workout. Of course, integrating Fitbod into marathon training required some strategic planning. I timed strength sessions on easy run days or rest days, never the day before hard running workouts or long runs. Personally, I found Fitbod’s workout intensity aligned perfectly with this approach.

Plus, Fitbod is a highly visual app, and that can give it a serious edge over pen-and-paper tracking. Like with Strava or Nike Run Club, the app’s visual progress tracking turned strength training into a game I actually wanted to win. Hey, I’m a simple man.

The bottom line

If you’re reading this as someone who lives and breathes cardio, but has been strength-training-curious, here’s my advice: start small, be consistent, and trust the process. Fitbod makes this leap less intimidating by handling all the programming complexity while you focus on just showing up and doing the work. As a runner, I always view my body through the lens of performance—how fast, how far, how efficient. I think strength training introduces a different kind of body awareness focused on power, stability, and resilience.

Still: The proof needs to be in the pudding. That’s the saying, right? I’ll report back with my upcoming marathon time to see if Fitbod’s strength program ends up having a tangible impact on my time.

NASA Chooses 10 Astronauts To Train For Ambitious Moon & Mars Flight Missions

NASA Chooses 10 Astronauts To Train For Ambitious Moon & Mars Flight Missions
NASA has officially introduced its 2025 Astronaut Candidate Class, a group of 10 individuals whittled down from a pool of over 8,000 highly qualified applicants. The group, which includes six women and four men, will hopefully make its mark in future exploration and science missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

The new class, the 24th

The Death Stranding anime now has a title and its first trailer

The long-running joke about Hideo Kojima is that he’d secretly rather be making movies than video games. Kojima somehow nearly got into double figures on Metal Gear games without any of them receiving the adaptation treatment (though not for the lack of trying on his part), but it’s looking like a very different story for the Death Stranding series on which he’s been working since departing Konami.

A live-action adaptation of the post-apocalyptic walking simulator landed a writer and director back in the spring, and it was announced a few months later that an animated Death Stranding movie was also on the way, with Aaron Guzikowski (Raised by Wolves) penning the screenplay. We now know what film will be called, and there’s a trailer.

Death Stranding Mosquito is directed by ABC Animation’s Hiroshi Miyamoto, with Kojima himself serving as a producer, and will apparently tell an original story within the “surreal and emotionally resonant” Death Stranding universe. If you’ve played the original game or its 2025 sequel, the teaser will look very familiar, with the film seemingly focusing on a character who definitely isn’t Norman Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridges, but is sporting very similar get-up.

The hooded figure comes face to face with what appears to be a BT-ified doglike creature, and then has a brutal fist fight with another character. We don’t get any more context than that, nor any whiff of a release date, but visually Death Stranding Mosquito looks absolutely stunning.

It’s been a busy few days for Kojima-related announcements. We got the first gameplay trailer for Kojima Productions’ upcoming horror game, OD, and found out that Kojima is also releasing his own credit card in Japan. Yes, really.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-death-stranding-anime-now-has-a-title-and-its-first-trailer-155516913.html?src=rss

Broadcom’s prohibitive VMware prices create a learning “barrier,” IT pro says

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced kids to stay home, educators flocked to VMware, and thousands of school districts adopted virtualization. The technology became a solution for distance learning during the pandemic and after, when events such as bad weather and illness can prevent children from physically attending school.

But the VMware being sold to K-12 schools today is different from the VMware before and during the pandemic. Now a Broadcom business, the platform features higher prices and a business strategy that favors big spenders. This has created unique problems for educational IT departments juggling restrictive budgets and multiple technology vendors with children’s needs.

Curriculum impacted by IT delays

Ars Technica recently spoke with an IT director at a public school district in Indiana. The director requested anonymity for themself and the district out of concern about potential blowback. The director confirmed that the district has five schools and about 3,000 students. The district started using VMware’s vSAN, a software-defined storage offering, and the vSphere virtualization platform in 2019. The Indiana school system bought the VMware offerings through a package that combined them with VxRail, which is hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) hardware that Dell jointly engineered with VMware.

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Meta to launch national super PAC against AI regulation

Meta is launching a national super political action committee (PAC), according to a report by Axios. This super PAC will be committed to fighting “onerous” AI regulation across the country. It’s called the American Technology Excellence Project and Meta spokesperson Rachel Holland said the company is investing “tens of millions” into the effort.

The goal of the PAC is to elect pro AI state candidates from both parties. It’s being run by longtime Republican operative Brian Baker with an assist from Democratic consulting firm Hilltop Public Solutions.

The tech-friendly federal government has no plans to regulate AI but fell short on banning states from doing so. There have been over 1,000 state-level policy proposals introduced this year, which Meta thinks could hurt America in the AI race with China.

“State lawmakers are uniquely positioned to ensure that America remains a global technology leader,” Meta VP of public policy Brian Rice said in a statement. “This is why Meta is launching an effort to support the election of state candidates across the country who embrace AI development, champion the U.S. technology industry and defend American tech leadership at home and abroad.”

The company has not released any information as to which forthcoming state elections would be disrupted by the aforementioned tens of millions of dollars. We also don’t know how many people the PAC will employ.

Meta is preparing to pump tens of millions of dollars into a new California super PAC that will fund candidates opposed to tech regulation, especially the regulation of AI, per Politico.

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 26, 2025

This is just the latest move into politics by Meta. It recently launched a PAC in California to protect tech and AI interests. The state has been fairly proactive about enacting protections against potentially harmful AI use cases. It passed a law protecting the digital likenesses of actors and has attempted bills that block election misinformation and protect against “critical harm” caused by AI.

While the Trump administration loves itself some AI, there are limits. The president recently signed an executive order banning “woke AI” from being used in the federal government. I haven’t come across any woke AI in the wild, but I have seen whatever this is.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-to-launch-national-super-pac-against-ai-regulation-154537574.html?src=rss

Supreme Court lets Trump fire FTC Democrat despite 90-year-old precedent

The Supreme Court yesterday allowed President Trump to fire a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission and will decide whether to overturn a 90-year-old precedent that says the president cannot fire an FTC commissioner without cause.

Trump fired Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter in March with a notice that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with my administration’s priorities.” Trump did so despite the 1935 ruling in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, in which the Supreme Court unanimously held that the president can only remove FTC commissioners for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.

An appeals court reinstated Slaughter three weeks ago, with judges finding that “the government has no likelihood of success on appeal given controlling and directly on point Supreme Court precedent.” But on September 8, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay that temporarily blocked the lower-court ruling against Trump.

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Rokid’s smartglasses are surprisingly capable

Meta put the smartglasses industry on alert when it announced the Meta Ray-Ban Displays last week. And while those might feature one of the most advanced optical engines on a device its size, after testing out one of its competitors — the Rokid Glasses — I’m convinced there’s still plenty of room for competition.

At $549, the Rokid Glasses are more affordable than the Meta Ray-Ban Displays, which are set to launch at $800. However, it should be noted that this difference won’t last forever, as following Rokid’s Kickstarter campaign, its suggested retail price will increase significantly to around $740. Also, while Kickstarter campaigns aren’t always the strongest indicator of reliability, Rokid has actually been around for some time with devices dating back to before 2018.

The Rokid Smartglasses feature a minimalistic UI, but it's enough to surface important things like notifications and controls when you need them.
Rokid’s heads-up UI looks much sharper in person. Taking pictures of smartglass displays is hard. 
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

But more importantly, Rokid’s eyewear has some notable design differences. Instead of a single full-color display for just your right eye, it features dual microLED waveguides that provide a true binocular view, which helps reduce eyestrain. The downside is that the Rokid glasses only support a single color — green — though that’s kind of fun if you’re into the classic hacker aesthetic. Text and icons are more than sharp enough to make reading the glasses’ minimalist UI a cinch. And with up to 1,500 nits of brightness, its display is easy to see even outside in bright light. In the future, though, Rokid will need to upgrade to full-color components to better compete with rivals like the Meta Ray-Ban Displays.

Rokid’s glasses score well when it comes to overall style and wearability. The Meta Ray-Ban Displays look like someone stole the frames off Garth’s head from Wayne’s World and then made them thrice as thick, whereas Rokid’s glasses actually look more like Wayfarers than Ray-Ban’s own creation. Touch panels are hidden in each arm, and you even get real nose pads for extra comfort. Plus, weighing in at just 49 grams, Rokid claims its creation is the lightest “full-function AI and AR glasses.”

Arguably the best thing about Rokid's smartglasses is that they are very sleek and lightweight compared to the vast majority of rivals.
In everyday use, others may not notice the smartglasses’ UI being projected onto its lenses. But at just the right angle, it does become visible.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The only major indicators that these aren’t a typical set of eyewear are the small camera near your left temple and a faint outline of where the waveguides project a heads-up display onto its lenses. There are also tiny built-in speakers that play the sound from videos, music or answers from Rokid’s AI helper and they are about as good as you can expect from a gadget this compact. But it probably won’t come as a surprise when I say they could be a touch louder or provide better bass.

Meanwhile, when it comes to recharging, there’s a simple magnetic pin connector at the end of the right arm that can connect to any USB-C cable using an included adapter. Unfortunately, if you want a charging case like you get with many of its rivals, you’ll have to shell out another $100. Battery life has been surprisingly solid in my experience as well. You can get up to six hours of continuous music playback over Bluetooth, though if you use more advanced features (especially ones that rely on AI), you will need to juice up sooner.

The Rokid Smartglasses feature small speakers built into its arms for listening to music and videos.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

As for functionality, the company’s standalone approach to content generation is both its biggest strength and weakness. That’s because while Meta’s smartglasses come with tie-ins to Facebook and Instagram which makes livestreaming what you see a breeze, Rokid doesn’t offer that option. Instead, you’ll have to use the onboard 12MP camera and five mics to take photos and videos before manually downloading them to your phone and then sharing them to your favorite platform. This results in a few extra steps between capture and publication (and no option for livestreaming), but at least you do get the freedom of choice.

Image quality is also acceptable. You won’t be dazzled by its contrast and dynamic range and darker environments can be a bit of a challenge. But as a vehicle for recording the world around you, these glasses are a decent way to take in your surroundings. Thankfully, the process of capturing content couldn’t be simpler, just press once on the physical button on the right arm for a picture or press and hold for video. Or if you prefer, you can use voice commands like “Hi Rokid, record a video.”

Rokid's magnetic dongle isn't the most elegant way to recharge a device, but it's simple and effective.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Aside from taking photos and videos, Rokid’s glasses can also pair with your phone to serve up notifications, record voice memos and even offer turn-by-turn directions using AI, though I couldn’t get that last feature working. There’s also a teleprompter mode that allows you to upload scripts to the glasses and have text scroll down automatically as you speak.

However, the biggest draw (or deterrence, depending on your opinion of machine learning) is the AI integration, which uses the device’s Qualcomm AR1 chip and an onboard ChatGPT model to provide real-time translation and audio transcriptions. Just like what you get when using large LLMs on a phone or laptop, even when AI can understand most of what’s coming in, there are still times when it doesn’t fluently convert certain lines or phrases.

The Rokid Smartglasses can use AI to recognize objects that are in front of its camera, but the accuracy of those descriptions is a bit hit-or-miss.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

There’s also the option to ask the glasses to create a text description of what its cameras see, though again, AI sometimes struggles with accuracy. When I held my phone up in front of the lens, it correctly identified what type of device it was, but then it got confused by a barcode on a box in the background and thought I was trying to insert a SIM card.

Even considering the foibles of current AI models, the Rokid glasses are a welcome surprise in a growing sea of smartglasses. They’re lighter and sleeker than anything I’ve tried to date while covering all the most important functions: playing music, surfacing notifications and capturing decent first-person photos and videos. Other features like live translation and live captions are a bonus. When they work, which is most of the time, it really feels like an engaging glimpse of what is poised to be the next big era for wearable computing.

For a relatively small company, Rokid has managed to make its latest smartglasses surprisingly full-featured.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget

It’s way too early to pick a winner or even recommend these as a must-have for bleeding-edge enthusiasts. But to see smaller names like Rokid come up with compelling alternatives to Meta’s latest makes these smartglasses worth paying attention to.

The Rokid Glasses are available for pre-order now via the company’s Kickstarter campaign with estimated deliveries slated for sometime in November.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/rokids-smartglasses-are-surprisingly-capable-153027590.html?src=rss

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: This TCL 75-Inch QLED TV

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TCL makes good non-OLED TVs (arguably some of the best when compared to the cost), as is the case with last year’s QM7 that I got my hands on, which is still a bargain in 2025. There are plenty of differences between QLEDs and OLEDs, but unless you’re planning on dropping thousands of dollars, a QLED will do just fine.

Consider TCL’s new QM6K QLED, going for $749.99 (originally $999.99) for the 75-inch model. This is the lowest price this TV has been, according to price-tracking tools. I’ve had mine for a couple of months and have been surprised by its value for the price. If you’re looking for different sizes, the 55-inch is $497.99 (originally $599.99), and the 85-inch is currently $999.99 (originally $1,499.99)

TCL’s QM lineup offers a good value regardless of which size you pick. The QM6K is much better than last year’s rendition, now with local dimming zones (500 of them, according to CNET’s review) and a mini LED panel, improving contrast dramatically. The color accuracy is also surprisingly accurate out of the box for HDR content, which is great for people who don’t like to mess with settings.

With the QM6K you get 144Hz native refresh rate, HDR formats like HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, & HLG, Dolby Atmos Audio, an anti-glare screen, 4 HDMI Inputs (one of which is an eARC), and the Google TV Smart OS (my favorite OS) with Chromecast built in, meaning you can cast your phone to it. You also get Apple AirPlay 2 and Alexa built in, according to ZDNet’s review.

If you’re a gamer, there’s a lot to like in the QM6K, according to IGN’s review. The Game Bar feature lets you adjust settings on the fly. There’s also a VRR accelerator that doubles the refresh rate to a perceived 288Hz. It also has AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, so you can experience smooth gameplay on a PC or console. Truly a lot to offer for a budget QLED TV.


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Google Play is getting a Gemini-powered AI Sidekick to help you in games

The era of Google’s Play’s unrivaled dominance may be coming to an end in the wake of the company’s antitrust loss, but Google’s app store isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the Play Store experience is getting a massive update with more personalization, content, and yes, AI. This is Google, after all.

The revamped Google Play Games is a key part of this update. Gamer profiles will now have a public face, allowing you to interact with other players if you choose. Play Games will track your activity for daily streaks, which will be shown on your profile and unlock new Play Points rewards. Your profile will also display your in-game achievements.

Your gaming exploits can also span multiple platforms. Google Play Games for PC is officially leaving beta. Google says there are now 200,000 games that work across mobile and PC, and even more PC-friendly titles, like Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, are on the way. Your stats and streaks will apply across both mobile and PC as long as the title comes from the Play Store.

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Watch The YangWang U9 Xtreme Obliterate Bugatti’s Production Car Speed Record

Watch The YangWang U9 Xtreme Obliterate Bugatti's Production Car Speed Record
If you continue to doubt China’s prominence in EV tech, look no further than the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, which has claimed the title of the world’s fastest production car by knocking out a verified top speed of 308.4 mph (496.22 kmh). 

In the hands of driver Marc Basseng, the record-breaking run was conducted at the Automotive Testing Papenburg

US Secret Service ‘Dismantles Telecommunications Threat’

mrspoonsi writes: The US Secret Service says it has dismantled a network of more than 300 SIM servers and 100,000 SIM cards in the New York area that were capable of crippling telecom systems.

The devices were “concentrated within 35 miles of the global meeting of the UN General Assembly now under way in New York City” and an investigation has been launched, it adds in a press statement.

The Secret Service says the dangers posed included “disabling cell phone towers, enabling denial of services attacks, and facilitating anonymous, encrypted communication between potential threat actors and criminal enterprises.”


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

WhatsApp starts rolling out message translations on iOS and Android

WhatsApp is now rolling out message translations on its iOS and Android apps. Starting today, Android users will be able to translate messages between six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic. On iPhone, there’s support for translation between the following languages (i.e. all of the ones supported by Apple’s Translate app):

  • Arabic

  • Dutch

  • English

  • French

  • German

  • Hindi

  • Indonesian

  • Italian

  • Japanese

  • Korean

  • Mandarin Chinese

  • Polish

  • Portuguese (Brazil)

  • Russian

  • Spanish

  • Thai

  • Turkish

  • Ukrainian

  • Vietnamese

To convert a message into a different language, long press on it, select Translate, then the language you’d like to translate the message to or from. Android users will get an extra-handy bonus feature with the ability to switch on automatic translation for an entire chat.

Translations are handled on your device to help protect your privacy — WhatsApp still won’t be able to see your encrypted chats. Your device will download relevant language packs for future translations. WhatsApp says translation works in one-on-one chats, groups and Channel updates. The platform will also add support for more languages down the line.

There’s no word as yet on if or when WhatsApp will support message translations on the web or in its Windows app. “Translating messages on WhatsApp is only available on certain devices and may not be available to you yet,” a note on a support page reads. “In the meantime, we recommend keeping WhatsApp updated on your device so you can get the feature as soon as it’s available.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-starts-rolling-out-message-translations-on-ios-and-android-150132823.html?src=rss

The EU wants Apple, Google and Microsoft to clamp down on online scams

The European Union has asked Apple, Google and Microsoft to explain how they police online financial scams, stepping up enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), as first reported by the Financial Times. Formal information requests were also sent to Booking Holdings, the owner of Booking.com, regarding how the company handles fake accommodation listings. Likewise, regulators will be probing fake banking apps in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Additionally, they will be taking a close look at fake search results in Google search and Microsoft’s Bing.

Speaking with the Financial Times, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said criminal activity is increasingly moving online and platforms must do more to detect and prevent illegal content. Virkkunen said that financial losses from online fraud exceed €4 billion a year (around $4.7 billion) across the EU, and that the rise of AI has made detecting these scams more difficult.

The four companies will be given the chance to respond to these information requests, but under the DSA companies can face penalties up to 6 percent of their global annual revenue for failing to adequately combat illegal content and disinformation.

Earlier this year Apple and Meta were fined around $570 million and $228 million, respectively, after the European Commission found them in violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), though both companies are appealing the fines. The DMA is a set of rules governing online platforms that was adopted alongside the DSA in 2022.

European fines on American companies, particularly a recent $3.5 billion fine levied on Google for antitrust violations, have drawn the attention and ire of President Donald Trump. The president has threatened a trade probe over what he views as “discriminatory actions” against American tech companies.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-eu-wants-apple-google-and-microsoft-to-clamp-down-on-online-scams-145333226.html?src=rss

AI-Generated ‘Workslop’ Is Destroying Productivity

40% of U.S. employees have received “workslop” — AI-generated content that appears polished but lacks substance — in the past month, according to research from BetterUp Labs and Stanford Social Media Lab. The survey of 1,150 full-time workers found recipients spend an average of one hour and 56 minutes addressing each incident of workslop, costing organizations an estimated $186 per employee monthly. For a 10,000-person company, lost productivity totals over $9 million annually.

Professional services and technology sectors are disproportionately affected. Workers report that 15.4% of received content qualifies as workslop. The phenomenon occurs primarily between peers at 40%, though 18% flows from direct reports to managers and 16% moves down the hierarchy. Beyond financial costs, workslop damages workplace relationships — half of recipients view senders as less creative, capable, and reliable, while 42% see them as less trustworthy.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A PlayStation State of Play is set for September 24

The Tokyo Game Show is taking place this week and Sony is getting in on the action with a PlayStation State of Play. The stream will start at 5PM ET on Wednesday, September 24 and run for over 35 minutes. You can watch it on YouTube (also with English subtitles or in Japanese) and Twitch. The stream will be available right here for your convenience, because we’re nice like that. 

There will be a fresh look at Saros, the next game from Returnal studio Housemarque. We’ll get our first peek at gameplay from that project, which is set to hit PS5 next year. Sony also promises that the State of Play will include “new looks at anticipated third-party and indie titles, plus updates from some of our teams at PlayStation Studios.”

There have been some rumblings that Sony may be about to reveal more details about Marvel’s Wolverine (the next title from Insomniac, the developer of the Spider-Man games), so that seems like a decent bet. For what it’s worth, this Friday is The Last of Us Day, so there’s a chance we might hear something from Naughty Dog regarding that series.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/a-playstation-state-of-play-is-set-for-september-24-143526268.html?src=rss

Hideo Kojima’s OD captures the spirit of P.T. in the first gameplay trailer

Kojima Productions, the studio helmed by auteur and famed cardboard box enthusiast Hideo Kojima, has finally given us our first glimpse of gameplay for the horror game OD. Developed in collaboration with Get Out and Us director Jordan Peele, OD is being billed as a totally unique experience that Kojima expects to divide players. It’s also going to leverage Microsoft’s cloud gaming tech in ways we’re not yet aware of, with Xbox Game Studios publishing the game.

In the new just over three-minute trailer entitled “Knock”, we see first-person gameplay footage of the player character (played by a ludicrously photorealistic Sophia Lillis) anxiously lighting a series of candles, several of which have babies on them, because Kojima. In the background we hear a very ominous knocking sound, with the trailer ending as Lillis’ character is grabbed by someone (or something) who doesn’t appear to be especially friendly.

If you were fortunate enough to play P.T., the playable (and tragically no longer accessible) teaser for Kojima and Guillermo del Toro’s cancelled Silent Hill game, you’ll know that the Metal Gear creator clearly understands how to craft terrifying horror experiences. From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like the spirit of P.T. at least lives on in OD.

It’s been a busy day for Kojima and his studio, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and has so far exclusively released Death Stranding games. At Kojima Productions’ “Beyond the Strand” event it was also announced that the studio is partnering with Niantic Spatial to develop what appears to be some kind of AR experience that brings Kojima’s “iconic storytelling into the real world.” Whether that means you can one day expect to encounter a virtual Norman Reedus attempting to steady his wobbling backpack on your way to the grocery store remains unclear, but Kojima Productions says the collaboration represents a “bold expansion into new forms of media beyond traditional gaming.”

And if all of that wasn’t enough, Kojima Productions is also teaming up with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group on a new credit card. It seemingly functions like a regular old credit card that can also be added to your phone, but you can accumulate reward points that can be spent on Kojima Productions merch and other items. Don’t get too excited unless you live in Japan, though, as it doesn’t look like the Kojima-branded credit card will be making its way to our shores when it launches next year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/hideo-kojimas-od-captures-the-spirit-of-pt-in-the-first-gameplay-trailer-142623143.html?src=rss

EU investigates Apple, Google, and Microsoft over handling of online scams

The EU is set to scrutinize if Apple, Google and Microsoft are failing to adequately police financial fraud online, as it steps up efforts to police how Big Tech operates online.

The EU’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen told the Financial Times that on Tuesday the bloc’s regulators would send formal requests for information to the three US Big Tech groups as well as global accommodation platform Booking Holdings, under powers granted under the Digital Services Act to tackle financial scams.

“We see that more and more criminal actions are taking place online,” Virkkunen said. “We have to make sure that online platforms really take all their efforts to detect and prevent that kind of illegal content.”

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Bang & Olufsen’s Beo Grace ANC Earbuds Cost $1500, Justified Or Tone Deaf?

Bang & Olufsen's Beo Grace ANC Earbuds Cost $1500, Justified Or Tone Deaf?
Look away, cash-strapped folks (yours truly included), Bang & Olufsen has unveiled the new Beo Grace ANC earbuds with an MSRP of $1,500—yes, that’s M4 MacBook Pro money. There’s little doubt that these buds sound amazing, but for that many buckaroos, the Beo Grace caters to a specific clientele that values craftsmanship as much as cachet. 

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An $800 Billion Revenue Shortfall Threatens AI Future, Bain Says

AI companies like OpenAI have been quick to unveil plans for spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers, but they have been slower to show how they will pull in revenue to cover all those expenses. Now, the consulting firm Bain & Co. is estimating the shortfall could be far larger than previously understood. Bloomberg: By 2030, AI companies will need $2 trillion in combined annual revenue to fund the computing power needed to meet projected demand, Bain said in its annual Global Technology Report released Tuesday. Yet their revenue is likely to fall $800 billion short of that mark as efforts to monetize services like ChatGPT trail the spending requirements for data centers and related infrastructure, Bain predicted.

The report is set to raise further questions about the AI industry’s valuations and business model. The increasing popularity of services such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, as well as AI efforts by companies across the planet, means demand for computing capacity and energy is rising at a rapid clip. But the savings provided by AI and companies’ ability to generate additional revenue from AI is lagging behind that pace.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.