A Chinese food blogger has been fined $18,500 for cooking and eating a great white shark in a video posted online. The blogger, who goes by the name Tizi was identified by officials as Jin, who said she had bought the shark on an Alibaba-owned shopping site Taobao for 7,700 yuan ($1,141).
Source: Gizmodo – Food Blogger Fined Nearly ,000 for Eating Great White Shark
As we learned last week, spoon-wielding psychic pocket monster Kadabra is returning to the Pokémon TCG after a twenty-three year absence. I wanted to learn the complete story of why it ever went missing in the first place. What I wasn’t expecting in doing so was to accidentally make friends with a man I’ve disliked…
Source: Kotaku – Meet The Man Who Got Kadabra Banned From Pokémon For 20 Years
An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet, written by Jack Wallen: PikaOS is very similar to that of Nobara Linux, which opts for a Fedora base. But what are these two Linux distributions? Simply put, they are Linux for gamers. […] So, what does PikaOS do that so many other distributions do not? The most obvious thing is that it makes it considerably easier to install the tools needed to play games. Upon first logging in, you’re greeted with a Welcome app. In the First Steps tab, you have quick access to tools for updating the system, installing patented codecs and libraries, installing propriety Nvidia drivers, installing apps from the Software Manager, and installing WebApps.
Next comes the Recommended Additions, where you can install the likes of: PikaOS Game Utilities is a meta package that installs Steam, Lutris, GOverlay, MangoHud, Wine, Winetricks, vkBasalt, and other gaming-centric tools; Microsoft TrueType fonts for better Windows font emulation; Blender for creating 3D images; OBS Studio for streaming; Kdenlive for non-linear video editing; Krita for painting; and LibreOffice for productivity. In the Optional Steps tab, you can add AMD proprietary drivers, ROCm drivers, Xone drivers, and Proton GE (for Steam and Wine compatibility). Finally, the Look And Feel tab allows you to customize themes, layouts, and extensions. The layouts section is pretty nifty, as it allows you to configure the GNOME desktop to look and feel like a more traditional desktop, a MacOS-like desktop, a Windows 11 layout, a throwback GNOME 2 desktop, and even a Ubuntu Unity-like desktop.
As far as pre-installed software goes, it’s pretty bare bones (until you start adding titles from the Recommended Additions tab in the Welcome App). You’ll find Firefox (web browser), Geary (email), Pidgin (messaging), Weather, Calculator, Cheese (web camera software), Rhythmbox, Contacts, a few utilities, and basic games. However, installing new apps is quite simple via the Software Manager app. Of course, the focus of PikaOS is games. When you install the PikaOS Game Utilities, you’ll get Steam installed, which makes it easy to play an endless array of games on the Linux desktop. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that when you launch the PikaOS Game Utilities installation, it opens a terminal window to run the installation. Give this plenty of time to complete and, in the end, you can launch Steam, log in to your Steam account, and start playing. Just remember, the first time you launch the Steam app, it will take a moment to update and configure. But once it’s up and running… let the games begin.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – PikaOS Is a Next-Gen Linux Distribution Aimed Specifically Towards Gamers
The only jam I buy with any regularity is Bonne Maman strawberry preserves. It is a perfect product. It’s sweet and tart, with discernible pieces of berry, and it comes packed in a Bonne Maman jar, another perfect product that I hoard like a little jar goblin.
Source: LifeHacker – 7 Reasons I Hoard Bonne Maman Jam Jars
Earlier this month, a Swiss hacker who goes by the name maia arson crimew exfiltrated a copy the US government’s No Fly List from an insecure server. This list, which names individuals who are forbidden from flying anywhere within US borders, is a subset of the Terrorist Screening Database and is kept hidden from the public. However, this
Source: Hot Hardware – Hacking Forum Exposes Entire US No Fly List Of Over 1.5M Names As TSA Investigates
Who could have possibly seen this coming? AI image generators have been used to create non-consensual pornography of celebrities, but why would that same user base dare abuse a free AI text-to-speech deepfake voice generator?
Source: Gizmodo – AI Voice Simulator Easily Abused to Deepfake Celebrities Spouting Racism and Homophobia
OnePlus could be the next major Android brand with a foldable smartphone. A circulating leak from the Chinese patent offices indicates the company may already be laying the groundwork to offer an alternative for U.S. users.
Source: Gizmodo – OnePlus Could Be the Next Android Brand with Folding Smartphones
You’re now more likely to have meaningful choice for fast fiber internet service. Frontier has introduced a symmetrical 5Gbps plan (that is, 5Gbps for uploads and downloads) across all its fiber markets in the US. The company claims it’s the first “major” provider to manage the feat. You’ll have to pay $155 per month (which includes installation and a router), or $55 more than the 2Gbps tier. However, it might be worth the outlay if you regularly download massive files or share your data with other heavy-duty users in your household.
You’ll need a WiFi 6e router and supporting devices, like the Pixel 7 or 2023 MacBook Pro, to make use of the extra speed without relying on 10Gbps Ethernet. Frontier estimates that it takes less than two minutes to download a 100-minute 8K movie.
Whether or not Frontier offers the best deal depends on the rivals in your area. AT&T’s 5Gbps plan has been available for a year, but will cost $180. Google Fiber is on the cusp of offering 8Gbps for $150, but it covers only a handful of cities. Frontier may well beat cable companies, though. Comcast already has 6Gbps service in some areas, but the $300 per month pricing and non-symmetric uploads make it less practical.
The higher price for 5Gbps service may not be thrilling if 2Gbps already seemed expensive. Even so, the rollout suggests competition is heating up among multi-gig internet providers. That’s good news for customers — you may see more aggressive performance or pricing as telecoms jockey for your business.
An Arctic cold front is bearing down on the Great Plains and points south, all the way into Central Texas this week. Already, cold temperatures and freezing rain have begun across the state, and the dangerous winter weather is likely to persist through Wednesday, according to Monday morning’s short-range forecast from…
Source: Gizmodo – Texas Is Staring Down a Major Winter Storm
Dutch health technology company Philips will scrap another 6,000 jobs worldwide as it tries to restore its profitability and improve the safety of its products following a recall of respiratory devices that knocked off 70% of its market value. From a report: Half of the job cuts will be made this year, the company said on Monday, adding that the other half will be realised by 2025. The new reorganisation brings the total amount of job cuts announced by new Chief Executive Roy Jakobs in recent months to 10,000, or around 13% of Philips’ current workforce.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Philips To Cut 13% of Jobs in Safety and Profitability Drive
Creators can’t control how their creations are received once they enter the world. Case in point, one of the key people behind the popular and long-running Yakuza series apparently had no idea how many people, especially women, found the series’ recurring, one-eyed character Goro Majima to be so damn sexy.
Source: Kotaku – Yakuza Producer Surprised Y’all Find Majima So Sexy
Perhaps you’ve already purchased Sony’s modular new DualSense Edge controller for PlayStation 5. If so, let me start off by saying “congratulations” on having $200 lying around to buy this damn expensive thing. But now that you’ve got this new controller with all its bells and whistles, you might be wondering how you…
Source: Kotaku – How To Get More Out Of Your 0 PS5 DualSense Edge Controller
A recent study from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate found large amounts of valuable metals and minerals on the seabed of the country’s continental shelf, Reuters reported. The rare earth metals, copper, and other materials would be a boon to Europe’s ability to produce energy transition technologies, but…
Source: Gizmodo – Norways Finds a Treasure Trove of Minerals in Its Seabed
In many places, cash is no longer king. While you still can manage to live a cash-only lifestyle if you want to, few of us do. Some of us don’t even carry cash at all, relying on our phones and credit cards, tapping and swiping at stores and using apps like Venmo or Cash App for personal transactions that would once…
Source: LifeHacker – Here’s How Much Emergency Cash You Should Keep at Home
Twitter CEO Elon Musk gave a brief public apology for his role in helping spread and amplify a baseless conspiracy related to the brutal October attack on Paul Pelosi, the husband of Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Musk’s backtracking comes just days after the release of graphic police body camera footage capturing the attempt on…
Source: Gizmodo – Elon Apologizes for Spreading Conspiracy Theory About the Hammer Attack on Paul Pelosi
Enlarge (credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto)
Dating apps are helping an attempted murderer evade capture in Oregon, the Grants Pass Police Department warned last week after the suspect escaped arrest.
The accused 36-year-old man, Benjamin Obadiah Foster, allegedly received assistance from a 68-year-old woman named Tina Marie Jones, who has since been arrested for hindering prosecution.
Ars could not immediately reach Grants Pass PD for comment on which dating apps Foster is known to be using. After arresting Jones, the department vaguely reported that its search revealed that Foster is “actively using online dating applications to contact unsuspecting individuals who may be lured into assisting with the suspect’s escape or potentially as additional victims.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Man wanted for attempted murder is using dating apps while on the run, cops say
Coal in the US is now being economically outmatched by renewables to such an extent that it’s more expensive for 99% of the country’s coal-fired power plants to keep running than it is to build an entirely new solar or wind energy operation nearby, a new analysis has found. From a report: The plummeting cost of renewable energy, which has been supercharged by last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, means that it is cheaper to build an array of solar panels or a cluster of new wind turbines and connect them to the grid than it is to keep operating all of the 210 coal plants in the contiguous US, bar one, according to the study.
“Coal is unequivocally more expensive than wind and solar resources, it’s just no longer cost competitive with renewables,” said Michelle Solomon, a policy analyst at Energy Innovation, which undertook the analysis. “This report certainly challenges the narrative that coal is here to stay.” The new analysis, conducted in the wake of the $370bn in tax credits and other support for clean energy passed by Democrats in last summer’s Inflation Reduction Act, compared the fuel, running and maintenance cost of America’s coal fleet with the building of new solar or wind from scratch in the same utility region. On average, the marginal cost for the coal plants is $36 each megawatt hour, while new solar is about $24 each megawatt hour, or about a third cheaper. Only one coal plant — Dry Fork in Wyoming — is cost competitive with the new renewables. “It was a bit surprising to find this,” said Solomon. “It shows that not only have renewables dropped in cost, the Inflation Reduction Act is accelerating this trend.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – US Renewable Energy Farms Outstrip 99% of Coal Plants Economically
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury’s first season was one of io9’s favorites last year, but if you were waiting for the series to get dubbed into English before you hopped on the high-fivin’ hype train, then good news: it looks like your time is right now.
Source: Gizmodo – Crunchyroll Has Quietly Launched Gundam: The Witch From Mercury’s English Dub
