Chris Pine, Gina Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, and the rest of the cast of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are here to explain which monsters might show up in the upcoming film. This is a bit spoilery, so I won’t go into details, but there’s definitely some footage here of monsters that we haven’t seen (on film)…
Source: Gizmodo – How Many of These Creatures Have You Put in Your D&D Campaign?
The days of wading through pages of comments on a Reddit post to find exactly what you’re looking for are no more. The internet forum has added a new feature to posts. Users can now search for specific words or terms within a posts’ comment section without having to rely on ctrl+F or cmd+F, the company announced on…
Source: Gizmodo – Reddit Comments Now Have a Search Function
Enlarge / Two Bronze Age skeletons (brothers) were found at Tel Megiddo in Israel. One showed evidence of trepanation. (credit: Kalisher et al., 2023/PLoS ONE, CC-BY 4.0)
Just a couple of weeks ago, we reported that scientists had analyzed the skull of a medieval woman who once lived in central Italy and found evidence that she experienced at least two brain surgeries consistent with the practice of trepanation. Now a recent paper published last week in the journal PLoS ONE has reported evidence of trepanation in the remains of a man buried between 1550 and 1450 BCE at the Tel Megiddo archaeological site in Israel.
Cranial trepanation—the drilling of a hole in the head—is perhaps the oldest known example of skull surgery and one that is still practiced today, albeit rarely. It typically involves drilling or scraping a hole into the skull to expose the dura mater, the outermost of three layers of connective tissue, called meninges, that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Accidentally piercing that layer could result in infection or damage to the underlying blood vessels. The practice dates back 7,000 to 10,000 years, as evidenced by cave paintings and human remains. During the Middle Ages, trepanation was performed to treat such ailments as seizures and skull fractures.
In the case of the medieval woman’s skull, an oval area in the center of the cross-shaped defect was evidence of a well-healed trepanation procedure. Metal surgical tools were probably used to make a cross-shaped incision to the top of a head, scraping away the scalp from the bone—a trepanation method that is historically well-documented—which could also explain the signs of inflammation and/or infection. The second surgery likely occurred shortly before the woman’s death. It’s one of the few archaeological pieces of evidence of trepanation being performed on early medieval women yet found, although why the woman in question was subjected to such a risky invasive surgical procedure remains speculative.
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Source: Ars Technica – More trepanation news: Evidence of brain surgery in Bronze Age Israel
Meta is joining Google, Microsoft and other big names in throwing its weight behind ChatGPT-style AI. Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that his company plans to develop “AI personas” in the long term. It’s currently investigating helpers for multiple media formats. You could see advanced chat features in Messenger and WhatsApp, or unique Instagram filters and ads. Video and “multi-modal” content could also benefit, Zuckerberg says. In the near future, you’ll see an emphasis on tools for creation and expression.
The social media giant is also pooling its generative AI teams into a single group to help “turbocharge” efforts in the emerging field, the executive adds. He doesn’t provide more details, and cautions that there’s a “lot of foundational work to do” before the most advanced projects come to fruition.
The company isn’t new to some level of user-facing AI. It introduced chatbots to Messenger in 2016, for example. This represents a significant expansion, however, and isn’t surprising given the industry’s growing focus on generative AI. Internet behemoths like Google reportedly feel competitive pressure from OpenAI’s ChatGPT, as it could theoretically undermine search and other key businesses. Zuckerberg said during Meta’s latest earnings call that he wanted the firm to be a “leader” in generative AI, but this may also represent a defensive tool.
The shift doesn’t come at a great moment, however. Meta’s revenues are still shrinking, and its pivot to the metaverse is costing billions of dollars at its Reality Labs unit. It recently slashed over 11,000 jobs to cut costs and weather a rough economy. While platforms like Facebook and Instagram continue to gain users, the company isn’t as stable as it once was.
Source: Engadget – Meta is working on ‘AI personas’ for Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp
Whether it’s a wedge of snacking cheese or a scoop of “I live alone” ganache, having a small treat available at a moment’s notice is good for everyone. The best treats taste great on their own but also play well with others for an excellent nosh. Since you can never have too many fridge-ready snacks in your rotation,…
Source: LifeHacker – Keep Cannoli Cream in Your Fridge at All Times
A Tesla deal may come to fruition for its facility in Nevada on Thursday, which may allocate more than $300 million in tax abatements to the company. The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development will hold a vote on Thursday to decide whether the company will receive the sum over the course of two decades.
Source: Gizmodo – Tesla Could Get More Than 0 Million in Tax Breaks for Gigafactory Expansion
In a new interview Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, said that “Xbox will exist” even if its massive deal to buy up Call of Duty publisher Activision falls apart due to continued and intense regulatory scrutiny and public pushback.
Source: Kotaku – Xbox Boss Now Downplaying Importance Of Controversial Activision Merger
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Several independent publishers have had their books removed from Kindle Unlimited because they breached an exclusivity agreement with Amazon. The actions of the book giant are covered by the mutually agreed terms. However, in many cases, it’s not the authors who breached the agreement, but pirate sites who copied them, as pirates do. […] Over the past few weeks, several authors complained that Amazon had removed their books from Kindle Unlimited because they violated their agreement. The piracy angle is front and center, raising plenty of questions and uncertainty.
Raven Kennedy, known for The Plated Prisoner Series, took her frustration to Instagram earlier this month. The author accused Amazon of sending repeated “threats”. This eventually resulted in the removal of her books from Kindle Unlimited, ostensibly because these were listed on pirate sites. “Copyright infringement is outside of my control. Even though I pay a lot of money to a company to file takedown notices on my behalf, and am constantly checking the web for pirated versions, I can’t keep up with all the intellectual theft. “And rather than support and help their authors, Amazon threatens me. The ironic thing is, these pirates are getting the files FROM Amazon,” Kennedy added. A similar experience was shared by Carissa Broadbent, author of The War of Lost Hearts Trilogy. Again, Amazon removed a book from Kindle Unlimited for an issue that the author can’t do much about. “A few hours ago, I got a stomach-dropping email from [Amazon] that Children of Fallen Gods had been removed from the Kindle store with zero warning, because of content ‘freely available on the web’ — IE, piracy that I do not have any control over,” Broadbent noted.
These and other authors received broad support from their readers, and sympathy from the general public. A Change.org petition launched in response has collected nearly 35,000 signatures to date, with new ones still coming in. Author Marlow Locker started the petition to send a wake-up call to Amazon. According to her, Amazon should stand behind its authors instead of punishing them for the fact that complete strangers have decided to pirate their books. Most authors will gladly comply with the exclusivity requirements, but only as far as this lies within their control. Piracy clearly isn’t, especially when it happens on an almost industrial scale. “Currently, many automated systems use Amazon as a place to copy the e-files that they use for their free websites. It’s completely absurd that the same company turns around and punishes an author by removing their book from KDP Select,” the petition reads. From the commentary seen online, several authors have been able to resolve their issues with Amazon. And indeed, the books of Broadbent and Kennedy appear to be back online. That said, the exclusivity policy remains in place. Amazon notes that the books removed from Kindle Unlimited still remain for sale on Amazon’s regular store. They also stress that authors are issued a warning with an extended timeline to try and resolve the issue before any action is taken.
“The problem is, of course, that individual authors can’t stop piracy,” adds TorrentFreak. “If it was that easy, most authors would be happy to do so. However, if billion-dollar publishing companies and the U.S. Government can’t stop it, Amazon can’t expect independent authors to ‘resolve’ the matter either.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Amazon Removes Books From Kindle Unlimited After They Appear On Pirate Sites
Apple is apparently back in the business of making cheap[er] iPhones in its SE lineup, barely a month after analysts thought Apple had canceled work on the SE 4.
Source: Gizmodo – Apple Plans to Bring Back the iPhone SE 4 After Reportedly Trashing New Cheap Phone Plans
The 9th generation, 10.2-inch iPad is selling right now for nearly the cheapest it has ever been since its release in 2021: You can get the 64-gigabyte iPad for $250 at Target and Best Buy, down from its most recent $330 price tag. That’s the lowest price these stores have sold this iPad since its release in 2021, …
Source: LifeHacker – The Cheapest iPad Just Got Cheaper
Enlarge / SpaceX’s V2 Mini Starlink satellites. (credit: SpaceX)
With Starlink speeds slowing due to a growing capacity crunch, SpaceX said a launch happening as soon as today will deploy the first “V2 Mini” satellites that provide four times more per-satellite capacity than earlier versions.
Starlink’s second-generation satellites include the V2 Minis and the larger V2. The larger V2s are designed for the SpaceX Starship, which isn’t quite ready to launch yet, but the V2 Minis are slimmed-down versions that can be deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket.
“The V2 Minis are smaller than the V2 satellites (hence the name) but don’t let the name fool you,” SpaceX said in a statement provided to Ars yesterday. “The V2 Minis include more advanced phased array antennas and the use of E-band for backhaul, which will enable Starlink to provide ~4x more capacity per satellite than earlier iterations.”
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Source: Ars Technica – SpaceX unveils “V2 Mini” Starlink satellites with quadruple the capacity
Enlarge / A 12.7-inch screen unrolls from under the keyboard to grow to 15.3 inches. (credit: Lenovo/YouTube)
Lenovo’s laptop with a screen that can roll from 12.7 inches to 15.3 inches is just a proof of concept, but it looks like a pretty serious one. The company first teased the versatile OLED laptop online in October but showed it off in person before the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona this week. Marked by an OLED screen usable in two different sizes and resolutions, it’s described as subtle looking and decently polished.
As a proof of concept, Lenovo may never release a rollable screen PC like this. However, the company told Windows Central that it prefers developing “concepts that we have a hope of selling.” Plus, Lenovo is no stranger to releasing laptops with alternative screen designs. Its 2020 ThinkPad X1 Fold was the first to attempt the foldable PC and will be succeeded by the 16-inch ThinkPad X1 Fold this year. This year should also see the release of the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, which connects two 13.3-inch OLED screens by a hinge.
The Yoga Book 9i is an actual product set to come out this year. (credit: Scharon Harding)
In its current form, the rollable-screen laptop prototype “looks and feels like a regular laptop,” Android Authority reported. The publication also backed Lenovo and called the prototype “polished” enough to show off in person. It even thought the system looked less clunky than Asus’ ZenBook 17 Fold, a 12th-gen Intel-based foldable PC currently going for $3,500.
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Source: Ars Technica – Lenovo demos laptop that rolls from 13 to 15 inches with the flip of a switch
“Kirby is the best game of all time,” I repeat all weekend, hypnotized by Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe Nintendo Switch remake, convinced it was a shimmering portal into a better life. The remake—released on February 24—is a brighter, but mostly exact, copy of the 2011 Wii game Kirby’s Return to Dreamland, and…
Source: Kotaku – Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe Is Great On Switch
Have you been looking for a free unlimited cloud-storage solution? If you’re willing to run into a little terms-of-service risk, you could leverage YouTube as a storage medium. It’s no replacement for Dropbox but a nifty little open-source program has made it possible.
Many of us remember the days of attempting to tune in to a favorite
Source: Hot Hardware – Here’s How To Hack YouTube For Unlimited Cloud Storage
Woe is me. As journalists, we’re supposed to maintain objectivity, but I can’t help but covet the Pokémon GO Plus+. Despite its silly, repetitive name (yes, it’s actually pronounced “plus plus”), pre-orders of the second-generation automatic Pokémon catcher are closed. So, I’ll have to remind myself to hop online in…
Source: Gizmodo – Pokémon GO Plus+ Is Double Plus Good at Catching Pokémon
The BBC apparently isn’t a fan of porn puns, especially ones that pertain to its own name. A live performance by Sabrina Carpenter was cut a tiny bit shorter after it was uploaded to YouTube, removing the singer’s riff at the very end that refers to an obvious sexual innuendo.
Source: Gizmodo – BBC Removes Sabrina Carpenter’s Raunchy Freestyle From YouTube Clip
As the race back to the Moon heats up—with plans for long-term human habitation—reliable communication is a fundamental issue. With dozens of plans for experiments of various sizes and scopes needing to communicate with each other and Earth, the European Space Agency has opened a call for help in building the required …
Source: Gizmodo – We Need Moon Standard Time
After two shows that delivered mixed results (The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi) and one that was arguably the best thing to come out of a galaxy far, far away since The Empire Strikes Back (Andor), Star Wars is returning to its OG Disney+ roots. After more than two years, The Mandalorian finally returns on March…
Source: LifeHacker – What’s New on Disney+ in March 2023
Fwupd 1.8.11 open-source Linux firmware updating utility is out now with support for new devices, new features, and improvements.
Source: LXer – Fwupd 1.8.11 Linux Firmware Updater Adds Support for New Devices, New Features
Coinbase will suspend trading of Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13 at around noon EST. From a report: The crypto exchange said the decision was based on its most recent review of the stablecoin, which Paxos recently stopped issuing following an order from a New York regulator. “Our determination to suspend trading for BUSD is based on our own internal monitoring and review processes,” a Coinbase spokesperson told The Block. “When reviewing BUSD, we determined that it no longer met our listing standards and will be suspended.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Coinbase To Halt Trading of Binance USD for Not Meeting Listing Standards
