While not (yet) officially announced, new leaks indicate that McDonald’s is once again teaming up with The Pokémon Company to offer fans a fresh collection of 15 Pokémon cards to snatch up and flip on eBay for hundreds of dollars, or enjoy quietly at home. But probably eBay.
Source: Kotaku – Leaked: All 15 McDonald’s Pokémon Cards That Will Immediately Sell Out In 2023
Going to college and getting a degree used to be a pretty common goal. For a long time, a bachelor’s degree of some sort was seen as a necessary precursor to a good career and financial stability. In recent years, though, that’s begun to change—between the steep cost of earning that degree, the current confusing mess…
Source: LifeHacker – You Can Put Your College Credits to Use (Even If You Didn’t Graduate)
Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as X is… not going according to plan. Indonesia has temporarily blocked X.com due to the country’s laws forbidding gambling and porn. Officials don’t think the site is suddenly going downhill, though. Rather, it’s that the web domain’s previous owners broke the country’s content laws. In other words, X didn’t check to see if the the predecessors had done anything leading to national bans.
The impasse likely won’t last long. Information director general Usman Kansong tells the press that X has already been in touch about the issue, and is sending a letter to indicate that Twitter is taking ownership of X.com. This is more a formality than a major legal hurdle.
Still, this is another indicator of just how unplanned the Twitter-to-X transition was. Meta, Microsoft and numerous other companies already own trademarks on X, opening the door to lawsuits. X may have trouble registering and protecting trademarks, too. The company has even had problems changing its signage — a crew pulling down the Twitter sign in San Francisco had to stop over permit issues, leaving the “er” and old bird logo intact.
Musk announced the sudden transition as part of a broader plan to turn Twitter into a “super app” like China’s WeChat. In theory, you could use X for payments, messaging and other tasks that go well beyond social media. The service has also lately tried to steer users toward $8 per month Blue subscriptions by both offering perks (such as much longer posts) and limiting existing features.
The momentary Indonesia ban isn’t a major roadblock. However, it still means that roughly 24 million users can’t even try X.com at the moment. That may be welcome news for competitors that don’t face similar restrictions, including Meta’s recently launched Threads (already available in Indonesia).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/indonesia-is-blocking-elon-musks-x-domain-for-its-gambling-and-porn-history-195551771.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Indonesia is blocking Elon Musk’s X domain for its gambling and porn history
Your hands are probably heavier than you think, a new study suggests. In a series of experiments, researchers showed that people consistently underestimated the weight of their hands. The findings might one day help us better design prosthetics that feel more comfortable for their users to wear, the authors say.
Source: Gizmodo – Your Hands Are Probably Heavier Than You Think
Enlarge / An AI-generated image of a slot machine in a desert. (credit: Midjourney)
On Thursday, OpenAI quietly pulled its AI Classifier, an experimental tool designed to detect AI-written text. The decommissioning, first noticed by Decrypt, occurred with no major fanfare and was announced through a small note added to OpenAI’s official AI Classifier webpage:
As of July 20, 2023, the AI classifier is no longer available due to its low rate of accuracy. We are working to incorporate feedback and are currently researching more effective provenance techniques for text, and have made a commitment to develop and deploy mechanisms that enable users to understand if audio or visual content is AI-generated.
Released on January 31 amid clamor from educators about students potentially using ChatGPT to write essays and schoolwork, OpenAI’s AI Classifier always felt like a performative Band-Aid on a deep wound. From the beginning, OpenAI admitted that its AI Classifier was not “fully reliable,” correctly identifying only 26 percent of AI-written text as “likely AI-written” and incorrectly labeling human-written works 9 percent of the time.
As we’ve pointed out on Ars, AI writing detectors such as OpenAI’s AI Classifier, Turnitin, and GPTZero simply don’t work with enough accuracy to rely on them for trustworthy results. The methodology behind how they work is speculative and unproven, and the tools are currently routinely used to falsely accuse students of cheating.
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Source: Ars Technica – OpenAI discontinues its AI writing detector due to “low rate of accuracy”
There’s a lot to love in Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks’ special Star Trek crossover, but getting to see Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid bring some of their chaotic energy from the world of animation into the live-action Mariner and Boimler was a highlight—especially because that energy radiated through the Strange…
Source: Gizmodo – The Strange New Worlds-Lower Decks Crossover’s ‘Hot Spock’ Moment Was Improv
In a move to prevent public companies from delaying news about cyberattacks, the US Security and Exchange Commission has set a four-day deadline to disclose “material cybersecurity incidents.” A US attorney general could potentially delay that disclosure if doing so would lead to “substantial risk to national security or public safety.” Otherwise, the rules will serve as a stiff new guidepost — albeit, one that’s slightly less restrictive than the EU’s GDPR cyberattack deadline of just three days.
The news comes after Microsoft was criticized by security experts for taking weeks to confirm an attack against Outlook and other online services. “We really have no way to measure the impact [of the attack] if Microsoft doesn’t provide that info,” Jake Williams, a cybersecurity researcher and former NSA hacker, told the AP in June.
While GDPR rules are more about protecting the public, the SEC appears to be more focused on investors: “Currently, many public companies provide cybersecurity disclosure to investors,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “I think companies and investors alike, however, would benefit if this disclosure were made in a more consistent, comparable, and decision-useful way.”
Technology companies have pushed against the SECs rules since they were initially announced last year, which ultimately led to the inclusion of a delay clause, Bloomberg reports. Additionally, the Information Technology Industry Council argued that the four-day deadline is too short, since companies may not know enough about the cyberattack by then.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sec-public-companies-must-report-cyberattacks-within-four-days-193713534.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – SEC: Public companies must report cyberattacks within four days
Customers have asked to run OpenAI models on non-Microsoft cloud services or on their own local servers, but OpenAI has no immediate plans to offer such options, Semafor reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. From the report: That means there’s one area where rivals of the ChatGPT creator have an edge: flexibility. To use OpenAI’s technology, paying customers have two choices: They can go directly through OpenAI or through investment partner Microsoft, which has inked a deal to be the exclusive cloud service for OpenAI.
Microsoft will not allow OpenAI’s models to be available on other cloud providers, according to a person briefed on the matter. Companies that exclusively use rivals, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud or Oracle, can’t be OpenAI customers.
But Microsoft would allow OpenAI models to be offered “on premises” in which customers build their own servers. Creating such solutions would pose some challenges, particularly around OpenAI’s intellectual property. But it is technically feasible, this person said.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Facing More Nimble Rivals, OpenAI Won’t Bend
Samsung’s updates to the latest, top-of-the-line Tab S-series Android tablets are here in the Galaxy Tab S9. While not a huge step up from the Tab S8 series, they still maintain the lead on the highest-end Android tablets out there. If you’re an Android fan looking for an alternative to the iPad Pro, this is what you…
Source: LifeHacker – Why Samsung’s New Galaxy Tab S9 Series Tablets Might Be Worth the Cost
Screws > glue. [credit:
Exploring the Simulation/YouTube
]
Consumer tech has faced scrutiny over the years around “planned obsolescence”: making devices so difficult to repair that shoppers have to buy new products and toss devices sooner than they’d like. Now, one do-it-yourself-er is on a mission to prove that it doesn’t have to be this way. And he’s starting with the (original) Apple AirPods Pro.
Ken Pillonel is no stranger to tweaking popular designs in the name of user convenience and sensibility. We’ve covered other projects of his, like a $38 part for making the AirPods Pro case self-serviceable and support USB-C, and adding Apple’s Lightning port to a Samsung Galaxy A51. He has also modded the iPhone to use USB-C.
Today, the technologist revealed his latest concoction: an AirPods Pro case with a user-replaceable battery, USB-C port, and open source designs.
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Source: Ars Technica – Man open-sources the self-repairable AirPods Pro case that Apple won’t make
Legend has it, tomatoes must stay on the countertop. Claire Lower, Lifehacker’s senior food editor, famously refuses to put them in the fridge. Sadly, not everyone has the space or the wisdom to keep them elsewhere, so they get tossed in the cold box. And while is no fallacy that chilly temps can make tomatoes taste…
Source: LifeHacker – For Better Tasting Tomatoes, Dip Them in Warm Water Before Chilling
In a recent interview with the BBC, an actor in the upcoming fantasy role-playing game Baldur’s Gate 3 revealed that developer Larian Studios used intimacy coordinators to help actors feel safe and comfortable when depicting the game’s more intimate moments.
Source: Kotaku – Baldur’s Gate 3 Devs Hired Intimacy Coordinators To Help With Its Sex Scenes
Apple is responsible for an ever-growing number of truly intriguing (re: nonsensical) patent applications. These usually cause Apple fans’ heads to turn like a dog hearing the quiet skittering of a nearby squirrel. However, the latest approved patent from the Cupertino, California-based company may take the prize as…
Source: Gizmodo – Apple Patent Shows Off a Modular Laptop With Attachable Turntable
Whatever you think about the movies individually, the best thing to come out of Fox’s X-Men films has always been Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. He stepped in for Dougray Scott due to Scott’s scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible 2, and the Australian actor turned out to be a great fit for the part—something Fox…
Source: Gizmodo – The Wolverine Was the Reliable Soldier Fox’s X-Men Needed
Samsung’s big Unpacked event has come and gone. At 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the company began announing its latest suite of smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. We saw the newest iterations of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5, the new Galaxy Watch 6 and Watch 6 Classic, as well as the new Galaxy T9 lineup. While…
Source: LifeHacker – Everything Samsung Announced at Unpacked 2023
Twitter deleted its own label correcting unfounded, misleading speculation posted by Elon Musk, marking yet another example of the fact the free speech warrior does not, in fact, seem to care much about free speech at all.
Source: Gizmodo – Twitter Deletes Its Own Fact Check Correcting Elon’s Bogus Vaccine Tweet
Enlarge / House full of kids got you down? Fear not, school’s coming soon! (credit: Flatiron School)
Whether you need a new laptop to catch up on some work this summer or you’re prepping for your kid’s return to school, we have plenty of deals for the summer. From storage boxes to noise-canceling headphones, and SSDs to pens and supplies, there are plenty of savings on our curated back-to-school shopping list.
The Alienware 14 gaming laptop. (credit: Alienware)
AirTag box at an Apple Store on April 30, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. (credit: Getty Images | James D. Morgan)
Set your TV on fire with fiery deals! (credit: Amazon)
DeWalt drill kit with carrying bag. (credit: DEWALT)
Writing utensils! Get your writing utensils here! (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)
Timex returns to traditional design for its latest activity-tracking smartwatch. (credit: Photo: Scott Akerman)
Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.
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Source: Ars Technica – Dealmaster: Save on laptops, vacuums, and back-to-school supplies
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is one of a small handful of games that was originally developed exclusively for the PlayStation 5. Like Returnal, the game has found its way to the PC, and as you’d expect of a game targeting current-generation hardware, it has all the latest rendering features and PC gaming tech.
Unfortunately, despite that
Source: Hot Hardware – AMD’s Latest GPU Driver Reveals Why Ratchet And Clank Skips Ray Tracing On Radeon Cards
Deconstructeam announced today that its upcoming divination-based game, The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, arrives on August 16th. The player-choice-driven narrative adventure will be available for PC and Nintendo Switch. In addition, a new launch trailer gives us a closer glimpse at the title’s tarot deck building and weighty decision-making.
In The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood, you assume the role of Fortuna, a witch imprisoned for 1,000 years on a remote asteroid after foretelling an unwelcome prediction of doom. (You join her 200 years into her sentence, although the game includes plenty of pre-exile flashbacks.) However, Fortuna’s stay isn’t as lonely as you may expect: She’s accompanied by Ábramar, a god summoned by Fortuna to help her escape and serve cold revenge on the coven. You’ll also receive a surprising number of visitors for someone floating on a space rock in the middle of nowhere.
Following Deconstructeam’s Gods Will Be Watching and The Red Strings Club, its latest entry expands on the studio’s tendencies toward philosophical and narrative experiences in dystopian settings. Much of the gameplay revolves around the narrative forks you choose (primarily through dialog trees) and the building and deployment of tarot decks, presented intricately in vibrant pixel art. You can customize the cards’ backgrounds, symbols and supporting elements, crafting a magical repertoire that feels distinctly yours. (However, you can keep the deck-creation process relatively simple if you prefer a more straightforward playthrough.) “At its core, Cosmic Wheel is a visual novel with narrative paths dictated by the player’s choices,” Jessica Conditt wrote in Engadget’s April preview.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood will cost $18 when it launches on August 16th for Switch and PC. You can pre-order it on Steam and wish-list it on GOG ahead of its arrival. (Nintendo hasn’t yet published its product listing.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/witchy-narrative-adventure-the-cosmic-wheel-sisterhood-hits-pc-and-switch-on-august-16th-184513016.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Witchy narrative adventure ‘The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood’ hits PC and Switch on August 16th
On Tuesday, July 25, a power outage occurred at NASA’s Mission Control in Houston, leading to a temporary disruption in communication with the International Space Station.
Source: io9 – Power Outage at Mission Control Temporarily Disrupts NASA’s Link to ISS
