If there was still any question about whether Insomniac Games was done with making Spider-Man games, the end of PlayStation 5-exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 makes it clear the studio still has a lot of stories to tell in that universe. Between post-credits cutscenes and new interview teases, it’s clear Insomniac has…
Source: Kotaku – Spider-Man 2’s Ending Teases Big Things For Spider-Man 3
The PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller is one of the best console controllers on the market. Not only does it offer a similar size and setup to Sony’s long-standing line of controllers, but it offers a ton of different features for you to take advantage of. While you can play PS4 games on the PS5 using the DualSense…
Source: LifeHacker – How to Use the PS5 Controller on a PS4
The VKMS driver as a virtual kernel mode-setting solution as a software-only implementation of KMS for use with primarily headless Linux systems continues tacking on more features. Maíra Canal and Melissa Wen presented last week at XDC 2023 on the VKMS driver that continues proving very useful for headless platforms as well as for testing purposes…
Source: Phoronix – The VKMS Display Driver Continues Evolving Nicely For Headless Linux Systems
Economists spent 2021 expecting inflation to prove “transitory.” They spent much of 2022 underestimating its staying power. And they spent early 2023 predicting that the Federal Reserve’s rate increases, meant to cure the inflation, would plunge the economy into a recession. None of those forecasts have panned out. The New York Times: Two big issues have made it difficult to forecast since 2020. The first was the coronavirus pandemic. The world had not experienced such a sweeping disease since the Spanish flu in 1918, and it was hard to anticipate how it would roil commerce and consumer behavior. The second complication came from fiscal policy. The Trump and Biden administrations poured $4.6 trillion of recovery money and stimulus into the economy in response to the pandemic. President Biden then pushed Congress to approve several laws that provided funding to encourage infrastructure investment and clean energy development. Between coronavirus lockdowns and the government’s enormous response, standard economic relationships stopped serving as good guides to the future.
Take inflation. Economic models suggested that it would not take off in a lasting way as long as unemployment was high. It made sense: If a bunch of consumers were out of work or earning tepid pay gains, they would pull back if companies charged more. But those models did not count on the savings that Americans had amassed from pandemic aid and months at home. Price increases began to take off in March 2021 as ravenous demand for products like used cars and at-home exercise equipment collided with global supply shortages. Unemployment was above 6 percent, but that did not stop shoppers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 exacerbated the situation, pushing up oil prices. And before long, the labor market had healed and wages were growing rapidly.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – How Economists Got It Wrong for 3 Years.
Every year, I make turkey gumbo with my leftover Thanksgiving bird, and every year I complain about stirring the roux. Roux is not difficult to make: Combine equal amounts of fat and flour, whisk until smooth, then cook, stirring continuously—and I do mean continuously—until it reaches the color you desire.
Source: LifeHacker – You Can Make Roux in the Microwave (or Oven)
Apple has confirmed rumors that the company plans on making another big announcement by the end of the month with its upcoming “Scary Fast” event. Many have speculated that the Cupertino-based company will likely announce a new iMac and possibly a new MacBook Pro with the latest M3 chipset.
Fans of Apple were a bit disappointed with the
Source: Hot Hardware – Apple Announces Its Scary Fast Event With New M3 Silicon Powered Devices Expected
BenQ’s new lampless and filterless projector uses 15% less power than conventional projectors and requires very little maintenance.
The post BenQ’s New Lamp and Laser Free Green Projector Cuts Operating Costs appeared first on FOSS Force.
Source: FOSS Force – BenQ’s New Lamp and Laser Free Green Projector Cuts Operating Costs
If you have a big project in front of you that you’re working on mostly on your own, you can tune in to a podcast to keep you company while you work. Hearing from others who have attempted their own repairs can be highly entertaining, and sometimes you can get some good tips from more experienced renovators. Get some…
Source: LifeHacker – 10 Podcasts That Will Make You a Better DIYer
In amongst Spider-Man 2’s epic main quest, betwixt the huge twists and turns, star appearances, and major plot beats, are dozens of minor side-quests. These range from trivial fetch-em-ups, all the way to entire plot-lines across multiple missions. But every now and then, you find something that feels less like a…
Source: Kotaku – Spider-Man 2’s Most Inspirational Moment Is A Tiny Side Mission
GM announced on Tuesday that it’s delaying production of the Equinox EV, Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV. Electrek reported on the comments from the automaker’s earnings call, citing a desire to “protect” GM’s pricing while adjusting to shifting EV demand. The company didn’t commit to a specific timeline to resume production, only saying the delay would last “a few months.”
“We are also moderating the acceleration of EV production in North America to protect our pricing, adjust to slower near-term growth in demand, and implement engineering efficiency and other improvements that will make our vehicles less expensive to produce, and more profitable,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in the company’s Q3 earnings call Tuesday.
Barra said the changes “will make our vehicles less expensive to produce, and more profitable” in the long run. She warned that the EV delays would affect Ultium-based models, including the Equinox EV, Silverado EV RST and GMC Sierra EV.
The move comes a week after GM announced it would delay EV truck production (Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV) at its Orion assembly plant in Michigan until late 2025. GM spokesperson Kevin Kelley said the move was designed to “better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand.”
The United Auto Workers strike began in September and is the elephant in the room amid GM’s production shakeup. Citing uncertain labor costs related to the strike, the automaker also withdrew its full-year financial guidance. It expects to provide more clarity for investors once new union contracts are signed. “Accepting unsustainably high [labor] costs would put our future and GM team member jobs at risk, and jeopardizing our future is something I will not do,” Barra said.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gm-delays-production-of-chevy-silverado-equinox-and-gmc-sierra-evs-165609448.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – GM delays production of Chevy Silverado, Equinox and GMC Sierra EVs
Apple just confirmed another streaming event for October 30 at, wait for it, 8PM ET. Tis the spooky season, so why not hold a presentation at night? The tagline for the event is “Scary Fast” so it certainly sounds like there will be some hardware announcements. We already had the big iPhone 15 event, so that leaves the company’s desktop and laptop computers.
To that end, it’s been a surprisingly long time since there’s been a new iMac. Analyst Mark Gurman suggested that this event will feature a refresh of the aging iMac line, and his track record is pretty good when it comes to Apple. Gurman also suggested that it’s likely we’ll see an update to the MacBook Pro.
This analysis is based on current retail supplies and shipping dates for forthcoming models, with retail stores noting they have short supply of the current iMacs and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The colorful 24-inch M1 iMac came out all the way back in April 2021, which is a lifetime in tech circles, and hasn’t been updated since. The MacBook Pro M2 is newer, releasing in 2022, but still due for an upgrade.
With that said, there are also rumors that the event will reveal the followup chip, the M3. It’s also possible we’ll get an iPad reveal, as the company’s flagship tablet is also due for a refresh.
In the past, Apple has typically reserved its October press event for computers, which is another mark in the “new iMac” column. In any event, we don’t have that long to wait, as October 30 is just around the corner. Here’s hoping Tim Cook will be dressed as a mummy or Barbenheimer or something.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-confirms-scary-fast-event-for-the-night-of-october-30-164836214.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Apple confirms ‘scary fast’ event for the night of October 30
Boo! Apple has a not-so-surprising surprise in store for fans on October 30th. The Cupertino company announced Tuesday its set to reveal its second fall event of 2023. Titled “Scary Fast,” the online event is where Apple is expected to reveal new Mac products that could include a new iMac desktop or MacBook laptop.
Source: Gizmodo – Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ Event Set to Reveal New Mac Products This Month
Nintendo is the Apple of video game brands. They don’t often put their products on sale, so when they do, you’d better jump. Earlier this year, Woot sold limited quantities of the White OLED Nintendo Switch for $310. Then, during Prime Day, some third-party sellers at major retailers (including Walmart) sold the white…
Source: LifeHacker – The OLED Nintendo Switch Is Off Right Now
Unciphered, a Seattle-based startup, claims to have cracked the seemingly unbreakable encryption of IronKey S200, a decade-old USB thumb drive. By exploiting an undisclosed vulnerability in the device, the company says it can bypass the drive’s feature that erases its contents after 10 incorrect password attempts. The breakthrough came within a day of receiving a test device, suggesting that the firm’s hacking technique, powered by high-performance computing, could have far-reaching implications.
The startup’s focus is not just technological; it’s after a specific IronKey that holds 7,002 bitcoins, valued at roughly $235 million, stored in a Swiss bank vault. The device belongs to Stefan Thomas, a Swiss crypto entrepreneur, who has forgotten the password and has only two password attempts left before losing access to his fortune. Unciphered believes its hacking capabilities could unlock Thomas’ crypto vault and is preparing to reach out to him to offer its services. The only problem: Thomas doesn’t seem to want their help. Wired: Earlier this month, not long after performing their USB-decrypting demonstration for me, Unciphered reached out to Thomas through a mutual associate who could vouch for the company’s new IronKey-unlocking abilities and offer assistance. The call didn’t even get as far as discussing Unciphered’s commission or fee before Thomas politely declined. Thomas had already made a “handshake deal” with two other cracking teams a year earlier, he explained. In an effort to prevent the two teams from competing, he had offered each a portion of the proceeds if either one could unlock the drive. And he remains committed, even a year later, to giving those teams more time to work on the problem before he brings in anyone else — even though neither of the teams has shown any sign of pulling off the decryption trick that Unciphered has already accomplished.
That has left Unciphered in a strange situation: It holds what is potentially one of the most valuable lockpicking tools in the cryptocurrency world, but with no lock to pick. “We cracked the IronKey,” says Nick Fedoroff, Unciphered’s director of operations. “Now we have to crack Stefan. This is turning out to be the hardest part.” In an email to WIRED, Thomas confirmed that he had turned down Unciphered’s offer to unlock his encrypted fortune. “I have already been working with a different set of experts on the recovery so I’m no longer free to negotiate with someone new,” Thomas wrote. “It’s possible that the current team could decide to subcontract Unciphered if they feel that’s the best option. We’ll have to wait and see.” In past interviews, Thomas has said that his 7,002 bitcoins were left over from a payment he received for making a video titled “What is Bitcoin?” that published on YouTube in early 2011, when a bitcoin was worth less than a dollar. Later that year, he told WIRED that he’d inadvertently erased two backup copies of the wallet that held those thousands of coins, and then lost the piece of paper with the password to decrypt the third copy, stored on the IronKey. By then, his lost coins were worth close to $140,000.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – They Cracked the Code To a Locked USB Drive Worth 5 Million in Bitcoin. Then It Got Weird.
Meta is facing a massive class-action lawsuit from 41 states as well as the District of Columbia over alleged harms to its young users. Attorneys general from dozens of states joined a lawsuit, filed in California federal court, claiming that Meta knew its “addictive” features were harmful and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platform.
In addition to the California suit, attorneys general from eight other states filed their own claims against the company. In a statement, California Attorney General Rob Bonta described the filings as part of a “coordinated effort” to hold Meta accountable for alleged misconduct. “Our bipartisan investigation has arrived at a solemn conclusion: Meta has been harming our children and teens, cultivating addiction to boost corporate profits,” Bonta said in a statement.
A central claim of the lawsuit is that Meta’s business model depends on holding the attention of young users on Facebook and Instagram, even at the expense of their wellbeing. “Meta designed and deployed harmful and psychologically manipulative product features to induce young users’ compulsive and extended Platform use, while falsely assuring the public that its features were safe and suitable for young users,” the lawsuit states. It added that the company “routinely” shared reports suggesting otherwise despite “overwhelming internal research” showing its features were harmful.
“We share the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path.”
The lawsuit is the latest reckoning over the company’s handling of youth safety and mental health. Lawmakers, regulators and other officials have become increasingly focused on the issue, and whether social media companies are doing enough to protect their youngest users. Meta has come under particular scrutiny since the disclosure of internal documents by a former employee turned whistleblower, Frances Haugen.
Her disclosures, known as the Facebook Files, included internal research that showed teens struggling with mental health issues reported that Instagram made them feel worse. The company has attempted to downplay this research, saying that it was taken out of context.
The disclosures prompted the company to indefinitely pause work on an Instagram Kids app. Meta also released a slew of new safety features for Instagram, including changing the default privacy settings and limiting ad targeting features for younger teens. Instagram also added reminders for teens to “take a break’ from the app and new parental control features.
Developing…
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/forty-one-states-sue-meta-for-harming-the-mental-health-of-its-youngest-users-162521184.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – 41 states sue Meta for harming the mental health of its youngest users
Apple Maps has flipped the switch on live traffic data in Israel and Gaza at the request of the Israeli Defense Forces, according to The Hill. The move follows Google and Waze who did the same yesterday, eliminating any options in the region to track traffic jams or source crowding information.
Source: Gizmodo – Apple Disables Maps Features in Israel and Gaza
The immensely popular 1997 role-playing game Final Fantasy VII has been worshiped in its original form, grafted into a similarly admired 2020 remake, and now, developer Square Enix promises a magisterial “rebirth” in a PlayStation 5 exclusive set for February 29, 2024. Like the 2020 remake, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth wi…
Source: Kotaku – Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Devs Have A Big Surprise Planned For Its Most Iconic Scene
Cash is king, even if the jury is still out on how much you should carry on you at any given moment. What’s not up for debate is how frustrating it is to walk up to an ATM and have to authorize a charge for $2 or $3 for the privilege of accessing your own money. Yes, you can go to one of your bank’s ATMs to avoid the…
Source: LifeHacker – These Eight Banks Reimburse ATM Fees
Amazon is doing more than just selling you things you don’t need and producing some gruesome TV—now, they want to get into the veterinary business.
Source: Gizmodo – Amazon Reportedly Wants to Treat Your Dog via Webcam
