OpenAI rode a hype-fueled rocket to business leadership over the last year. CEO Sam Altman managed to put a consumer-friendly wrapper on a years-old technology and capture the world’s attention. And now, for better or worse, OpenAI is better positioned than anyone to build the tools that will save or destroy the…
Source: Gizmodo – ‘Magic Intelligence in the Sky’: Sam Altman Has a Cute New Name for the Singularity
One of the great niche features of Ubuntu Linux has been the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel PPA that’s been maintained by Canonical for providing daily kernel builds of the Linux Git kernel state as well as of all point releases and release candidates. Sadly it’s now been broken for one month for this very convenient feature…
Source: Phoronix – One Of Ubuntu’s Great Features Has Been Broken For One Month
As PC hardware enthusiasts, we talk about code names a lot. Stuff like “Raptor Lake” and “Bergamo” are technically internal names that aren’t really supposed to be used in an official context. Intel, for example, would prefer that we say “13th-Generation Intel Core Processor” and AMD would like to read “AMD EPYC 9704-series Processors”. There
Source: Hot Hardware – AMD Zen 5c Comes Into View With Codename Prometheus But What Is It Exactly?
The tenth annual Game Awards are less than a month away and creator and host Geoff Keighley has finally announced the 2023 nominees. The “Game of the Year” category includes expected hits like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Baldur’s Gate III, but also Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4. Conspicuously…
Source: Kotaku – Starfield Ghosted At The 2023 Game Awards
Doctor Who’s new 14th Doctor—with that old face—has already gone on his first adventures in the pages of the show’s official magazine. But he’ll be making his televised debut a little earlier than anticipated… and bringing some old foes with him.
Source: Gizmodo – David Tennant’s 14th Doctor Will Make His TV Debut This Week
An upcoming Lego Monkie Kid set featuring a large city might be one of the coolest things of 2024 thanks to all the deep-cut secrets hidden throughout the build. Old-school Lego nerds, this one’s for you.
Source: Kotaku – New Lego Set Is Filled With Awesome Secrets
Meta now lets Threads users avoid automatically sharing their posts with its other apps. When activated, the opt-out feature prevents Meta’s Twitter clone from sharing posts to Instagram and Facebook without user consent. Software engineer Alessandro Paluzzi spotted early signs of the privacy toggle earlier this month.
Threads users can turn off automatic cross-platform content sharing by heading to their profile page, selecting the menu at the top right, then Privacy > Suggesting posts on other apps, and toggling off Instagram and Facebook individually. Note that changing this feature only prevents your posts from being used in cross-promotions; you’ll still see other people’s Threads posts on Instagram and Facebook, irrespective of your privacy settings.
Some Threads users were upset about Meta automatically sharing their content from the nascent X competitor, mainly because people often use the apps to connect with different crowds (for example, Threads for news and politics with strangers, Facebook for extended family and old friends). TechCrunch highlighted several comments from people describing Threads posts automatically posted on other platforms as odd clickbait seemingly “designed to get comments” by stripping bold statements of context. In October, the company said it was “listening to feedback” in response to a Threads user’s complaint about automatic sharing to Meta’s more established platforms.
Meta is no stranger to using its existing stockpile of social apps to turbocharge its newest ones. It used easy onboarding and promotion via Instagram to vault Threads to the fastest app to reach 150 million downloads. Although growth appeared to slow after that, CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said Threads had tallied nearly 100 million users. The Facebook founder said he sees a path for the Twitter clone to reach the one-billion user milestone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/threads-users-can-now-opt-out-of-automatically-sharing-posts-to-facebook-and-instagram-172807726.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Threads users can now opt out of automatically sharing posts to Facebook and Instagram
Zack Snyder and Netflix hope to launch a new franchise with Rebel Moon Part 1: Child of Fire, with Part 2 to release next year.
Netflix concluded its Geeked Week showcase yesterday with the release of the full trailer for director Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire. It’s the first of two parts (with plans for a third film to make it a trilogy), and Snyder and the streaming giant hope the films will launch a new space opera franchise. There are already plans for a novelization of the film, a four-issue prequel comic, a narrative podcast, an animated series, and a four-player game for the Netflix gaming platform.
As we reported previously, years ago, director Zack Snyder had an idea for an epic Star Wars movie that he pitched to Lucasfilm. That project never panned out for a variety of reasons. But the idea continued to germinate until Netflix got on board. Apart from Star Wars, Snyder has said his influences include the films of Akira Kurosawa, especially Seven Samurai, and The Dirty Dozen. He has set his epic saga in a universe controlled by the ruthless and corrupt government of the Mother World (the Imperium) with an army led by one Regent Balisarius (Fra Fee). The rebel moon of the title is called Veldt.
Per the official premise:
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Source: Ars Technica – Here’s the full trailer for Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon: A Child of Fire
The Nepal government has decided to impose a ban on TikTok. From a report on the local newspaper Kathmandu Post: A Cabinet meeting on Monday took the decision to ban the Chinese-owned app, citing its negative effects on social harmony. However, when the decision will be brought into force is yet to be ascertained. Although freedom of expression is a basic right, a large section of society has criticised TikTok for encouraging a tendency of hate speech, the government said. In the past four years, 1,647 cases of cyber crime have been reported on the video sharing app.
The Cyber Bureau of the Nepal Police, Ministry of Home Affairs, and representatives of TikTok discussed the issue earlier last week. Monday’s decision is expected to be enforced following the completion of technical preparations. The latest decision has come within days after the government introduced the ‘Directives on the Operation of Social Networking 2023.’ As per the new rule, social media platforms operating in Nepal required to set up their offices in the country.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Nepal To Ban TikTok
That Gmail account you’ve been keeping in your back pocket could be on the chopping block. The company updated its inactive account policy earlier this year, and the deadline is fast approaching. Beginning December 1, Google will delete most accounts that haven’t been touched in two years or more. You can save your forlorn account, though.
Since
Source: Hot Hardware – Google Will Delete Millions Of Dormant Gmail Accounts Very Soon
Enlarge / On the left, LiqudPiston’s High Efficiency Hybrid Cycle engine, on the right, a 25 hp Kohler KDW1003 diesel engine. (credit: LiquidPiston)
Rotary engines have an aura of cool. In games of Top Trumps, the V12 might have been king, but a rotary was a joker, a wild card. A lack of mainstream success no doubt contributes; there are reasons they were never commonplace, including their oil-burning apex seals, which created emissions and fuel-consumption headaches.
LiquidPiston thinks it has those problems solved, however, and in the process, it created a new internal combustion engine that’s small and efficient. It has demonstrated its tech on the bench and in a go-kart, but also in uncrewed aerial vehicles for the US military.
While little about the rotary engine merits the word, in a “traditional” Wankel rotary, a triangle-shaped rotor turns within a chamber during its combustion cycle. Apex seals are fitted at the apices of the rotor, but they need constant lubrication with oil, plenty of which burns during combustion. So, a Wankel engine needs constant oil top-ups while dealing with the products of that burnt oil. And those apex seals wear down.
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Source: Ars Technica – This inside-out design solves most of the rotary engine’s problems
I can’t help but feel bad for the Legion Go. Lenovo’s first take on the handheld console market is a strong one. It’s got a much bigger screen than the original Steam Deck. It has a better battery than the original Steam Deck. Thanks to its pop-out controllers, it’s more innovative than the Steam Deck or the Asus ROG…
Source: Gizmodo – Legion Go Review: Innovative and Powerful, But Bulky and Unwieldy
As part of a Black Friday deal, you can get two MasterClass annual memberships — one for yourself and one to give away as a gift — for the price of one. Memberships start at $120 per year, which lets you watch on one device at a time, $180 grants access to two devices simultaneously and allows for downloads, and a Family membership covers six devices. The free membership for gifting will be at the same level you buy for yourself. The deal is available now and ends at midnight on Black Friday.
If you’re looking for something that’s not a “thing” to gift this year, MasterClass makes a nice option. A membership includes access to 180 different big name instructors teaching on topics they know a lot about. Classes on offer sound like an A-list roll call: Martin Scorsese and Jodie Foster teach lessons on filmmaking, Samuel L. Jackson and Helen Mirren cover acting, Questlove shows you how to DJ, and Margaret Atwood gives a seminar on writing.
Classes range from around two to six hours and are broken up into shorter lessens, usually between 10 and 20 minutes. There are even exercises and community forums to get you actually doing the things the teachers teach. Recently, MasterClass added series as part of its lineup, such as GOAT, which are 20 minute episodes covering a single topic (such as making a grilled cheese or playing pickleball) that feel more like a mini documentary than a lesson. The mobile app also offers series of short, swipeable videos, for a highly polished TikTok feel.
When I tried out MasterClass, it struck me that the learning platform was more like a streaming service than anything else — a really smart streaming service, where you get to watch masters talk about how they go about their craft. Even if you don’t see yourself becoming a comedian, watching Steve Martin tell you how it’s done is riveting nonetheless.
Your Black Friday Shopping Guide: See all of Yahoo’s Black Friday coverage, here. Follow Engadget for Black Friday tech deals. Learn about Black Friday trends on In The Know. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Black Friday deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Black Friday sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-masterclass-black-friday-deal-gives-you-two-memberships-for-the-price-of-one-170010173.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – This Masterclass Black Friday deal gives you two memberships for the price of one
It (probably) won’t rise up against its human masters, but the Roomba J9+ will clean your floors with zero effort on your part.It (probably) won’t rise up against its human masters, but the Roomba J9+ will clean your floors with zero effort on your part.
Source: LifeHacker – The Future Is Here With the Roomba Combo J9+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
Luke Farritor, computer science student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is $40,000 richer after deciphering a snippet of text from the Herculaneum scrolls as part of the Vesuvius Challenge. Farritor was able to accomplish this using a fairly ancient, at least by gamer standards, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. Even though this GPU was released
Source: Hot Hardware – NVIDIA GPU Used To Decipher An Ancient Roman Scroll Scores Student A Huge Prize
For the next two weeks, NASA will not be sending commands to its fleet of Martian rovers, orbiters, and spacecraft until the Sun moves out of the way.
Source: Gizmodo – NASA’s Mars Missions Hit Two-Week Snooze Button Because Sun
Akihabara News (Tokyo) — SkyDrive has partnered with the Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO) to develop electric charging facilities for flying cars (eVTOLs); this collaboration aims to install and operate charging facilities in the Osaka region in preparation for the 2025 World Expo.
SkyDrive has been working to create an affordable eVTOL aircraft for daily mass transportation. As part of the Advanced Air Mobility Smart Mobility Expo Project, SkyDrive will showcase its main eVTOL aircraft model.
KEPCO, the major regional utility firm, is looking to enter the eVTOL charging infrastructure sector as a new opportunity to further expand its business.
The eVTOL charging facilities will be designed for rapid charging with high current and voltage, hoping to ensure efficient and seamless air taxi operations. The scalable designs might open the door to global applications.
The initial charging facilities are set to be installed at the Flight Test Facility by the end of the year, supporting the ongoing flight test program. Subsequently, another facility will be established at the eVTOL vertiport on Yumeshima island, where the expo is scheduled to be held.
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Island Hopping Flying Car Over Okinawa Prefecture
The post SkyDrive and KEPCO to Charge Up Flying Cars appeared first on Akihabara News.
Source: Akihabara News – SkyDrive and KEPCO to Charge Up Flying Cars
Ads for fake versions of Google’s generative AI tool, Bard, are showing up on Facebook to steal social media accounts of U.S. small businesses, according to a lawsuit from Google filed Monday.
Source: Gizmodo – Google Sues Hackers Capitalizing on AI Hype With Alleged Bard Scams
Volvo has unveiled its first fully electric minivan, which is geared toward comfort. So much so, the brand describes the EM90 as a “living room on the move.” While it might be comfy enough to travel in while wearing PJs, Volvo is pitching the EV as an option for those who want a space where they can get work done too.
The EM90 is infused with sound isolation and road noise cancellation tech, while Volvo claims that dual chamber air suspension and silent tires will offer the driver and passengers a smooth ride. If that works as promised, you’ll be able to get the most out of an audio system that has 21 Bowers & Wilkins speakers.
Along with a 15.4-inch infotainment screen for the driver, there’s a roof-mounted 15.6-inch HD display to which you can cast shows and movies from your phone. Attach a compatible camera, and the screen can be used for video calls. 5G connectivity will come in handy for business-minded users too.
Many of the EM90’s functions can be controlled with your voice, including the audio and interior lighting. With a voice command or by flicking a switch, the car’s screens, seats, windows, air conditioner and lighting can be adjusted for theater or meeting room use — or even a bedroom setup for the rear seats, Volvo says.
If the EM90 looks familiar, that’s because it’s based on the 009 from Zeekr, Volvo’s sibling brand, as Electrek points out. It has a 200 kW electric motor that can take it from 0 to 100 kmph (62.1 mph) in 8.3 seconds. The EV has a 116 kWh battery (with bi-directional charging support) that Volvo claims can charge from 10 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes.
On top of all of that, the EM90 has an impressive range, at least on paper. Volvo says it has a range of up to 738 km (459 miles) based on China’s CLTC testing cycle. The vehicle will only be available in China at first and it starts at around $114,000. It’s unclear if or when the EV will arrive elsewhere.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/volvos-em90-living-room-on-the-move-minivan-has-up-to-450-miles-of-ev-range-164051908.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Volvo’s EM90 ‘living room on the move’ minivan has up to 450 miles of EV range
Australian telecoms provider Optus said on Monday that a massive outage which effectively cut off 40% of the country’s population and triggered a political firestorm was caused by “changes to routing information” after a “routine software upgrade.” From a report: More than 10 million Australians were hit by the 12-hour network blackout at the Singapore Telecommunications-owned telco on Nov. 8, triggering fury and frustration among customers and raising wider concerns about the telecommunications infrastructure.
Optus said in a statement that an initial investigation found the company’s network was affected by “changes to routing information from an international peering network” early that morning, “following a routine software upgrade.” It added: “These routing information changes propagated through multiple layers in our network and exceeded preset safety levels on key routers which could not handle these. This resulted in those routers disconnecting from the Optus IP Core network to protect themselves.” The project to reconnect the routers was so large that “in some cases (it) required Optus to reconnect or reboot routers physically, requiring the dispatch of people across a number of sites in Australia”, it added.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Optus Says Massive Australia Outage Was After Software Upgrade
