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Source: Gizmodo – Why ‘Climate Havens’ Could Be Closer to Home Than You’d Think
Monthly Archives: November 2023
Claws Email 4.2 Released With Improved Attachment Management
Learn what’s new in Claws Email 4.2, featuring new QuickSearch expressions, MIME type recognition, and crucial bug fixes.
The post Claws Email 4.2 Released With Improved Attachment Management appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – Claws Email 4.2 Released With Improved Attachment Management
The best outdoor gifts for 2023
The great outdoors can be enjoyed all year round, so we’ve compiled a list of the best gifts for the backyard lounger, patio napper or woodland hiker on your list this holiday season. We even offer help with items to improve your tailgate or next beach trip. With everything from grilling gadgets to drinkware and hammocks to splash-proof speakers, there’s something for everyone – no matter how long or how often they venture outside. What’s more, you don’t have to break the bank.
BrüMate Hopsulator Trio
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3
Stanley IceFlow Straw Tumbler
Thermacell EL55
Solo Stove Ranger 2.0
Meater+ thermometer
ThermoWorks Thermapen One
MiiR Aero Flask
Wise Owl Outfitters Hammock
RTIC Soft Pack Cooler
Solo Stove Pi Prime
Traeger Flat Top Grill Essentials
Shibumi Shade
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-outdoor-gifts-140004525.html?src=rssSource: Engadget – The best outdoor gifts for 2023
Epic Games' Sweeney Takes Aim at Android's 'Fake Open Platform'
Epic Games Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney testified that Google’s Android operating system is a “fake open platform” in a high-stakes antitrust lawsuit over claims that the technology giant thwarts app market competition. From a report: Sweeney, who founded the company that makes the blockbuster Fortnite, took the witness stand Monday in San Francisco federal court to reinforce his claims that Google Play policies are unlawful and allow Alphabet to maintain a monopoly in the Android mobile-app distribution market. The court fight started in 2020 when Epic marketed Fortnite on Android and sidestepped the Google Play billing system and the 30% revenue cut it was taking from app developers.
“We very much wanted to avoid that and do business directly with our customers,” Sweeney told jurors. Google denies abusing its market power. The jury trial started two weeks ago and is expected to wrap up in early December. If Epic prevails, Google could be forced to allow competing app marketplaces and payment methods on its app store, threatening billions of dollars in revenue generated by Google Play. Sweeney previously testified in a 2021 trial in a similar antitrust suit targeting Apple’s App Store policies as unfair and self-serving. Epic mostly lost that fight, which was decided by a federal judge in Oakland, California, after a trial. An appeals court upheld the judge’s ruling and Epic is now asking the US Supreme Court to review it.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Epic Games’ Sweeney Takes Aim at Android’s ‘Fake Open Platform’
AMD's 96-Core Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX Hits 6.0 GHz on All Cores with LN2
AMD’s top-of-the-line Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX is a unique workstation-grade processor that not only offers unbeatable performance in programs that can take advantage of all of its 96-core might, but it also supports overclockability. As it turns out overclocking potential of the CPU is quite huge as it can hit 4.80 GHz on all cores with air cooling and 6.0 GHz on all cores with liquid nitrogen.
AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX is a quite formidable processor that packs 96 Zen 4 cores clocked at 2.50 GHz by default (and which can push one core all the way to 5.10 GHz with decent cooling), an eight-channel DDR5 memory subsystem, and 128 usable PCIe 5.0 lanes. But AMD decided to show that the processor can do much better with advanced and extreme cooling. To do so, the company teamed up with Bill ‘Sampson’ Alverson, an accomplished overclocker from the U.S., who took an Asus Pro WS TRX50-Sage WiFi motherboard, four G.Skill DDR5-6400 CL32 memory (which he set to work at 3200 MT/s CL32 mode), and an Asus Thor 1.5 kW power supply.
At first, Sampson tried to overclock AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX using a giant IceGiant ProSiphon Elite air cooler with four huge fans. He managed to hit 4,791 MHz in Cinebench R23 and 4,875 MHz in Cinebench R15. Then, he took a custom liquid cooling system and pushed the 96-core CPU to 4,966 MHz in Cinebench R23; 5,000 MHz in Cinebench R15; and a whopping 5,265 MHz in GPUPI 1B for CPU.
But the most interesting part is of course usage of liquid nitrogen cooling as −196°C (− 320 °F) certainly removes most of thermal constraints. The results are quite impressive: Sampson has managed to push AMD’s Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX all the way to 5,550 MHz with LN2 cooling, which is over 584 MHz higher compared to his result with custom liquid cooling. The CPU scored 186,756 points in Cinebench R23, up from 100,000 points for the CPU at default clocks. The processor consumed 980W at such an extreme frequency, which is up dramatically from its 350W TDP. Meanwhile Elmor and Der8auer have managed to overclock his Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX to 6.0 GHz wih LN2 and scored 201,501 points in Cinebench R23.
Meanwhile, to somewhat simplify overclocking botg overlockers had to reduce the number of memory modules to two and lowered its data transfer rate to 3,000 MT/s, which somewhat reduced the value of such overclocking (after all, nobody uses this CPU with only two memory modules). Meanwhile, considering the fact that AMD wanted to achieve the maximum clock possible for its 96-core processor, playing with memory configuration is a fair thing to do.
Source: AnandTech – AMD’s 96-Core Ryzen Threadripper Pro 7995WX Hits 6.0 GHz on All Cores with LN2
The Best Gifts for the Musician Who Has Everything (When Money Is No Object)
If the musicians in your life are anything like me, they’ve plunged headfirst into significant debt in their relentless pursuit of the gear to fuel their artistic aspirations.
Source: Gizmodo – The Best Gifts for the Musician Who Has Everything (When Money Is No Object)
Nothing's Failed iMessages Workaround Was Too Good To Be True
Last week was certainly exciting for the prospect of green and blue bubbles finding peace and harmony in the chat realm, though that excitement was a bit premature in Nothing’s case.
Source: Gizmodo – Nothing’s Failed iMessages Workaround Was Too Good To Be True
These Are the Best Black Friday Deals for Gardeners
Here’s everything I’m buying for Black Friday, from my very favorite garden supply houses.
Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Best Black Friday Deals for Gardeners
Phoronix Premium Cyber Week Sale For Ad-Free, Single Page Articles & Native Dark Mode
If you enjoy the original content on Phoronix each and every day covering Linux hardware, performance, open-source news, and more, you can show your support this holiday season. Phoronix depends upon advertisements to operate and thus those using ad-blockers only hurts and limits the ability to continue this nearly 20 year journey of covering Linux hardware. By joining Phoronix Premium you can show your support while enjoying the site ad-free, multi-page articles on a single page, native dark mode support, and other benefits…
Source: Phoronix – Phoronix Premium Cyber Week Sale For Ad-Free, Single Page Articles & Native Dark Mode
Insta360's Ace Pro is a Leica-branded action cam with AI enhancements
We’ve already seen DJI’s Osmo Action 4 and GoPro’s Hero 12 representing the rugged action cams of 2023, and now, it’s Insta360’s turn to unveil its take on this category — one that focuses more on video quality than, say, its Go series’ versatility. In a nutshell, Insta360’s brand new Ace Pro can be described as a GoPro on steroids, thanks to its handy 2.4-inch flip touchscreen, 1/1.3-inch sensor, Leica tuning and, most notably, 5nm AI neural processor. You’ll also get the usual “FlowState Stabilization,” IPX8 waterproof rating (down to 33ft or 10m) and swappable battery (up to 100 minutes in 4K@30fps Active HDR; fast charging at up to 80 percent in 22 minutes, or to 100 percent in 46 minutes).
Insta360 claims that combining its AI denoising feature with its new image sensor, the Ace Pro produces clearer and more stable low-light results for both videos (up to 4K@30fps in “PureVideo” mode) and stills (up to 48 megapixels). There’s also an “Active HDR Video” mode which turns on automatically when lighting conditions are met, with the company emphasizing on improved color accuracy here — we’ll take a closer look at this in our review later. The camera is also capable of recording at up to 4K@60fps, 4K@120fps (slow motion) or even 8K@24fps, but none of these can take advantage of the AI enhancement nor Active HDR.
The dedicated AI chip isn’t just for enhancing image quality. Over the years, Insta360 has been finding ways to make video editing easier and quicker, and this time, it’s doing so by letting the camera itself do some auto-editing first. Dubbed “AI Highlights Assistant,” this feature analyzes your video while picking out the best bits in real time, then you can review the AI edit on the camera first (and also delete the bits you don’t need to save space). When you next connect your Insta360 mobile app to your Ace Pro, the new AI-generated clip will be automatically pushed to your phone.
Aside from having to test out this feature myself, Insta360 also warned that “AI Highlights Assistant” does require extra power (the company promises to continue optimizing power consumption here), so be mindful of your camera’s battery life when using this feature.
Another fun new feature for making editing easier — though not necessarily limited to the Ace Pro — is “AI Warp,” which can be found in the “Shot Lab” template section in the mobile app. It’s basically Insta360’s first take on generative AI: you can pick a template or type in your own prompt, in order to get the app to transform either the entire video or just the highlighted subject into your desired style — be it cyberpunk, anime, space, superhero costumes or more. The company added that you can look out for even more AI-related effects in its mobile app in 2024.
Insta360
The Insta360 Ace Pro is already available for ordering, with the $450 standard bundle including a standard mount and a flexible adhesive mount. There’s also a slightly more affordable Ace priced at $380, and while it comes with the same accessories, it has to make do with a smaller 1/2-inch sensor, a max video resolution of just 6K@30fps, no fast charging and no love from Leica. The rest of the feature list is the same, otherwise.
Optional accessories include a dive case (for down to 197ft or 60m), a quick release mount, a multi mount, a GPS preview remote, a “Vertical-Horizontal Mount” and a mic adapter plus cold shoe module (for use with the quick release mount).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/insta360s-ace-pro-is-a-leica-branded-action-cam-with-ai-enhancements-133003809.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Insta360’s Ace Pro is a Leica-branded action cam with AI enhancements
These Are the Google Docs Hacks Every Student Should Know
Google Docs can do so much more for your studies than you’re using it for.
Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Google Docs Hacks Every Student Should Know
Linux 6.8 Looks To Upgrade Its Zstd Code For Better Compression Performance
Back in Linux 6.2 the in-kernel Zstd compression/decompression code was updated against the Zstd 1.5 upstream state. Now for the Linux 6.8 kernel in the new year the plan is for updating to Zstd 1.5.5 that should provide better compression performance…
Source: Phoronix – Linux 6.8 Looks To Upgrade Its Zstd Code For Better Compression Performance
Hulu's Black Friday deal gives you one year of the ad-supported plan for only $12
Hulu is offering an enormous discount on its ad-supported plan for Black Friday. The streaming service will give you a year of Hulu (With Ads) for a mere $12. The plan typically costs $80 annually, giving you 85 percent off.
Hulu offers films, current-season episodes of popular broadcast television series and older TV. In addition, the Disney-owned service has original programming, like The Bear, Only Murders in the Building and The Handmaid’s Tale. Remember that the $12 Black Friday sale only applies to the version with advertisements, which doesn’t allow downloaded content for offline viewing.
New subscribers and former members who canceled their plan at least a month ago can take advantage of the Black Friday deal. Everyone who redeems it will pay directly to the streamer (rather than through an app storefront) and convert to a full-priced ($8 monthly) ad-supported plan at the end of 12 months. Hulu also offers an optional Starz add-on for $1 monthly for all new and existing subscribers.
Hulu’s Black Friday sale is live now and runs through the end of the day on November 28.
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/hulus-black-friday-deal-gives-you-one-year-of-the-ad-supported-plan-for-only-12-130023223.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Hulu’s Black Friday deal gives you one year of the ad-supported plan for only
These Are the Best Educational Games for Nintendo Switch
Now that Bluey: The Videogame is out, little gamers everywhere are going to be discovering the wonders of videogames. Here are a bunch more for them to check out.
Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Best Educational Games for Nintendo Switch
A Secret Google Deal Let Spotify Completely Bypass Android's App Store Fees
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Music streaming service Spotify struck a seemingly unique and highly generous deal with Google for Android-based payments, according to new testimony in the Epic v. Google trial. On the stand, Google head of global partnerships Don Harrison confirmed Spotify paid a 0 percent commission when users chose to buy subscriptions through Spotify’s own system. If the users picked Google as their payment processor, Spotify handed over 4 percent — dramatically less than Google’s more common 15 percent fee. Google fought to keep the Spotify numbers private during its antitrust fight with Epic, saying they could damage negotiations with other app developers who might want more generous rates.
Google’s User Choice Billing program, launched in 2022, is typically described as shaving about 4 percent off Google’s Play Store commission if developers use their own payment system, bringing down Google’s 15 percent subscription service fee to more like 11 percent. That often ends up saving developers little or no money since they must foot the cost of payment processing themselves. And in court, Google has focused on benefits like greater flexibility rather than cost savings. […] Harrison says Spotify’s “unprecedented” popularity was great enough to justify a “bespoke” deal. “If we don’t have Spotify working properly across Play services and core services, people will not buy Android phones,” Harrison testified. As part of the deal, both parties also agreed to commit $50 million apiece to a “success fund.”
Google acknowledged Harrison’s testimony in a statement to The Verge. “A small number of developers that invest more directly in Android and Play may have different service fees as part of a broader partnership that includes substantial financial investments and product integrations across different form factors,” says spokesperson Dan Jackson. “These key investment partnerships allow us to bring more users to Android and Play by continuously improving the experience for all users and create new opportunities for all developers.” Google would not name other developers that have gotten the company to agree to more generous rates. During the trial, we learned that Google offered Netflix a special discounted rate of just 10 percent, but Netflix refused. Netflix no longer offers an in-app purchase option on Android and no longer pays Google anything to distribute its app as a result.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – A Secret Google Deal Let Spotify Completely Bypass Android’s App Store Fees
Daily Telescope: A snapshot of 500,000 stars near the center of the galaxy
Enlarge / A 50-light-years-wide portion of the Milky Way’s dense center. (credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, S. Crowe)
Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light, a little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. We’ll let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, we’re going to take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a universe that is filled with stars and wonder.
Good morning. It’s November 21, and today’s image takes us into the heart of our galaxy.
Specifically, the image from the James Webb Space Telescope features a star-forming region named Sagittarius C, which is about 300 light-years from the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole.
Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: Ars Technica – Daily Telescope: A snapshot of 500,000 stars near the center of the galaxy
20 Underrated Fantasy Books to Gift the Readers in Your Life
As the holidays near, it can be a challenge to buy gifts for the most voracious book readers in your life—but 2023 has seen a ton of excellent fantasy books hit shelves, to the point that it’s been hard to keep up with all the greatest new material. Here’s 20 of our favorite underrated choices that will make the…
Source: Gizmodo – 20 Underrated Fantasy Books to Gift the Readers in Your Life
Guidemaster: A quick gaming smartphone gift guide
Enlarge / Resident Evil Village runs just well enough on the iPhone 15 Pro Max. (credit: Samuel Axon)
Look, if you’re going to play AAA and core games, you probably want to play on a gaming PC or a console. Let’s just get that right out of the way.
That said, Apple was trying to sell the potential of triple-A gaming on the iPhone 15 Pro this fall, and there’s some possibility that some limited AAA gaming will be possible on that platform.
A small selection of titles, including Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage, are planned for the device. There’s some question as to whether battery life and the thermal realities will make this practical, but the buzz has been enough that people have been asking me about it—including some friends, significant others, and parents to gamers who are doing some holiday shopping and want to make sure they get the right phone for their person.
Read 24 remaining paragraphs | Comments
Source: Ars Technica – Guidemaster: A quick gaming smartphone gift guide
The Morning After: Tinder's ‘rizz-first’ redesign just ruined rizz for everyone
Tinder is adding many new, pretty basic, features, including the profile prompts and basic info tags other dating apps, like Hinge or Bumble, have. Profile prompts, for example, are a long-standing feature on both, with Tinder users now able to share their responses to statements like “The first item on my bucket list is… ” or “Two truths and a lie.”
The dating app points to Gen Z’s responses in its recent Future of Dating report as motivation for the updates, saying: “At Tinder, we understand that connecting today is about authenticity, depth and the desire for connections that go beyond the surface.”
The company calls it a “rizz-first redesign,” which equates to these new prompts, zodiac sign info and… new animations. Is that rizz-first? I’m not sure it is.
— Mat Smith
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The Webb telescope captures a ‘chaotic’ view of the center of our galaxy
It’ll help test current theories of star formation.
NASA
The James Webb telescope has captured parts of the center of the Milky Way in “unprecedented detail.” This area is about 300 light-years from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A, and over 25,000 light-years from Earth. The galactic center is “the most extreme environment” in the Milky Way, according to University of Virginia professor Jonathan Tan.
Most of OpenAI’s staff threatens to quit unless the board resigns
And reinstates Sam Altman as CEO.
OpenAI’s corporate drama kept Engadget busy over the weekend, as the company ousted its CEO and co-founder Sam Altman, then reportedly tried to get him back when he was poached by Microsoft — one of OpenAI’s major investors. Now, most of the company’s staff have threatened to quit unless the board resigns and reinstates former CEO Sam Altman and ex-president Greg Brockman. According to Wired and Kara Swisher, around 500 employees signed the letter.
X CEO calls article that led to latest brand exodus ‘misleading and manipulated’
Linda Yaccarino says X stands against antisemitic content.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino called a report from watchdog group media Matters for America “misleading and manipulated,” following a large-scale advertiser pullout. In a note she sent to X employees on Sunday night, she said: “While some advertisers may have temporarily paused investments because of a misleading article, the data will tell the real story.”
Major advertisers, including Apple, Disney, Paramount Global and Yaccarino’s former employer, NBCUniversal, pulled their ads from X last week, after the watchdog group’s report found ads from some of these brands ran next to pro-Nazi content on the website. It also came days after Musk publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory as a response to a far-right X user.
X filed its lawsuit against Media Matters on Monday.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tinders-rizz-first-redesign-just-ruined-rizz-for-everyone-121537687.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – The Morning After: Tinder’s ‘rizz-first’ redesign just ruined rizz for everyone
Microsoft Looking To Add Windows Media Foundation Transforms "MFTs" To Mesa
In addition to Microsoft enabling OpenGL 4.6 over Direct3D 12 via Mesa, Microsoft engineers have also been working on some video improvements within the Mesa code-base…
Source: Phoronix – Microsoft Looking To Add Windows Media Foundation Transforms “MFTs” To Mesa