The $100 SCUF Valor Pro is so close to $200+ controllers like the Instinct Pro, but that doesn’t mean those more-expensive, wireless devices are moot.
This week, we’ll kick things off by answering the questions you may have about Obsidian’s new first-person role-playing game Avowed (and if you want more tips to help you get started strong, look no further than this spoiler-free collection of things to know before you start playing). We’ll also help you get rich in Ci…
It’s not pretty when Trump’s personality starts to rub off onto tech billionaires who don’t really deserve their wealth, but will pay any price to hold onto it.
The post Pichai and Zuckerberg Aren’t Musk, But That Doesn’t Keep Them From Trying appeared first on FOSS Force.
Meet Tylos: a gas giant 900 light years away and with a climate never seen before on any planet known to scientists.
They add that the discovery “challenges fundamental assumptions about nuclear structure and has far-reaching implications for our understanding of how the heaviest elements are formed in the universe…”
[A] new study published in Physical Review Letters used a high-precision experimental probe to examine its shape and found that rather than being perfectly spherical, the nucleus of lead-208 is slightly elongated, resembling a rugby ball (prolate spheroid)… Using the state-of-the-art GRETINA gamma-ray spectrometer at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, U.S., scientists bombarded lead atoms with high-speed particle beams accelerated to 10% of the speed of light — equivalent to circling the Earth every second. The interactions created unique gamma-ray fingerprints of the properties of excited quantum states in lead-208 nuclei — in other words, the nuclei were energized — which, in turn, were used to determine its shape.
Theoretical physicists, including those at the Surrey Nuclear Theory Group, are now re-examining the models used to describe atomic nuclei, as the experiments suggest that nuclear structure is far more complex than previously thought.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
When he realized that Senate Republicans were characterizing his federally funded research project as one of many they considered ideological and of questionable scientific value, Darren Lipomi, chair of the chemical engineering department at the University of Rochester, was incensed. The work, he complained on social media, was aimed at helping “throat cancer patients recover from radiation therapy faster.” And yet, he noted on Bluesky, LinkedIn, and X, his project was among nearly 3,500 National Science Foundation grants recently described by the likes of Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican and chair of the powerful Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, as “woke DEI” research. These projects, Cruz argued, were driven by “Neo-Marxist class warfare propaganda,” and “far-left ideologies.”
“Needless to say,” Lipomi wrote of his research, “this project is not espousing class warfare.”
The list of grants was compiled by a group of Senate Republicans last fall and released to the public earlier this month, and while the NSF does not appear to have taken any action in response to the complaints, the list’s existence is adding to an atmosphere of confusion and worry among researchers in the early days of President Donald J. Trump’s second administration. Lipomi, for his part, described the situation as absurd. Others described it as chilling.
Found in the forests of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Eastern Australia, birds of paradise are famous for flashy feathers and unusually shaped ornaments, which set the standard for haute couture among birds. Many use these feathers for flamboyant mating displays in which they shape-shift into otherworldly forms.
As if this didn’t attract enough attention, we’ve now learned that they also glow in the dark.
Biofluorescent organisms are everywhere, from mushrooms to fish to reptiles and amphibians, but few birds have been identified as having glowing feathers. This is why biologist Rene Martin of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln wanted to investigate. She and her team studied a treasure trove of specimens at the American Museum of Natural History, which have been collected since the 1800s, and found that 37 of the 45 known species of birds of paradise have feathers that fluoresce.
The remarkably well-preserved sword dates to the Late Middle Ages, in an archaeological find that’s metal as hell.
Quantum breaks and monster hunting: Wallrus Creative Technology debuts new Mixed Reality experience at SXSW 2025.
The post In this sci-fi adventure, you explore parallel dimensions in mixed reality appeared first on MIXED Reality News.
Joysticks, trackball and 18 buttons: Arcade2TV-XR transforms your Meta Quest into a virtual retro arcade you can touch.
The post Back to the 80s with Meta Quest: Arcade2TV-XR is a curious VR controller for enthusiasts appeared first on MIXED Reality News.
Should you want to transfer your titles from your Kindle to your computer while you still can, go to Amazon.com, sign in, and click Accounts & Lists > Content Library > Books. Navigate to the book you want to download and click More actions > Download & transfer via USB.
Tom’s Guide shares their reaction:
Most people probably won’t notice this latest example of an Amazon service getting worse, but the feature has existed for over a decade and is useful for backing up your purchases or converting them to formats compatible with other non-Kindle e-Readers or devices. It’s also useful for those times when you don’t have access to Wi-Fi, and of course, there’s peace of mind knowing you have copies of your books… All in all it is a reminder that you don’t actually own many or most of your digital purchases, as what you are typically actually “buying” are licenses to use content that can be revoked at any time.
If you find this decision annoying and want to find alternatives, here are a few. To start, might we recommend the Libby app which lets you borrow ebooks from your local library. You can also borrow audiobooks… You can also try purchasing books from places like Google Books and Apple Books, both of which offer a number of ebooks. eBooks.com offers DRM free books and EPUB formats. For those looking for free ebooks there is always Project Gutenberg which has over 75,000 free books largely those in the public domain though there are some more recent titles as well.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.