After more than 21 years, Skype will soon be no more. Last night, some users (including Ars readers) poked around in the latest Skype preview update and noticed as-yet-unsurfaced text that read “Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams.”
This morning, Microsoft has confirmed to Ars that it’s true. May 5, 2025, will mark the end of Skype’s long run.
Alongside the verification that the end is nigh, Microsoft shared a bunch of details about how it plans to migrate Skype users over. Starting right away, some Skype users (those in Teams and Skype Insider) will be able to log in to Teams using their Skype credentials. More people will gain that ability over the next few days.
Meme coins are not securities and, hence, aren’t subject to federal laws regulating the financial instruments, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agency has issued its official stance on meme coins, comparing them to collectibles, since their value is “derived from speculative trading and the collective sentiment of the market.” Meme coins do not fit the definition of securities under the law, SEC said, because they do “not generate a yield or convey rights to future income, profits, or assets of a business.” People who purchase them are also not considered to be investing in an enterprise, which means they’re not “investment contracts” that are classified as securities.
As such, people who sell and offer meme coins do not have to register their transactions with the commission under the Securities Act. Buyers are not protected by securities laws as a result, though that doesn’t automatically mean that scammers can use them to dupe people without repercussions. Any fraudulent transaction involving meme coins could still be subject to enforcement action under other federal and state laws.
The Trump administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission has been showing signs of being friendlier towards the cryptocurrency industry ever since he took office. Just within this month, the SEC agreed to end an enforcement case that accused Coinbase of illegally running an unregistered securities exchange. The commission also dropped an investigation into Robinhood, which faced charges of violating securities laws with its crypto listings and sales.
Even though the commission will not be regulating meme coins, it says it will still evaluate the “economic realities” of the presumably suspicious transactions they’re involved in. Meme coins must be crypto assets “inspired by internet memes, characters, current events, or trends” purchased for “entertainment, social interaction, and cultural purposes” and whose value is “driven primarily by market demand and speculation.” They typically have “limited or no use or functionality,” the commission wrote, and “experience significant market price volatility.” Crypto assets labeled as “meme coins” in an effort to evade regulations will still be considered as securities if they don’t fit that definition.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sec-says-meme-coins-are-not-subject-to-federal-securities-laws-140032772.html?src=rss
When it comes to managing your finances and taxes, consider advice from TikTok with a hefty grain of salt. Certain tax “loopholes” may go viral, but that doesn’t mean they’re good for your specific tax situation. TikTok’s bite-sized videos have a habit of distilling nuanced tax strategies into just a few sentences—a recipe for misinformation. This advice is lightly misleading at best, and totally inaccurate at worst. Blindly following this advice could cost you in penalties, back taxes owed, and a tremendous hassle.
Let’s take a look at the questionable TikTok tax advice I’ve seen and how you can make sure it doesn’t lead you and your money astray.
Hiring your kids
Some videos suggest that business owners should hire and pay their children as employees. The claim is that this allows the child to contribute to a Roth IRA using their “earned income.”
While it’s true that only earned income can be contributed to a Roth IRA, hiring your kids has very specific requirements. The work they do must be legitimate and age-appropriate, and the pay must be reasonable for the job performed. Simply putting your children on payroll as a tax workaround could be considered fraud.
Hiring your dog
I’ve seen videos like this one garner hundreds of thousands of likes for the claim that you can write off your pet as a guard dog who protects your business. It’s true that guard dog expenses are deductible if the dog is trained and of a breed fit for the job. Unfortunately, trying to deduct your corgi for occasionally barking at the door isn’t going to get your very far with the IRS.
Writing off your Range Rover
Another viral claim about a legal “tax loophole” advises people to write off the cost of a luxury vehicle like a Range Rover or Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon on their taxes.
The truth is, according to the IRS Section 179 tax code, businesses may be able to write off a G-Wagon if it’s used for business purposes at least half of the time. Section 179 does allow businesses to deduct the full cost of certain assets like vehicles in the year they are placed into service, rather than depreciating the expense over several years. But there are very strict requirements. Additionally, there are limits on the deductible amount for luxury vehicles that exceed $19,800 for cars and $20,500 for trucks and vans in 2023.
Forming an LLC to deduct personal expenses
Luckily, this faulty advice seems to falling out of fashion, but sometimes old videos like this one make the rounds. Creators claim you can form a limited liability company (LLC) to deduct personal expenses like your mortgage, car payments, and even grocery bills as business expenses to reduce your taxes.
While LLCs can provide some tax benefits, simply forming one doesn’t magically allow you to write off all your personal costs. There are strict rules about what qualifies as a legitimate business expense. Deducting personal expenses improperly could land you in hot water with the IRS.
The bottom line
When it comes to complex topics like these (and really all things tax-related), don’t rely on brief videos from non-professionals. Improper tax strategies could inadvertently cost you much more in penalties, interest, and fees down the road.
Unless a TikTok video is from a credentialed tax expert giving a general overview of tax concepts, take it with a hefty scoop of skepticism. It’s best to consult a qualified tax professional who can look at your specific situation and give you legitimate, tailored advice. What makes for a good viral video rarely translates to good tax planning.
Martin Scorsese’s next crime film is being compared to his past crime classics The Departed and Goodfellas. Given his storied track record, the film featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Emily Blunt, and Leonardo DiCaprio will undoubtedly make at least one of the characters those stars are playing, if not all of them,…
Meta says that over 70% of time spent on Quest headsets is now in free-to-play apps.
Alongside a new developer blog focused on monetizing in-app purchases across the Horizon platform, Meta shared the 70% figure in an X post while posting the blog. Though this statistic isn’t mentioned in the actual blog itself, Meta advised its suggested monetization strategies are “reflected in the fact that we’re seeing a significant shift in time spent on free-to-play apps on the platform.”
Little else is said about this subject in the developer blog, and it’s not especially surprising news when it’s been clear that Meta’s actively pushing a free-to-play strategy on Quest. While free-to-play platforms like VRChat have been available on Quest for years, that’s been more prominent recently with Meta’s heavier focus on promoting Horizon Worlds, likely as a means of boosting headset retention.
However, that focus has led to increasing criticisms from developers who believe this approach has significantly harmed discoverability of paid apps. In our recent Quest to Horizon report, nearly two dozen developers expressed frustrations that this shift has created a significant impact on sales across 2024. Other prominent concerns included last year’s App Lab merge and curation.
Soon after our report went live, Meta released a blog post from Samantha Ryan, VP of Metaverse Content, aiming to address these concerns. Detailing the rise of in-app purchases and free-to-play content, Ryan claimed that the “total payment volume on the platform rose 12% in 2024, driven by significant growth of in-app purchases.”
“We don’t think F2P will replace premium apps — both models are likely to coexist,” Ryan wrote at the time, suggesting this increase can be attributed to “young people” and a “growing share of new users.” You can read Meta’s previous response in full below.
Defense of FOSS licensing rests on the shoulders of a guy in Virginia. At some point in the months ahead, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will consider an effort to reverse a California federal district court’s decision in Neo4j v. PureThink.
Anyone who has rode the New York City subway can tell you that it has a lot of problems, from strange noises to flammable debris on the tracks. Now, as is the solution for everything these days, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is testing how AI could improve the repair process with the help of six Google Pixel phones.
In this case, the Google Pixel phones rode on four different subway cars between last September and January. The experiment, conducted in partnership with Google Public Sector, used the phone’s accelerometers, magnetometers and microphones to pick up on any worrisome noises. This data was thn sent to cloud-based systems that generated predictive insights using machine learning algorithms.
The tech, known by Google as TrackInspect, found 92 percent of the defect locations that inspectors located. “By being able to detect early defects in the rails, it saves not just money but also time — for both crew members and riders” New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow stated in a release. “This innovative program — which is the first of its kind — uses AI technology to not only make the ride smoother for customers but also make track inspector’s jobs safer by equipping them with more advanced tools.”
Typically, inspectors walk all 665 miles of the subway tracks to find any issues, along with sensor-laden “train geometry cars” picking up data three times a year. During the experiment, inspectors checked out any locations highlighted and confirmed whether there was a defect. They could also ask questions about maintenance and protocols through the tools generative AI system.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/mta-strapped-google-pixels-to-subway-cars-to-spot-track-defects-133046252.html?src=rss
Avowed has a pretty wide variety of weapons to choose from, so you’re free to decide if you want to bonk baddies with melee armaments or pop their noggins with ranged options. If you’ve chosen the Arquebus (long gun) as your weapon of choice, you may want to snag Izmalt’s Meteoric Apparatus, which is accessible a…
Citigroup credited a client’s account with $81 trillion when it meant to send only $280, an error that could hinder the bank’s attempt to persuade regulators that it has fixed long-standing operational issues. Financial Times: The erroneous internal transfer, which occurred last April and has not been previously reported, was missed by both a payments employee and a second official assigned to check the transaction before it was approved to be processed at the start of business the following day.
A third employee detected a problem with the bank’s account balances, catching the payment 90 minutes after it was posted. The payment was reversed several hours later, according to an internal account of the event seen by the Financial Times and two people familiar with the event. No funds left Citi, which disclosed the “near miss” to the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, according to another person with knowledge of the matter.
Meta announced its ‘Meta for Education’ program is now out of beta, allowing schools and educational institutions from all over to fill their classrooms with Quest headsets and use a variety of education-focused XR apps and software.
Initially announced last April, Meta for Education is a comprehensive solution for educators looking to bring XR into the classroom, which includes Quest headsets, XR management solution subscriptions with education-tailored device capabilities suitable for the classroom, and a variety of tools and apps built for admins, educators, and students.
Over the course of its beta, Meta worked with colleges in the US and UK to help refine the platform, with educators reporting that virtual and mixed reality enhanced student engagement and improved comprehension of complex topics.
Image courtesy Meta
Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs and formed UK Deputy Prime Minister, highlights the transformative potential of immersive technologies in education, enabling students to experience otherwise inaccessible scenarios.
“Improving the life chances of children through education has been something I’ve been interested in throughout my career in politics and technology,” says Clegg.
“Of all the technological advances I’ve witnessed at Meta, immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality really caught my imagination because of the potential they have to transform the way we learn. My hope is that, through Meta for Education, we can make it easier for students to learn, practice, and apply new skills; feel a sense of presence with teachers and classmates; and visit places or experience things that would otherwise be impossible. Most importantly, I hope it helps teachers do what they do best: teach.”
Meta says data obtained from 43 Inspired Education Group schools, which already user immersive technology with teens in the classroom, reported 87% of students feeling more engaged and interested in their lessons, while 85% of teachers found virtual and mixed reality to be a valuable tool to enhance their teaching. Students also experienced a 15% improvement in their academic performance on multiple-choice assessments.
The program’s exit from beta follows a number of partnerships with institutions, such as Arizona State University, Imperial College London, and the University of Miami to integrate VR into their curricula.
Additionally, Meta and VictoryXR have developed over 30 “metaversities” with the Engage XR platform to create digital twin campuses for remote student interaction. Digital twin campuses are now available to students at The University of Leeds in the UK, University of the Basque Country in Spain, and University of Hannover in Germany.
Educators interested in learning more about Meta for Education can check out the program’s website, which includes a contact for applicants in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
Dimensional Double Shift, Owlchemy’s co-op party game that only uses hand tracking, surpassed 500k downloads since launch.
Following a free open beta launch back in September, Dimensional Double Shift has now been downloaded 500,000 times across Quest headsets. Compared to the studio’s paid-for titles like Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High, Owlchemy Labs confirmed that its recent multiplayer game is now the “fastest-growing title” in the studio’s history.
Owlchemy also shared some player stats as part of today’s news. It revealed that the past five months have seen players reach 1.3 million total game hours. 15.4 million players have bopped the game’s AI assistant, Alive, 7.4 million Diner orders have been completed, while 10.3 million car modules have been finished.
Dimensional Double Shift takes place at the Gas N’ Grill service station across the Omniverse, letting you and up to three friends participate in group activities like working a diner or fixing cars. Notably, the game only supports controller-free hand tracking, so you can’t use the Quest’s Touch Controllers.
While the open beta includes one dimension, Owlchemy’s announcement post states additional content is due to follow “later this year,” though specifics remain unknown. This follows a series of minor post-launch patches that introduced accessibility changes and the B.O.O.S.T.E.R. update with team-building events, while February’s update made further adjustments.
The Dimensional Double Shift open beta is out now on the Meta Quest platform.
A recent study compared features of Neanderthals’ inner ears across space and time to extrapolate what happened to them tens of thousands of years ago.
AMD’s decision to start off with mid-range RDNA 4 GPUs now seems prescient. NVIDIA’s high-end RTX 5090 and 5080 are already selling well beyond their absurdly high prices, if you can find any in stock at all. And while the RTX 5070 Ti impressed us, it’s already selling for close to the 5080’s $1,000 launch price. Now AMD’s Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT, which are set to arrive on March 6, have the chance to swoop in and deliver some serious competition.
Based on early briefings from AMD, which include some impressive benchmarks (still untested by us), the RDNA 4 GPUs appear to be compelling 4K and 1,440p for discerning gamers who aren’t ready to drop four figures on a video card. The Radeon 9070 starts at $549, but even more impressive, AMD managed to keep the 9070 XT at a very reasonable $599 launch price. Naturally, those prices will rise based on demand and the whims of card manufacturers, but they’re still impressive compared to the RTX 5070 ($549 MSRP) and 5070 Ti ($749 MSRP).
XFX
On top of the usual raw performance upgrades, the major selling point for these new cards is AMD’s Fidelity FX Super Resolution 4 (FSR4) upscaling technology. Unlike previous iterations, this time around it’s powered by machine learning, similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS. According to AMD, that allows for better image quality while upscaling from lower resolutions, as well as low latency and frame generation.
AMD
So what does that mean in action? AMD claims the 9070 XT can run Space Marine 2 at an average of 53fps in 4K, but with FSR 4 running that jumps to 182fps. That’s similar to the leap in performance we’ve seen on NVIDIA’s RTX 50-series GPUs, which can generate multiple frames. FSR 4 is supported on more than 30 titles at the moment, but for other games like Star Citizen and Forza Horizon 5, AMD claims its HYPR-RX driver-level upscaler can also improve performance by up to 3X.
While both the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT come with 16GB of VRAM (unlike the 12GB the RTX 5070 is stuck with), the latter card will likely do a better drop driving 4K 240Hz screens. The 9070 XT sports 64 RDNA 4 compute units, 64 hardware ray tracing accelerators and 128 hardware AI accelerators, while the 9070 includes 56 compute units and RT accelerators, as well as 112 AI units. The 9070 XT can also draw significantly more power — 304 watts instead of 220W — and has more than a 500Mhz boost clock lead. The standard 9070 will likely be better suited for players who game in 1,440p most of the time, but who may occasionally dabble in 4K.
AMD
Curiously, most of AMD’s benchmarks compare the new cards to the $549 RX 7900 GRE, a slightly under-specced card originally meant for China. But the company did make a handful of comparisons to other cards: For one, it claims the RX 9070 XT is 51 percent faster than the Radeon 6900 XT on average across 30 games while playing in 4K with maximum graphics settings. It’s also reportedly 26 percent faster than the RTX 3090 across those same 30 games. As for the RX 9070, AMD says it’s 38 percent in 4K/max settings than the RX 6800 XT and 26 percent faster than the RTX 3080. Surely AMD could have compared these cards to the RTX 40 lineup and newer Radeons, but then those gains wouldn’t be as high.
AMD
Beyond gaming, AMD says its new RDNA 4 media engine will be able to encode H.264 with better image quality, and it’ll support up to 8K/80fps encoding and decoding. As for AI, the 9070 XT is 34 percent faster than the RX 7900 GRE while using Davinci Resolve’s Magic Mask Tracking Tool, and it’s 70 percent faster while using Procyon SD XL for generative AI.
If AMD can manage to keep the Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT in stock, and also hold prices close to their $549 and $599 launch figures, I wouldn’t be surprised if some NVIDIA diehards jump ship. And if you’re looking for something even cheaper, AMD says its RX 9060 cards will be coming in the second quarter.
AMD
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/amds-radeon-9070-and-9070-xt-are-gunning-for-nvidias-mid-range-throne-130016775.html?src=rss
The embargo is over! We finally can share details on the exciting Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards powered by RDNA4 that will be available from Internet retailers next week.
