There is an abundance of soulslike titles these days, giving fans of the brutal genre plenty of options for where to spend their time exploring, making builds, and taking down extremely challenging bosses. If you’re an anime enthusiast as well, you may have had your eye on AI Limit, which costs only $35. This may…
More than a decade after debuting on the iPhone in 2014, the Monument Valley series is making its way to Switch consoles. On Thursday, Nintendo announced Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 would hit the eShop on April 15, with Monument Valley 3, the most recent entry in the series, arriving sometime this summer.
This isn’t the first time Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 have been available outside of mobile devices. In 2022, series creator Ustwo Games released the two games on PC. The work the studio did then likely made the job of porting the games to Switch a lot easier; there was likely no need to rework the art assets for the console’s widescreen display. Both games will come with all the additional chapters, add-ons and DLC Ustwo released over the years.
For most people, this will probably be their first chance to play Monument Valley 3. Although the game has been available on mobile devices since the end of last year, it requires a Netflix subscription to access, and with the cost of the Standard plan increasing at the start of the year to $18 per month, it’s understandable if you decided to skip it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-monument-valley-games-are-finally-coming-to-the-switch-171801177.html?src=rss
China created a new entity called the “Deep Space Exploration Laboratory” three years ago to strengthen the country’s approach to exploring the Solar System. Located in eastern China, not far from Shanghai, the new laboratory represented a partnership between China’s national space agency and a local public college, the University of Science and Technology of China.
Not much is known outside of China about the laboratory, but it has recently revealed some very ambitious plans to explore the Solar System, including the outer planets. This week, as part of a presentation, Chinese officials shared some public dates about future missions.
Space journalist Andrew Jones, who tracks China’s space program, shared some images with a few details. Among the planned missions are:
With Star Wars: Beyond Victory, ILM Immersive is bringing an MR experience to Meta Quest that puts you in the role of a podracer.
The post Star Wars: Beyond Victory is a new mixed reality game for Quest 3 and 3S appeared first on MIXED Reality News.
I am delighted to announce Experience CS, a free, integrated computer science curriculum for elementary and middle school students (8–14 years old) that will be available in June 2025.
Experience CS enables educators to teach computer science through a standards-aligned curriculum that integrates computer science concepts and knowledge into core subjects like maths, science, languages, and the arts.
This cross-curricular and integrated approach is one of the most effective ways to provide younger students with an introduction to computer science and is increasingly important as the impact of digital technology reaches every corner of our lives. We also know that embedding CS in real-world contexts helps make it meaningful and relevant for students, which is essential if we are going to inspire kids from different backgrounds to want to learn more about computer science and technology.
The team behind Experience CS includes educators with significant experience of teaching CS in elementary and middle school settings and everything we do is being informed by the world’s leading research into effective pedagogy as well as extensive testing and research in classrooms. This won’t stop when we launch. We will continue to develop and improve the curriculum and resources in response to feedback from teachers and students.
One of the most important design principles for Experience CS is that it can be used by any educator. You don’t need a CS qualification or any previous experience in teaching CS classes to deliver engaging and creative learning experiences for your students.
We will provide lesson plans, classroom resources, and an online platform that is designed to be easy and safe to use. We will also provide educators with professional development to help build their confidence, knowledge, and skills. You don’t need to adapt or amend the resources to use them, but you will be able to if you want to. We trust teachers to know what is best for their classrooms.
Crucially, Experience CS will be a creative learning experience. We’ve all seen those apps and platforms that purport to teach computer science by having young people direct their favourite pop culture character around a maze. While those types of games can be fun, we think that they fail to convey the creative potential of computer science and leave more students feeling “why bother” rather than being inspired to learn more.
That’s why Experience CS includes self-directed creative projects using the popular programming platform Scratch, with clear instructions and endless opportunities for young people to express themselves creatively.
We know that online safety is the most important consideration for schools, teachers, and parents, which is why we have built a version of Scratch that is safe for schools. That means it won’t have the community and sharing features that are so central to the full Scratch platform. It will come with simple and intuitive classroom management features that enable teachers to create accounts, set assignments, review progress, and provide feedback to students.
Our promise is that Experience CS will be available for teachers and students anywhere in the world to use for free, for as long as you need it.
Initially, we are developing the curriculum and resources for the US and Canadian education systems and we will be mapping the lessons to national and local standards in both countries. The materials will all be available in English, French, and Spanish. We will also be focusing our professional development and support for schools in the US and Canada, including working with a fantastic network of educational partners.
We are delighted that Experience CS is supported by Google and that we are able to build on the fantastic work that they have done over many years to support educators and students through CS First.
Google has today announced that CS First will no longer be available from June 30, 2025 and that they are recommending that their users should move over to Experience CS for the next school year. That is a huge vote of confidence from a team that really knows what they are talking about. I want to pay tribute to everyone at Google who has worked so hard over the years to support teachers and inspire students through CS First.
We are looking forward to working with all of the CS First community to make sure that you are supported through the transition and set up ready to go for the start of the new school year. You can find out more about the support we will be offering by registering here.
The post Experience CS: a new way to teach computer science appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
It might be around that time of year when you’re starting to figure out your summer vacation plans. Google has revealed some new features that can help with that, including a handy AI-powered one for Maps.
If you turn on the new screenshot list, Gemini can automatically recognize locations that are mentioned in screenshots you take in the app. You can then save the places you’re interested in to a list. These saved spots will appear on the map, and you can share the list with your travel companions. This feature will be available on iOS in English in the US starting this week. It’s coming to Android soon.
ever forget about screenshots of places in your camera roll? this new feature was made for you �
Google Maps turns your screenshots into a list of saved places so you can easily find them for later �
rolling out this week in the U.S. in English on iOS and coming soon to… pic.twitter.com/z8RafkIWcS
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) March 27, 2025
Google has long offered flight price tracking features, and now the company is expanding that to hotel pricing via its dedicated search tool. If you have your eyes on a destination for particular dates, you can track prices for hotels and get alerts when they drop. Just tap or click the price tracker toggle underneath the search filters. If prices for any of the hotels in the results drop dramatically, you’ll get a notification via email. This feature will be available globally this week.
In a blog post announcing these updates, Google also suggests that you could use AI Overviews in Search to help with travel planning. Starting this week with English queries in the US, the tool will offer trip planning for certain regions or whole countries. So if you enter something like “create a foodie itinerary for Japan,” AI Overviews should offer some ideas you can export as a list of recommendations in Docs or Gmail. You can save these suggestions in Google Maps as a custom list as well. I’m not sure I’d trust a tool that doesn’t know how many days there are in a month to come up with travel ideas for me, but, hey, the option’s there.
On that subject, Google is expanding AI Overviews in Lens and Circle to Search. They’ll soon be available in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish, in most of the countries where AI Overviews are accessible.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/google-can-save-locations-you-screenshot-in-maps-to-help-with-travel-planning-170144012.html?src=rss
Health Secretary and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is slashing a total of 20,000 jobs across the Department of Health and Human Services—or about 24 percent of the workforce—in a sweeping overhaul said to improve efficiency and save money, Kennedy and the HHS announced Thursday.
Combining workforce losses from early retirement, the “Fork in the Road” deferred resignation deal, and 10,000 positions axed in the reductions and restructuring announced today, HHS will shrink from 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000 under Kennedy and the Trump administration. The HHS’s 28 divisions will be cut down to 15, while five of the department’s 10 regional offices will close.
“This will be a painful period,” Kennedy said in a video announcement posted on social media. Calling the HHS a “sprawling bureaucracy,” Kennedy claimed that the cuts would be aimed at “excess administrators.”
An anonymous reader shares a report: You can now choose WhatsApp as your iPhone’s default app for calls and text messages, as noted by WABetaInfo. After updating WhatsApp to version 25.8.74, you’ll see the app appear as an option in your Messaging and Calling default app settings.
Apple first announced that it would let iPhone users in the European Union change their default phone and messaging apps, but it later said that everyone would be able to do the same in iOS 18.2.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Today’s Nintendo Direct gave us our first real look at the forthcoming Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, and it sure is easy on the eyes. It uses Square Enix’s HD-2D engine, just like last year’s Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake.
We knew this JRPG was coming, but now we have some actual in-game footage. As the name suggests, this title will include remakes of the first two Dragon Quest titles that were originally released all the way back in the 1980s. This is a very good thing, as the first game is pretty short.
Technically, Dragon Quest 3 is a prequel to the first two titles in the franchise, so this release schedule makes a certain sort of sense. Once this game comes out, the entire Erdrick trilogy will be available to modern players.
We’re glad to see so many of you enjoying #DragonQuest III HD-2D Remake! � pic.twitter.com/zgDdEWSXPp
— DRAGON QUEST (@DragonQuest) December 6, 2024
We still don’t have a release date, other than later this year. We do know that it’s coming out for the Switch, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. These are the same platforms that Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake released for, which ended up being a surprise hit for the company. Square Enix said it sold over two million units globally, as of December. It was also the best-selling game in Japan throughout 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-gorgeous-remake-of-the-first-two-dragon-quest-games-hits-switch-this-year-165757991.html?src=rss
Soccer’s most expensive legend is set to appear in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves when it launches in April. Developer SNK revealed the bizarre fighting game cameo in a new gameplay trailer in which the former Real Madrid star turned Al Nassr FC captain can be seen kicking a glowing blue ball to annoy his opponents.
Xojo has just rolled out its latest release, Xojo 2025 Release 1, and it’s packed with features that developers have been eagerly waiting for. This major update introduces support for running Xojo on Linux ARM, including Raspberry Pi, brings drag-and-drop functionality to the Web framework, and simplifies app deployment with the ability to directly submit apps to the macOS and iOS App Stores. Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in Xojo 2025r1.
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We might be living in the era of the PS5 Pro, but speaking from personal experience, the base PS5 is still plenty good enough for most people. There are no exclusive games for the upgrade yet (and there likely never will be), but one nice thing about its existence is that the original PS5 is now more likely to go on sale.
Consider this week’s discounts on both models of the PS5 Slim (sorry, that’s what everyone calls it, Sony), which you can snag with a free copy of Astro Bot thrown in. They aren’t technically a part of Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, but the deals are undeniable.
The PS5 Slim, despite being a little thinner and a little different looking than the launch model, has all the same capabilities as a non-Pro PS5, but in a sleeker format. There are two versions—one that only plays digital games and one that accepts physical discs—but for the most part, these models have replaced the launch version of the PS5 in stores, with the digital version usually going for $450 and the disc version most often priced at $500.
During this sale, you can instead get a digital PS5 Slim for $399 and disc-based one for $449, and both models come with last year’s The Game Awards-winning Astro Bot as an added bonus. Basically, these system deals would be great even without the free game. Add that in, and you’re saving $110.
The only caveat? Slim PS5 models require a special stand if you want to mount them vertically, although that stand is on sale right now as well.
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The highly customizable Vivaldi web browser now has built-in ProtonVPN integration. CEO Jon von Tetzchner described the collaboration as part of a broader shift toward “privacy over profiling, sovereignty over surveillance, independence over inertia,” noting Vivaldi and Proton’s headquarters are in Europe (a region with significantly better privacy regulations than the US). “We don’t believe your personal data should be a bargaining chip.”
Built-in ProtonVPN is only available on Vivaldi’s desktop app, which is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. You can use Proton integration by clicking a new “VPN” icon at the top right of the toolbar. Doing so will prompt you to sign in with your Vivaldi account.
It connects with ProtonVPN’s free plan by default, which offers solid speeds but only automatic server locations from (via The Verge) five randomly selected countries. Or, you can log into a paid Proton account for the fastest speeds and manual server selection. (Proton’s service is Engadget’s pick for the best VPN app.)
In a blog post announcing the collab, Tetzchner framed it as a people-focused deal. “With this partnership, we’re uniting two forces in tech that build for people, not investors,” he wrote. “It’s not about growth hacks or shareholder slides. It’s about protecting the web for the people who use it.”
You can install ProtonVPN’s extension for Chrome, Firefox and Chromium-based alternatives like Edge, Brave and Opera, so this is far from the only way to use it in your browser. Vivaldi’s new button essentially automates the installation process.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/the-customizable-vivaldi-browser-adds-built-in-protonvpn-163824848.html?src=rss
Sturdy Cycles has introduced its new off-the-peg SC-G gravel bike, showing off the British brand’s 3D-printed custom tech.
Somerset-based Sturdy Cycles has a global reputation for making some of the best full-custom titanium bikes around. It uses some of the latest 3D-printed technology in its bikes.
Now the brand has launched an all-new gravel bike, the SC-G, which is available in four standard sizes rather than only as a made-to-measure purhcase.
Sturdy hasn’t strayed from its entirely in-house building, however, so each SC-G is handcrafted and meticulously finished in its Frome workshops.
The SC-G is designed for those who want a top-tier titanium bike but without the wait time associated with a full-custom build.
The SC-G should be seen as a homegrown rival to bikes such as the Moots Routt 45 or a bridge between mass-produced titanium gravel bikes and high-end fully custom options from the likes of Mosaic, J Laverack, and indeed Sturdy.
• The best titanium gravel bikes for 2025
The frame is made with 3D-printed junctions throughout, which are then machined to match custom-drawn titanium tubes.
The frame is designed to be adaptable, with big tyre clearances of 55mm (700c) and with mudguard mounts, triple bottle mounts, top tube mounts and ENVE’s In-Route carbon fork with triple anything bosses.
It means the SC-G could be built as an all-road bike, rugged touring bike, bikepacking bike or a pure gravel bike.
The geometry is pure modern-gravel stuff, with long chainstays to add stability, a 71-degree head angle to aid handling in the rough, and a stack and reach that are more akin to endurance than race bikes.
The SC-G is available as a complete bike or a frame kit.
The frame kit includes:
It is available either in a raw titanium shot-peened finish or a choice of eight Cerakote colours (Cerakote is a highly durable ceramic-based paint, mainly found in the firearms industry and more recently in high-end watch production).
The complete bike comes with:
The complete bike comes with a claimed weight of 8.8kg (size medium).
Frame kit: £4,800 (inc UK VAT)
Full build ENVE/SRAM AXS: £9,900 (inc VAT)
Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset is a new ILM Immersive game heading to Quest 3 and 3S.
Following the studio’s work on the Vader Immortal trilogy and Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, ILM Immersive announced on the Quest blog that its next game is Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset. Set around the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the official Star Wars website states Beyond Victory promises to “put you inside the world of podracing like never before.” Here, you’ll meet “up-and-comer” Volo Bolus, who joins forces with legendary podracer pilot Sebulba.
Little else is currently known beyond the upcoming title’s focus on mixed reality gameplay, though an original Marvel comic promises to delve into this story further. The cover art is by Phil Noto, it’s written by Ethan Sacks, while interior illustrations were done by Will Sliney, Steven Cummings, and Shogo Aoki. That’s only available for attendees at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan.
“Our goal at ILM has always been to find new and exciting ways for players to experience Star Wars stories,” stated Jose Perez III, Director of Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset in a prepared statement.
“Focusing on mixed reality has opened several fascinating doors from an immersion standpoint and allows us to literally bring a galaxy far, far away right into the comfort of players’ homes in a way that’s unlike anything we’ve done before.”
Further details will be shared at the Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan between April 18-20, 2025 at Hall 4, Booth #20-5, which promises a debut look at the new game. Demo versions of Vader Immortal and Tales From The Galaxy’s Edge will also be available at this upcoming convention.
A release date is currently unconfirmed, but Star Wars: Beyond Victory – A Mixed Reality Playset is heading exclusively to Quest 3 and 3S.
Shortly after publication, this article was updated with further details from the official Star Wars website not present in the Meta Quest blog.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed its first permanent installation of live facial recognition (LFR) cameras is coming this summer and the location will be the South London suburb of Croydon. From a report: The two cameras will be installed in the city center in an effort to combat crime and will be attached to buildings and lamp posts on North End and London Road. According to the police they will only be turned on when officers are in the area and in a position to make an arrest if a criminal is spotted. The installation follows a two-year trial in the area where police vans fitted with the camera have been patrolling the streets matching passersby to its database of suspects or criminals, leading to hundreds of arrests. The Met claims the system can alert them in seconds if a wanted wrong’un is spotted, and if the person gets the all-clear, the image of their face will be deleted.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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If you’re in the market for a new Apple Watch, the Series 10 is currently $100 off during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. Normally priced at $399, the current discount brings the smartwatch down to just $299. This is as low a price as this watch ever gets, according to price-tracking tools.
The Series 10 is a solid staple of the Apple smartwatch ecosystem. There are plenty of reasons that make this watch the best option for most people. It’s smaller and lighter than previous models, and the screen is bigger, brighter, and faster than earlier series. Lifehacker’s associate tech editor Michelle Ehrhardt even says it was the first Apple Watch model to actually tempt her to upgrade. Even if you aren’t interested in features like, say, measuring how far below water you are up to 20 feet, the Series 10’s comfort alone might make it the best Apple Watch for you. If you’re still wearing the more budget SE, this discount could be a perfect way to upgrade or replace your current wearable.
The bottom line is the Apple Watch Series 10 is still the same experience you’ve come to expect from an Apple Watch, but with a little more convenience and comfort than earlier models. You still have a square body, and aside from the dive sensors, the same fitness tracking. If you’re already a loyal Apple Watch user looking for subtle but significant upgrades, this is a good time to snag a Series 10 at a more affordable price.
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Electronic Arts (EA) has signed a multi-year deal with Amazon Luna, the tech company’s cloud gaming service. Now Luna+ subscribers can access EA games such as Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Dead Space.
The games will be available on any device with Luna, including Amazon’s Fire TV and tablets, PC, Mac, smartphone and some LG and Samsung smart TVs. More of EA’s titles, including some of its EA Sports games, will also come to Luna in the coming months. Luna has previously expanded its offerings through a partnership with gaming storefront, GOG.
“Our teams are focused on building experiences that entertain and engage EA’s massive online communities, and we’re excited to partner with Amazon to make those games available to even more people,” said David Tinson, EA’s chief experiences officer and EVP, in a release. “We look forward to a selection of EA games joining Amazon Luna, offering new ways for players and fans to come together across a variety of devices they already own, wherever they are.”
Luna+ is available for $10 a month, which includes all the games in its library. That option has a seven-day free trial or Amazon Prime members can play a select few games each month for free with Luna.
The cloud gaming service first launched in 2022 and has previously launched in the US, UK, Germany and Canada. Today it’s also expanding its availability to Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/select-ea-games-are-now-available-on-amazon-luna-160025719.html?src=rss
While getting a home you’re thinking of buying inspected to make sure it’s not harboring any hidden problems goes without saying, it’s just as important to do a deep dive on the neighborhood you’ll be moving into. But while you can look up crime stats and compare property values, how can you know if you’re going to personally vibe with the new surroundings?
Here are seven strategies you can try in order to vibe-check your potential new neighborhood before signing a lease or taking out a mortgage.
Whether you’re a walker or you believe strongly in driving to the end of your driveway to collect the mail, a stroll through a prospective neighborhood is an effective way to gauge its overall feel. If you have a dog, taking it for a walk there is just as effective (and might make you feel more comfortable). Walking around will show you whether your neighborhood is buzzing with activity at all hours, or if it’s super quiet. You’ll get a feel for whether neighbors socialize a lot, or if they keep to themselves. This will let you know if the area matches your energy, or if you’ll be bored or irritated living there.
Walking around also gives you the chance to run into residents and chat them up a little. Some casual conversation can reveal a lot about the character of the place, and whether people are happy living there or gritting their teeth every day.
Walking is a good technique, but so is sitting. Take a drive to your new potential block at different hours of the day and just sit there for a little while and listen. Noise is one of the leading complaints people have about their neighbors, but it can be difficult to notice when you’re actively touring a home and engaged with a real estate agent. Sitting for a bit and listening will tell you whether the neighborhood is packed with barking dogs, screaming children, loud train tracks, blasting stereos, or vicious arguments.
If you have the time and flexibility, look for a short-term rental in the neighborhood you’re considering. A brief mini-vacation there will give you a day or two to see what everyday life might be like there. You’ll also have the opportunity to find out how walkable it is, what the local stores and nightlife are like, even how easy it is to find street parking. If you can’t wait to get out of there after a few days, you’ll know everything you need to about whether it’s the spot for you.
Walking and staking out the neighborhood are effective ways to gauge the vibe, but make sure you include some weekend evenings on your schedule. A neighborhood that’s pin-drop quiet on a Monday morning might transform into an enormous block party on Friday night—which may or may not be what you’re looking for. If you can, check it out during a holiday as well—a neighborhood that has regular block parties or other social events to mark these occasions will have a very different vibe from a spot where everyone keeps to themselves.
Even if you’re not going to be renting out a room, you might consider redirecting your nightlife to the new neighborhood for a few nights. Hit up some restaurants, bars, coffee shops, or other venues. These will be your go-to spots when you live there, so knowing whether they’re walkable, always crowded, incredibly noisy, or just not your tempo is valuable information.
There is absolutely a hierarchy of grocery stores, so you should check out your options in your potential new neighborhood. High-end spots will be clean and well-stocked, with fresh produce but higher prices. Lower-end stores might not be a pleasant shopping experience, and might indicate a neighborhood on a downward spiral. And having no local options and being forced to drive to a big-box store—or having dollar stores and convenience stores as your only grocery option—might make living there a lot more difficult. Your feelings about the local grocery situation might depend on your lifestyle, but it’s worth it to make sure the stores match up with your expectations and needs, whatever they are.
If you’re going to be commuting to and from work, school, or some other location regularly, do a test run or two. Get to the prospective neighborhood a little early, start the clock, and start your commute from there. Whether driving or taking public transportation, this will be the best way to get a feel for whether your commute is about to get much, much more nightmarish, a lot easier, or not change in any way at all.
One thing you should look at when vetting any neighborhood is any list of public events in the general area you can locate. Many communities have public websites with information about upcoming festivals, block parties, and community events like local theater productions. You can also check out the local chamber of commerce for event information.
