alternative_right writes: For decades, fragments and unofficial copies of Microsoft’s 6502 BASIC have circulated online, mirrored on retrocomputing sites, and preserved in museum archives. Coders have studied the code, rebuilt it, and even run it in modern systems. Today, for the first time, we’re opening the hatch and officially releasing the code under an open-source license. Microsoft BASIC began in 1975 as the company’s very first product: a BASIC interpreter for the Intel 8080, written by Bill Gates and Paul Allen for the Altair 8800. That codebase was soon adapted to run on other 8-bit CPUs, including the MOS 6502, Motorola 6800, and 6809.

The 6502 port was completed in 1976 by Bill Gates and Ric Weiland. In 1977, Commodore licensed it for a flat fee of $25,000, a deal that placed Microsoft BASIC at the heart of Commodore’s PET computers and, later, the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. The version we are releasing here — labeled “1.1” — contains fixes to the garbage collector identified by Commodore and jointly implemented in 1978 by Commodore engineer John Feagans and Bill Gates, when Feagans traveled to Microsoft’s Bellevue offices. This is the version that shipped as the PET’s “BASIC V2.” It even contains a playful Bill Gates Easter egg, hidden in the labels STORDO and STORD0, which Gates himself confirmed in 2010.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

A federal judge sided with Harvard University in its lawsuit against the Trump administration, ordering the US government to un-freeze about $2.6 billion in funding.

The judge’s ruling also criticized the Supreme Court for issuing orders that seem to set precedents aside “without much explanation.” Like various other rulings against the Trump administration, the Harvard case will be appealed and could end up at the highest court.

The Trump administration said it pulled Harvard’s funding because of antisemitism at the university. But “a review of the administrative record makes it difficult to conclude anything other than that Defendants used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities,” US District Judge Allison Burroughs wrote in yesterday’s ruling.

Read full article

Comments

We’re now several months into a brand new Nintendo generation, and waiting impatiently for important information such as the release date for Metroid Prime 4 and the whereabouts of the next 3D Mario game. But in the meantime, the company has been gradually updating its various retro console emulators on Nintendo Switch Online, with the latest being the Game Boy Advance.

As spotted by Nintendo Everything, the 3.0.0 update to the GBA app adds button remapping, which is already possible with the N64 and SNES emulators. Accessible from the menu while playing a game, this allows you to mess around with controls if you’re not happy with the default option, which admittedly does feel like something that should have been there from the beginning, but hey.

Nintendo Everything adds that GBA games in the Nintendo Switch Online library are also now playable in 1080p in handheld mode on the Switch 2, which is hard to verify as there’s no option to toggle video quality. Presumably any game booted on the newer hardware now just defaults to the higher resolution, where before they’d have been stretched from the original Switch’s 720p maximum output. Of course, if the idea of playing a game from the early 2000s with pin-sharp clarity on a huge display appalls you, there is still the option of enabling a bordered small screen, as well as the “classic feel” filter, which adds analog-y scanlines.

Perhaps the most enjoyable addition of all, however, is the hidden original GBA startup screen, which you can activate by wiggling the analogue stick when booting the app. I test this, and it is (obviously) delightful. Nintendo added a similar Easter egg to its GameCube app earlier this year.

Unfortunately, the updated GBA emulator doesn’t include any new game drops. The most recent title to join the service was Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones back in April, which means the arduous wait for Nintendo to give us Mario Golf: Advance Tour continues. For me at least. Sigh.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-switch-2s-latest-update-improves-the-consoles-gba-emulator-164340851.html?src=rss

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source.

You once needed a decent computer and expensive software in order to seriously edit video. No longer. These days, you can download a free app on any smartphone, and instantly have the tools necessary to put together a legitimate video, especially for social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

It would have been difficult to imagine something like Adobe Premiere working properly on a smartphone in the heyday of desktop video editing, but these days, it’s a reality. Perhaps that’s why Adobe is changing with the times. Following its Photoshop mobile app rollout earlier this year, Adobe announced on Thursday that Premiere, the company’s flagship video editing software, is coming to smartphones. The app will release first for iPhone on Sept. 30, though the company says an Android version is in the works.

Premiere for iPhone

According to Adobe, if you’re familiar with Premiere, you’ll be familiar with its mobile adaptation. There’s the same multi-track timeline, with “vibrant colors and dynamic audio waveforms,” that supports frame-by-frame trimming, layering, and tuning. There are automatic captions, subtitles, layers for video, audio, text, and 4K HDR support.

Unlike the current desktop version of Premiere, which requires a subscription, the mobile version of Premiere is free to download and use. Adobe says that only users who need extra storage or want to use the app’s AI features need to pay—though it doesn’t appear that Adobe has released pricing information yet. To that point, Adobe is pushing some of its AI features here, including Generative Sound Effects, which combines your voice with text prompts to produce a stylized voice over. There’s also Enhance Speech, which uses AI in an attempt to improve the quality of your voice recordings.

You can also use Adobe Firefly, the company’s AI content generator, to generate video, image, and audio assets. Adobe says Firefly content is safe for commercial use, so you should have no issue including generations in your content. In addition, you can tap into any of the assets in the Adobe Stock library, which includes music, sound effects, photos, graphics, and videos.

While it seems like the major editing tools you’d expect from the full Premiere app are here, there’s no doubt this experience was designed for mobile—and the platforms that mobile video editors tend to produce for. Adobe says you can export your projects instantly to platforms like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram—as well as Premiere Pro, if you have it—in case you’d like to finish the video in these apps. If you complete the video in Premiere, you can publish the finished product directly to TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram. Videos can also automatically resize depending on the platform you’re sending it to.

You can preorder the app today through the App Store—though, again, the app itself is free. By preordering it, you are simply telling the App Store to download the app for you when it becomes available.

Will Premiere on mobile be worth it?

There are a lot of video editing apps out there specifically designed for mobile use. That’s not to say Premiere won’t be a good editing option: Adobe’s editor is popular for a reason, and if they’ve properly designed it to work on an iPhone or Android, it could be a serious threat to existing options like CapCut and LumaFusion. In fact, the company has already dipped its toe into mobile editors before, with Adobe Premiere Rush. That app is much more basic than the version of Premiere Adobe is announcing today.

Many users will likely enjoy trying out the app free of charge, and I know most (if not all) will have no problem shirking Adobe’s expensive subscriptions. However, as the saying goes, if a product is free, you are the product. According to Premiere’s App Privacy report in the App Store, there’s a lot of data Adobe collects from you when using this app, including:

• Purchases

• Location

• Contact Info

• User Content

• Search History

• Identifiers

• Usage Data

• Diagnostics

• “Other Data”

Sure, it’s great to have a full-fledged video editor on your iPhone, but will it be worth the privacy invasion? It’s not the only one of Adobe’s apps to collect this much data, nor does Adobe have the best track record when it comes to user privacy, but still, it’s worth a consideration before you use it.

If Premiere for mobile is as capable an editor as Premiere Pro, I imagine this could make for a great experience, especially for those already in the Adobe ecosystem. For others, there may be some compromises to weigh. Myself? I might stick to other apps that are a little less creepy.

Rising adoption of AI technology by firms in the Federal Reserve’s New York district has not been much of a job-killer so far, the regional Fed bank said in a blog on Thursday. Reuters: “Businesses reported a notable increase in AI use over the past year, yet very few firms reported AI-induced layoffs,” New York Fed economists wrote in the blog. “Indeed, for those already employed, our results indicate AI is more likely to result in retraining than job loss, similar to our findings from last year,” and so far the technology does not point to “significant reductions in employment.”

There has been broad concern that AI could create major headwinds for hiring in the coming years, with the technology hitting highly-paid professional and managerial jobs the hardest. Investors are plowing cash into AI investments at a time when employment has already begun to show some softness, although job market changes related to AI will almost certainly play out over a long time horizon. The New York Fed blog noted that the modest impact on jobs so far may not hold in the future. “Looking ahead, firms anticipate more significant layoffs and scaled-back hiring as they continue to integrate AI into their operations,” New York Fed researchers wrote.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The video-generation model Veo 3 has come to Google Photos, bringing even more AI tomfoolery to the platform. This allows users to do all sorts of wacky things. First and foremost, the pre-existing photo to video feature has been significantly improved. Google says that it can now be used to turn “still images into even higher-quality clips.”

There’s also a tool called Remix that transforms photos into various styles, like anime drawings, comic book illustrations, 3D animations and more. This is a popular use case for image generators. You’ve probably seen those Studio Ghibli-inspired images across the internet.

Google

Veo 3 brings a new Collage tool that makes it easy to pick multiple photos and select a layout. There’s even a simple image editor here that can be accessed directly from the collage maker.

The Highlight tool creates visual montages based on search prompts, complete with music. There’s also something called Cinematic Photos, which creates 3D renderings of pre-existing photos. Many of these tools can be combined to create unique images and videos.

Google Photos with Veo 3 integration is available to US customers right now, and these tools can all be accessed in the new Create tab. Users only get a limited number of image generations each day, with more generations available for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers.

This is just the latest platform that Google is sloppin’ up with Veo 3. The company recently brought it to YouTube.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-photos-gets-veo-3-integration-bringing-in-even-more-ai-tools-160042831.html?src=rss

Adobe is bringing Premiere to iPhone for free, putting its powerful video editor in the hands of content creators on iOS. The app will offer easy exporting to TikTok, YouTube Shorts or Instagram with a single tap.

Users of the desktop application will be familiar with the multi-track timeline and the app’s core functionalities. Content creators will be able to splice video footage, fine-tune down to individual frames and add unlimited video, text or audio layers including voiceovers. Premiere will be able to handle 4K HDR footage and will include Adobe Lightroom color presets to help add a polished look to your footage. The app can resize the final output for posting on any platform.

Adobe says all these traditional features will be available for free with no ads, and videos will be exported without watermarks. This is somewhat unusual for a company that has all but perfected the monthly subscription model for its suite of tools that used to cost hundreds of dollars for a permanent license. The zero cost is likely driven by competition from other free video editing apps like CapCut, which shares a parent company with TikTok. Instagram also rolled out a free video editor this year.

For an AI-powered upgrade, users can buy generative AI credits to create sound effects, apply speech enhancement, or access AI assets generated through Adobe Firefly. Extra cloud storage will also be available for purchase through the app, which may explain why the App Store lists in-app purchases of $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

The Adobe Premiere: Video Editor app is available to pre-save on the App Store with an expected release date of September 30. Adobe says that Premiere for Android is also under development.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/adobe-premiere-is-coming-to-ios-later-this-month-155019427.html?src=rss

At the end of last year, we learned that Honda was bringing back the Prelude. Although Honda has varied the ingredients over the years, the recipe for the Prelude remains the same: a sleek coupe body and some cutting-edge technology under the skin, like four-wheel steering, as rhapsodized by the verbose but usually insightful motoring writer LJK Setright. Today, the new car broke cover ahead of its arrival in showrooms later this fall.

It’s a handsome shape, though I can’t quite get over the resemblance to the Toyota Prius, at least as far as the nose of the car is concerned. Then again, I’m on record as adoring the shape of the current Prius—did you know its windshield is more steeply raked than a Lamborghini Huracan? But from other angles, the Prelude is more unique. The proportions are low and wide, with some details that signal its sportiness and others that suggest a focus on reducing drag and maximizing efficiency.

That makes sense when you know what’s under the hood. It’s the same 2.0 L Atkinson cycle engine and hybrid system from the Honda Civic, which in the right hands is capable of up to 50 mpg (4.7 L/100 km). We’ll know the exact EPA fuel efficiency numbers closer to the car going on sale in late fall. Combined power is 200 hp (150 kW), with 232 lb-ft (315 Nm) of torque.

Read full article

Comments

We’ve been covering Philips’ lineup of color-changing, Wi-Fi connected Hue lights since their earliest days, and their early success means they became integrated into many smart home setups just as smart thermostats, doorbells, smoke alarms, and speakers were really going mainstream.

For anyone embedded in the Hue ecosystem—or anyone who has stayed out because of the accessories’ relatively high prices—today’s large-scale overhaul of the lineup may be of interest. Philips and parent company Signify are introducing new flagship bulbs, light strips, a new hub, Matter-over-Thread support, and all kinds of other accessories; Hueblog has a comprehensive rundown.

For people who have stayed away from the Hue lineup because of high prices, the most important addition to the lineup is the new Hue Essential bulbs. These bulbs can’t dim as low as the flagship Hue bulbs and don’t support as wide a range of colors or white levels, but the standard A19/E26 versions are available for $25 per bulb individually or as low as $15 a bulb when bought in a four-pack, somewhere between one-half and one-quarter the typical price of a Hue bulb.

Read full article

Comments

AI will disrupt the labor market within five to ten years and force Americans to rely on investment returns rather than wages for income, according to Vlad Tenev, chief executive of stock trading firm Robinhood. Tenev told Fortune that “if you can’t rely on labor to generate money to make a living, capital becomes more important.”

The brokerage chief said private companies and government must make investing easier from an early age. He cited the proposed Invest America Act, included in congressional reconciliation legislation, which would provide every newborn with $1,000 in an investment account. Tenev said the policy represents preparation for an economy where “humans comprise less than 1% of the total intelligence” as AI systems advance beyond current capabilities.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Remember the first time you saw a SpaceX rocket nail a bullseye landing after hurtling back from space? How about the first time two boosters landed side-by-side, punctuating the inaugural launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket with thrilling synchrony?

Some of SpaceX’s most defining moments happened on a piece of beachfront property at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This is where SpaceX first landed a reusable Falcon 9 booster coming back from space and, a few years later, landed two boosters side-by-side.

In all, SpaceX has landed 66 Falcon boosters at Landing Zones 1 and 2 since recovering the first Falcon 9 booster on December 21, 2015. Now, SpaceX is preparing to hand the landing zones back to the US Space Force, which owns the property and has reallocated the real estate to two startup launch companies.

Read full article

Comments