We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is out, and it might not be worth the upgrade yet if you already own the original Nintendo Switch (especially at its $450 to $500 price point). If you don’t, you can still get one and enjoy it before the Switch 2 really kicks off. Walmart is currently selling the Nintendo Switch Gray Joy-Con for $294.99 (originally $361.40). No other reputable seller has this version new on sale. If you’re okay with a used console, GameStop has a pre-owned version for $209.99, a great price for the gray Joy-Con version.
Nintendo Switch Console with Gray Joy-Con.
$294.99 at Walmart
$361.40 Save $66.41
$294.99 at Walmart
$361.40 Save $66.41
(Pre-owned) Nintendo Switch Gray Joy-Con
$209.99
$209.99
With tariffs affecting Nintendo and the Nintendo Switch 2 already out, it’s hard to gauge if this is a fair historical price. However, considering the Switch 2 can easily go for double the price, it makes the decision to get the original console much easier. What might be a harder decision is whether to get the OLED version or not. To help you decide which Switch is better for you, check out our breakdown. Keep in mind, there are also other costs to owning a Nintendo Switch.
At this point, the Nintendo Switch already has an incredible library of games to choose from, but the same cannot be said about the Switch 2. This specific model comes with gray Joy-Con, which is a more mature-looking version than the original blue and red version. You can expect between 4.5 and 9 hours per charge depending on your use and the game you’re playing. It has a 6.2-inch screen, 32GB of data storage, and online gaming if you pay for the Nintendo Switch Online plan, which starts at $19.99 a year. I’ve personally been enjoying the classic Nintendo 64 games that are available to play with the online membership. It’s a nice nostalgic feeling that I get to relive with my brothers and friends.
When Zwift co-founder Jon Mayfield reached out asking if I’d like to consult on the development of a new virtual Prospect Park, I jumped at the opportunity. My history with Zwift and Prospect Park spans decades, so it was a perfect match.
I was Zwift’s former VP of Events — Eric Min (who I raced with as a junior!) invited me to join the company when it was still a scrappy startup. My Zwift ID is 7 — that’s how early I came aboard.
And in the real world? I’ve been racing in Prospect Park since I was 8 years old, and I organized IRL races there for 17 straight years — more than 150 races total.
So yes… this project felt meant to be.
Kissena members handing out race numbers at 5am registration.
Where It All Began: Kissena Cycling Club & Grassroots NYC Racing
Organized racing in Prospect Park has always been a community-driven effort. The sport owes much of its existence to the Kissena Cycling Club — and three individuals who kept NYC racing alive for the last 40+ years.
To honor them, Zwift named three virtual Prospect Park routes after those IRL legends:
Each played a unique role in keeping the heart of Brooklyn bike racing beating.
The People Behind the Pedals
Al Toefield — The Founder of the Movement
In 1963, Al Toefield founded the Kissena Cycling Club in Queens, New York. A former Sergeant in the NYPD, he began organizing races in Prospect Park in the early 1970s.
At the time, the park was surrounded by rough neighborhoods and had a reputation for being unsafe. City officials approached Al with a challenge: Bring life back into Prospect Park. Show the public it can be used for healthy, positive activity.
Al delivered. He built a racing culture from the ground up, keeping events running until he passed away in 1989. His impact still shapes NYC cycling today.
Greg Avon — The Relentless Builder
Greg Avon (the one not in kit) with the Kissena Team.
When Al passed, the baton was handed to Greg Avon, currently a Level 100 Zwifter and still as passionate as ever.
Greg served as Kissena President and Race Organizer through 2005 — a remarkable run that spanned more than 15 years of early-morning races, unpredictable logistics, and unwavering commitment.
He modernized the process, expanded participation, and ensured the scene continued to grow.
Charlie Issendorf — Keeping the Tradition Alive
Me announcing race results on the PA.
After Greg stepped away, I took over as Race Director, and for 17 straight years, I kept the tradition going — adding Sprint and KOM competitions with leader jerseys to give the races a true pro feel.
Those events weren’t easy — yet seeing hundreds of cyclists lap the park at sunrise made every sleepless night worth it. Knowing Zwift has now immortalized those efforts with the Issendorf Express route is truly special.
6am Start in the dark.A view from the Peristyle.
Fun Facts About IRL Prospect Park Racing
Races start at 6:00 AM — sometimes in complete darkness.
Everything must be wrapped up by 8:00 AM before the park becomes crowded.
Race organizers wake up at 2:00 AM — yes, you read that right — to set up the course.
Riders start picking up numbers at 5:00 AM (headlights and coffee mandatory).
At least 25 course marshals are needed for every race, spaced every 100-200 meters for safety.
The IRL course includes a KOM sprint, just like Zwift.
The Kissena Cycling Club still runs these events today — one of the oldest active cycling clubs in the U.S. — and they even have a Kissena in-game kit on Zwift.
Prospect Park racing demands teamwork long before the peloton even clips in.
From Brooklyn to the Metaverse
Indoor cyclists around the world can now experience the spirit of Prospect Park — from the sprint and KOM points to the serenity of sunrise through the trees — thanks to Zwift’s virtual version.
The landscape may be digital, but the heritage is as real as it gets. Zwift has created a living tribute to grassroots organizers, volunteers, and racers who kept the tradition thriving — year after year, lap after lap.
The IRL KOM Finish. Not as pro looking as the virtual arch.
Why it Matters
Cycling culture isn’t built only on WorldTour finishes — it grows in local parks, driven by people who show up before dawn to make the sport available to others.
Prospect Park is proof that big racing hearts beat in everyday places.
From Al single-handedly running races in the 1970s to thousands of riders on Zwift today — the legacy continues to roll.
And if you ever jump on virtual Prospect Park and ride one of those named routes — know that each one celebrates someone who made cycling in Brooklyn possible.
The Python Software Foundation has rejected a $1.5 million government grant because of anti-DEI requirements imposed by the Trump administration, the nonprofit said in a blog post yesterday. The grant would have been the largest in the organization’s history.
Hoping to “address structural vulnerabilities in Python and PyPI,” the foundation submitted a grant proposal in January 2025 to the National Science Foundation’s Safety, Security, and Privacy of Open Source Ecosystems program. After a “multi-round proposal writing process” and a “months-long vetting process,” it appeared the foundation was close to obtaining a two-year grant worth $1.5 million.
But what at first seemed like good news quickly turned sour due to rules against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs, the foundation said:
China has completed the first phase of what it claims is the world’s first underwater data center in Shanghai’s Lingang Special Area. The facility cost roughly 1.6 billion yuan ($226 million) and operates on twenty-four megawatts of power drawn entirely from wind energy.
Seawater acts as a natural cooling system for the submerged servers. Traditional land-based data centers devote up to 50% of their energy consumption to air conditioning. The underwater design reduces cooling energy demand to less than 10%. The first phase is designed to achieve a power usage effectiveness rating of no more than 1.15. More than 95% of the facility’s electricity comes from offshore wind turbines in the East China Sea. The project reduces land usage by more than 90% and eliminates the need for fresh water. The main contractors signed an agreement to launch another offshore wind-powered underwater data center with a capacity of 500 megawatts.
When OpenAI was started in 2015, its founders (including both Sam Altman and Elon Musk) chose to make it a nonprofit. Its initial goal was to guarantee that artificial general intelligence (AGI), a type of AI that is theoretically better at humans at most tasks, would benefit everyone.
The company has gone through a number of changes in the years since. It hasn’t been a true nonprofit since 2019, when it moved to a “capped-profit” structure, which limited profits to 100 times any investment. Musk even sued the company last year, claiming it had ditched its original mission in favor of profits. But now, OpenAI is looking more like a traditional for-profit company than ever. On Thursday, it announced the company will now operate under a new for-profit structure, called OpenAI Group PCB, a public benefit corporation. OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, which is now called the OpenAI Foundation, holds a $130 billion stake in OpenAI Group PCB, and controls the for-profit company.
OpenAI says it is particularly focused on how this move will affect its goals of achieving AGI, and ensuring that AGI “benefits all of humanity.” As OpenAI sees it, the better its for-profit businesses perform, the more funds the OpenAI Foundation will have to continue its philanthropic work.
To that point, OpenAI says the OpenAI Foundation is committing $25 billion to two key objectives. The first is to health and disease, as the OpenAI Foundation will aim to create open-sourced health datasets and offer funding for scientists. The second goal will be to bolster “AI resilience,” which OpenAI sees as “maximizing AI’s benefits and minimizing its risks.”
According to OpenAI, the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group both have the same mission, and that the terms of the new structure require the for-profit side to advance that mission.
What does this mean for OpenAI?
The way OpenAI puts it, this move is the best of both worlds for the company. It asserts that it will continue to operate with the same values and goals as it did prior to this restructuring, while at the same time having more freedom to raise capital to fund those efforts.
That second point is certainly true. CEO Sam Altman has been working for nearly two years to restructure the company into something that can more easily compete financially with other for-profit companies in the AI space, like Amazon, Google, and Meta. Other strictly-AI companies, like Anthropic and xAI, also have this type of structure.
Already, the move has solidified funds for OpenAI: The Japanese-baed SoftBank had previously pledged to a $40 billion investment, with $10 billion in April and another $30 billion in December. However, that investment was contingent on the company’s restructuring plans. Had OpenAI not restructured, SoftBank would’ve dropped its investment to $20 billion. By bolstering its for-profit core, OpenAI earned itself that extra $20 billion.
OpenAI has also agreed to extend an agreement with Microsoft that allows the latter to use and sell OpenAI products. The original agreement ran through 2030, and allowed OpenAI to cancel the deal if the company achieved AGI. But now, the deal runs through 2032, even if OpenAI achieves AGI, so long as the tech has the “appropriate safety guardrails.” An independent expert panel will make the call on whether OpenAI has achieved AGI. Rights to OpenAI’s research will still be capped when OpenAI achieves AGI, or by 2030, whichever comes first.
It’s no secret that AI is big business, so this move could realistically continue OpenAI’s many financial successes. It may also heat up the race to achieve AGI, as it now allows Microsoft to pursue that benchmark with OpenAI’s technologies as well. But against this news is a lingering, and concerning, question: Are we in an AI bubble? And will that bubble burst? OpenAI currently has $1 trillion in AI deals, though only pulls in $13 billion in actual revenue. Perhaps its restructuring will allow it to develop more lucrative revenue streams, but even still, AI is generating a lot of investment without the tangible returns you’d necessarily expect.
The transition to the more-secure HTTPS web protocol has plateaued, according to Google. As of 2020, 95 to 99 percent of navigations in Chrome use HTTPS. To help make it safer for users to click on links, Chrome will enable a setting called Always Use Secure Connections for public sites for all users by default. This will happen in October 2026 with the release of Chrome 154.
The change will happen earlier for those who have switched on Enhanced Safe Browsing protections in Chrome. Google will enable Always Use Secure Connections by default in April when Chrome 147 drops. When this setting is on, Chrome will ask for your permission before it first accesses a public website that doesn’t use HTTPS.
Google has been moving in this direction for some time. Chrome started alerting users to unsecure HTTP websites in 2018 and it began defaulting to HTTPS in April 2021. The following year, it started offering Always Use Secure Connections on an opt-in basis.
When HTTPS isn’t used, an attacker can reroute the connection with relative ease and target a user with malware, social engineering attacks or other exploits. “Attacks like this are not hypothetical — software to hijack navigations is readily available and attackers have previously used insecure HTTP to compromise user devices in a targeted attack,” the Chrome team wrote in a blog post. “Since attackers only need a single insecure navigation, they don’t need to worry that many sites have adopted HTTPS — any single HTTP navigation may offer a foothold. What’s worse, many plaintext HTTP connections today are entirely invisible to users, as HTTP sites may immediately redirect to HTTPS sites.” Always Use Secure Connections is one of the Chrome team’s attempts to mitigate such risks.
HTTP connections still persist in navigations to private sites, such as local IP addresses and company intranets. It’s complicated for a private site to obtain an HTTPS certificate (something Engadget has had since 2016, fact fans), because the same private name can point to different hosts on multiple networks. For instance, many router manufacturers use “192.168.0.1” as a local IP address for accessing the hardware’s admin panel. Still, HTTP navigations to private sites are inherently less risky than on the public web. They aren’t entirely safe, but the only vector of attack for HTTP on private sites is from within the local network.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/google-chrome-will-finally-default-to-secure-https-connections-starting-in-april-170000603.html?src=rss
Fil-C is a memory-safe implementation of C and C++ that aims to let C code —
complete with pointer arithmetic, unions, and other features that are often
cited as a problem for memory-safe languages — run safely, unmodified.
Its dedication to being “fanatically
compatible” makes it an attractive choice for retrofitting memory-safety
into existing applications. Despite the project’s relative youth and single
active contributor, Fil-C is capable of compiling an
entire memory-safe Linux user space (based on
Linux From Scratch),
albeit with some modifications to the more complex programs. It also features
memory-safe signal handling and a concurrent garbage collector.
Earlier this year, Slate Auto emerged from stealth mode and stunned industry watchers with the Slate Truck, a compact electric pickup it plans to sell for less than $30,000. Achieving that price won’t be easy, but Slate really does look to be doing things differently from the rest of the industry—even Tesla. For example, the truck will be made from just 600 parts, with no paint or even an infotainment system, to keep costs down.
An unanswered question until now has been “where do I take it to be fixed if it breaks?” Today, we have an answer. Slate is partnering with RepairPal to use the latter’s network of more than 4,000 locations across the US.
“Slate’s OEM partnership with RepairPal’s nationwide network of service centers will give Slate customers peace of mind while empowering independent service shops to provide accessorization and service,” said Slate chief commercial officer Jeremy Snyder.
An anonymous reader shares a report: After last week’s major AWS outage took Signal along with it, Elon Musk was quick to criticize the encrypted messaging app’s reliance on big tech. But Signal president Meredith Whittaker argues that the company didn’t have any other choice but to use AWS or another major cloud provider.
“The problem here is not that Signal ‘chose’ to run on AWS,” Whittaker writes in a series of posts on Bluesky. “The problem is the concentration of power in the infrastructure space that means there isn’t really another choice: the entire stack, practically speaking, is owned by 3-4 players.”
In the thread, Whittaker says the number of people who didn’t realize Signal uses AWS is “concerning,” as it indicates they aren’t aware of just how concentrated the cloud infrastructure industry is. “The question isn’t ‘why does Signal use AWS?'” Whittaker writes. “It’s to look at the infrastructural requirements of any global, real-time, mass comms platform and ask how it is that we got to a place where there’s no realistic alternative to AWS and the other hyperscalers.”
Toyota battery electric vehicles (BEV) owners can now have Apple Maps help them plan charging stops along their route via CarPlay. Alongside an announcement that the Toyota bZ is now on sale, the automaker says all 2023 and newer battery-electric vehicles can now integrate real-time battery information to help drivers with iPhones find compatible chargers. In the US this would simply mean the bZ4X, which is being replaced by the bZ.
Apple Maps will take into account factors like battery performance and elevation changes when estimating battery percentages on arrival and charging times.
CarPlay is Apple’s in-car infotainment system offering maps, music, calendar tools, Siri and more. While it’s currently compatible with over 800 car models, EV-charger routing requires access to the car’s battery info, which means automakers must work with Apple to enable the feature.
The integration’s rollout remains pretty limited, and before today’s announcement the only compatible vehicles were the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the F-150 Lightning and the Porsche Taycan.
Toyota also said the 2026 bZ will have access to the Tesla Supercharger network, opening up more than 25,000 charging locations for the new model. The bZ features the NACS charging standard, first created by Tesla before being open-sourced for the entire industry.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/toyota-brings-apple-maps-ev-routing-to-its-newest-models-164103063.html?src=rss
Social media platforms have agreed to comply with Australia’s social media ban for users under 16 years old, begrudgingly embracing the world’s most restrictive online child safety law.
On Tuesday, Meta, Snap, and TikTok confirmed to Australia’s parliament that they’ll start removing and deactivating more than a million underage accounts when the law’s enforcement begins on December 10, Reuters reported.
Firms risk fines of up to $32.5 million for failing to block underage users.
The Amusement, an Art Deco-inspired roomscale adventure set in a 1920s theme park, heads for PC VR and Quest next year.
Developed by Curvature Games and published by ARTE, The Amusement is heavily inspired aesthetically and in its setting by Luna Parks during the 1920s post-war period. Playing as Samantha Burkhart, you’re asked by her mother to check her deceased father’s abandoned amusement park, promising a tale that involves grappling with complex childhood memories and hidden mysteries.
Each attraction serves as a window into recalling Samantha’s childhood, underlined by her parents’ turbulent relationship until her father’s death in the Great War. The studio states “sorrow and nostalgia are tightly intertwined” in this story, and you’ll need to solve various puzzles between these attractions to unlock new paths across the park.
Roomscale movement is recommended by Curvature Games with a suggested 2×2 meter playspace where you can freely walk around, though teleportation is also available if you don’t have the space. Other forms of locomotion like climbing, swinging, and riding carts are also mentioned as you continue exploring.
The Amusement doesn’t have a specific release date yet, though it’s heading to SteamVR and Quest in 2026.
I am delighted to announce that the Raspberry Pi Foundation is the new home for Blockly, the world’s leading open source library for visual programming.
What is Blockly?
Blockly is a free, open source library that enables developers to build applications and websites that use block-based coding interfaces. That means that instead of typing code, you snap blocks together to build programs. Behind the scenes, those blocks are turned into text-based code like JavaScript and Python.
Blockly started life in 2011 in Google as a passion project of one engineer. Since then — thanks to the generous support of Google, a small team of brilliant engineers, and an amazing community of open source contributors and partners — it has grown to become the de facto standard for visual programming interfaces.
In particular, Blockly is the foundation for pretty much all of the block-based coding applications that you may have used to teach or learn about programming. Platforms like Scratch, MakeCode, and MIT’s App Inventor are all built with Blockly. It’s no exaggeration to say that hundreds of millions of young people have learnt the fundamentals of computer science using software that is built with Blockly.
As we enter the age of AI, it is more important than ever that all young people develop a foundational understanding of computer science. Blockly and the block-based coding platforms and applications that it enables are essential to realising that vision.
You can read more about the importance of coding in the age of AI in our position paper.
Blockly is also widely used to create interfaces that control hardware and robotics platforms. And, while its main use cases are in education, Blockly is increasingly being used to build industrial and commercial applications.
What does this change mean?
From 10 November 2025, the Blockly open source library and assets, and key members of the Blockly team will transition from Google to the Raspberry Pi Foundation.
Our vision is for Blockly to continue to be the standard visual programming interface that makes coding accessible to all. We are committed to maintaining Blockly as an open source project, and to working collaboratively with the community of developers and educators.
Over the next year, we will roll out features that improve accessibility, including screen reader support and keyboard navigation, working closely with partners to support implementation of these accessibility improvements across their platforms.
Looking to the future, we want to make sure that Blockly is at the leading edge of innovations that support the teaching and learning of programming in the age of AI. We’re also excited about the potential for the Blockly team to collaborate with the Foundation’s research, learning, and product teams.
If you are already part of the community of developers and educators, then I want to reassure you that you can continue to expect the same outstanding partnership and support from the Blockly team. We also look forward to welcoming many more members to the Blockly community over the coming years.
Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to Google for their support for Blockly over the years, and for enabling this transition with generous grant funding.
Chegg says it will lay off about 45% of its workforce, or 388 employees, as the “new realities” of artificial intelligence and diminished traffic from internet search have led to plummeting revenue. From a report: The online education company, founded 20 years ago, has been hit by the rise of generative AI software tools, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which have become increasingly popular among students.
Chegg also sued Google in February, arguing that AI summaries of search results have hurt its traffic and sales. The company reiterated that claim on Monday, saying AI and “reduced traffic from Google to content publishers” have damaged its business. “As a result, and reflecting the company’s continued investment in AI, Chegg is restructuring the way it operates its academic learning products,” the company said. The cuts come after Chegg in May laid off 22% of its workforce, citing increasing adoption of AI. Chegg’s market cap has fallen 98.8% in recent years to about $135 million.
I’m excited to announce my very first Fedora Linux release as the new Fedora Project Leader. Fedora Linux 43 is here! 43 releases! Wow that’s a lot. I was thinking about proposing special tetracontakaitrigon stickers to celebrate this release, but I’m not sure anyone would notice they weren’t circles. Thank you and congrats to everyone […]
Fedora has released Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop Edition 43 to the public. The Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop Edition is well suited for many needs. It combines the reliable and trusted Fedora Linux base with the KDE Plasma Desktop environment. It provides a selection of KDE applications that are simple by default, but powerful when needed. […]
