An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Nearly a century ago, scientists proposed that a mysterious invisible substance they named dark matter clumped around galaxies and formed a cosmic web across the universe. What dark matter is made from, and whether it is even real, are still open questions, but according to a study, the first direct evidence of the substance may finally have been glimpsed. More work is needed to rule out less exotic explanations, but if true, the discovery would go down as a turning point in the decades-long search for the elusive substance that is said to make up 27% of the cosmos.

“This could be a crucial breakthrough in unraveling the nature of dark matter,” said Prof Tomonori Totani, an astrophysicist at the University of Tokyo, who said gamma rays emanating from the centre of the Milky Way appeared to bear the signature of the substance. […] To search for potential dark matter signals, Totani analysed data from Nasa’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which detects the most energetic photons in the electromagnetic spectrum. He spotted a pattern of gamma rays that appeared to match the shape of the dark matter halo that spreads out in a sphere from the heart of the galaxy. The signal “closely matches the properties of gamma-ray radiation predicted to be emitted by dark matter,” Totani told the Guardian. Details are published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.

If Totani has seen dark matter at work, the observations suggest it is made from elementary particles 500 times more massive than the proton. But far more work is needed to rule out other astrophysical processes and background emissions that could explain the signals. Totani said the “decisive factor” would be detecting gamma rays with the same spectrum from other regions of space, such as dwarf galaxies. According to Prof Justin Read, an astrophysicist at the University of Surrey, the lack of significant signals from such galaxies strongly argues against Totani having seen gamma rays emitted from dark matter particle annihilation. Prof Kinwah Wu, a theoretical astrophysicist at UCL, urged caution, saying: “I appreciate the author’s hard work and dedication, but we need extraordinary evidence for an extraordinary claim,” he said. “This analysis has not reached this status yet. It is a piece of work which serves as an encouragement for the workers in the field to keep on pressing.”

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Qualcomm just revealed the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, the appropriately-named second member of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 line. This follows the Gen 5 Elite, which was first revealed back in September.

The standard Gen 5 is still a powerful mobile system-on-a-chip (SoC) with a top clock speed of 3.8GHz. That’s slightly lower than the Elite’s top speed of 4.6GHz, but still nothing to sneeze at. It includes a custom-built Oryon CPU and boasts speed-enhancing features like matrix acceleration. The company says the platform offers a 36 percent performance improvement when compared to Snapdragon 7, along with a 76 percent increase in web browsing responsiveness.

Qualcomm

The SoC also features the Qualcomm Adreno GPU, just like the Elite, which “unlocks higher clock speeds and boosts gaming and graphics performance by 11 percent.” This is a chip intended for modern smartphones, so it also has been designed for AI. It boasts the company’s proprietary Sensing Hub technology that combines microphone and sensor inputs to detect a user’s intent to speak.

It’s capable of on-device AI processing due to the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU. The company says this will enable “agentic AI assistants to deliver context-aware interactions and personalized suggestions.” That’s corporate speak for “it does stuff and says stuff.”

Qualcomm

Qualcomm says these chips will begin showing up in mobile devices in “the coming weeks.” The company named OnePlus as a partner and that organization did just announce a brand-new smartphone that was suspiciously devoid of any real specs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-snapdragon-8-gen-5-is-a-cut-down-version-of-qualcomms-flagship-elite-chipset-063050786.html?src=rss

The UK is seeking to fast-track new atomic development to meet soaring energy demands driven by AI and electrification. According to a new report published by the government’s Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, excessive regulation has made Britain the most expensive place in the world to build nuclear projects. The report is calling for a sweeping overhaul to accelerate reactor construction — everything from “streamlining regulation” to relaxing environmental and safety constraints. The Register reports: The document outlines 47 recommendations for the government, which come under five general areas: providing clearer leadership and direction for the nuclear sector; simplifying the regulatory approval process for atomic projects; reducing risk aversion; addressing incentives to delay progress; and working with the nuclear sector to speed delivery and boost innovation. Among the recommendations is that a Commission for Nuclear Regulation should be established, becoming a “unified decision maker” across all other regulators, planners, and approval bodies. The report also talks of reforming environmental and planning regimes to speed approvals, echoing the government’s earlier decisions to streamline the planning process to make it easier for datacenter projects to get built.

It recommends amending the cost cap for judicial reviews and limiting legal challenges to Nationally Strategic Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs), while indemnifying nuclear developers against any damages they might incur as a result of proceeding with their project while a judicial review is still being decided. Another recommendation that may be cause for concern is that the government should modify the Habitats Regulations to reduce costs. These are rules created to protect the most important and vulnerable natural sites and wildlife species across the UK. The report also states that radiation limits for workers are overly conservative and well below what could be appropriately considered “broadly acceptable,” claiming that they are many times less than what the average person in the UK normally receives in a year.

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Plex is beginning to enforce new restrictions on remote streaming for its TV apps, requiring either a Plex Pass or the cheaper Remote Watch Pass to watch media from servers outside your home network. How-To Geek reports: Plex is now rolling out the remote watch changes to its Roku TV app. This means that you will need a Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass for your Plex account if you want to stream media from a server outside your home. If you’re only watching media from your own server on the same local network as your Roku device, or the owner of the server you’re streaming from has Plex Pass, you don’t have to do anything.

Plex says this change will come to the other TV apps in 2026, such as Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. Presumably, that will happen when the redesigned app arrives on those platforms. Roku was just the first TV platform to get the new app, which caused a wave of complaints from users about removed functionality and a more clunky redesign. Plex is addressing some of those complaints with more updates, but adding another limitation at the same time isn’t a great look.

The Remote Watch Pass costs $2 per month or $20 per year, but there’s no lifetime purchase option. You can also use a Plex Pass, which normally costs $7 per month, $70 per year, or $250 for a lifetime license. However, there’s currently a 40% off sale for Plex Pass subscriptions.

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It feels like 2025 is the year of corporate standoffs and stalemates among TV providers, with the latest being a contract dispute between streaming provider Fubo and NBCUniversal which has led to a blackout of all the latter’s networks on the service. Channels like NBC, USA Network, Telemundo, and Bravo went dark on Fubo at 5PM ET on November 21, 2025, and as of now, there’s no projected date for their return. 

A message released by Fubo to their customers explains, “Fubo believes customers should have the option to choose among multiple distributors to access the content they love. Unfortunately, NBCU has offered terms regarding pricing and packaging that are egregiously above those offered to other distributors.” A statement from an NBCU spokesperson adds, “Fubo has chosen to drop NBCUniversal programming despite being offered the same terms agreed to by hundreds of other distributors. Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo — they’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.” (Fubo, for instance, cut Warner-owned channels back in 2024.) 

While the companies are continuing discussions to come to an agreement, audiences might have to go without this week’s midweek NBA game, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and Bengals vs. Ravens Thanksgiving Day game, a new episode of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City on Bravo, and much more. 

Fubo has already begun emailing customers to note that a $15 credit will be applied to their bills starting “on or after December 1.” But in the meantime, if you’re a Fubo customer and are wondering what to do, here’s everything you need to know about the Fubo-NBC blackout, which channels are missing and your options for where to watch them.

Which channels are no longer available on Fubo?

The following is a list of channels owned or operated by NBC that are not currently available on Fubo:

Local Channels:

• NBC Local Affiliates

• Telemundo Local/National

Regional Sports Channels:

• NBC Sports 4K

• NBC Sports Bay Area

• NBC Sports Bay Area Plus

• NBC Sports Boston

• NBC Sports California

• NBC Sports California Plus

• NBC Sports California Plus 3

• NBC Sports Philadelphia

• NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

National Channels:

• American Crimes

• Bravo

• Bravo Vault

• Caso Cerrado

• CNBC

• CNBC World

• Cozi

• Dateline 24/7

• E! Entertainment Television

• E! Keeping Up

• Golf Channel

• GolfPass

• LX Home

• Million Dollar Listing Vault

• MS NOW (formerly MSNBC)

• NBC NOW

• NBC Sports NOW

• NBC Universo

• True CRMZ

• New England Cable News

• Noticias Telemundo Ahora

• Oxygen True Crime

• Oxygen True Crime Archives

• Real Housewives Vault

• SNL Vault

• Syfy

• Telemundo Accion

• Telemundo al Dia

• The Golf Channel

• Today All Day

• Universal Movies

• USA Network

Why are these NBC-owned channels currently unavailable?

Per Fubo, NBC channels were pulled from the platform because of a disagreement over their long-standing content distribution agreement that has yet to be resolved.

When will the missing channels return?

There is no information available as to when NBC’s lineup of channels will return. Negotiations between the companies are ongoing.

Is Fubo offering a rebate while these channels are missing?

In a message to subscribers, Fubo stated, “If NBCU programming remains off of Fubo for an extended period, we will directly credit $15 to your Fubo account.” At least one Fubo customer on our staff received an email confirming the credit would be automatically applied in the December billing cycle.

What alternatives do viewers have in the meantime?

Looking to switch from Fubo? You’ve got plenty of options, including Peacock, DirecTV, and Hulu + Live TV. Here are some of your choices:

Watch NBC on Peacock

Get a deal on Peacock with Walmart+

Try DirecTV free for 5 days, and get $30 off your first month

Try Hulu + Live TV for free

Other services to watch NBC

If I switch to a different service, can I cancel or pause Fubo in the meantime?

Fubo does not allow customers to pause their subscriptions, so if you’re looking to make a change, you can cancel your plan outright. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/missing-nbc-and-bravo-on-fubo-here-are-your-alternatives-during-the-channel-dispute-014052749.html?src=rss

HP plans to cut 4,000-6,000 jobs by 2028 “as part of a plan to streamline operations and adopt artificial intelligence,” reports Reuters. From the report: HP’s teams focused on product development, internal operations and customer support will be impacted by the job cuts, CEO Enrique Lores said during a media briefing call. “We expect this initiative will create $1 billion in gross run rate savings over three years,” Lores added. The company laid off an additional 1,000 to 2,000 employees in February, as part of a previously announced restructuring plan. Demand for AI-enabled PCs has continued to ramp externally, reaching over 30% of HP’s shipments in the fourth quarter ended October 31.

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