A newly revealed set of vulnerabilities dubbed AirBorne in Apple’s AirPlay SDK could allow attackers on the same Wi-Fi network to hijack tens of millions of third-party devices like smart TVs and speakers. While Apple has patched its own products, many third-party devices remain at risk, with the most severe (though unproven) threat being potential microphone access. 9to5Mac reports: Wired reports that a vulnerability in Apple’s software development kit (SDK) means that tens of millions of those devices could be compromised by an attacker: “On Tuesday, researchers from the cybersecurity firm Oligo revealed what they’re calling AirBorne, a collection of vulnerabilities affecting AirPlay, Apple’s proprietary radio-based protocol for local wireless communication. Bugs in Apple’s AirPlay software development kit (SDK) for third-party devices would allow hackers to hijack gadgets like speakers, receivers, set-top boxes, or smart TVs if they’re on the same Wi-Fi network as the hacker’s machine […]

Oligo’s chief technology officer and cofounder, Gal Elbaz, estimates that potentially vulnerable third-party AirPlay-enabled devices number in the tens of millions. ‘Because AirPlay is supported in such a wide variety of devices, there are a lot that will take years to patch — or they will never be patched,’ Elbaz says. ‘And it’s all because of vulnerabilities in one piece of software that affects everything.'”

For consumers, an attacker would first need to gain access to your home Wi-Fi network. The risk of this depends on the security of your router: millions of wireless routers also have serious security flaws, but access would be limited to the range of your Wi-Fi. AirPlay devices on public networks, like those used everywhere from coffee shops to airports, would allow direct access. The researchers say the worst-case scenario would be an attacker gaining access to the microphones in an AirPlay device, such as those in smart speakers. However, they have not demonstrated this capability, meaning it remains theoretical for now.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google has announced that it’s helping to financially support the electrical training ALLIANCe (etA), an organization formed by the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electricians. The goal is to train “100,000 electrical workers and 30,000 new apprentices in the United States” to meet the growing power demands of AI.

Using AI will unlock unspecified, but positive economic opportunities, Google’s new white paper, “Powering a New Era of American Innovation,” claims. In order to take advantage of them, though, the US power grid needs to become more capable and efficient. That’s largely because the data centers used to run and train AI models require vast amounts of energy. The white paper claims that new data centers could demand an additional “15-90 GW” of energy by 2030, something that more efficient chips and model training can’t account for. For a sense of the scale, the US Department of Energy says 1 Gigawatt is the equivalent to 103 offshore wind turbines. 

Google’s paper calls for investments in alternative energy sources like nuclear power, but also notes that expanding the electrical workforce is necessary. “McKinsey estimates that 130,000 additional electricians will be needed by 2030 to build out data centers and manufacturing facilities,” the company writes. Currently, though, retiring electricians outnumber newly trained ones. “Nearly 10,000 American electricians either retire or change careers each year, while only about 7,000 new entrants join the field.”

Investing in electrical training is Google’s attempt to help change that. It would be nice if it was paired with a clearer explanation around what that AI will be doing with all that extra power — Google notes that there’s a “causal relationship between energy consumption and economic growth” — but skilled job training isn’t a bad thing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-funding-electrician-training-to-help-meet-the-power-demands-of-ai-221320678.html?src=rss

Google is investing in training over 100,000 new U.S. electricians through a $10 million grant, aiming to address a critical labor shortage driven by AI-fueled data center growth and rising electricity demands. Reuters reports: A lack of access to power supplies has become the biggest problem for giant technology companies racing to develop artificial intelligence in energy-intensive data centers, which are driving up U.S. electricity demand after nearly 20 years of stagnation. The situation has led President Donald Trump to declare a national energy emergency aimed at speeding up permitting for generation and transmission projects.

Google’s funding, which includes a $10 million grant for electrical worker nonprofits, is the latest in a series of recent moves by giant technology companies to alleviate power project backlogs and electricity shortfalls across the United States. […] The Google grant will be used for electrician apprenticeship programs and the training of existing workforce through organizations, including the Electrical Training Alliance, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractors Association. It could increase the pipeline of electrical workers by 70% by the end of the decade, the company said. “This initiative with Google and our partners at NECA and the Electrical Training Alliance will bring more than 100,000 sorely needed electricians into the trade to meet the demands of an AI-driven surge in data centers and power generation,” said Kenneth Cooper, international president of the IBEW labor union.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Mark Zuckerberg says he believes most of the Meta’s code will be written by AI agents sometime within the next year-and-a-half. Zuckerberg made the prediction during an hour-long interview with podcaster Dwarkesh Patel. 

“I would guess sometime in the next 12 to 18 months, we’ll reach the point where most of the code that’s going towards these efforts is written by AI,” said Zuckerberg, referring to the company’s efforts to build internal AI agents. “And I don’t mean like autocomplete… I’m talking more like you give it a goal, it can run tests, it can improve things, it can find issues, it writes higher quality code than the average very good person on the team already.” 

This is not the first time Zuckerberg has made this type of prediction. During his awkward appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience earlier this year, he said, “Probably in 2025, we at Meta, as well as the other companies that are basically working on this, are going to have an AI that can effectively be a sort of mid-level engineer that you have at your company that can write code.” 

Notice how the goal posts have moved. Less than five months ago, Zuckerberg said coding agents that could effectively replace most human programmers were within reach. Now, those same systems will not arrive by mid-2026 at the earliest.

The changing timelines underscore exactly why we should be critical of the AI industry and its many promises. AI agents may very well one day replace mid-level programmers, but right now predictions like the one made by Zuckerberg and many others are, at best, advertisements for technologies that don’t yet exist and may never perform at the level their advocates say they will. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/mark-zuckerberg-predicts-ai-will-write-most-of-metas-code-within-12-to-18-months-213851646.html?src=rss

A thousand years ago, the people living in Chaco Canyon were building massive structures of intricate masonry and locations as far away as Mexico. Within a century, however, the area would be largely abandoned, with little indication that the same culture was re-established elsewhere. If the people of Chaco Canyon migrated elsewhere, it’s unclear where they ended up.

Around the same time that construction expanded in Chaco Canyon, far smaller pueblos began appearing in the northern Rio Grande Valley hundreds of kilometers away. These have remained occupied to the present day in New Mexico; although their populations shrank dramatically after European contact, their relationship to the Chaco culture has remained ambiguous. Until now, that is. People from one of these communities, Picuris Pueblo, worked with ancient DNA specialists to show that they are the closest relatives of the Chaco people yet discovered, confirming aspects of the pueblo’s oral traditions.

A pueblo-driven study

The list of authors of the new paper describing this genetic connection includes members of the Pueblo government, including its present governor. That’s because the study was initiated by the members of the Pueblo, who worked with archeologists to get in contact with DNA specialists at the Center for GeoGenetics at the University of Copenhagen. In a press conference, members of the Pueblo said they’d been aware of the power of DNA studies via their use in criminal cases and ancestry services. The leaders of Picuris Pueblo felt that it could help them understand their origin and the nature of some of their oral history, which linked them to the wider Pueblo-building peoples.

Read full article

Comments

Thanks to some smart (and aggressive) marketing, Duolingo has cemented itself as one of the most popular language learning apps in the world. That said, it isn’t without competition: There are plenty of alternatives to consider, and if you’re peeved about Duolingo’s plans to phase out its contract workers in favor of using AI, you might be looking into them.

There’s now a new competitor for Duo’s crown, but it certainly isn’t a replacement for the AI-averse. It’s also far from an underdog, considering the service comes from none other than Google. Yesterday, the company announced a new AI-powered language learning experience it calls Little Language Lessons. It isn’t an app, rather an experiment in Google Labs that offers small doses of lessons and immersion for a handful of different languages.

Here’s how Google’s Little Language Lessons currently work.

Using Google’s Duolingo alternative

To start, head to Google Labs’ Little Language Lessons site, and sign in with your Google Account. You’ll need to agree to a pop-up that warns you that the feature is an early experiment that uses generative AI, and might not always be accurate—a hallmark flaw of AI tools in general.

Google is offering 22 language options (including regional dialects for specific languages). Those include:

• Arabic

• Chinese (China)

• Chinese (Hong Kong)

• Chinese (Taiwan)

• English (AU)

• English (UK)

• English (US)

• French (Canada)

• French (France)

• German

• Greek

• Hebrew

• Hindi

• Italian

• Japanese

• Korean

• Portuguese (Brazil)

• Portuguese (Portugal)

• Russian

• Spanish (Latin America)

• Spanish (Spain)

• Turkish

Once you’re in, there are three different types of lessons to try—or “experiments,” as Google calls them. “Experiment no. 001” is “Tiny Lesson,” which assists you with words, phrases, and grammar for any situation you can dream up. You choose the language, then type a “purpose or theme” into the provided text field. If you can’t think of anything, you can use one of the auto-generated themes Google provides, like “taking a taxi,” “scuba diving” or “going on a first date.” (Or taking a taxi to scuba dive on your first date.)

I went with Portuguese (Portugal) and “taking a taxi.” I hit Generate, and Tiny Lesson offered me three categories to work from: Vocabulary, which lists different words I might use (“o táxi” for “the taxi” or “o taxista” for “the taxi driver”); Phrases, such as “Pode chamar um táxi, por favor?” for “Can you call a taxi, please?”; and Tips, like explaining how to use “ter que” to express that I need to go somewhere. Any Portuguese words and phrases have a speaker option to click to hear the proper pronunciation.

“Experiment no. 002” is “Slang Hang,” which aims to teach you slang and expressions from the regions that speak the language you’re learning. For fun, I asked it to run with U.S. English for this one. Slang Hang generates a story between two people, and, following a short premise, generates a conversation between them to demonstrate how they might naturally speak to one another. Expressions and slang are underlined, and, again, you can click the speaker icon to hear them spoken out loud.

One side of the conversation is generated at a time, and you press the space bar to move on to the next person’s sentence. If you want a new story altogether, you can hit the refresh icon, or click the X to exit entirely. (Slang Hang is currently missing support for Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Portugal), and Turkish.)

Credit: Lifehacker

Finally, there’s “Experiment no. 003,” or “Word Cam.” This feature lets you take and share a photo with the web app to learn how to talk about your surroundings. This works best on a smartphone or tablet, since otherwise you’ll only have your computer’s front-facing camera to work with.

Once you grant access to your camera, snap a photo of your surroundings. Word Cam then analyzes the image, highlights specific elements, and labels them with words in the target language. For example, I took a photo of the street corner, and Word Cam labeled the car as “o carro,” the grass as “a relva,” and the bush as “arbusto.” You can tap each word to pull up a full page about the word in question, as well as examples of how you might use it in different sentences and scenarios.

Can Little Language Lessons compete with Duolingo?

Little Language Lessons is a neat idea, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with it further. Will this take a bite out of Duolingo? I doubt it. But it does offer a more casual and personal approach to language learning, as opposed to Duolingo’s more structured lessons. I like that I can choose what I want to learn more about, especially as, in my view, language acquisition is most effective when you’re learning words and phrases you actively use on a daily basis.

The main concern is learning the wrong words, which could be an issue if the AI decides to hallucinate an incorrect translation. That’s where human intervention would come in handy: If lessons were generated by people and fact-checkers, you’d feel a bit more at ease with accepting the information at face value. With these lessons, however, I feel I have to double-check everything it tells me.

YouTube is testing a new feature that will blur the thumbnails of videos that appear in search results that “frequently include sexual themes,” the platform announced in the Community section of the YouTube Help Center. The experimental feature is currently being tested on a small percentage of users, Youtube says.

The hope is that by blurring thumbnails, YouTube can provide search results that include videos that technically abide by its Community Guidelines, but protect users from seeing content that’s possibly “sensitive in nature.” YouTube’s post doesn’t get into specifics of what will trigger a blurred thumbnail, but does note that “the video title, channel name, and description will remain visible” even if a thumbnail is obscured. Users who have the feature will also be able to disable thumbnail blurring if they want.

YouTube offers a Restricted Mode for screening out mature content, but a more apt comparison for this experimental feature might be the SafeSearch settings in Google Search. SafeSearch lets you completely filter out “explicit images, text, and links,” show all relevant results or blur explicit images, while allowing explicit text and links through. Considering YouTube’s position 20 years in as both a backbone of the internet and a de facto television replacement, this seems like a common sense feature to have.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/youtube-will-blur-the-thumbnails-of-mature-videos-as-part-of-a-new-test-202546425.html?src=rss

Getting the hang of through-hole soldering is tricky for those of us tinkering at home with our irons, spools, flux, and, sometimes, braids. It’s almost reassuring, then, to learn that through-hole soldering was also a pain for a firm that has made more than 60 million products with it.

Raspberry Pi boards have a combination of surface-mount devices (SMDs) and through-hole bits. SMDs allow for far more tiny chips, resistors, and other bits to be attached to boards by their tiny pins, flat contacts, solder balls, or other connections. For those things that are bigger, or subject to rough forces like clumsy human hands, through-hole soldering is still required, with leads poked through a connective hole and solder applied to connect and join them securely.

The Raspberry Pi board has a 40-pin GPIO header on it that needs through-hole soldering, along with bits like the ethernet and USB ports. These require robust solder joints, which can’t be done the same way as with SMT (surface-mount technology) tools. “In the early days of Raspberry Pi, these parts were inserted by hand, and later by robotic placement,” writes Roger Thornton, director of applications for Raspberry Pi, in a blog post. The boards then had to go through a follow-up wave soldering step.

Read full article

Comments

Home renovation projects always start out in a rush of excitement—you’re finally going to solve all those annoying problems, update those dated aspects of the house, and live the life you deserve! And sometimes it actually works out that way—but there are a lot of ways a renovation can go wrong. That’s why nearly three-quarters of homeowners come to regret their renovations to some extent.

Most of the reasons behind renovation regrets are pretty straightforward: Cost overruns, dissatisfaction with the final result, or shoddy work (either by contractors or DIY efforts) are the problems most people worry about when embarking on a renovation. But there are other, less obvious ways your renovation plans can backfire on you—problems that will only seem obvious in retrospect.

Utility red tags

I once innocently called my local utility company to come out and service my water heater, and ended the day with a dreaded “red tag” on my mechanical room—a paper notice that I had to bring something up to code. The worst part? The problem had nothing to do with my water heater, furnace, or anything else—it was the door to my mechanical room. When we renovated our house we had a new door hung, and it didn’t have any ventilation built in. We passed city inspections after the reno, but now the utility company insisted I cut a louver into the door.

In another instance, a utility worker came by and noticed that our electrical panel was just in the wall. They informed me that there was a new requirement that panels be enclosed, so we had to build a fairly ridiculous box around the panel.

Those are mild cases—it can be a lot worse. A nearby neighbor is renovating his house, and the utility company discovered that he shares a gas supply with his next-door neighbor, and that now has to be separated and re-routed despite the fact that neither of them have ever had a problem. The project is adding weeks to the renovation schedule and aggravating everyone involved. Often our homes have non-ideal setups or infrastructure that was code-compliant decades ago—and when the utility company comes by you’re suddenly the proud owner of a shiny red tag, and your renovation has just backfired on you.

Hidden problems

Your utility company doesn’t have to be involved for a renovation to ruin your day. Just opening walls and floors can expose all manner of scenarios where stuff that is working just fine will suddenly need to be replaced, at great expense and frustration:

• Wiring. You have exactly zero problems with your electricity—no flickering, so shorts, no non-functional outlets. But when you open up your walls, you discover your wiring is old (most modern electrical wiring will last about 50 years, but your panel typically has a shorter lifespan) and suddenly you have to replace it. While this might be a good idea from a safety standpoint, it’s hard not to think you could have lived a happy life without ever knowing about it.

• Plumbing. Like your power, you’ve never had a problem with your plumbing. Everything drains, nothing leaks, and your water pressure is fine. Then your contractor digs into your walls and floors and suddenly the drain slopes are wrong, the pipe connections are outdated and no longer meet code, and your supply lines are insufficient for modern appliances.

• Permits. More accurately, a lack of permits. Pulling permits for new renovation work can reveal that the previous owners did a lot of DIY work without getting a permit, and now you’re faced with getting old work you had nothing to do with retroactively permitted and possibly brought up to code before you can even begin your intended project.

• Craptastic DIY work. Do-it-yourselfers can perform miracles: Their work can look pretty good in a casual inspection and be revealed as a shoddy, lazy mess the moment you take a closer look. Whether it’s a living room floor being held up by wishes and dreams because the previous owner enthusiastically cut every joist in the basement or uncovering a host of buried electrical boxes they couldn’t be bothered to remove properly, the ghosts of incompetent DIYers will haunt you the moment you start your own project.

Lowering home value

It’s true: Sometimes a renovation project can actually lower the value of your house. Sometimes it’s personal taste that will require effort to change, like wallpaper. Sometimes they’re features that come with hefty maintenance bills, like swimming pools. Sometimes it’s a practical decision to delete something from the home—removing one bedroom to expand another, or taking out a garage to add a bedroom, for example.

You shouldn’t assume your renovation is going to pay for itself by raising the value of your home. If you want to change something because you like it a certain way—hey, it’s your house. But don’t be surprised if your decision to carpet the entire house results in a drop in its value.

Paying for nothing

Hiring contractors can be stressful. You’re dealing with people who have specialized knowledge and connections that you lack, so it’s easy to feel intimidated. We rely on recommendations from friends and neighbors, internet reviews, and the general vibe when they come out to give you a quote—but things can still go wrong. Some of those worst-case scenarios have obvious solutions—if a contractor ghosts you in the middle of a project, you hire someone else. But a bad contractor experience can be surprisingly difficult to resolve, especially if you rely on a simple contract provided by the contractor themselves when you hire them.

There are surprisingly few legal protections against what’s known as a mechanic’s lien—a claim against your property designed to force payment for work performed there. If you refuse to pay a contractor for poor work, or seek to fire them in the middle of a job for some reason, they can—and often do—slap a lien on your home, and you’ll have to head to court to fight it. And there’s no guarantee that it will go your way, especially if the contract you signed is vague about deadlines or other requirements.

For example, a woman refused to pay her contractors over a renovation job that ballooned to $500,000 and ended with an unfinished house filled with defects. But the courts dismissed most of her complaints, and she wound up paying her crappy contractor an additional $32,000—in addition to a hefty legal bill. And she still had to hire someone else to fix and finish her house.

Relationship stress

If you want to test the strength of your relationship with a partner, renovate a house with them. Renovations are so stressful they can damage even the strongest relationship: A 2018 survey found that 7% of people who’d worked on house projects together seriously considered separation or divorce as a result. Even if you don’t get to that point, there’s no doubt that living in a construction zone (or a cramped rental) for months, watching your savings melt away, and disagreeing about design choices and scope on a daily basis can have a negative effect on your partnership.

A renovation can also negatively affect your relationship with your neighbors. Months of dust, noise, and contractors trooping around will stress anyone out, and if your work damages your neighbor’s home in some way things can get heated. You might wind up with a beautifully renovated house but lose the friendly vibe you used to enjoy around the block, so it pays to tend to those relationships while the work is going on.

When it comes to investing in (and maybe even splurging on!) running gear, nothing affects your running experience more than your shoes. Finding the perfect running shoes is about much more than style or brand preference—the right shoes are essential for performance, comfort, and injury prevention. But with countless options available for both men and women, choosing the perfect pair can feel overwhelming. Here’s what you need to know to make an informed decision, as well as some shoe recommendations straight from the experts.

Why the right shoe matters

According to Jessica Lyons-Quirk, director of footwear merchandising at Road Runner Sports, wearing proper footwear is crucial for staying injury-free: “The biggest thing about injuries and foot health is that you need to be in the right shoe for your foot—every foot is different.” You’re going to constantly be injury-prone if you aren’t in the right shoe, and you’re never going to hit your training goals if you’re constantly resting off an injury. It’s worth taking the time to understand your foot type and running style before investing in new shoes.

Understanding your foot type: neutral vs. stability

As I’ve recently covered, the first step in finding your perfect running shoe is determining whether you need neutral or stability shoes. Broadly speaking:

• Neutral runners have a natural foot motion forward with even weight distribution when pushing off. Your feet effectively absorb impact and don’t roll excessively inward or outward.

• Stability runners overpronate, meaning the arch collapses during landing and the foot rolls too far inward. This can create alignment issues while you run.

If you’re unsure about your pronation type, many specialty running stores offer gait analysis services, where experts can analyze your running style and recommend appropriate shoes.

For both types of runners, you’ll see shoes directly advertised for your specific style. Neutral runners effectively absorb the impact of the ground, while evenly distributing weight on the toe-off. Lyons-Quirk says you’ll want to look for the HOKA Clifton or Saucony Ride.

To find the best stability shoes, look out for extra guidance and support to control the excessive movement. Lyons-Quirk recommends the Brooks Adrenaline or the ASICS GEL-Kayano.

Top running shoe recommendations for men and women

If you’re ready to start trying on some pairs, here are some of the most popular models to get you started.

Best all-around option: Saucony Ride 18

The Saucony Ride 18 is a staple among runners. In the past, I’ve been a huge fan—these were my shoes of choice when I ran the NYC Marathon in 2023. Lyons-Quirk calls it “light, soft, and responsive.” A neutral shoe, it works well for both anyone who wants a reliable daily trainer that balances cushioning and responsiveness.

Saucony Women’s Ride 18

$134.95
at Amazon

$134.95
at Amazon

Saucony Men’s Ride 18

$134.95
at Amazon

$134.95
at Amazon

Best maximum cushioning: ASICS GEL-Nimbus 27

The GEL-Nimbus line has long been a favorite among runners who prioritize shock absorption and comfort over minimalism. For runners seeking plush comfort for long distances, the ASICS GEL-Nimbus 27 stands out. It’s Lyons-Quirk’s go-to recommendation for max cushion: “The premium materials and softness of both the upper and midsole make this shoe pure magic to run in.”

ASICS Women’s GEL-Nimbus 27

$157.40
at Amazon

$165.00
Save $7.60

$157.40
at Amazon

$165.00
Save $7.60

ASICS Men’s GEL-Nimbus 27

$164.95
at Amazon

$164.95
at Amazon

Best for versatility: Brooks Glycerin 22

The Brooks Glycerin 22 is available in both neutral and stability versions: Glycerin 22 for neutral and the GTS 22 for stability. Lyons-Quirk points out how the “innovative midsole technology and smooth transitions make this shoe an all-around go-to.” This makes it an excellent choice for runners who want consistent feel, but sometimes require different levels of support.

Brooks Women’s Glycerin 22

$147.92
at Amazon

$164.95
Save $17.03

$147.92
at Amazon

$164.95
Save $17.03

Brooks Men’s Glycerin 22

$164.95
at Amazon

$164.95
at Amazon

Most trendy and functional: HOKA Clifton 10

This is subjective, of course, but the HOKA Clifton 10 has a reputation for being stylish. I know I personally see them not just at the gym, but the coffee shop, subway, and going out at night. Lyons-Quirk says it’s everywhere for good reason: “The drop changed from 5mm to 8mm to appeal to more everyday runners, it comes in more subdued colors for all day wear, and the fit has been perfected.”

With its distinctive chunky yet lightweight cushioning, the Clifton works well for runners seeking comfort that transitions seamlessly to casual wear.

Hoka Women’s Clifton 10

$159.99
at Amazon

$159.99
at Amazon

Hoka Men’s Clifton 10

$186.05
at Amazon

$205.00
Save $18.95

$186.05
at Amazon

$205.00
Save $18.95

Most reliable workhorse: New Balance Fresh Foam X 1080v14

For dedicated runners logging serious mileage, New Balance offers a dependable option in the Fresh Foam X 1080v14. Lyons-Quirk says it’s a shoe she always has in rotation: “If you’re running every day and logging miles, this is the shoe that makes those runs feel great!” The 1080v14 prioritizes durability and comfort throughout high-volume training.

New Balance Women’s Fresh Foam X 1080 V14

$164.95
at Amazon

$164.95
at Amazon

New Balance Men’s Fresh Foam X 1080 V14

$164.95
at Amazon

$164.95
at Amazon

Key features to consider before buying running shoes

As you’re shopping around and trying on new pairs, it helps to have some vocabulary on your side.

Cushioning level

Different runners prefer different amounts of cushioning. Some enjoy a more connected feel to the ground, while others want maximum impact protection. Most brands offer shoes across the cushioning spectrum.

Drop (aka heel-to-toe differential)

Drop, or “heel-toe drop,” refers to the height difference between the heel and forefoot of the shoe. Traditional running shoes typically have 8-12mm drops, while more minimal designs feature lower drops (0-4mm). The HOKA Clifton‘s recent shift from a 5mm to 8mm drop (which caused a good bit of buzz in the running world) means it has noticeably more cushioning and forgiveness if you tend to strike on your heels when you run.

Weight

Lighter shoes generally feel faster but may sacrifice durability or cushioning. Heavier shoes often provide more support and longevity but can feel cumbersome during speedwork.

Fit and width options

Many top brands offer their popular models in multiple widths (narrow, standard, wide, and extra-wide). Finding the right width is crucial for comfort and preventing issues like blisters and numbness.

The bottom line

Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned marathoner, the perfect running shoe exists for your unique needs. Rather than window shopping without a plan, you want to understand your foot type and considering factors like cushioning preferences and intended use, you can find shoes that will help you run comfortably, efficiently, and injury-free.

And remember, even the best running shoes have a limited lifespan. Most experts recommend replacing shoes every 300-500 miles; some signs that it’s time for new shoes include compressed cushioning, worn outsoles, and new aches and pains.

You’re going to constantly be injury-prone if you aren’t in the right shoe. Taking the time to find your perfect match is worth it.

Electronic Arts is laying off hundreds of workers and canceling a Titanfall game that was in development at its Respawn Entertainment subsidiary. From a report: Between 300 and 400 positions were eliminated, including around 100 at Respawn, according to a person familiar with the cuts. The company had about 13,700 employees at the end of March 2024.

“As part of our continued focus on our long-term strategic priorities, we’ve made select changes within our organization that more effectively aligns teams and allocates resources in service of driving future growth,” Justin Higgs, a spokesman for the Redwood City, California-based company, said in a statement.

The canceled project, code-named R7, was an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe, according to people familiar with its development. It was not close to being released.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

If your photo library lives across five devices and looks like digital chaos, Lightroom can help, and this $119.88 deal on a one-year Adobe Lightroom subscription gives you access to a full suite of tools that work just as well on a phone as on a desktop. The cloud-based platform comes with 1TB of storage, so even if you’re editing a vacation album on your tablet in transit, the edits sync seamlessly everywhere. You can start on your phone, tweak more on your laptop, and finish on your desktop—without exporting or juggling file versions.

Adobe’s AI additions make Lightroom feel smarter with features like Generative Remove, which lets you clean up background distractions with a click, and Lens Blur, which adds that soft, DSLR-style bokeh effect if your phone didn’t quite nail the depth. The new Quick Actions are especially helpful if you’re not looking to deep dive into sliders—Lightroom now suggests edits automatically, tailored to each photo. That said, it’s not just for beginners. Lightroom Classic still lives on for power users who need the old-school tools like Map or Develop modules for bulk editing or geotagging.

This subscription includes both the modern Lightroom and Lightroom Classic, which is a solid deal for anyone wanting flexibility. Just keep in mind the system requirements—macOS Ventura 13.1 or later, or Windows 10 and up—and it’s limited to one device at a time. Whether organizing decades’ worth of photos or just trying to make your social posts pop a little more, this bundle offers a streamlined way to edit, store, and sync everything. But this might feel like overkill if you don’t care about editing on mobile or prefer offline-only workflows. It’s built for the cloud, so you’ll want to be, too.

Duolingo is now phasing out contract workers as it switches to using artificial intelligence for some tasks, a move that’s part of the company going “AI-first”.

“AI isn’t just a productivity boost,” said Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn in a press release. “It helps us get closer to our mission.” From what von Ahn says, it sounds as though AI will be used to scale up content, build out the Duolingo codebase, and power features such as video calls with AI avatars.

If that reliance on AI leaves you a little cold—perhaps over concerns around ethics, energy use, copyright infringement, or accuracy—then one of the alternatives worth checking out is Mango Languages. You can usually access it for free through your local public library and other institutions such as schools, but if you can’t find a free option you’re eligible for, it costs from $12 a month (or less, if you pay a year at a time).

Getting started with Mango Languages

Even if you can’t get free access to Mango Languages through your library or another institution, you can try out a free lesson to see if it suits you, before having to pay (or even register an account). There are more than 70 languages to choose from, and your first task is to pick the one you’d like to start learning.

There’s a simple slide-based approach here, so you can move at your own pace and move backwards and forwards as you like. The app also tries to explain fundamentals about a language as you go, including the way that pronunciations might change as you put more words and phrases together, and the patterns of speech involved.

Credit: Lifehacker

You really do get to start with the basics, with straightforward lessons covering greetings and how to make yourself understood. Alongside vocabulary learning, Mango Languages also tries to get you to understand the grammar of the sentences you’re saying as you progress, and the goals of each lesson are set out ahead of time.

As well as being available on the web, Mango Languages also offers dedicated apps for Android and iOS, so you can learn on the go as well as when you’re sitting at a desk. There are the usual configuration settings you’d expect, including timings on the slides you see and whether or not you want each slide narrated to you.

Progressing with your language learning

As you move through the Mango Languages course, you can review your progress each day and go back to any previous lessons, as well as seeing what’s further ahead. You get tests on your reading, writing, speaking, and pronunciation, and there’s also the option to compare your speaking with that of a native speaker.

Something Mango Languages does well is provide little cultural notes to explain how different terms are used—essential if you don’t want to be offending any of the locals on your next vacation. The app also encourages critical thinking, and will sometimes ask you to work out how something should be said, rather than just telling you.

You get cultural notes to go with your language learning.
Credit: Lifehacker

Further down the line, you’ll come across special lessons too: For my chosen language of German, one of them is the annual booze-up that is Oktoberfest. These can help put your language learning into more context, so you’re learning about a country and its customs as well as the native tongue.

You get a clean interface, lots of flexibility, and an interesting mix of exercises and challenges to help you stay engaged with learning a language—which for most of us, isn’t an easy ask. Both the basics of vocabulary and the more advanced ways that words are put together are well-handled, and if you’re able to access it for free, so much the better.