A top United States regulator plans to unveil a faster approach to approving custom gene-editing treatments, a move designed to unleash a wave of industry investment that will yield cures for patients with rare diseases. From a report: Vinay Prasad, who oversees gene therapies at the Food and Drug Administration, said scientific advances, like Crispr, have forced the agency to relax some of its strict rules. As an example, he cited the case of 10-month-old KJ Muldoon, who this year became the first person in history to have his genes custom edited to cure an inherited disease.

“Regulation has to evolve as fast as science evolves,” Prasad said in an interview with Bloomberg News. The agency is “going to be extremely flexible and work very fast with the scientists who want to bring these therapies to kids who need it.” Prasad plans to publish a paper in early November outlining the FDA’s new approach. He predicted it will spark interest in developing treatments for conditions that may affect only a handful of people.

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When Hyundai’s E-GMP platform for electric vehicles arrived on the market, it cemented the Korean automaker’s place as one of the leaders of its industry. And in the absence of an influx of Chinese EVs, the Ioniq range of cars, crossovers, and SUVs is about as leading-edge as you’ll find in showrooms right now, particularly mainstream brands.

The first of the E-GMP cars was the Ioniq 5, which looks like a 1980’s hatch scaled up to the midsize crossover segment. Now made in the US, it has been a firm hit—and at the beginning of the month just got a hefty price cut, to boot. A midsized sedan followed, but these are a less common sight here given American car-buying tastes. Those tastes shaped the Ioniq 9, though.

The underlying technology might hail from Hyundai’s Namyang R&D center in South Korea, but the Ioniq 9 is the result of that technology expressed through the tastes of suburban America. Not so much the exterior styling, though. The hood is too low, the corners are more rounded, and it’s generally a less-threatening shape than the average domestic three-row SUV.

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Earlier this week, YouTube and Disney both warned YouTube TV subscribers that they might lose access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and FX, starting on Oct. 31. It’s probably not the Halloween treat you were looking for, but now that the end of the month has come, that’s exactly what’s happened: Right now, more than 20 of Disney’s channels have gone dark on YouTube TV.

Why did Disney pull its Channels from YouTube TV?

Not to be confused with YouTube Premium, YouTube TV is Google’s Live TV service—kind of like cable without the cable box. As such, it needs to pay content providers like Disney fees to offer their channels, and that sometimes means disputes arise over how high those fees should be. While neither company has given insight into specific numbers, the gist seems to be that Disney wants to raise its fees, and Google doesn’t want to pay up.

It’s a tough tightrope to walk. On Disney’s end, the company told Variety that it feels like it’s charging “fair rates,” and accused YouTube of potentially depriving its paying customers of channels they should rightfully be able to watch by not playing ball. On YouTube’s side of things, the company argued that paying Disney’s new rates would force it to “raise prices on YouTube TV.”

Throw in that Disney has its own Live TV service, Hulu + Live TV, and there’s also a potential anticompetitive angle at play, which Google was happy to point out, noting the proposed fee increase “directly harms our subscribers while benefiting their [Disney’s] own live TV products.”

Which Disney Channels Have Been Pulled From YouTube TV?

This isn’t the first time YouTube TV has had to negotiate fees with content providers, and it’s been able to avoid losing access to channels from the likes of Paramount, Fox Corp., and NBC Universal in the past. But with Disney negotiations falling through, this is one of the bigger losses of content YouTube TV subscribers have had to face in years. The full list of channels pulled from the service includes:

• ABC

• ESPN

• ESPN2

• ESPNU

• ESPNews

• Disney Channel

• Disney Junior

• DIsney XD

• Freeform

• FX

• FXX

• FXM

• SEC Network

• Nat Geo

• Nat Geo Wild

• ABC News Live

• ACC Network

• Localish

Additionally, if you’re on the YouTube TV Spanish plan, you’ve also lost access to the following channels:

• ESPN Deportes

• Baby TV Español

• Nat Geo Mundo

When will Disney’s channels come back to YouTube TV?

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the loss of Disney channels on YouTube TV probably isn’t permanent. A similar blackout happened in 2021, for similar reasons, and lasted less than a week.

That said, a direct timeline on restoring Disney’s content to YouTube TV isn’t yet available. In an update to its initial warning, YouTube said that Disney is “now following through on their threat,” and that “we continue to urge Disney to work with us constructively to reach a fair agreement that restores their networks to YouTube TV.” As before, the platform also promised subscribers a $20 credit if Disney content “remains off YouTube TV for an extended period of time,” though it’s currently unclear how long “an extended period of time” actually is. Notably, $20 is enough to subscribe to a month of the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN bundle with ads.

On Disney’s, end, a banner on the top of the Disney+ Help Center currently points users confused about losing access to the company’s channels to a site called keepmynetworks.com, which suggests other ways of accessing Disney’s TV content and urges disgruntled customers to reach out to YouTube directly, as well as post about the blackout on social media.

Other Live TV services that offer Disney Channels

While YouTube TV has lost access to Disney’s content for now, other services continue to offer it, including Disney’s own Hulu + Live TV. However, while Hulu + Live TV is cheaper than YouTube TV for the first three months ($64.99 vs. $72.99,) it is more expensive afterwards ($89.99 vs. $82.99).

Because the content blackout is likely to be temporary, a potential short-term fix might be the Sling Orange plan, which offers day passes for $5 a pop, and allows access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPN4K, Freeform, and Disney Channel.

Google Maps is testing a power saving mode in its latest Android beta release that strips the navigation interface to its bare essentials. The feature transforms the screen into a monochrome display and removes nearly all UI elements during navigation, according to AndroidAuthority.

Users discovered code strings in version 25.44.03.824313610 indicating the mode activates through the phone’s physical power button rather than through any in-app menu. The stripped-down interface eliminates standard map labels and appears to omit even the name of the upcoming street where drivers need to turn. The mode supports walking, driving, and two-wheeler directions but currently cannot be used in landscape orientation.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

As artificial intelligence drives the need for vastly more computing storage and processing power, interest in space-based data centers has spiked.

Although several startup companies, such as Starcloud, have begun to address this problem, the idea has also attracted the interest of tech barons. In May, it emerged that former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt acquired Relativity Space due to his interest in space-based data centers. Then, earlier this month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos predicted that gigawatt-scale data centers will be built in space within the next 10 to 20 years.

Now, Elon Musk, whose SpaceX owns and operates significantly more space-based infrastructure than any other company or country in the world, has also expressed interest in the technology.

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The esports partnership between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Saudi Arabia is no more. On Thursday, the IOC said that it and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee (SOPC) have “mutually agreed” to part ways. The breakup comes weeks after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and other investors bought EA for $55 billion.

The IOC and SOPC agreed on a 12-year esports partnership in 2024. At the time, the IOC was reportedly in talks with publishers of Rocket League, Street Fighter and League of Legends. The two sides discussed holding the Olympic Esports Games every two years. (The first games were initially scheduled for this year, but were pushed back to 2027.) Potential hosts for later installments were said to include South Korea and the US.

Instead, the two sides are now “committed to pursuing their own esports ambitions on separate paths,” according to the IOC. The organization now plans to “spread the opportunities presented by the Olympic Esports Games more widely.” It still wants the inaugural games to happen “as soon as possible.”

The AP notes that the dissolution comes seven months into Kristy Coventry’s IOC presidency. We don’t know the details of how the deal came apart. However, the IOC wants to connect with younger fans through esports, but in a way that “Olympic values are respected.” Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup features MOBAs, shooters and fighting games.

If the IOC wants to project a squeaky-clean image while connecting with young gamers, it may have an uphill battle. (For the record, games don’t lead to violence.)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-ioc-and-saudi-arabia-call-it-quits-on-their-olympic-esports-partnership-163148341.html?src=rss

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I look forward to the fall time change every year, because I have plans for that extra morning hour. Turning back the clock is a perfect opportunity to kick-start a morning routine, since you can get up an hour early without it feeling like you’re getting up an hour early. It’s a great way to lean into your winter arc.

We are, unfortunately, still doing the whole Daylight Saving Time thing. But I will take advantage of that fact while I can, because the fall time change gifts us with an extra hour in the morning (even if it is cruelly ripped from our evening routines). I’m not a morning person by nature, but my day always goes better when I get my workout in early, so I’m going to take that extra morning hour and use it for a workout instead of recalibrating my body clock to wake up later. I recommend all my fellow night owls do the same.

When to wake up if you’re taking advantage of the time change

I mean, you could use your extra hour to sleep in—take it if you need it. But personally, I’m going to set my alarm an hour earlier than I get up, starting this Sunday (Nov. 2, the first day of standard time for 2025). An hour is enough time for a simple strength workout, or for a short run and a quick shower before officially starting your day. I reserve one day a week for sleeping in, which for me is Saturday. On days I’m resting from exercise, I’ll still wake up on schedule but use my morning hour for something fun or relaxing, like reading a book.

If you want to fit a full workout in and need more time than the hour gives you, this is still a good way to soften the blow. For example, you can wake up 90 minutes earlier (according to the clock) with it only feeling 30 minutes earlier than usual (according to your circadian rhythms).

How to plan for morning workouts

On the first day you wake up “early,” things will be much as they always are. But now that you’re becoming a morning exerciser, you’ll have to come to terms with the winter darkness. It will creep in, sunrise getting a few minutes later each day, until your morning jog is, most likely, fully in the dark.

If you are running in the early mornings, definitely get yourself a light to help you see and be seen. I have a Petzl Tikkina, which I bought last year because Petzl has a reputation for reliability, and the Tikkina is one of their more affordable models. It’s worked great for me, so this year I will probably spring for the rechargeable battery that fits in place of its three AAA cells. The rechargeable is designed to work well even in cold conditions, which will come in handy. Also consider wearing bright colors, a reflective vest, or even something like the Noxgear Tracer to give you good visibility on the side of the road. I have a neon pink jacket that comes out on cold dark mornings.

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At the gym, be aware that the rhythm of the place will change. There will be a different group of regulars, and it may be more or less busy than you’re used to. But even if everything is the same, there’s something luxurious about being able to take your time, when normally you have to squeeze your last few exercises together and rush to work. Savor that extra hour.

Creative Labs, the maker of Sound Blaster audio cards, has launched a Kickstarter for a modular audio hub called Sound Blaster Re:Imagine. The universal hub, which is reminiscent of Elgato’s Stream Deck, is meant to allow routing from any input to any output with the press of a button. Users can connect their gaming consoles, PC and musical instruments to the Re:Imagine, as well as speakers, wired headsets and wireless headphones, transitioning seamlessly between them.

The system uses magnetic modules including a 3-inch smart screen, four-button pad, rotary knob and dual sliders that can all be rearranged on the base unit. The Horizon base with five slots is the default design for the Kickstarter project, with an expanded six-slot Vertex base listed as a stretch goal.

Re:Imagine sports an octa-core ARM processor with a small NPU, 8GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and is expandable thanks to a microSD card slot. The hub’s audio prowess is powered by a high-resolution 32-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The hub runs on Linux and can be used in a standalone setup, or as a PC-tethered audio hub.

The Re:Imagine also comes with an AI DJ that can generate music, a built-in DOS emulator for retro gaming, one-tap audio recording and more. The modular hub is also developer-friendly, with an included SDK and sample source code that encourage users to build their own custom apps and then share them with the Creative Labs community.

The Kickstarter campaign will run through December and lists an estimated shipping date of July 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/creative-labs-is-crowdfunding-a-modular-sound-blaster-audio-hub-161957129.html?src=rss

One reason to use the Task Manager in Windows is to see if any of the apps running on your computer are misbehaving or using a disproportionate amount of resources. But what do you do when the misbehaving app is the Task Manager itself?

After a recent Windows update, some users (including Windows Latest) noticed that closing the Task Manager window was actually failing to close the app, leaving the executable running in memory. More worryingly, each time you open the Task Manager, it spawns a new process on top of the old one, which you can repeat essentially infinitely (or until your PC buckles under the pressure).

Each instance of Task Manager takes up around 20MB of system RAM and hovers between 0 and 2 percent CPU usage—if you have just a handful of instances open, it’s unlikely that you’d notice much of a performance impact. But if you use Task Manager frequently or just go a long time between reboots, opening up two or three dozen copies of the process that are all intermittently using a fraction of your CPU can add up, leading to a potentially significant impact on performance and battery life.

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An anonymous reader shares a report: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) does not let people decline to be scanned by its new facial recognition app, which the agency uses to verify a person’s identity and their immigration status, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document obtained by 404 Media. The document also says any face photos taken by the app, called Mobile Fortify, will be stored for 15 years, including those of U.S. citizens.

The document provides new details about the technology behind Mobile Fortify, how the data it collects is processed and stored, and DHS’s rationale for using it. On Wednesday 404 Media reported that both ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are scanning peoples’ faces in the streets to verify citizenship.

“ICE does not provide the opportunity for individuals to decline or consent to the collection and use of biometric data/photograph collection,” the document, called a Privacy Threshold Analysis (PTA), says. A PTA is a document that DHS creates in the process of deploying new technology or updating existing capabilities. It is supposed to be used by DHS’s internal privacy offices to determine and describe the privacy risks of a certain piece of tech. “CBP and ICE Privacy are jointly submitting this new mobile app PTA for the ICE Mobile Fortify Mobile App (Mobile Fortify app), a mobile application developed by CBP and made accessible to ICE agents and officers operating in the field,” the document, dated February, reads. 404 Media obtained the document (which you can see here) via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with CBP.

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Sora, OpenAI’s short-form AI video generator, has been out for just about a month now, and already, it’s helping to spread disinformation on social media. Accounts share Sora generations without any transparency, sometimes with the Sora watermark removed, and while shrewd observers see through the AI, many people scrolling by don’t think twice and believe things happened that didn’t. That could be as innocuous as Jake Paul putting on makeup, or as dangerous as a fake interview meant to manipulate viewers towards a political bias. It’s getting scary out there.

So far, for the free model, Sora has capped video generations at 30 per day. If you pay for the Pro model, you get 100 generations a day. But if you’re using Sora free of charge, once you produce your 30th video, you aren’t able to make any more. I see that as a good thing, myself: 30 hyper-realistic AI videos a day per user is already way too high.

OpenAI, unfortunately, isn’t consulting me—and Sora now allows users to pay for extra generations once they’ve reached the free limit. Bill Peebles, head of Sora, announced the change in a Thursday post on X. Peebles said the company has been “amazed” by the demand from “power users,” but, as it stands, “the economics are currently completely unsustainable.” According to Peebles, the Sora team thought 30 free generations per day would suffice, but that hasn’t been the case. By offering users the chance to pay for additional generations, OpenAI plans to start pulling in extra revenue from its popular short-form AI video generator.

Peebles also believes that the company will generate future funds from a “new Sora economy.” That would include two parts: rights holders charging users a fee to cameo their characters or real-life people, as well as creators earning money from the videos they post. If you don’t plan on paying for Sora generations, though, there’s some “bad” news: Peebles says the company will bring the number of free generations down as the platforms grows, as the company doesn’t have enough GPUs to manage the demand.

As reported by The Verge, you’ll be able to purchase 10 additional video generations for $4 a pop—though the actual credits each video takes may depend on many different factors. When you reach your limit, the app will let you buy more through the App Store (Sora is currently iOS-only). Those credits will expire after 12 months, which I imagine will be plenty of time for someone making Sora videos. You can also transfer them to use on Codex, OpenAI’s coding platform.

I personally see Sora’s exponential growth as a bad thing. I get the finances: OpenAI is now operating like a for-profit company, and needs to pull in revenue. But OpenAI, along with other AI companies, is blatantly ignoring the deepfake disinformation machine these products have become. The more the company pushes users to generate with Sora, the more realistic AI slop we’ll encounter in our feeds.