adhdeanasl@beige.party ("đADHDean Festive Editionđ") wrote:
Mastodon is my favorite place to find locally sourced, ethically harvested, renewable, hand-curated, small batch disdain.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
2025: Curation & Consilidation: https://micro.fromjason.xyz/2024/12/18/curation-consilidation.html
Meyerweb ("Eric A. Meyer") wrote:
âTis once again the season to hold this timeless holiday message close to our hearts.
Attachments:
MostlyHarmless@thecanadian.social wrote:
Attachments:
There's A Teaser Trailer For The Teaser Trailer For Superman
In our cynical timeline, hype is no longer something thatâs generated organically on the basis of mass enthusiasm but rather something, we are instructed, that we already feel. So it is that tomorrowâs teaser trailer for the upcoming James Gunn-led relaunch of the DC cinematic universe, Superman, has just received itsâŚ
claytoncubitt.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy ("Clayton Cubitt") wrote:
Democrats fighting leftists/ Democrats fighting Republicans
Attachments:
Supreme Court takes up South Carolina's effort to defund Planned Parenthood
The state cut off funding to Planned Parenthood because it provided non-abortion services to Medicaid patients.
The bald eagle isn't actually America's national bird â but that's poised to change
After learning the U.S. doesn't officially recognize the bald eagle as its national bird, a Minnesota man swooped in. This week the House passed his bill, which now heads to Biden's desk.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
openwebdocs@front-end.social ("Open Web Docs") wrote:
Learn about XSS for XMAS!
We created a new MDN page about Cross-site scripting: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security/Attacks/XSS
It was a rough year for robotaxis â but not for Waymo
Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images
While its rivals have been stuck in perpetual testing or forced to shut down completely due to dry coffers, Waymo has quietly amassed a legitimate robotaxi business that continues to grow and evolve. And today, it showed off a few numbers that underscore just how far ahead of the rest of the industry it is.
Chief among those is the number 4 million, which is how many driverless rides the company provided in the three cities in which it operates: Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Waymo says it has provided a total of 5 million driverless rides in its three key markets, which means nearly all of its growth took place this year alone.
Waymoâs service area is small but growing â the company says that it services 500 square miles cumulatively across all three of its main cities, as well as Austin, where it is still operating with a waitlist. The company plans to launch in Atlanta and Miami and recently said it would test its vehicles in Japan.
Four million driverless trips in 2024
Waymo riders spent a cumulative 11 million hours in the companyâs autonomous vehicles. And since switching over to electric vehicles only, Waymo has helped avoid over 6 million kilograms of CO2 emissions. (Assuming an avoided emissions rate of 237g / passenger mile, vehicle occupancy of 1.5 passengers, and average trip length of 4.1 miles.)
Today, every Waymo customer will receive their own personalized Year in Review through the companyâs Waymo One app. Think of it as a Spotify Wrapped for fully driverless vehicles. Theyâll see their own stats, including miles traveled, emissions avoided, favorite destinations, and more.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25794790/Waymo_YIR_UX.jpg)
The most popular destinations in each city this year were Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, the Ferry Building in San Francisco, and The Grove shopping center in LA. The company only started providing 24/7 service to Phoenixâs airport in August 2024, so its ranking as the top destination in that city just goes to show how important airport service will be for the company.
The fact that Waymo has facilitated 4 million trips in three cities, while only serving one airport, is pretty amazing and could speak to the companyâs future prospects as its technology continues to mature. Airports are a major source of revenue for human-powered ridehail companies like Uber and Lyft.
But Waymo is also facing an uncertain future with mounting regulatory and financial pressures. Tariffs on Chinese vehicles and software could stymie its growth plans. President-elect Donald Trump is said to want a regulatory framework for AVs â whatever that means. But lowering costs is going to be increasingly important for Waymo as it looks to expand to new cities.
Waymo is also facing an uncertain future with mounting regulatory and financial pressures
Alphabet doesnât break out Waymoâs costs in its earnings report, but its âOther Betsâ unit, which includes the robotaxi company, brought in $388 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2024, up from $297 million a year ago. And the unitâs losses decreased slightly to $1.12 billion from $1.94 billion in the year-earlier period. Alphabet recently led a $5.6 billion funding round for Waymo to help it cover costs as it eyes its next phase of growth.
As it grows, pricing will become a bigger challenge. So far, Waymo has settled into the âpremiumâ tier of ridehail services like Uber Black. Those retrofitted Jaguar I-Pace vehicles cost a lot to equip with all the sensors and hardware that help them navigate the roads autonomously. And the 175,000 trips a week that Waymo is doing arenât nearly enough to recoup those costs.
Another challenge will be expanding the types of service it provides. Right now, itâs only providing trips to one airport, in Phoenix. It will need to expand in its current and future markets if it wants to remain a viable mobility option. And it will need to get more comfortable riding on the highway, which it only does in limited cases.
Safety is also a big hurdle. While Waymo has published a number of studies that indicate its vehicles are safer than human drivers, there are still a lot of lingering questions around passenger safety. Waymo vehicles have been targeted for harassment and vandalism. And they have occasionally come into conflict with emergency vehicles.
But Waymo has novelty on its side â and its customers often give it high marks for the ability to customize their rides, such as playing their own music and setting the temperature to their liking. It may be enough to propel the company to another huge year in 2025.
Viewers watched 20.35 billion hours on Twitch in 2024. 'Stream Big' explores why
According to the Twitch 2024 community recap, viewers watched 20.35 billion hours on the live-streaming service. A forthcoming book explains why.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
Jamelle Bouie: âEither democracy was on the ballot in November, or it wasnât, and if it was, it makes no political, ethical or strategic sense to act as if we live in normal times.â 100,000%!! This is driving me *nuts*. Dem pols: fight or piss off. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/opinion/democrats-trump-opposition.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iU4.fXzt.xNNqTSiwCocp
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
Meyerweb ("Eric A. Meyer") wrote:
Of late, Bluesky feels like the blacklights-and-bass opening night party at a trade show, while Mastodon feels like hanging out with colleagues in the hallway track of a smallish tech conference.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
janetlogan@mas.to ("Janet Logan (she/her) đłď¸ââ§ď¸") wrote:
For all you cis folks. Feel free to boost.
Attachments:
The Naughtiest And Nicest Christmas Movies, Based On Blood, Joy, And F-Bombs
Just because a movie is set during Christmas doesnât mean itâs a good Christmas movie. Some movies simply use Christmas as a sort of emotional backdrop for their naughty deeds. Meanwhile, other movies use the holiday as a narrative device meant to highlight a characterâs road to redemption and triumph with a feelingâŚ
Scientists know our bodies are full of microplastics. What are they doing to us?
Plastic particles are found in our organs, blood and even semen. But do they stay in us forever? What damage are they doing? Here are 6 questions scientists are trying to answer
The New Jersey drone hysteria exposes one salient truth: no one knows anything
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? | Image: Getty
Okay, I get it, weâre all sick of the drones. I went to two holiday parties over the weekend in the New Jersey suburbs, and it was all anyone wanted to talk about. The news coverage has been breathless, all-consuming, and most importantly, completely unhinged.
No one knows anything. The cops donât know anything. The feds sure donât sound like they know anything. Sure, everyone has a theory. Depending on where you fall on the DSM-5 spectrum for conspiracy-addled nonsense, they could be a few DJI Mavic enthusiasts having a laugh, a bunch of small planes, or a full-on alien invasion of our nationâs most consequential state.
But the people who are supposed to know things â the ones whose jobs are to have access to all the technology and equipment afforded by bloated law enforcement budgets, the ones who have security clearance and subpoena power and all the various trappings of authority that the vast majority of us can only dream of â donât know shit. Actually, itâs worse than that: they think they know shit, and they are willing to confidently stand before the public and say as much, even when they actually donât know shit.
Here are the best examples I could find of current and former elected leaders and government officials spouting utterly deranged nonsense about the drone sightings.
Jeff Van Drew
What weâve uncovered is alarmingâdrones flying in from the direction of the ocean, possibly linked to a missing Iranian mothership.
This is a national security crisis we cannot ignore.
Bring them down now. pic.twitter.com/YicWkcoJR1
â Congressman Jeff Van Drew (@Congressman_JVD) December 11, 2024
Jeff Van Drew is a member of Congress from New Jersey, where the bulk of the sightings have taken place. Heâs also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, which entitles him to high-level security briefings. He should know shit! But alas, he does not, as evidenced by his completely factless musings about the drones coming from an âIranian mothershipâ anchored off the Jersey Shore.
âIâm going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mothership that contains these drones,â Van Drew told Fox News. âItâs off the East Coast of the United States of America. Theyâve launched drones.â
When someone says theyâre going to âtell you the real deal,â you know youâre about to get body-slammed with some grade-A horsepucky.
The Pentagon denied this, but Van Drew doubled down, slamming defense department officials for treating us like weâre âstupidâ and withholding information about the drones. And fearing that his fearmongering about Iran was insufficiently fearful, he broadened the scope to include âChinaâ and âsomebody else.â
Literally one day later, he walked the whole thing back in a tersely worded statement. (No Fox News appearances for embarrassing mea culpas, I guess.) He acknowledged that the Iranian mothership he previously said on national television was off the coast of the United States was actually â get this â still in Iran.
âThis new information only brings us closer to figuring out what is really going on,â Van Drew said. Yes, congressman, thank you for your service.
Larry Hogan
Last night, beginning at around 9:45 pm, I personally witnessed (and videoed) what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky above my residence in Davidsonville, Maryland (25 miles from our nationâs capital). I observed the activity for approximately 45 minutes.
Like⌠pic.twitter.com/Ipx8ctLmhs
â Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) December 13, 2024
The drone sightings hysteria has been a golden opportunity for politicians who like to get their hands dirty. If he was still in office, you could picture ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in some flight tower, wearing a parka and a headset, operating the radar equipment himself.
Instead, weâve got grainy iPhone footage from former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who claims he âpersonally witnessed (and videoed)â several large drones hovering over his home. See! Itâs not just New Jersey! Maryland has unexplained phenomena, too.
I mean, sure, some of the lights Hogan spotted were just the constellation Orion, according to a community guidelines note appended to his tweet. And the stars Sirius and Procyon. But hey, at least he got some fresh air.
âLike many who have observed these drones, I do not know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to public safety or national security,â he said on X. (Last week, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said that âmany of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfullyâ and werenât a threat to public safety.)
Michael Melham
Belleville Mayor Michael Melham wasnât going to let this opportunity pass. As mayor of a relatively small New Jersey suburb (population approximately 35,000), he knew he needed to use his preciously allotted five minutes on Fox 5 to say something that was going to get him noticed and generate some content. He needed to up the stakes.
What if the drones were looking to steal our nuclear secrets?
What if the drones were looking to steal our nuclear secrets?
âWhat might they be looking for,â Melham mused. âWell, potentially, weâre aware of a threat that came into Port Newark. Maybe thatâs radioactive material. There was, and there is, an alert thatâs out right now that radioactive material in New Jersey has gone missing, on December 2nd.â
First of all, Melhamâs not technically wrong. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission did say some radioactive material went missing in a recent alert. But itâs missing some important context, namely that said material is cancer screening equipment used to calibrate PET scanners. And the amount in question was âunlikely to cause permanent injury.â Not exactly the nuclear codes!
Donald Trump
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2024
It kind of feels like President-elect Donald Trump is the only one having fun with the drone sightings. In addition to trolling one of his favorite whipping boys, ex-NJ Governor Chris Christie, Trump is also totally in his element when he gets to spout inane bullshit about something on which nobody can agree whatâs real and whatâs not.
First, he said he was canceling his trip to his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, because drones were spotted there. (The Federal Aviation Administration had already issued temporary flight restrictions prohibiting drone flights over Bedminster as well as above the Picatinny Arsenal, a military installation.) He claimed, without evidence, that the military knew where the drones âtook off from.â And in a social media post, he urged people to âshoot them down!!!â
Shooting in the air is a bad idea!
Shooting in the air is a bad idea! Especially in densely populated areas like New Jersey. Do not listen to this man.
I guess maybe thatâs been the key takeaway to all this drone silliness. Do not listen to any of these people. Sure, they have official-sounding titles â congressman, mayor, president! â but really, theyâre just like us. They donât know shit, but theyâre happy to pretend that they do. They look up in the sky and they see a few lights, and suddenly, theyâre like one of those uncontacted Amazonian tribes that has never witnessed modern technology.
The FBI, Pentagon, Homeland Security, and FAA released a joint statement yesterday that essentially throws a bucket of cold water on all the speculation. Their assessment: âa combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.â
In other words, exactly what you would expect when you look up at night in a densely populated area in the year 2024. The most boring answer is usually the one thatâs most likely to be right.
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
fkamiah17@syzito.xyz ("MiniMia đ´ó §ó ˘ó ˇó Źó łó ż đľđ¸") wrote:
Status update
Attachments:
- A short animation where everything is tiny and made of felt. A kettle is boiling on a stove. A hand reaches out to turn it off and pours the water into a red and black check hot water bottle. A yellow and black check table lamp is switched on. It's standing in front of a book case full of multicoloured books. A fire is lit in the fireplace. On the mantelpiece are two photographs and a pot plant. A cup of tea is placed on a table next to a blue and white check sofa. (remote)
Create The Perfect Monster-Slaying Mercenary in Path of Exile 2 With These Starting Skills
Path of Exile 2 is a proper sequel, complete with an entirely new storyline, more than 100 bosses to defeat, and around 600 unique enemies to face as you rapidly clear zones. But most importantly, it features a handful of new classes, like the Mercenary, that prove exceptional for clearing content, especially forâŚ
Flipboardâs Surf app is a big new idea about the future of social
Surfâs homepage is just feeds. Itâs feeds all the way down. | Image: David Pierce / Flipboard
Mike McCue, the CEO of Flipboard and an internet entrepreneur since the Netscape days, is a true believer in the fediverse. He doesnât love the word: heâd much rather call it âthe social web.â But whatever you want to call the open, decentralized, interconnected social networking experience that apps like Mastodon and Bluesky promise, McCue is absolutely convinced itâs the future.
For the last year or so, McCue and his team have been completely overhauling the Flipboard platform to make it a part of the social web. Once the change is done, Flipboard will be a fully decentralized way to discover and read stuff from across the internet. The process seems to be going fine, though it doesnât seem poised to take over the fediverse the way Threads could if it fully opened up.
At the same time, though, the Flipboard team has been working on something even bigger. That something is an app called Surf (not to be confused with the other recently launched Surf), which McCue called âthe worldâs first browser for the social web.â He first said that to me a little over a year ago, when Surf was mostly just a bunch of mock-ups and a slide deck. Now, the app has been in beta for the last few months â Iâve been using it most of that time â and a public beta is launching today. Not everyone can get in; McCue says he wants to bring in some curators and creators first, in order for there to be lots of stuff in Surf when everyone else gets access. And he promises thatâs coming soon.
But wait, sorry, back to the whole âbrowser for the social webâ thing. McCueâs best explanation of Surfâs big theory is this: in a decentralized social world, the internet will be less about websites and more about feeds. âYou wonât put in, like, theverge.com and go to the website for The Verge, but you can put in âthe vergeâ and go to the ActivityPub feed for The Verge.â Your Threads timeline is a feed; every Bluesky Starter Pack is a feed; every creator you follow is just producing a feed of content.
Surfâs job, in that world, is to help you discover and explore all those feeds. The app can see three kinds of feeds: anything from ActivityPub, which means things like Mastodon and Threads and Pixelfed; anything from AT Protocol, which means Bluesky; and any RSS feed. You can search for feeds by topic, publisher, or creator; you can curate your own feeds by combining other feeds. And then you can share those feeds, which other people can combine and recombine. Itâs all a little confusing. Just imagine a nicely designed, vertically scrolling feed, somewhere between a Twitter timeline and the Apple Newshomepage.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25795834/Flipboard_content.jpg)
Image: David Pierce / Surf
You can have any kind of content in Surf â which means the app has to be good at absolutely everything.
A feed can be made up of almost any kind of content, which presents a tricky design problem for Surf. It has to be equally adept as a social network, a news app, a video platform, and a podcast player. Combining all that stuff into one place isnât just the goal; itâs the whole point. And itâs very hard to do all of those things well.
Personally, the most eye-opening moment in my time testing Surf has been the way the app lets you automatically filter a feed. I set up a feed thatâs just all my favorite stuff: my go-to podcasts, must-read blogs, a couple of canât-miss YouTube channels, and my favorite folks on Bluesky. I can open that feed and see everything, in order, no matter what it is or who it came from. But I can also filter it to just show all the videos in the feed or tap on âListenâ to turn it into a podcast queue.
Surf isnât yet a full-featured app for any of these uses, much less all of them, but itâs already a pretty useful app for all kinds of media. It presents videos like an endlessly scrolling TikTok feed, which is actually a pretty fun way to flip through a YouTube channel. Posts with links are formatted like news stories, with big images and headlines. Itâs not a particularly dense timeline-scrolling experience, either â the whole thing is more like Flipboardâs flippy magazines than the For You pages weâre used to.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25795829/Surf_NBA_Threads.jpg)
Because itâs trying to compile a bunch of disparate platforms into one, search can be messy â I found five profiles with my name and picture, for instance, and itâs not obvious which one is the one youâre looking for. Surf is also designed to be interactive, but right now, that pretty much only works if youâre a Mastodon user liking Mastodon posts. For most other things, itâs either kind of broken or entirely broken. For now, and probably for a while, Surf is going to be much better as a consumption tool than a social one.
McCue sees the social web as the beginning of an entirely new internet. He even uses old-web metaphors to explain these early products: the current era weâre in is like AOL back in the day, âa walled garden that contained all the innovation in the walled gardenâ; Surf is like old-school Yahoo, âa collection of feeds that other people have made.â He wants to enable paid feeds, so publishers, creators, and curators can make money on the platform. He has big ideas about custom designs for feeds, so they can look more like homepages.
Thereâs an awful lot left to build â not to mention a lot of protocols and tools left to convince all the internetâs platforms and publishers to work with. But Iâve been talking to McCue about this for two years now, and his conviction and optimism havenât wavered a bit. When I tell him that I definitely wavered â that I was once all in on ActivityPub as the future but am worried seeing Bluesky grow on another protocol and hearing some of the issues Threads and others are having with ActivityPub â he just laughs. One, he says, thatâs how it always goes in these early phases. Two, thatâs what Surf is meant to fix.
To prove his point, McCue opens up a feed full of basketball content, created by David Rushing. Rushing was a big figure in early NBA Threads, a community that has splintered thanks to some of Threadsâ moderation and community policies. Now, people are posting with #nbathreads on Bluesky and elsewhere, too. Itâs messy. But Surf, McCue says, can bring it back together. He starts scrolling Rushingâs custom feed: âYouâre seeing Bluesky posts, Mastodon posts, Threads posts, Flipboard posts, anything with the hashtag #nbathreads across the whole social web. If you post a podcast, if you post a YouTube video, anything with the hashtag #nbathreads, itâll show up in this feed.â Rushing can add or remove individual posts or even use Flipboardâs filtering systems to get rid of anything that feels political, mentions gambling, or whatever else he wants to do.
McCue is practically giddy as he scrolls through all this basketball content. This is the whole thing, right here. âUltimately,â he says, âyouâre just not going to care whether something is on Threads â I donât write you a separate kind of email because youâre on Gmail, right?â People will use lots of apps, there will be lots of communities, and thatâs good. âThere are nerds on Bluesky, there are nerds on Threads. How can all the nerds gather together?â Thatâs the question for the fediverse â sorry, the social web â and Surf looks like it might be the best answer anyoneâs come up with so far.
Supreme Court will hear TikTok ban arguments in January
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on whether a bill that could ban TikTok violates the First Amendment. The arguments will take place on January 10th, just over a week before a potential ban could take effect.
While the outcome is far from guaranteed, SCOTUSâ decision to take up the case is a small win for TikTok, which is barreling toward expulsion from the US unless the court throws out or pauses the law, or its China-based parent company ByteDance agrees to sell it in time. The law at the center of the case, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, seeks to prohibit apps like TikTok from being owned by companies in a set list of foreign adversary countries.
The Department of Justice successfully defended the law as constitutional before the DC Circuit Court of Appeals by arguing the government had a compelling interest in protecting US national security from foreign influence. Congress voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill after classified briefings in which intelligence officials shared concerns over how China could potentially use the app to exert influence over the kinds of content US users see, and potentially access sensitive data â though publicly, the government has not come forward with declassified information showing such dangers are already happening.
The arguments before the Supreme Court will consolidate two cases against the law, from both TikTok and a group of creators on the platform. The parties will get a total of two hours to make their cases. The court said it would defer a decision on whether to halt the law until after the oral arguments. The lower court had declined to stop the law from taking effect pending the Supreme Courtâs review.
TikTok filed for an emergency injunction to the Supreme Court just two days ago. That same day, CEO Shou Zi Chew was set to meet with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Trump, who has noted his success on TikTok in the campaign, at one point seemingly promised to save the app, although his more recent comments post-election make it less clear how exactly heâd plan to do that. The deadline for the ban â unless the court stops it â is the day before Trumpâs inauguration. The president has discretion to extend the deadline 90 days, though one big remaining question is whether China would even agree to let ByteDance sell the app.
Reblogged by bcantrill ("Bryan Cantrill"):
Last night @pfrazee.com joined @bcantrill, me, and the Oxide Friends to talk about the inner workings of @bsky.app and the AT Protocol. From Scuttlebutt to Firehose and the ill-fated Scenes, lots of inside baseball!
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
Behind The Bastards released their P. Diddy episode. https://pod.link/1373812661
Roku snaps up X Games streaming rights
Skateboarder Carlos Ribeiro during X Games Ventura 2024. | Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Roku got the exclusive US streaming rights to next yearâs X Games Aspen and a âsoon-to-be-announcedâ X Games event in the summer, the company announced on Wednesday. Both events will air on Rokuâs free 24/7 sports channel as the service continues its push into live sports.
Though the X Games were founded by ESPN in the â90s, the sports network sold majority ownership to MSP Sports in 2022. Since then, the X Games have streamed on various platforms, including YouTube, Twitch, ESPN, ABC, and the VR app Xtadium.
But now, X Games Aspen will appear on the Roku Sports Channel, a newly launched hub for Rokuâs live Sunday MLB games, Formula E races, and other sports-related content. This channel lives within the overarching Roku Channel that comes pre-installed on most Roku devices and is also available on the web, as well as an app on third-party smart TVs and mobile phones.
Additionally, Roku launched a free ad-supported streaming TV channel dedicated to the X Games, which will air âprogramming highlights, clips, interviews, archival content, and moreâ leading up to the event. X Games Aspen takes place from January 23rd to the 25th, with more details to come on an âadditionalâ X Games coming this summer.
Roku is just one of many streaming platforms getting into sports, with Netflix airing live NFL games on Christmas Day, Max launching a live sports add-on, and Amazon Prime Video picking up streaming rights to NBA games. Even the tournament series Street League Skateboarding signed a deal with the right-wing streaming platform Rumble.
You don't look a day over 4.35 billion! Here's the moon's anti-aging secret
Early interactions with the Earth may have heated up the Moon and caused it to remelt, producing new lunar rocks and erasing old craters.
Sonic 3 Reviews Make It Sound Very Messy But Still Lots Of Fun
Sonic 3 arrives in theaters on December 19 (watch out for the leaked post-credits reveal) and seems like what youâd expect from a star-studded, blockbuster adaptation of a classic gaming franchise that straddles the divide between traditional family movie and faithful blue blur fanservice. Itâs the biggest movie yetâŚ
Marvel Rivals Streamer Finds The Most Hilarious Use For Doctor Strangeâs Portal Yet
Doctor Strangeâs portalâa skill that lets the sorcerer create a pathway between any two points on the mapâis one of the most useful abilities in Marvel Rivals. Players have used it to set up game-changing plays like giving teammates a shortcut into the enemy backline, or sending foes falling to their deaths by puttingâŚ
Here's How To Enjoy Pokemon TCG Pocket Without Spending A Dime
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is the hottest Pokemon-related thing to come out this year. That said, it is also very much a gacha game, which means that it is built to compel you to drop potentially hundreds, or even thousands of dollars into the game to complete your digital collection. How is anyone determined toâŚ
Trumpâs Billionaire Cabinet Is Unprecedented
Letâs just get it out of the way upfront: Donald Trump is assembling a government of billionaires, the likes of which the United States has never seen. The president-elect has tapped five reported billionaires for cabinet posts: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for interior secretary, hedge funder Scott Bessent for treasury secretary, Cantor Fitzgerald chief [âŚ]
Tech antitrust is about to get really weird
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
President-elect Donald Trumpâs second term is a regulatory wild card hanging over Big Tech.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
18 million weird old books are waiting for you in this free online archive - Boing Boing:
"McIlvaineâs 800+ page book is just one gem among millions in HathiTrust, a massive digital library that lets you freely browse over 18 million scanned books. Want to explore Victorian ghost stories, leaf through 1850s cookbooks, or discover long-forgotten travel guides? Itâs all there, minus the dust allergies of traditional rare book ... https://micro.fromjason.xyz/2024/12/18/million-weird-old.html
8 great games for your Steam Deck
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
2024 was filled with excellent portable PC games.
Alphabetâs Wing will deliver DoorDash by drone in Dallas-Fort Worth
Image: Wing
Wing, a subsidiary of Googleâs parent company Alphabet, is expanding its drone delivery service to DoorDash customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Starting today, 50 merchants from malls in Frisco and Fort Worth will be available for drone delivery through the DoorDash app, dropping meals and items to homes âin as little as 15 minutes,â according to Wing.
The drones can fly at up to 65mph and reach a cruising height of about 150 feet before stopping to hover and safely lower orders to the ground at their delivery destinations. DoorDash customers will need an âeligible addressâ in Dallas-Fort Worth for the drone delivery option to appear on the checkout page. Locals can check the Wing website to see if they qualify.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25795786/Wing_DoorDash_checkout.jpg)
Image: DoorDash / Wing
This option will only appear at the DoorDash checkout if the order is being delivered within the service catchment area.
Wing says the company has now completed more than 400,000 commercial deliveries worldwide following its first US pilot in 2019. The Alphabet drone service trialed similar DoorDash partnerships in Australia and Christiansburg, Virginia, though the latter was limited to delivering Wendyâs.
This isnât the first service Wing has introduced to Dallas-Fort Worth, having previously teamed up with Walgreens to airdrop local deliveries. Walmart also operates its own drone delivery program in the area via partnerships with Wing and Zipline.
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers đŚ") wrote:
Ladies & Gentlemen, I give youâŚthe Democratic Party!
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/18/the-democratic-party-will-never-change/
Attachments:
Corruption Is About to Get Worse, Thanks to the Supreme Court
Itâs an open question how well American democracy will withstand a second Trump presidency. Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to weaponize the government to prosecute his perceived political enemies, making politicization of the Justice Department worry Number One. The fact that heâs put forward an FBI director, Kash Patel, who has already drawn up a [âŚ]
Seagate is getting ready to launch its first high-capacity HAMR hard drive
Image: Seagate
Itâs been more than two decades since Seagate began working on heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) â and now the company may finally be ready to release a hard drive using the technology. A new product page spotted by Tomâs Hardware shows an Exos M hard drive sporting up to 32TB of storage using Seagateâs Mozaic 3 Plus HAMR platform.
Seagateâs Mozaic 3 Plus technology allows for bigger hard drive capacities by making data bits smaller and closer together on each disk. To write data, a laser diode attached to the driveâs recording heads heats small areas of the disk. âEach bit is heated and cools down in a nanosecond, so the HAMR laser has no impact at all on drive temperature, or on the temperature, stability, or reliability of the media overall,â Seagate writes on its website.
Seagate says its Exos M hard drive has a 3TB per platter density, making it useful for enterprise applications like powering AI systems. We still donât know when Seagate could release its Exos M hard drive, as its product page currently shows a link to âStay Informed,â but a launch seems imminent.
As pointed out by Tomâs Guide, Seagate said in a filing earlier this month that it had âsuccessfully completed qualification testingâ for its HAMR hard drives with âseveral customers within the Mass Capacity markets, including a leading cloud service provider.â It says it will start shipping its HAMR-based hard drive to the unnamed cloud provider in the âcoming weeks.â
The Verge reached out to Seagate with a request for more information but didnât immediately hear back.
Seagate isnât the only company working on high-capacity hard drives. In October, Western Digital launched a 32TB hard drive using energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR), while Toshiba recently demonstrated high-capacity hard drives with HAMR and microwave-assisted magnetic recording (MAMR).
AI Will Crash Your PC Gaming Framerates In Nvidia's New App
Nvidia recently updated some of its clutter of PC apps, including the GPU-controlling GeForce Experience, to a single Nvidia App. And while that makes for fewer icons in your system tray, it seems the new programâs AI features are potentially harming your gaming framerates.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Dec 18, 1952
Georgia Gov. Herman E. Talmadge declares "he would sooner end public education in Georgia than allow Black children to attend school with white children."
LG will bring its wireless TV tech to Mini LED models in 2025
Image: LG
Often at CES, youâll see a very impressive new technology debut at exorbitant prices before trickling down to more affordable models a couple years later. Lo and behold, thatâs exactly what weâre seeing with LG and its Zero Connect Box. We got our first look at it with the M Series OLED in 2023. Now the company is bringing that Zero Connect Box, which beams audio and video to the TV panel, to one model of its still-terribly-named QNED Evo Mini LED lineup.
The box can transmit 4K video at up to 144Hz, and by all accounts from reviews last year, it works as advertised and poses no issues for gaming. The only cable that runs to the TV screen itself is the power cable.
LG says the QNED Evo series is also ditching quantum dots this year for a âproprietary wide color gamut technology, Dynamic QNED Color Solutionâ that supposedly produces âpure colors that are as realistic as they appear to the eye in general life.â
Unfortunately, I predict weâre going to see a lot of hype about AI on TVs at CES 2025 â even more than usual â and LG is already backing up my theory. Itâs even putting a new AI button right on the Magic Remote for this yearâs TVs. In whatâs destined to be a controversial decision, the AI button actually takes the place of the traditional inputs button:
A short press on the AI button guides users to relevant keywords and TV features, while a long press enables personalized searches based on a large language model (LLM4). For example, if a user is planning a trip to France, they can ask their remote, âRecommend movies to watch on my trip to Paris.â The AI will understand the context and suggest movies set in the French capital, including specific genre recommendations based on the userâs viewing preferences.
Do people actually want this functionality from their TV? I digress. LG claims AI will also allow for more advanced upscaling, more fine-tuned HDR, and the conversion of two-channel stereo sources to a virtualized 9.1.2-channel sound output. LG claims its new AI tricks can also better distinguish voices from background noise â a challenge that TV makers never seem finished addressing â and make them clearer.
LG hasnât yet shared pricing or a release timeframe for the 2025 QNED Evo lineup. But again, this is how CES TV announcements always go. You hear about the flashy new tech and better-than-ever picture quality months before learning how much itâll cost you. The Verge will be in Las Vegas in just a few short weeks for the show, so you can at least count on some first-hand impressions of LGâs latest TVs.
Delta Force, As Told By Steam Reviews
It seems like every year or two, we have a new âBattlefield-killerâ storming the market in the hopes of gaining a following within the large-scale first-person shooter market. Following the absolute disaster of Battlefield 2042, thereâs a pretty large hole to fill. But is Delta Forceâthe free-to-play first-personâŚ
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers đŚ") wrote:
Imagine if, in the future, a Xian apologist invents an argument for a god's existence that isn't stupid.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/18/a-novel-xian-argument/
Death of a Unicornâs first trailer brings a fairytale creature into a dark comedy
Image: A24
A24âs lineup of films for 2025 is starting to become stacked â with fantastical creatures, that is. While the fantasy adventure The Legend of Ochi is slated to hit theaters next February, the dark comedy Death of a Unicorn is due out in the spring. And you can get a feel for it in the brand-new trailer above.
The film follows a father and daughter (Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega) who are driving to a weekend retreat, and accidentally kill an animal ... which just so happens to be a unicorn. From there, it seems as though the dadâs rich boss (Richard E. Grant) and his family canât help but see ways to exploit the creatureâs magical powers for profit. While the vibe is light and funny early one, things not only get darker, but take a turn towards horror by the end of the trailer.
Death of a Unicorn is the directorial debut from Alex Scharfman, and it also stars Will Poulter, Sunita Mani, and TĂŠa Leoni. Hereditary director Ari Aster serves as a producer, while horror legend John Carpenter.
This Z-Wave smart plug can work over a mile from your house
Image: Shelly
European smart device manufacturer Shelly is launching 11 automation devices that can connect to the home from over a mile away. Shelly says its new and updated Wave devices are built around the Z-Wave Long Range (Z-Wave LR) specification, and will be available in the US in the first half of 2025.
The benefits of Z-Wave LR are similar to those offered by Amazonâs Sidewalk IoT network in that both can extend connectivity to devices beyond your home Wi-Fi network, without the need for expensive LTE data.
Z-Wave LR was announced back in 2020, but products that actually use it are only just starting to hit the market. The wireless protocol touts several features that are beneficial for large homes and commercial environments, such as eradicating the need for a mesh network with multiple signal repeaters. Instead, Z-Wave LR devices operate on a star network topology, which connects directly to devices via a central gateway hub.
Z-Wave LR has a maximum line-of-sight wireless range of 1.5 miles when operating at full power with support for up to 4,000 devices on a single network. Supported devices also automatically adjust the radio output power, providing up to 10 years of battery life on a single coin-cell battery.
The upgraded Shelly Wave products include a smart plug, a humidity and temperature sensor, a door/window sensor, a motion detector, a remote controller for motorized blinds, and a range of lighting dimmers and smart switches. Three of the devices are battery-powered. Shelly hasnât revealed the price of these new products yet.
Z-Wave LR is backward compatible with older Z-Wave products and networks, but a Z-Wave LR-supported hub (built on the Z-Wave 700 or 800 series platform) is required to take advantage of the extended range benefits.
These were the top animal stories on NPR in 2024, including a boy's pregnant octopus
This year, the animal kingdom was filled with triumph, loss and new discoveries. Here is a look at NPR's top animal stories of 2024.
Social networks in 2024: bless this mess
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
We didnât all flock to a new platform or build on a thrilling new protocol. We went everywhere, and did everything, all at once.
US targets TP-Link with a potential ban on the Chinese routers
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
Authorities in the US are considering a ban on TP-Link internet routers over national security concerns due to their repeated links to Chinese cyberattacks. Investigators at the Commerce, Defense, and Justice departments have all launched probes into the company, according to the Wall Street Journal, with TP-Link reportedly being subpoenaed by an office of the Commerce Department.
The WSJ reports that US authorities may ban the sale of TP-Link routers within the country next year. Action taken against TP-Link would likely fall to the incoming Trump administration.
TP-Link holds roughly 65 percent of the US router market for homes and small businesses, and its internet communications products are used by the Defense Department and other federal government agencies. The companyâs market dominance is at least partly driven by the extreme low cost of its routers. The US Justice Department is investigating whether TP-Link sells products for less than they cost to produce in violation of a law that prohibits attempts at monopolies, according to the WSJ.
The _WSJâ_s sources also say that TP-Link often fails to address security flaws that are routinely flagged in routers shipped to customers. In October, Microsoft disclosed a network of compromised network devices mostly manufactured by TP-Link that are regularly targeted by a Chinese government-linked hacking campaign.
An unnamed spokeswoman for TP-Linkâs California-based business unit told the WSJ that the company assesses potential security risks and takes action to resolve known vulnerabilities. âWe welcome any opportunities to engage with the US government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully in line with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the US market, US consumers, and addressing US national security risks.â
Mangione charged with murder as act of terrorism. And, path to unionizing reality TV
Luigi Mangione is charged with murder as an act of terrorism in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Here's what that means. And, could reality TV stars unionize? Why it could be hard.
The quickly disappearing web
Michelle Rohn / The Verge
The internet is forever. But also, it isnât. What happens to our culture when websites start to vanish at random?
How much power would RFK Jr. have at HHS? A former health secretary weighs in
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is making the case with senators that he should lead Health and Human Services. Kathleen Sebelius, who had the job under Obama, explains the power and limits of the role.
This weightlifting gym helps older people build more than just strength
At Fivex3 Training, a gym in Baltimore, several mornings a week are reserved for older people to train.
What we learned from Elian Gonzalez, 25 years later
Twenty-five years ago, a boy named Elian Gonzalez appeared â remarkably alive â in the waters off the coast of Miami. Immediately, his fate became the subject of an international debate: Should he stay in the U.S.? Or should he be returned to Cuba, to live with his father? From our play cousins at Futuro Studios, this is part of their series Chess Piece: The EliĂĄn GonzĂĄlez Story.We want to hear from you! Please tell us what you think about Code Switch by taking our short survey. Thank you!
From Africa to America, Hereâs How Climate Protest Is Being Criminalized
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Back in early August, I reported on the arrest of two climate activists outside the New York headquarters of Citibank, one of the worldâs largest fossil fuel financiers and target of a campaign known as Summer of Heat. John Mark Rozendaal, a [âŚ]
The Looming Danger of Trumpâs January 6 Pardons
Four years ago, after thousands of people were incited by losing presidential candidate Donald Trump to storm the US Capitol and try to prevent Joe Biden from taking office, the FBI began one of its largest criminal investigations ever. Those efforts remain ongoing but may soon largely be undone by Trump, using the clemency powers [âŚ]
Trains, tracks, and tradition: Lionel celebrates 125 years of Christmas fun
Lionel trains turns 125, celebrating more than a century of holiday magic. From historic models to smartphone-controlled locomotives, these iconic toy trains continue to captivate kids and collectors alike.
What the Most Famous Book About Trauma Gets Wrong
âYou have to read this book,â my new psychologist informed me. As a teenager, I was raped by a hostel employee. For years after, I spent every waking moment trying to avoid the gruesome memoriesâwhich instead haunted me at night. I wanted nothing more than to share my story, certain that Iâd feel immediate relief. [âŚ]
How a Fantasy Oil Train May Help the Supreme Court Gut a Major Environmental Law
The state of Utah has come up with its share of boondoggles over the years, but one of the more enduring is the Uinta Basin Railway. The proposed 88-mile rail line would link the oil fields of the remote Uinta Basin region of eastern Utah to national rail lines so that up to 350,000 barrels [âŚ]
After Random Attacks, NY Renews Push for Involuntary Commitment
On the morning of November 18, New York City police reported that a man fatally stabbed three people in a seemingly random spree in Midtown Manhattan. The victims included a construction worker in Chelsea, a man fishing along the East River, and a woman sitting on a bench near the United Nations headquarters. A cab [âŚ]
Michael Vick says he will be the new head football coach at Norfolk State University
Vick, a four-time Pro Bowl player, is returning to his home state of Virginia to coach the team.
'Cancer ghosting' can be more painful than treatment, survivors say
Loss of social support after a cancer diagnosis is a surprisingly common experience, social workers and cancer patients say. For young cancer survivors, it is a particularly difficult part of the disease.
Churches are making room for grief and loss at Christmas
More and more congregations are trying to be sensitive to those who are grieving during the holidays. The move ranges from special services to the inclusion of hymns and prayers that speak to sadness during regular Sunday worship.
The American industry that wants more government intervention
As President-elect Trump promises to eliminate government agencies and regulations, one American industry â mining â is asking for more intervention. They say national economic and military security are at stake.
Energy chief Granholm warns against 'unfettered exports' of liquefied natural gas
Granholm's statement came as the Energy Department released a long-awaited study that found U.S. LNG shipments drive up domestic wholesale prices and frequently displace renewable energy sources.
At least 25 killed after an overcrowded boat capsizes in Congo
It capsized a few hundred meters into the journey along the Fimi River, the latest such tragedy to strike Congo.
Nuclear bunker sales increase, despite warnings they won't provide protection
Critics warn argue that people planning to live through an atomic blast aren't focusing on the real and current dangers posed by nuclear threats.
Deadly violence in Nigeria tied to United Methodist Church schism over LGBTQ policies
A religious schism has turned deadly in Nigeria, with a church member fatally shot and two young children killed as homes were set ablaze, according to United Methodist News Service.
Man set to be put to death in Indiana's first execution in 15 years
Barring intervention by Gov. Eric Holcomb, Corcoran is scheduled to be executed before sunrise Wednesday at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
gleick@mas.to ("James Gleick") wrote:
Another gift to Trump, this time from House Democrats.
SethRudy@c18.masto.host ("Saethelred the Unsteady") wrote:
Antifascists: donât obey in advance
Media: sorry Iâm late I was just at the Obeying in Advance conference in Craven-on-Hudson, what did I miss
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
sbourne ("Sarah E Bourne") wrote:
We can tell who's colorblind when we play Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails. Somebody inevitably comments that the red vehicle cards and routes are hard to tell apart from the pinkish purple ones. But they aren't colorblind. The folks with red-green colorblindness have no problem: "They couldn't be more different!"
đ¤Ż
Side note: the game does not use color alone: they also have different symbols on them. They can be hard to make out, though - a bit more contrast would be nice.
#accessibility #a11y
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
fight@fightforthefuture.org ("Fight for the Future") wrote:
As we continue to see sustained death + disablement due to COVID, the public health + disability justice implications of criminalizing mask-wearing are disastrous. Mask bans also violate our fundamental civil liberties.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/11/12/mask-bans-protest-surveillance
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
Here's a GIF. I just wanted to show it to you.
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
arstechnica ("Ars Technica") wrote:
Companies issuing RTO mandates âlose their best talentâ: Study
Despite the risks, firms and Trump are eager to get people back into offices.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/companies-issuing-rto-mandates-lose-their-best-talent-study/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
jalefkowit@vmst.io ("Jason Lefkowitz") wrote:
Gonna be some super weird porn landing next month
https://apnews.com/article/public-domain-2025-popeye-tintin-e71ca89b7a430e68e66a7c6ce45a98eb
Attachments:
U.S. to pay $116M settlement over rampant sexual abuse at Calif. women's prison
The lawsuits were brought by more than 100 women who say they were abused or mistreated at a now-shuttered federal prison in California that was known as the "rape club" because of rampant staff-on-inmate sexual misconduct.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
PhilippBayer@genomic.social ("Philipp Bayer") wrote:
officer/rvg are GREAT packages to export ggplot2 (R plots) to editable Powerpoint slides.
Saves me heaps time when I make plots for others: everybody wants to change a bunch of details. Now they do that themselves in Powerpoint with my 'base' plot.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
all in all, a reasonable chunk of work. tomorrow: the authkey validation form and a handler for 2FA requests from it, then make the SystemManager daemon emails read moar decent
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
major seekrit project accomplishments today:
bigass buttons and color-blind-friendly visual state cues on all forms
each & every possible way you can fail to request a new account gets you a meaningful error message, & a success gets you into pending & an email w one-time-only 2FA authorization key & instructions on what to do to move it from pending to active
a reaper wakes up every m minutes, searches pending for requests older than x minutes, kills them all, & goes back to sleep
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
finishing up user account self-management system for my seekrit project, slowly but surely (beware âď¸ jokes)...
the system for user to create, update, and inactivate accounts themselves is getting closer to ready for testing.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
TomWellborn@universeodon.com ("TomWellborn3") wrote:
Humanity is fucking awful.
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
ProPublica@newsie.social wrote:
A Coast Guard Commander Miscarried. She Nearly Died After Being Denied Care.
âU.S. service members have long faced strict limits on abortions, even when used to resolve miscarriages. Under federal #law, the #military will only pay for abortions in cases of rape, incest or to save the motherâs life.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Horatio Parker dies Cedarhurst NY, 1919
"American composer, organist and teacher... best remembered as the undergraduate teacher of Charles Ives while the composer attended Yale University."
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Today in History: Konrad Zuse dies HĂźnfeld Germany, 1995
"... German civil engineer, pioneering computer scientist, inventor and businessman. His greatest achievement was the world's first programmable computer; the functional program-controlled Turing-complete Z3 became operational in May 1941."
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
"When an LLM generates a poetic metaphor or offers a surprising insight, it does so by analyzing and recombining patterns within human language. It reflects us back to ourselves in ways that feel novel yet familiar."
h/t Mark Pesce @mpesce
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
this is so cool...
"confirms a 2014 theoretical prediction that a minimum level of uncertainty must always result when a measurement is made on a quantum object â regardless of whether the object is observed as a wave, as a particle, or anywhere in between"
h/t Art Smart @ArtSmart
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
ArtSmart@mas.to ("Art Smart") wrote:
Reading this article gave me a flashback to my childhood, when my dad taught me about the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. He must have learned it while getting his degree in chemistry from Gettysburg college during the early 1950s. Even way back then, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum included quantum mech. Cool!
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
"Officers are responding to the 8500 block of Loch Raven Boulevard in Towson. The conditions of the victims are unknown.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is at the scene assisting police."
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/shooting-prompts-large-police-presence-in-towson/
h/t Steve Herman @w7voa
Intel finally notches a GPU win, confirms Arc B580 is selling out after stellar reviews
The Intel Arc B580 Limited Edition. | Image: Intel
Intel is having an incredibly rough year â but at long last, the companyâs discrete graphics card initiative has produced a card worth celebrating. While we havenât managed to review it ourselves due to a fluke issue, the $250 Arc B580 âBattlemageâ GPU launched to nigh-universal praise, has already sold out most everywhere, and Intel tells The Verge itâs working to ship new units every week.
âDemand for Arc B580 graphics cards is high and many retailers have sold through their initial inventory. We expect weekly inventory replenishments of the Intel Arc B580 Limited Edition graphics card and are working with partners to ensure a steady availability of choices in the market,â Intel spokesperson Mark Anthony Ramirez tells The Verge.
To give you an idea, here are some of the headlines weâve seen on reviews of this card:
- âThe new $249 GPU champion has arrivedâ
- âThe first worthy budget GPU of the decadeâ
- âThe fastest mainstream GPUâ
- âA New Mainstream Kingâ
- âIntel Fixed Its Problemsâ
Mind you, in some ways the B580 is a glass of ice water in GPU hell, as its primary competition â the RTX 4060 and AMD RX 7600 â utterly failed to impress last year, following years of GPU prices that were more inflated than inflation itself. (Linus Tech Tips called the $300 4060 a âwet fart of a GPUâ but considers the B580 âgreat and affordableâ now.)
While reviewers have showed the B580 doesnât beat the 4060 and 7600 in every game, especially for gamers who still play at 1080p resolution, it does seem to pull ahead on average, the drivers seem more mature than Intelâs earlier attempts, and the lower price and generous 12GB of video RAM make it relatively easy to recommend.
If you can find one at $250, that is â which you probably canât, because theyâve sold out so quickly. For what itâs worth, Hardware Unboxedâs Steve Waltondoesnât think this is a so-called âpaper launchâ where a manufacturer ships a token number of components for bragging rights instead of mass-producing a product; he said that manufacturers, retailers and distributors told him that supply of the card was âquite substantial.â
That said, AMD and Nvidiaâs next GPUs are apparently right around the corner.
Newegg may restock the $250 âLimited Editionâ model early next month, according to its listing, and itâs still âcoming soonâ at B&H. A $279 Acer model is listed as coming to Newegg in as soon as a few days. Some models started at far higher prices: you can still purchase several Gunnir variants from China at around the $400 mark.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
pluralistic@mamot.fr ("Cory Doctorow") wrote:
@evacide Also: ban data-brokers.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
molly0xfff@hachyderm.io ("Molly White") wrote:
âI canât leave Substack, the alternatives charge monthly fees!â
For a mid-sized paid newsletter, you will pay:
Ghost Pro: $149â$269/month
Beehiiv: $131â$218/month
Buttondown: $239/month
Mailchimp: $285/month
Substack: $700/month
In last-ditch effort, Democrats push to get Julie Su confirmed as Labor Secretary
Acting Secretary Julie Su has led the Labor Department for nearly two years, despite never getting a Senate confirmation vote. With time running out, her staunchest supporters haven't given up.
The best fitness trackers to buy right now
Photo illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
From simple fitness bands and rugged sports watches to rings, these are the best trackers you can get.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
Thereâs nothing I can really do about this asshole who stole my website and writing.
So Iâm gonna â¨let it goâ¨
The Vergeâs favorite holiday gifts under $50
Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
The holidays are expensive, but they donât have to be. From fitness trackers to smart speakers, here are the best gifts under $50.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
Really cool analysis of the architecture in the movie Dune: (Youtube)The Hidden Secrets of DUNEâs Darkest
Planet. https://youtube.com/watch?v=P3lkZ-7pRAM&si=yAKMR9bWLyVCJcci
Reblogged by rmrenner ("The Old Gay Gristle Fest"):
This is just⌠really upsetting. Both as a player of games and as a developer. NVidia secretly sneaks "AI" bullshit onto your computer, which slows everything down, AND changes the appearance [color contrast] of games away from what the developer attended, all for the benefit of investors rather than users. Then I guess you wind up having to upgrade your video card, because it's no longer fast enough with the AI parasite installed.
Lawmakers release spending bill to fund federal government until March 14
Congressional leaders released a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government until March 14.
Carlos Watson gets nearly 10 years in prison in case about failed startup Ozy Media
Watson, 55, and the now-defunct company were found guilty last summer of charges including wire fraud conspiracy. He has denied the allegations and plans to appeal.
The Vergeâs 2024 holiday gift guide for dads
Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
If youâre unsure what to gift the father figure in your life this year, we have more than a few suggestions.