Examining Biden's presidential legacy. And, north Gaza's last key hospital shut down
President Biden signed significant legislation that his backers say will leave a lasting impact. And, north Gaza's last major hospital has been shut down with no ceasefire in sight.
Reblogged by andreu@andreubotella.com ("Andreu Botella :verified_enby:"):
furioursus@queer.dev ("Sonic the Hedgehog’s Dilemma") wrote:
i would rather light myself on fire in the desert, thank you very much.
Attachments:
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:
Meta has the tools to give you a fake boyfriend/girlfriend. Or to spam the internet with phony posts. Will all the friends be Russian?
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/31/on-meta-nobody-knows-you-dont-have-a-personality/
Attachments:
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
anapoda@mamot.fr ("anapoda :anar: ⏚ 🌱 🖤") wrote:
Vivement l'année prochaine !
Attachments:
- Lors d'un rallye automobile, les pilotes déboulent à toute allure dans ce virage glissant. Les passages s’enchaînent et se ressemblent. Les concurrents terminent leur course dans le fossé les uns après les autres, subissant parfois plusieurs tonneaux avant de s'arrêter complètement, jusqu'à faire une montagne de véhicules accidentés. Sur la vidéo, chaque véhicule est légendé par une année de 2020 à 2025. (remote)
Monsters of 2024: Anthony Weiner and Andrew Cuomo
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. The appointees for the incoming administration are a mix of woefully uncredentialed and […]
Monster of 2024: Food Delivery Customers. Get Your Own Damn Food!
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. Food delivery drivers can be a menace: On scooters or e-bikes, they weave in and out […]
Hero of 2024: Chase Strangio. What More Can I Say?
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. When I listened to Chase Strangio, the co-director of the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, become […]
Blob-Headed Fish, Meat-Eating Squirrels, and Other Fascinating Science Stories From 2024
So much of this year felt like a fever dream: The attempted assassination of Donald Trump. A career-ending presidential debate. The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Abortion bans. Presidential immunity. The Alaska Airlines door fiasco. Diddy’s arrest. Raygun. Baldoni-Gate. Tradwives! I, personally, am tired. Which is why, this year, I’m leaning into my nerdish […]
From Taylor Swift tickets to social media bans, here are new 2025 state laws
It's almost the new year, which means states across the country will enact thousands of new laws from new tax structures to prenatal leave.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
Obviously, the citation of React Fiber hasn't aged well, but the author doesn't spend their time staring into the frontend abyss the way I do. But the meta-point stands: more interactive experiences make more money. See:
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
It seems denial about the need for highly-paid programmers to make software that's accessible to everyone else isn't just constrained to the frontend discourse. I know the bootcamps are cooked, but what the everloving hell is going on in CS schools?
Reporters' notebook: revisiting Afghan refugees starting anew in the U.S.
NPR reporters revisit Afghans who fled their home country after Taliban's takeover in the summer of 2021.
Tiger-cats, sea squirts and beetles, oh my! Meet some species identified in 2024
From charismatic macrofauna to tiny sea squirts, here are some species formally identified by scientists in 2024.
Should you be worried about bird strikes during your next flight?
Bird strikes occur daily for commercial flights, costing airlines millions in damages each year. Although rare, these incidents can result in injuries and fatalities.
Transit systems turn to AI-powered cameras to catch drivers who block bus lanes
The nation's biggest transit systems are using AI-enhanced cameras to keep bus lanes clear of illegally parked cars. That's making buses move faster, but the rollout has hit a few speed bumps.
8 questions for President Biden, if he'd take them
Here's what NPR's White House correspondents would ask Biden at a press conference as his presidency comes to a close.
What to know about Finland, Russia's 'shadow fleet' and a severed undersea cable
Finland says a ship affiliated with Russia's "shadow fleet" is linked to a 60-mile-long anchor drag mark on the seafloor. A power cable in the Baltic Sea was severed last week.
Why do we drop a ball on New Year's Eve? The Times Square tradition, explained
Watching a huge ball descend down a pole in Times Square has been a beloved New Year's Eve tradition for over a century. Here's how the spectacle started and what's changed over the years.
LG’s lightweight Gram laptops get new Intel chips and offline AI features
The 17-inch LG Gram Pro weighs 3.3 pounds while the 16-inch model weighs 2.73 pounds. | Image: LG
LG has announced additions to its ultra-light Gram and Gram Pro laptop lineup, adding cloud-based and on-device AI-powered features that go beyond its current Gram laptops.
The 16-inch Gram Pro will also be the first Copilot Plus PC in the LG Gram lineup and is further distinguished as the only model using the Intel Lunar Lake Core Ultra V-Series processors. The 17-inch Gram Pro and 16-inch 2-in-1 use Intel’s Arrow Lake Core Ultra H-Series processors.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25811082/lggram2.jpg)
Image: LG
The three LG Gram Pro laptops, including the 2-in-1.
The LG Gram Pro will be available in 17-inch and 16-inch models featuring 2,560 x 1,600 displays, up to 32GB of LPDDR5X memory, and up to 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSDs. The 16-inch Gram Pro and the 16-inch LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 will have Intel Arc GPUs, while the 17-inch Gram Pro will instead feature an Nvidia GeForce RTX4050 graphics card.
Gram Chat On-Device, which uses a “small language model derived from LG AI Research’s EXAONE large language model,” powers offline features, including Time Travel, which lets users quickly revisit “web pages, documents, videos and audio files” they’ve recently accessed. LG’s software is adding tools similar to Microsoft’s Copilot Plus suite and Apple Intelligence, but given the trouble Microsoft has had with Recall, we’ll have to wait and see how it all measures up.
It also might make those features available on more PCs, but LG hasn’t specified which AI features will be available on which laptops in the new Gram lineup.
Gram Chat Cloud is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o and responds to inquiries using “vast web-based datasets for detailed and comprehensive responses” while integrating with calendar and email services. It requires an active internet connection and will only be free for the first year.
All of the new Gram laptops also support LG’s Gram Link 2.0, which streamlines document and file sharing with other PCs and iOS or Android-based smartphones. It also allows incoming phone calls to be answered through the Gram laptops, so you don’t have to swap headsets or Bluetooth headphones to another device temporarily.
LG will also introduce its entry-level Gram Book to the US market next year. Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor, it features a 15.6-inch 60Hz full HD display, a 720p webcam, and configurations of up to 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of DDR4 memory.
South Korea to inspect Boeing aircraft as it struggles to find cause of plane crash
Many worry how effectively the South Korean government will handle the disaster as it grapples with a leadership vacuum after the impeachments of the country's top two officials.
Treasury says Chinese hackers remotely accessed documents in 'major' cyber incident
The revelation comes as the U.S. grapples with a massive cyberespionage campaign that gave Chinese officials access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
Some APIs an up-and-coming web platform engineer could easily knock out, to universal applause:
- brotli and zstd for Compression Streams
- ImageEncoder for Web Codecs
- ImageData in Custom Paint
- a CBOR encode/decode API
- a "fast JSON decode" w/ clean globals assurance
Make the JSON APIs return the new struct type, omit the reviver function, and speedup could be an order of magnitude or more.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
5t3ph@front-end.social ("Stephanie Eckles") wrote:
So appreciative of all the authors who shared their time and knowledge for this year's 12 Days of Web!
Please check out each one, share it, and consider donating to the author's chosen org if you're able (use your company match if possible!)
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
It bums me out so much that the compression and binary access APIs in the DOM are still, like, half-done. E.g., we still don't have good way to make animated gifs using Web Codecs, compression streams don't support brotli or zstd, and we don't have CBOR APIs.
This is a place where the TAG should be asking browsers to do better.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
“Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards)” by Tom Waits
Attachments:
Jimmy Carter will have funeral services in Plains, Ga., Atlanta and Washington, D.C.
Former President Jimmy Carter's state funeral services will span six days, three cities and multiple places of significance from his life.
isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:") wrote:
Making smalltalk at a local grocery store, a guy behind the counter telling me about his Christmas celebration and casually mentioning his boyfriend. This is, I think, is what real freedom actually feels like. I wonder if that's something that could go over just as easily in a red state.
2024 music wrap-up, and mixtape 249.
Here is some new music that I enjoyed in 2024. These are pretty good. Honestly, none of these really rose to the level of: "I am obsessed with this album and can't stop listening to it", but not every year has one of those, I guess. But these are all worth your time.
https://jwz.org/b/ykfR
Attachments:
The US Treasury Department was hacked
Hugo Herrera / The Verge
The US Treasury Department suffered a “major” security incident after a China state-sponsored hacker broke into the third-party remote management software it uses, as reported earlier by The New York Times.
In a letter to lawmakers seen by The Verge, the Treasury Department said BeyondTrust, the company behind its remote management software, notified the agency of a breach on December 8th.
The threat actor stole a key used by BeyondTrust “to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users.” With the key, they overrode the security to remotely access those users' workstations and “some unclassified documents” they maintained.
The Treasury Department said it worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI following the attack, which has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) hacker. “The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information,” US Treasury Department spokesperson Michael Gwin said in a statement to The Verge.
The attack seems to be linked to a security incident BeyondTrust disclosed earlier this month, impacting customers using its remote support software. At the time, BeyondTrust attributed the attack to a compromised API key for its remote support software, adding that it “immediately revoked the API key, notified known impacted customers, and suspended those instances the same day.” The Verge reached out to BeyondTrust with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
“Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds,” Gwin said. “Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defense, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors.”
In Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains, people remember the former president
People in Plains, Ga., are remembering former President Jimmy Carter who died on Sunday at the age of 100. Carter embraced his hometown and never forgot the importance of the place.
In Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains, people remember the former president
People in Plains, Ga., are remembering former President Jimmy Carter who died on Sunday at the age of 100. Carter embraced his hometown and never forgot the importance of the place.
Photos: Former President Carter redefined post-presidency role
The Nobel Peace Prize winner devoted himself to improving the health of people around the world, promoting democracy and resolving global conflicts.
How New York state is defying Donald Trump’s plans to roll back climate action
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2023/06/29: Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a press briefing at office on 3rd Avenue in Manhattan. | Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
New York governor Kathy Hochul signed landmark climate legislation into law last week, showing how states can keep holding polluters accountable even when President-elect Donald Trump rolls back environmental protections.
New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act will require the biggest multinational oil and gas companies to contribute to a fund that’ll be used for infrastructure projects meant to protect New York residents from increasingly dangerous climate disasters like storms and sea level rise.
“New York has fired a shot that will be heard round the world”
Trump will soon step back into office and is expected to dismantle existing climate policies and gut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), having openly disparaged clean energy and federal environmental regulations on the campaign trail. So for the next four years at least, Americans will have to rely on local and state efforts like this to deal with the pollution from fossil fuels that’s causing climate change.
“New York has fired a shot that will be heard round the world: the companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” State Senator Liz Krueger said in a statement after Hochul...
Steam's Surprise End-Of-Year Hit Is A Psychological Horror Game About An Anime Girlfriend
Steam’s latest mini-sensation has arrived and it’s called MiSide. The meta thriller in the vein of Doki Doki Literature Club has already racked up one of the highest ratings on Valve’s storefront just a couple weeks after its completely under-the-radar launch, thanks in part to streams by Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach…
Jason Momoa Confirms His Return To The DCU Will Be In Next Supergirl Film
Cinematic continuity be damned, Jason Momoa is putting the fish gills down for tattoos and violence. According to reports from Deadline, the man known around the world as Aquaman formally announced his return to the DC universe as the invulnerable Lobo in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
That older relative you do tech support for is probably not bamboozled by digital devices. They were guessing their way through Y/N ms-DOS and dodging Fatal Error cartoon bombs on Macs before you and the smartphone were born. Now they're older, wearier, and exasperated by digital coercion and the complication of simple things. They’re not listening to Bing Crosby while being amazed email exists. They’re listening to Queen while cursing enshittification & resenting the time it costs them and you.
5 people have been charged in the death of Liam Payne
An Argentine judge ordered pretrial detention for two of the charged for suppling Payne with drugs. Prosecutors had filed initial charges against three people in November but didn't reveal their names.
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
sue@glasgow.social ("Sue Smith") wrote:
A reminder that obnoxious, blocking cookie consent banners are not required by law but are there because tech companies had a massive tantrum at being prevented from tracking the bejesus out of you by default.. They don't need to be annoying or intrusive, companies can absolutely choose not to track, to track less, or make the consent experience easier, they choose not to 💩💩💩
Top chess player is back in competition after quitting over dress code
Magnus Carlsen, the No. 1 ranked chess player, quit the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York on Friday after refusing to change out of jeans to conform to a strict dress code.
The best robot vacuums
Image: The Verge
Floor-sweeping robots are only getting better, with new mopping skills, better navigation chops, and more automation, meaning less work for you. We picked the best bots you can buy right now.
Appeals Court Upholds $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Verdict
On Monday, a federal appeals court tossed out Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn his guilty verdict in the 2023 civil suit filed by writer E. Jean Carroll. “We conclude that Mr. Trump has not demonstrated that the district court erred in any of the challenged rulings,” the ruling said. “Further, he has not carried his […]
Volkswagen leak exposed location data for 800,000 electric cars
Image: Tim Stevens / The Verge
For months, the location information of around 800,000 electric Volkswagen vehicles was available online due to a data leak, according to a report from the German news magazine Der Spiegel. The leak reportedly stemmed from the software running inside Volkswagen vehicles and could've allowed a bad actor to trace a driver’s exact movements, as noted by Electrek.
A whistleblower first notified Der Spiegel and the European hacking association Chaos Computer Club of the vulnerability, which also affects EVs from Volkswagen-owned car brands on a global scale, including Audi, Seat, and Skoda.
Der Spiegel found that Cariad, the Volkswagen subsidiary behind the automaker's software, made it possible for an attacker to find and access driver data housed in Amazon’s cloud storage service. The data, which “could be linked to the names and contact details of the drivers,” reportedly included details about when EVs were switched on and off, along with the emails, phone numbers, and addresses of drivers in some cases.
It included the “precise” locations of about 460,000 vehicles, as Der Spiegel says the data was “accurate to within ten centimeters” for Volkswagen and Seats vehicles, and within 10km (~6 miles) for Audi and Skoda models.
Cariad has since addressed the issue, telling Der Spiegel customers have ”no need to take any action, as no sensitive information such as passwords or payment details are affected.” The Verge reached out to Cariad and Volkswagen with requests for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
If anything, this leak serves as yet another reminder of the immense amount of data collected by modern-day vehicles, which Mozilla has called a “privacy nightmare.”
Apple promised next-gen CarPlay in 2024, so where is it?
Apple’s new CarPlay is still just a concept. | Screenshot: Apple
We still haven’t seen the “next generation of CarPlay” that Apple first announced in 2022 and continues to say on its CarPlay webpage is arriving in 2024, as MacRumors points out. And barring some spectacular surprise, it’s not coming today or tomorrow. What gives?
So far, we’ve only seen changes like CarPlay mapping directions appearing in the instrument cluster in cars from manufacturers like Polestar, Porsche, and Lincoln. That’s even the case for vehicles like the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus, which has the screen real estate to support Apple’s vision for its dashboard-spanning infotainment software. Porsche and Aston Martin had announced their cars would be the first to get the new CarPlay, but both recently declined to give Wired a timeline for its rollout.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25810600/Screenshot_2024_12_30_at_11.52.17_AM.png)
Screenshot: Apple
Apple’s website still says “First models arrive in 2024,” which seems... unlikely.
Other companies that Apple said would support its new CarPlay have been noncommittal about the software since it was announced. Some have closed the door on full support more forcefully since then, like when Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius told The Verge’s Nilay Patel in April that Apple won’t be taking over all the screens in its cars.
Outside of Apple’s initial pronouncement that so many cars would use its big CarPlay update, automakers like General Motors and Rivian have taken a stand against both it and Google’s Android Auto. That’s not a popular position, particularly for GM, but both have indicated it’s about having more control over their vehicles.
Despite the lukewarm reception of Apple’s ideas, the company has continued to talk about its plans for the software. It’s just not clear what cars, if any, it will ever show up in.
Court rejects Trump appeal in E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse and defamation case
Trump contended the trial court judge erred in several rulings — including decisions to allow the testimony of two women who alleged that Trump sexually assaulted them in the past.
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:
The business landscape in this town takes another lurch downward. I have to drive 40 miles (or resort to Amazon) to get useful stuff. (Unless it's in a hardware store -- we got plenty of those.)
This business is new and useless.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/30/another-sign-of-the-coming-dark-ages/
Champion Magnus Carlsen Rocked The Chess World By Refusing To Take Off His Jeans
The chess world is never short on scandals, and the latest one is incredibly on brand. Top-ranked former world champion Magnus Carlsen recently showed up to a tournament in jeans, refused to change, got fined, and then threatened to back out of the event altogether. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) then…
9 countries said goodbye to a devastating disease in 2024
Nine countries eliminated a disease in 2024. Here's how Pakistan pulled it off — fulfilling a young boy's dream of eliminating blindness caused by bacterial infections.
A Major Marvel Rivals Bug Has Some Fans Calling The Game ‘Pay To Win’
The term “pay to win” is typically attributed to competitive games with microtransactions that give players an edge in battle. An example would be an item you can buy that makes your character more powerful than that of someone who didn’t cough up real money. However, some Marvel Rivals fans are throwing the…
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
at last! I got dynamic rendering (insert a variable like username into a page server-side before it renders at client-side) FTW!
Attachments:
A two-pack of refurbished Blink Outdoor 4 cameras is more than half off right now
You can use the battery-powered Blink Outdoor 4 indoors, too. | Image: Amazon
As we head into 2025, there aren’t many things preventing homeowners from building out a basic home security system. You can start small and cheap with the battery-powered Blink Outdoor 4. If you don’t mind that they’re refurbished (with the same one-year warranty as the new models), you can get two of them with a Sync Module 2 for $74.99 ($90 off) at Amazon, which is only $10 more than the all-time low. A single Blink Outdoor 4 retails for $99.99 new, and its lowest price is $39.99, so you’re still getting a slightly better value than usual.
The weatherproof Blink Outdoor 4 offers a 1080p wide-angle feed with motion detection, infrared night vision, and two-way audio. If you opt for a Blink Subscription Plan ($10 a month or $100 a year for Blink Plus, which is required to run multiple cameras), you’ll get person detection, up to 90 minutes of continuous live view, and unlimited cloud storage for up to 60 days. But if you have subscription fatigue, you can also save clips locally to a USB drive thanks to the included Sync Module 2. Blink says the cameras can last up to two years on just two AA batteries, too, which should make them easy to maintain over the long haul.
More Monday deals to mull over
- You can get the Anker 321 Power Strip with a five-foot cable for as little as $13.99 ($12 off) at Amazon, which is an all-time low price. The 10-foot version is also matching its best price to date at $17.99 ($12 off). The cuboid charger has three AC outlets occupying their own sides of the block, with the fourth side dedicated to two USB-A ports and a 20W USB-C Power Delivery port. It’s a great alternative to a traditional extension cable if you’re looking for one that’s easy to travel with.
- The 8Bitdo Ultimate Wireless Controller is one of the best Nintendo Switch controllers. If you’ve been waiting for a good chance to see for yourself why, Amazon and Best Buy are selling it for $50.99 ($19 off), which is only a few dollars more than the lowest price we’ve seen. It has a pair of drift-free Hall Effect sticks, is easily configurable with custom mappings and profiles thanks to 8Bitdo’s excellent software support, and lasts up to 22 hours (it comes with a charging base, too). In addition to Switch compatibility, you can also use it on Windows PCs, Steam Deck, mobile, and other devices that support Bluetooth controllers.
- The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is a great multi-platform gaming headset with tons of features and a hefty price tag to match. But thankfully, you can get the PlayStation version starting at $259 ($91 off) at Amazon right now, which is an all-time low. The Xbox version is also on sale for $263.99 ($86 off), which is its second-best price to date. The multiplatform headset has a retractable noise-canceling microphone, and I can confirm it’s comfortable to wear for hours. The included base station can charge one of two included hot-swappable batteries, but it also recharges over USB-C. It also enables PC and console connectivity (plus Bluetooth devices), includes line-in and line-out ports, and has an OLED display with a dial and button for customizing EQ, sound modes, volume levels, and more. Read our review.
Apple TV Plus is free to stream this weekend
Image: Apple
Apple TV Plus will be free to stream this weekend from January 4th through the 5th. The company posted the news on social media alongside a short trailer featuring some of its top shows, with the tagline “see for yourself.” Apple had teased last week that it might provide some free streaming days, which the company has not offered previously.
A full weekend may be enough to binge some of Apple’s top shows, including Severance, which has its hotly anticipated season 2 launching on January 17th. The free days could also help potential subscribers get a taste of Apple’s eclectic mix of sci-fi shows, such as the space race drama For All Mankind, postapocalyptic thriller Silo, and the Godzilla serial Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
This weekend, see for yourself.
Stream for free Jan 4-5. pic.twitter.com/8p6PCUYpms
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) December 30, 2024
Apple doesn’t provide more detail than that in its teaser post, which doesn’t say if the promotional period includes the entire Apple TV Plus library or only Apple Originals content. We’ve reached out for more details but have not heard back before publication.
Apple’s deal is reminiscent of HBO’s free weekend offerings on cable TV. Streaming services like Netflix have also offered limited free streaming on some of their top content.
Fans Want Sonic To Be An Absolute Simp In The Fourth Movie
Each live-action Sonic movie introduces another beloved character from Sega’s speedy platformers to the film universe in a post-credits scene, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is no exception. Though the new addition to Sonic’s growing family of anthropomorphic animals doesn’t have any spoken lines in the movie’s stinger,…
Apple could bring its ‘Pro’ OLED displays to the entire iPhone 17 line
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
One of the big benefits of buying a “Pro” iPhone is currently that you get a fancy high-refresh rate OLED display, but that may become standard across the iPhone 17 lineup, according to a Weibo leak from Digital Chat Station spotted by MacRumors. The outlet notes that Digital Chat Station leaked accurate details about the iPhone 15 line’s camera sensors and the display panel of the iPhone 12.
The rumor is a bit vague, saying only that the base iPhone 17 will have a high refresh rate. But it follows some more specific supply chain whispers we’ve heard in recent months. MacRumors pointed to one in February that suggested Apple will use the same LTPO panel tech, which drives Apple’s variable refresh rate “ProMotion” iPhone 16 Pro displays, for all of next year’s phones. That was later echoed by others, including display supply chain analyst Ross Young in September.
The next set of iPhones is also expected to replace the base model “Plus” iPhone with an iPhone 17 “Slim” in 2025, which Young suggested will have ProMotion, too. Instead of differentiating by display tech, Apple could stratify the lineup in different ways, like by giving the iPhone 17 Pro Max a smaller Face ID sensor and Dynamic Island cutout, as well as 12GB of RAM for both sizes of iPhone 17 Pro and 8GB for the standard and Slim models.
The whole line is rumored to have 24MP front-facing cameras instead of the 12MP found in current iPhones, and they may all use an Apple-designed Wi-Fi / Bluetooth chip for the first time.
Former President Jimmy Carter: The 'Fresh Air' interviews (Part 1)
The 39th president spoke with Terry Gross in 1993, '95, '96 and '98 about growing up on a Georgia farm, entering politics and his advocacy for human rights and peace. Carter died Dec. 29 at age 100.
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:
I guess we need to update this old map to include 21st century sterilizations.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/30/the-eugenicists-have-gotten-sneaky/
Attachments:
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
some real reasons to be concerned
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s Alternate Marvel Timeline Turns Heads In Flashy First Trailer
Marvel’s latest Disney+ animated series is called Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and it’s another origin story for the webcrawler, but with one brings some hefty changes with it as it explores an alternate history that exchanges Tony Stark’s tutelage for a mentoring Norman Osborne. The first trailer is full of…
pzmyers@octodon.social ("pzmyers 🦑") wrote:
What if there is a "civil war", and the leaders of the two factions are complete and utter clowns?
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2024/12/30/only-fools-believe-in-genetic-determinism/
Attachments:
The best PS5 games in 2024
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
PlayStation had a rocky 2024 but still put out some great games.
Every Official 'Kotaku Review' Of 2024
Writing a review is a tall order. Especially at a place like Kotaku, where we have a whole headline format meant to declare our “definitive” word on a game, movie, or show. It can come off as if we’re putting an authoritative stamp of approval or disapproval on whatever we’re critiquing, which can be pretty daunting.…
A look at Jimmy Carter's legacy. And, rules for regifting unwanted presents
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the U.S., died in Plains, Ga. on Sunday at age 100. Here's a look back at his legacy during and after his presidency. And, the rules of regifting and returns.
The Steam Deck has finally been surpassed — by a fork of Valve’s own experience
An Asus ROG Ally X, running Bazzite. It looks just like SteamOS, because they share an interface.
The first time I installed Bazzite on a Windows gaming handheld, I laughed. It looked like such a blatant clone of Valve’s Steam Deck interface. Its many bugs kept me at bay.
Now, an Asus ROG Ally X running Bazzite has all but replaced the Steam Deck in my life. For the moment, it may be the best handheld your time and money can buy — because it brings 90 percent of the Deck’s ease of use to the Ally’s more powerful hardware, larger 80 watt-hour battery, and variable refresh rate screen. Depending on the game, it can even offer better performance and battery life than the very same handheld with Windows. I’ve been testing it for five months, and I’ve rarely looked back.
This combination won’t be for everyone, because the $800 Ally X costs far more than a Steam Deck, and Bazzite still has annoying quirks. But because Bazzite can so convincingly transform a Windows handheld into a true Steam Deck rival, I believe it singlehandedly proves that handheld manufacturers are making the wrong choice if they doggedly stick with Windows, and that others should join Lenovo in hedging that bet as soon as possible. Bazzite is one way — another may come as soon as next month, when we’re...
Egyptian and Israeli leaders send condolences for Carter, who brokered their peace treaty
One of the crowning foreign policy achievements of Carter's single term as U.S. president was brokering a series of agreements that later came to be called the Camp David accords in 1978.
Jimmy Carter was 'a very unusual kind of politician,' biographer says
In the wake of Jimmy Carter's death, biographer Kai Bird, author of 'The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter' discusses the late president's successes and failures.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
CatsOfYore@varmint.town ("Cats of Yore") wrote:
Being "helpful" in 1954. https://juan314.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/les-chats-los-gatos-the-cats-by-willy-ronis-1954/
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
stilgherrian@eigenmagic.net ("Stilgherrian") wrote:
As the automobile became more popular, many unemployed horses turned to drink. Here a jobless mare, drunk yet again, is refused entry to the family home.
Attachments:
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
tknarr@mstdn.social ("Todd Knarr") wrote:
@lauren I have to agree. When tech companies say they can't find qualified candidates to fill job openings, they're lying by omission. They can find plenty of qualified candidates, what they can't find are senior-level candidates willing to accept entry-level pay.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
mako@social.seattle.wa.us wrote:
My kid gets me. #photography #tv #twinpeaks
Attachments:
Monster of 2024: The Relentless Pressure to Download More Apps
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. My cellphone’s apps serve as my alarm clock, meteorologist, GPS, and e-reader. FaceTime is the portal […]
The Climate Crisis Exposed People to Six More Weeks of Dangerous Heat in 2024
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heat waves around the world. The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, an analysis by […]
Chemtrail Conspiracy Theories: Here’s Why RFK Jr. Is Watching the Skies
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. A conspiracy theory that airplanes are leaving nefarious “chemtrails” in their wake due to a sinister government plot has been given fresh impetus in the US amid a swirl of concerns and confusion about proposals to geoengineer a response to the […]
Hero of 2024: Randy Betz Jr., @flyfishdelawhere
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. There’s a lot that can scare off the newbie fly fisher. First, the gear: the rod and […]
Hero of 2024: Fly-Fishing Tiktoker Randy Betz Jr.
The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. Importantly, this is a completely non-exhaustive and subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy or discontent. Enjoy. There’s a lot that can scare off the newbie fly fisher. First, the gear: the rod and […]
Monster of 2024: The Relentless Pressure to Download More Apps
My cellphone’s apps serve as my alarm clock, meteorologist, GPS, and e-reader. FaceTime is the portal to my nieces who live 500 miles away. Chase Mobile is the reason I seldom deposit checks at a physical bank. Hinge has provided me with an overabundance of dating horror stories and—after copious swiping—an incredible partner. Let me […]
DJI now makes a very powerful car charger for its big ass batteries
DJI’s new fast car charger connected to a DJI power station. | Image: DJI
DJI has quietly introduced a powerful new car charger for its giant portable batteries. The $299 / €269 Power 1kW Super Fast Car Charger can charge the company’s expanding lineup of power stations at up to 1000W from your car’s alternator when the engine is running.
This new class of (nearly) do-it-yourself alternator chargers are having a moment now that the most popular makers of solar generators and power stations have embraced DC-to-DC chargers. I wouldn’t have survived without one when remote working from my van last summer.
Once the Power 1kW is mounted inside your vehicle and connected to the car’s battery via the included 5m (16 feet 5 inches) fused cable, it then connects to the proprietary SDC port of the dongle-happy DJI Power 1000 power station I recently reviewed. It’ll also charge DJI’s 2048Wh Power 2000 Expansion Batteries when daisy-chained together with SDC cables for up to 11kWh of stackable storage capacity. The Power 1kW can also be configured to reverse-charge your car’s battery to prevent battery drain.
At full power the DJI Power 1kW Super Fast Car Charger can charge the Power 1000’s 1024Wh battery in just over an hour’s drive. However, out of the box the Power 1kW is pegged to 500W of charging output. To reach 1000W you have to purchase yet another dongle — the $25 DJI Power Dongle — and then adjust the setting to 1000W in the app. Fortunately, DJI is bundling that dongle as a “free gift” with new purchases of the DJI Power 1kW Super Fast Car Charger, at least in the US.
DJI’s announcement follows the arrival of the 800W EcoFlow Alternator Charger I reviewed last summer and the new 560W Bluetti AC500 announced in the fall (review is coming). EcoFlow’s charger, like DJI’s, uses a proprietary connector making it best suited to charge its own giant batteries, whereas the Bluetti AC500 can charge solar generators and power stations from nearly every manufacturer, but at half the rate of the DJI. Of course, all this assumes that your vehicle is fitted with a high-capacity alternator that can spare the amps.
Reblogged by keul@fosstodon.org ("Luca Fabbri"):
dealingwith@indieweb.social wrote:
"This is literally a DDoS on the entire internet.
"I am so tired."
10 essential books about Jimmy Carter
Throughout his lifetime, Jimmy Carter took on many titles: 39th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner, philanthropist, humanitarian, artist – and writer.
For seniors with hoarding disorder, a support group helps with stigma and isolation
Concern is growing about the prevalence of hoarding disorder among seniors, and the lack of access to effective treatments. Some have found coping strategies — and community — in a support group.
Four years after the Capitol riot, why QAnon hasn't gone away
QAnon followers played an outsized role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. While the online conspiracy community is less prominent now, it still draws attention from GOP politicians.
Jimmy Carter had an early ally in the Senate: a young Democrat named Joe Biden
When they met in the mid-1970s, Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden were both political underdogs. They forged a strong friendship that lasted more than 50 years.
Bird flu Q&A: What to know to help protect yourself and your pets
Each week some revelation about bird flu seems to flutter through the news cycle. Here's what the latest research is saying about how it is spreading and how to keep yourself and your pets safe.
LG’s microwave has a 27-inch display that’ll be perfect for ads
LG’s new microwave mounted above its range, thereby ‘eliminating the need to bend down and check the oven manually.’ | Image: LG
LG has responded to Samsung in the battle to slap displays on every home appliance you own, culminating in the LG Signature microwave which puts a superfluous 27-inch LCD touchscreen and speakers into an appliance you probably don’t even need.
LG says the microwave’s display provides “an immersive entertainment experience” that’ll surely prevent the onset of buyer’s remorse at having overpaid for a potential advertising machine centrally located in your kitchen. And when paired with LG’s oven, it “conveniently shows the cooking progress of dishes in the range, eliminating the need to bend down and check the oven manually.”
In 2023, LG announced plans to transform its hardware-based business into a platform-based service model that continuously generates profits. In September, the company started displaying full-screen ads on its idle televisions.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25810190/Image1_LG_SIGNATURE_2nd_Gen.jpg)
Image: LG
LG’s latest Signature devices.
The company’s second-generation Signature lineup of Wi-Fi appliances continues the tradition of putting a giant transparent OLED “Instaview” touchscreen on its fridge, alongside smaller LCDs on its washer and dryer. LG’s Signature displays can be used to operate the local appliance, access entertainment, and control devices in the LG smart home.
The announcement follows Samsung recently announcing a wider variety of display choices on its home appliances, ranging from 4.3 inches all the way up to 32 inches. It’s all part of the company’s strategy to put “screens everywhere,” instead of easy-to-use buttons and dials that rarely fail and are cheap to replace.
LG hasn’t announced any prices, countries of availability, or shipping dates for its new Signature lineup of appliances. But we’ll surely learn more when everything is demonstrated at the giant CES show which kicks off on January 7th in Las Vegas.
2024 in photos: NPR station photographers share memorable moments
NPR's member and affiliate station photographers share memorable moments from throughout 2024.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz ❤️ 💻") wrote:
I’ve been in a relatively mild comment argument on Instagram for two days about whether the beach level in Mario Sunshine is Frutiger Aero.
I need to reassess some things in my life lmao.
Attachments:
Carter made the decision to establish relations with China
Carter helped make ties between Washington and Beijing, ushering in an era of engagement that brought China out of isolation and underpinned its meteoric economic rise.
isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:") wrote:
Light sculpture. I don't know if you can tell, but the whale is absolutely massive!
Attachments:
brainwane@social.coop ("Sumana Harihareswara") wrote:
Today I felt a sudden rush of sympathy for Chief O'Brien upon realizing that, while turning Terok Nor into Deep Space 9, he had to figure out how to convert Federation or Starfleet replicator files to the Cardassian replicator file format, or get the station replicators to run off Starfleet's file format
At least 3 migrants die trying to cross the English Channel
This latest incident comes as 2024 is named the deadliest year on record for small boat crossings along the perilous migration route.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
“Lone Pine Hill” by Justin Townes Earle
Attachments:
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
MajDen@sociale.network ("MajDen👠🎗☮️ ♀️🎨🥋") wrote:
Una bella benedizione 😇
Attachments:
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
ahhhhh
“(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night” by Tom Waits
