Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
mho@social.heise.de ("Martin Holland") wrote:
After some German unions yesterday, more than 60 (!!) German universities left #X/#Twitter today. Some are already active on #Mastodon. They justified this with their commitment to fact-based communication and against antidemocratic forces. Values that promote diversity, freedom and science aren't present over there, they say. đđť
#TwitterMigration #eXit #Xodus #ElonMusk #NoAfD #SocialMedia
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Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
jeffjarvis ("Jeff Jarvis") wrote:
Brilliant from The Daily Show.
Then Mika says that it's important to be civil. OK, Mom. We'll be nice to the bigot, fascist, sexual assaulter, thief, and liar and go kiss his ass at Mar a Lago like you.
Then sure enough, she brings that up under the guise of civility.
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TikTokâs last stand: Supreme Court hears arguments over potential ban
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images
One last chance before the divest-or-ban law takes effect on January 19th.
TikTok has just over a week before itâs forced to either separate from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or functionally cease operations in the US. An appeals court upheld a divest-or-ban law, but the Supreme Court offers one final chance for the company and its users to make their case. The court is expected to issue a decision quickly after its January 10th oral arguments on whether to at least temporarily block the law.
President Joe Biden signed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act â which passed with bipartisan support â last year, but it will take effect just one day before he hands power to President-elect Donald Trump, who has made frequent but nebulous promises to avoid a ban. Trump filed a surprise brief urging the Supreme Court to delay enforcement until he could broker a deal â though itâs unclear if the Chinese government would approve one.
Nintendo Breaks Silence On Switch 2 Rumors
Articles saying Switch 2 leaks and rumors are appearing like a torrent are appearing like a torrent, as CES 2025 produced a new round of speculation, hope, confusion and possible visions of the unrevealed device. All the while, Nintendo has sat silently, presumably watching our frenetic rushing about with archâŚ
Democrats Could Give Republicans Vast New Immigration Powers
With Donald Trump less than two weeks away from taking office and promising an agenda of mass deportations, Democrats are poised to hand Republicans major new powers over immigration policy. Why? Still shell-shocked from the November results, they apparently fear their reelection prospects if they donât. The Laken Riley Actânamed for the 22-year-old Georgia woman [âŚ]
The Vergecast at CES 2025: the biggest stories and best gadgets
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
CES is a TV show. And a car show. And a wearables show. And this year, oddly, kind of a pool-vacuum show? It is the biggest, most elaborate, most bizarre tech show of the year, during which practically the whole industry flies to Las Vegas to show off new stuff and make big deals.
On this episode of The Vergecast, a special live edition of the show from the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, we talk through as much of it as we can. (Thanks to everyone who came out, by the way! So much fun to get to see and hang out with all of you.) We actually begin the show with a story that didnât start at CES but took over the week anyway: Metaâs about-face on fact-checking and content moderation. After that, we get into Samsungâs new Frame Pro TV, the end of Dellâs XPS brand, Sonyâs bizarrely expensive Afeela car, and more.
After that, The Vergeâs Allison Johnson, Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, and Victoria Song join us onstage to talk about what they saw at the show. We talk about phone toasters, robot vacuums, smart locks, smart glasses, Max Ink Mode, and lots more. Will anything we saw this week ever ship, and will any of it be any good? Who knows! But thatâs the fun of CES. Itâs a fever dream, a...
Reblogged by andreu@andreubotella.com ("Andreu Botella :verified_enby:"):
igalia@floss.social ("Igalia") wrote:
In 2022, Igalia helped establish WinterCG, which aimed to establish interoperability across server-side runtimes, as well as with the web. Now, this group moves to Ecma, becoming WinterTC, with our own @andreu as co-chair alongside Deno's @lcasdev
https://www.igalia.com/2025/01/10/WinterCG-becomes-Ecma's-WinterTC.html
Goodbye WinterCG, welcome WinterTC
WinterCG, the Web Interoperable Runtimes Community Group is moving to ECMA as TC55 to be able to publish standards.
Drone takes out Super Scooper fighting Los Angeles wildfires
A Super Scooper drops ocean water on the Palisades fire. | Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
An aircraft helping to fight wildfires that are raging across Los Angeles was struck by a civilian drone on Thursday. The collision damaged the wing of the aircraft â a CL-415 âSuper Scooperâ capable of scooping up 1,600 gallons of ocean water to drop onto nearby blazes â according to a statement by the LA County Fire Department posted on X, putting it out of service until it can be repaired.
Cal Fire spokesman Chris Thomas told The New York Times that grounding the aircraft will likely set back local firefighting efforts. Super Scoopers can typically refill in about five minutes. But even if it takes ten, thatâs six water drops that are lost each hour according to Thomas. âSo whose house is not going to get that water to protect it?â The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says the Super Scooper landed safely after the drone impact, and that the incident is now under investigation.
Temporary flight restrictions have been implemented in the Los Angeles area that prohibit drones and other aircraft from flying without FAA authorization in an effort to protect firefighting efforts.
According to LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone, the drone was not assigned to help tackle the Palisades fires, and was destroyed in the collision. Marrone told the LA Times that the FBI is now planning to implement so-called âaerial armorâ in the area to prevent further interference from drones.
Several people online have violated the FAA-enforced flight restrictions, posting viral drone photos and video footage across social media showing the devastation from what appears to be prohibited airspace. Fire response agencies are often forced to ground their own aircraft to avoid collisions when dummies fly drones near wildfires for online clout.
âItâs a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands,â the FAA said in a statement. âAdditionally, the FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations. The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses.â
Venu Sports shuts down before it ever launches
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Venu, the live sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, isnât happening. In a statement on Friday, the three companies announced the decision ânot to move forward with the contemplated joint venture is effective immediately.â
Since announcing Venu last year, the service hit a legal roadblock: an antitrust lawsuit from the live TV streaming service Fubo that temporarily blocked its launch. Last week, Disney announced a settlement with Fubo and agreed to merge Hulu + Live TV with Fubo. DirecTV and EchoStar, both of which raised concerns about the launch of Venu, werenât happy about Fuboâs decision to settle.
âAfter careful consideration, we have collectively agreed to discontinue the Venu Sports joint venture and not launch the streaming service,â the companies said in a joint statement. âIn an ever-changing marketplace, we determined that it was best to meet the evolving demands of sports fans by focusing on existing products and distribution channels.â
Developing...
Six Shows We're Ready To Have Mess Our Minds Up In 2025
There isnât an award for this (although there should be), but the best TV shows of the year are typically the ones that leave our minds disoriented and shocked, but always entertained. Whether it was the shifting alliances and weaponized duplicity of ShĹgun, Gambitâs shocking death in X-Men â97, or Baby ReindeerâsâŚ
The coolest laptops of CES 2025
Lenovoâs rollable laptop stole the show, but there are a bunch of upcoming models Iâm excited to test when the time comes. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
The new CPUs, GPUs, and laptops announced at CES this week set the tone for Windows computers in the year to come â and so far, 2025 is looking pretty promising. There are a bunch of new notebooks Iâm excited to test out when they come around, many of which are gaming-focused since the launch of Nvidiaâs RTX 50-series cards is ushering in an onslaught of graphics-heavy refreshes and upgrades.
There are many new laptops coming from Dell, Alienware, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer. Many may just boil down to chip bumps and slight refreshes, but there are some that are betting big on new ideas, thinness, raw power, and over-the-top accouterments. Here are the ones Iâm most excited for.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6
Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
Iâve already written and said a lot about Lenovoâs concept-turned-buyable-product that is the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6. Itâs the coolest laptop we saw. Itâs our outright best in show for CES 2025. And itâs also possible when it comes time to review one later in the year that the challenges of Lenovo trying to graft software functionality for its rollable display onto Windows may be a bridge too far.
But the...
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
thanks for the tour, @CARROT ⌠I hardly recognize the neighborhood anymore
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WhatsApp really hopes you want to talk with AI bots
Illustration: The Verge
Metaâs popular messaging app WhatsApp is testing a new design that gives prominent space to a suite of AI chatbots. The design, currently only accessible through the appâs Android beta, adds a dedicated tab for AIs on the appâs homescreen.
WABetaInfo spotted the change, which devotes one of WhatsAppâs four tabs solely to its AI features. It includes a selection of âPopular AI charactersâ to talk to, along with others organized by subject matter. Other AI-powered features within WhatsApp include AI-generated images and stickers and a search tool using Meta AI.
These AI tools and chatbots arenât new to WhatsApp, though theyâre only available in the US and certain other countries, and a limited selection of languages. Theyâre currently accessed through the appâs primary Chats tab, but this update looks to give them more prominence.
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Image: WABetaInfo
The exciting AIs that WhatsApp wants you to chat with.
The app is also experimenting with expanding the range of AI bots by adding the option to create personalized AI characters, which WABetaInfo found in a separate beta update today. Meta already offers the ability to create custom AI bots, but only through an AI Studio on the Instagram website. Adding the option directly into an app is a significant simplification of the process.
The new AI tab replaces the existing Communities tab, though that functionality isnât going anywhere. A previous beta version earlier this week introduced a âstreamlinedâ version of Community creation within the Chats tab.
The WhatsApp beta is available through Google Play, though tester numbers are limited and the option to join is currently unavailable. We donât know if or when the AI tab will be added to the appâs live build, but the change is likely to be limited only to those countries where the AI features are already available.
Wildfire victims report looting. And, Trump set for sentencing in hush money case
Southern California wildfire victims report looting after returning home to assess damages. And, President-elect Donald Trump is set for sentencing in a hush money conviction today.
The Verge Awards at CES 2025
Image: Samar Haddad for The Verge
Fluffy robots, portable TVs, and vacuums with arms and legs. This is what we come to CES for.
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
mastogram@dindon.one ("Mastogram Official :approved:") wrote:
Mastogram 2.0 is here!
Based on the users' feedback, Iâve rolled out a new version packed with features to make crossposting smarter and more flexible:
Multiple Mastodon and Telegram Accounts. Connect and manage multiple Mastodon and Telegram accounts effortlessly. Arrange crossposting between them to expand your reach.
Smart Posting. Mastogram now intelligently understands the requirements of different servers. It can split long posts into smaller ones, allowing you to share more than four images and adhere to character limits.
LLM Integration. We've integrated Language Learning Model (LLM) prompts to process your content. Automatically translate your posts into specific languages, add summaries, generate tags, and more.
Customizable Content Flows. Set up personalized content flows between your accounts.
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Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
dansup ("dansup the creator") wrote:
pixelfed.com finally.
love you dot social, but it was always temp.
people expect easy to remember domains, and pixelfed.com couldn't be better for us.
(no plans to sunset pixelfed.social, but pixelfed.com will be our new flagship soon)
Reblogged by jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein"):
stefano@bsd.cafe ("Stefano Marinelli") wrote:
UPDATE: I haven't seen Recall in action there. I was just asking the doctor how they'll deal with it.
This morning, I went to the doctor for a scheduled appointment. While she was looking at the results of blood tests from two years ago on the screen (and suggested repeating them for a follow-up), I realized she was using Windows 11. A detail came to mind. The doctor is extremely polite and friendly, so I asked her, "How do you handle the feature called Recall?" The doctor was taken aback and had no idea what I was talking about. I was about to drop the conversation, but she, being a serious professional, immediately called the technicians who manage their PCs to ask for clarification. They downplayed it, saying it's not an issue and that it's a feature "on all PCs, so we can't do anything about it." She started to express that she didnât like it and wanted it deactivated. No luck: they wonât proceed because, according to them, even deactivating it is "a hack that could compromise future updates." Sheâs furious and will talk to her colleagues and the decision-makers. She wants secure systems because "thereâs patient data involved."
In reality, patient data is stored on servers (which I haven't investigated), but everything that appears on the screen is, in my opinion, at risk.
Iâve offered to help them find a solutionâbecause, if I'm right, all they need is LibreOffice and a browser. In that case, Iâll suggest one of the *BSD or Linux systems and do it for free.
I donât want to make money off my doctor. I just want patient data to be (sufficiently) secure.
#IT #Recall #Windows #OwnYourData #Security #Privacy #RunBSD #Linux
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
@kcarruthers [waves hello] good to see ya
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Inmates are fighting California wildfires in long-running and controversial practice
California has turned to incarcerated firefighters since 1915. To those opposed to the use of inmates as firefighters, the system is seen as exploitative.
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Grey clouds linger low,
Bare trees shiver in the cold,
Winter whispers gray.
Reblogged by cstanhope@social.coop ("Your friendly 'net denizen"):
CyReVolt ("Daniel aka CyReVolt đ˘") wrote:
Finite State Monster
Flying Spaghetti Machine
etc etc...those combos are much more fun :D
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
âif there is not soon a large new infusion of aid from the United States, Ukraine will likely lose the war within the next 12 to 18 months. Ukraine will not lose in a nice, negotiated way, with vital territories sacrificed but an independent Ukraine kept alive, sovereign, and protected by Western security guarantees. It faces instead a complete defeat, a loss of sovereignty, and full Russian control.
This poses an immediate problem for Donald Trump. He promisedâŚâ
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2025/01/trump-putin-ukraine-russia-war/681228/
jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
âJan 9 (Reuters) - BlackRock (BLK.N), the world's biggest asset manager, said on Thursday it will leave the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, the latest Wall Street firm to depart an environmentally focused investor group under pressure from Republican politicians.â
The smart glasses era is here â I got a first look
Smart glasses were everywhere on the show floor this year. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
At CES, the next generation of eyewear was everywhere. Itâs just no one seems to agree on why we want it or whatâs the best approach.
Itâs the second day of CES, and Iâm waiting in a line to see my tenth pair of smart glasses. I honestly donât know what to expect: Iâve seen glorified sunglasses with dubious ChatGPT clones. Iâve sidled up to several booths where the glasses were almost carbon copy clones of the pairs a booth over. Iâve seen all manner of âdisplaysâ tacked onto the lenses, some washed out, others so tedious to calibrate as to make me walk away.
So when I slipped on the Rokid Glasses, I felt my brows raise. I could see what looked like a mini desktop. I swiped the arm, and horizontal list of apps appeared. Green writing appeared in front of me a bit like a monitor in The Matrix. A Rokid staffer began speaking to me in Chinese, and despite the surrounding din, I could see a text translation of what she was saying float in front of me. After a brief conversation â she asked whether I ate lunch, she hadnât â she prompted me to try taking a picture. The display shifted to what looked like a cameraâs viewfinder. I hit the multifunction button. An animation flashed. On her phone, I saw the picture I took.
âHoly crap,â I thought. âSo this is what the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses would be like with a display.â And then â âIf this is possible, why doesnât it have one yet?â
The three types of smart glasses
It seems that everyone is still trying to figure out what makes the perfect pair of smart glasses. I must have tried out 20 pairs over the course of the last week, but they all seemed to fall into one of three different buckets in how they balanced wearability and functionality.
The first bucket is the simple and stylish glasses. The more stylish and comfortable smart glasses are, the fewer features they tend to have. But for this group, thatâs often a good thing.
Take the unassuming Nuance Audio. These smart glasses â made by EssilorLuxxotica, Metaâs partner in making the Ray-Ban Meta eyewear â discreetly function as over-the-counter hearing aids. When you wear them, you can dampen some of the noise around you, as well as amplify the voice of the person youâre speaking to. This would sound like science-fiction if I hadnât tried it myself.
But at a glance, youâd never know the Nuance Audio glasses can alter how you hear the world â and thatâs precisely the point. They look like any pair of stylish glasses and come in two colors and three shapes. By âhidingâ their smarts in a normal-looking pair of glasses, theyâre essentially helping to reduce the discomfort some people feel when wearing visible hearing aids. Itâs not flashy, but itâs a precise and clear use case.
The Chamelo glasses take a similar tack. The âsmartâ part of these electrochromic sunglasses can, depending on the model, change the color or tint with a swipe of a finger. Some models also have Bluetooth audio. Chameloâs glasses arenât new, and at CES, they werenât suddenly adding in AI assistants, displays, or anything wild. This yearâs update? Adding support for prescriptions so more people can use the device.
Neither of these glasses is trying to reinvent the wheel. They saw a simple problem worth fixing, and decided to fix it. Nothing more, nothing less.
The face screens
On the other end of the spectrum, youâll find long-time CES veterans Xreal and Vuzix.
When I arrive at Xrealâs booth, itâs jam-packed. Thereâs a station where people wear Xreal glasses as they âdriveâ in a BMW. (The car doesnât move, but you can pretend youâre moving the wheel and tilt your head on a race course.) I don a pair of last yearâs Xreal Air 2 Ultra glasses while seated at a desk with only a keyboard in front of me. The Air 2 Ultra are a bit like chunky sunglasses, with miniature screens hovering beneath the lenses. From afar they look pretty normal. Up close you can feel their bulk â and on the face, they protrude further than looks natural.
Inside the glasses, I see football players on a football field, information popping up over their heads. The virtual display switches to a panoramic video with avatars of friends watching alongside me. In another window, Iâm prompted to type in a description of a fictional creature. I pick âmonstrously fat cat with unicorn wingsâ and lo, it appears. I can pinch and pull with my hands to make it even bigger. The more recently launched Xreal One is also here, though it admittedly gets hard to tell which pair of Xreal glasses is which while elbowing past other eager onlookers.
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Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
XREALâs booth was jam-packed throughout the show.
When I mosey on to Vuzixâs booth, itâs less packed but thatâs likely because folks are gawping at a bizarre karaoke contest a few booths over. I, on the other hand, am wearing a pair of the companyâs latest Ultralite Pro glasses. The glasses look a bit clunkier, but when you put them on, you can see an array of rainbow lights that culminate in a 3D display. Iâm looking at a picture of nature, and thereâs actual depth.
Youâd be hard-pressed to find someone whoâd wear glasses like these walking down the street. They look like glasses, sure, but they can also be bulky and sometimes have cords dangling for battery packs. These glasses show hints of what augmented reality is capable of â but they arenât meant to be things you wear all day, every day.
The spyglasses
This divide between form and function isnât new. Whatâs new is there are far more smart glasses that lie somewhere in the middle. And they have some funky ideas.
Shargeâs Loomos.AI glasses, for example, look similar to the Meta glasses except they use ChatGPT and can shoot 4K photos and 1080p videos. They also add a bizarre neckband battery to account for the massive battery drain. RayNeo was back with smaller, more refined X3 Pro AR glasses. I could list dozens more, but to be frank, they were mostly iterations of the Meta glasses.
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Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
The Rokid Glasses can do a lot of what the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses can do, but with a heads-up display.
Of the myriad smart glasses I saw, three stood out: Halliday, Even Realities G1, and the Rokid Glasses. All three feature a discreet design, with a hidden green monochrome heads-up display. Halliday projects its single display from the frame by shining a green light into your eye; the other two feature microetched displays on both lenses that are nigh invisible when viewed from the front. (All three companies told me they use green light because itâs easiest on the eyes, has the best contrast, and is less likely to get washed out in bright ambient lighting.)
There are slight hardware differences between all three, but in my demos, it was clear that philosophically, theyâre much more geared toward all-day productivity. They have AI assistants, can be used as teleprompters, and offer live translation. The Rokid Glasses even have a 12MP camera for taking photos and video.
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Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
Hallidayâs glasses are a bit different as they feature a teeny projector that beams the display into your eye.
In this vision of the smart glasses revolution, these devices are more like all-day companions that help you use your phone less. The display is something thatâs only occasionally glanced at when itâs relevant and is done mostly in a productivity context. They offer more smarts than the very use-specific Chamelo and Nuance Audio glasses, but they offer more practicality (and wearability) to the average person than what Xreal and Vuzix are pursuing.
The smart glasses era
The more I talk to the people behind these products, the more it becomes clear that everyone believes smart glasses are the future. Itâs also apparent that no one agrees on the best way to get to that future.
âWeâve chosen to optimize for something that is, we think, a great feature geared towards the actual use case of glasses,â says Chamelo CEO and cofounder Reid Covington. âYouâre wearing them to see. Youâre wearing them to block out light. A lot of the more forward-looking smart glasses have interesting features, but theyâre not optimized for, you know, actual usability.â
But even among companies pursuing simpler smart glasses, function isnât always the reason why they choose more discreet or stylish designs. Smart glasses are âsomething that you need to feel are part of yourself,â says Davide DâAlena, global marketing director for Nuance Audio. Function is nice, but doing all the things isnât worth it if you have to wear something hideous on your face. âFor us, itâs just not enough to put out an ugly product, even if itâs working perfectly from a functional point of view. It must be something that is also a self-expression.â
Meanwhile, some long-time veterans in the space contend it isnât a choice of form and function. Itâs a split between AR and AI.
âI actually see two different directions going forward. One is AR glasses which will handle a lot of the XR content. The other one will be the AI glasses as a major kind of all-day wearable smart glasses,â says Chi Xu, Xreal founder and CEO. Xu says that everything will converge at some point â though weâll be waiting a good while before it does. Right now, itâs a matter of every option being developed at once as companies try to figure out the best way to draw people in.
Xu isnât wrong. While some companies like EssilorLuxxotica and Chamelo are committed to one approach, others are happy to dabble. Rokid, for example, may have come out with AI-first smart glasses this year, but its array of more Xreal-like AR glasses was actually the bigger portion of its booth. Meta, apparently, is working on glasses with a display, too, targeting later this year â my colleague Alex Heath reports that the company will add its own twist to the formula by shipping a neural wristband that can be used to control them.
But for all the fragmentation, every company I spoke to said the same thing: theyâve seen renewed interest in this space within the last year and a half â and with that comes investors aplenty with deep wallets. The vast majority emphasized how rapid advancements in technology and AI have made things possible today that were impossible just two or three years ago. And every single one said that interest from the general public, not just first adopters, is also higher than in previous years.
This, they all say, proves that smart glasses are inevitable. Itâs just a matter of getting everyone else to see the vision. And thatâs sort of the problem. With smart glasses, you have to see it to believe it.
Panasonic came back for TV glory at CES 2025
The company hasnât been back in the US TV market for long, but the Z95B OLED proves that Panasonic can hang with Sony, LG, and Samsung at the very high end.
Panasonic returned to the US TV market last year, and only a matter of months later, Iâve convinced myself that its latest flagship OLED is the best TV of CES 2025. Itâs an impressive resurgence for a brand that many home theater enthusiasts remember for producing superb plasma sets back when those represented the crème de la crème of display technology for the living room. After a long hiatus, Panasonic is back in the game and squaring off with Sony, LG, and Samsung in the very premium (and very pricey) TV category.
The companyâs new OLED, the Z95B, will come in three sizes: 55 inches, 65 inches, and 77 inches. It uses the latest and greatest OLED panel from LG Display, which is a new four-layer tandem structure that beats out the brightness of last yearâs LG G4 even without the micro-lens array technology that squeezed as much brightness as possible out of that TV. Last yearâs Z95A from Panasonic also used MLA, but the new approach gets better results and is cheaper to produce.
So the panel is top tier and should be a formidable alternative to the QD-OLED display used in Samsungâs respective 2025 flagship, the S95F. OLED TVs just keep getting brighter, more vivid, and dazzling â and consumers really canât go wrong with any of them. The Panasonic stopped me in my tracks on the show floor and looked phenomenal. I couldnât help but stare at it for several minutes. The Z95B also offers support for gaming at up to 144Hz, so itâs a strong contender there as well, though both LG and Samsung stepped it up to 165Hz this year.
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Technics (another Panasonic brand) handled the audio tuning of the Z95B.
Another thing that sets the Panasonic apart is its built-in Dolby Atmos speaker array. The drivers and sound performance have been tuned by Technics, with a badge that advertises as much. I really dig the fabric sides of this TV; itâs a classy way of concealing the side-firing and upward-firing speakers.
Yes, that audio hardware results in this being a thick set by 2025 standards â especially for an OLED. Panasonic didnât hold back in making the Z95B a hulking beast of a TV. But the good news is that many people wonât need to bother with a separate soundbar since this system will (likely) sound so good. As noted by the excellent Caleb Denison at Digital Trends, the company has also reworked the TVâs cooling system with a new heat dissipation technique that should help keep that four-layer OLED panel in tip-top shape over the long term.
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The TV has a built-in woofer and revamped heat dissipation system.
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This is not a thin TV. But in exchange, you might be able to skip a soundbar.
But there is one glaring dilemma with Panasonic TVs: they run Amazonâs Fire TV OS. Thatâs rather unfortunate. Itâs my least favorite TV platform among the pack, and Iâd argue Amazon has crossed the line when it comes to pushing ads on customers â even if the most egregious examples can be disabled in settings. Fire TV has some good ideas here and there; the ambient mode widgets are something Google has taken note of. But I really hope that Panos Panay and the Fire TV team take a sledgehammer to this software and come back with something much sleeker, more intuitive, and worthy of a TV thatâs certain to be very expensive if the Z95A is anything to go by.
Even so, I know plenty of people who mostly ignore their TVâs default software and use an Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, or some other streaming player as their preferred entertainment interface. With Samsung and LG both being very aggressive with the AI gimmicks this year, I anticipate seeing even more of that. The LG G5 will feature an LLM-powered chatbot, has an AI button on its remote, and even ships with Microsoft Copilot built in. Itâs getting to be a little much, no?
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Panasonicâs using the very latest, very brightest LG Display with a four-layer tandem structure.
To me, the âbest TVâ of CES comes down to what kind of home theater experience it will provide. And Panasonic is already doing an impressive job keeping pace with Sony when it comes to delivering a living room centerpiece that nails both picture and sound. I wish the Z95B (and the companyâs 2025 Mini LED TVs) ran, well, any other TV operating system. But I donât think Fire TV OS is bad enough to sink this high-end set. If you disagree, at least itâs relatively easy to just use something else most of the time.
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Itâs great to see Panasonic giving Sony, LG, and Samsung some premium TV competition.
I canât wait to spend more time with the Z95B when it starts shipping later this year. More competition benefits everyone whoâs on the lookout for a new TV. Companies like TCL and Hisense have done a great job setting new expectations of what you can get for under $1,500. And now Panasonicâs return is showing us whatâs possible for those with the means to splurge on their next big upgrade.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge
Teslaâs redesigned Model Y is here â but not in the US or Europe
Image: Tesla
Tesla has officially revealed the latest version of its Model Y crossover following images leaking online that teased the EVâs redesign. Codenamed âJuniper,â the Model Y 2025 refresh is now live on Teslaâs website in China and other Asia-Pacific markets with deliveries expected to begin in March.
Itâs the most significant update to the Model Y design since it first launched in 2020, which became the first EV to top global car sales last year. Notably, the new variant launching in Australia clearly shows a physical turn signal stalk, which had otherwise been replaced by capacitive buttons on recent Teslas.
The refresh comes after Tesla experienced its first year-over-year drop in sales since the company started mass-producing cars in 2012 â with CEO Elon Muskâs antagonistic behavior suspected to have contributed to the decline.
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Image: Tesla
Blessed be, is that a turn stalk I see inside the updated cabin? Good news for capacitive-button haters.
There are two specifications of the Model Y available at launch according to the Chinese website listing. The 263,500 Chinese yuan (about $35,935) rear-wheel drive edition features an estimated range of up to 593 kilometers (about 368 miles), while the 303,500 Chinese yuan (about $41,390) long-range version can supposedly reach 719 kilometers (about 446 miles). These are âestimatedâ ranges based on Chinaâs CLTC driving cycle standard, however, which Electrek notes isnât as strict as the US EPA system.
New @Tesla Model Y official video from Tesla China. pic.twitter.com/3711QX6VkQ
â Jay in Shanghai çľĺ¨ Jay (@JayinShanghai) January 10, 2025
Both specs have a top speed of 201 kilometers per hour (about 124 mph), and peak charging speeds remain at 250kW. Tesla says that the tires, wheels, and suspension have been updated to provide a smoother, quieter ride, with 19- and 20-inch wheel options available on both models. The estimated vehicle ranges have been calculated using the smaller 19-inch wheel configurations. A performance version has yet to be announced.
The new Model Y otherwise features many of the same improvements as the 2023 Model 3 sedan update, including higher efficiency and performance, an eight-inch touchscreen display for rear passengers, and a quieter cabin with an ambient lighting strip running throughout. The back seats can be folded down electrically to expand the total storage capacity to 2,138 liters, and thereâs a front-view camera to provide a wider field of view when using assisted driving features.
The exterior design doesnât look terribly different from its predecessor, save for a few changes like switching the headlights and tail lights for slimmer light bars that stretch across the front and rear of the vehicle. The front and back ends have also been slightly reshaped, which âeffectively improves the vehicleâs endurance, performance, and service life,â according to Tesla.
Itâs unclear when we can expect the redesigned Model Y to launch in other markets like the US and Europe. Mass production of the vehicles is expected to start in Shanghai this month though, and we know that it took the Model 3 update around four months to reach the US last year.
tubafullofflowers@www.librepunk.club ("Ada") wrote:
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Redmi is first to bring the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 to Europe
The Redmi Note 14 Pro Plus 5G launches in lavender purple, frost blue, and midnight black. | Image: Redmi
Today Xiaomiâs subsidiary Redmi brings its affordable Note 14 series to Europe, along with the Western debut of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. After launching in August 2024, the Qualcomm chip had to sit and watch while the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite came along two months later, drew more attention, and even launched in a Western phone first in the form of this weekâs OnePlus 13. But the more affordable Snapdragon chip is now getting its dues.
There are five phones in the Note 14 line, ranging from the 4G-only Note 14 up to the Note 14 Pro Plus 5G, the only phone in the series powered by the Snapdragon silicon. The entry-level chip in Qualcommâs Snapdragon 7 series, the 7s Gen 3 is a 4nm chipset thatâs most notable for making the jump to Armâs v9 CPU architecture, with a 2.5GHz Cortex-A720 core at the heart of the processor. The other four phones use a variety of MediaTek chipsets.
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Image: Redmi
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 powers the Note 14 Pro Plus 5G.
Starting at ÂŁ399/âŹ499.90 (about $500), the Pro Plus is positioned as a natural competitor to Googleâs $499 Pixel 8A, but outpaces it comfortably in most hardware specs, with improved IP68 water-resistance; up to 12GB RAM and 512GB storage; and a larger, brighter OLED display protected by Corningâs flagship-grade Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The big trade-off is on the software side, especially given that Google has guaranteed Android updates for the Pixel 8A until 2031.
The other Note 14 phones offer a gradual drop-off in specs and connectivity. The Note 14 Pro 5G shares the Pro Plus modelâs display, 200-megapixel camera, and IP68 rating, but drops to a cheaper MediaTek 7300-Ultra chipset and slower charging. The regular Redmi Note 14 Pro is similar, but ditches 5G for 4G connectivity and is only IP64-rated. The Note 14 and Note 14 5G have reduced specs across the board â though the 4G modelâs IP54 water-resistance still impresses for a phone that costs less than half of a Pixel 8A.
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Image: Redmi
The Redmi Note 14 4G is the cheapest model in the new series.
All four phones launched in China and then India late last year, but today go on sale in ten European countries, including the UK and Germany. Somewhat confusingly, the European models have altered specs from their Asian counterparts â the Pro Plus 5G has completely different cameras and battery, for example â which isnât uncommon for Redmi.
The Redmi Note 14 series already has stiff competition from within the Xiaomi family, after the similarly priced Poco X7 and X7 Pro launched globally yesterday. Those phones lean on IP68 ratings and big batteries â 6,000mAh in the Pro â in the effort to draw budget buyers away from Google and Samsung.
Locals Reflect on the Palisades Inferno
This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The sun glared red as it sank into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, casting an orange hue over the carnage smoldering on the southern Californian coast. It will be a day not soon forgotten in Los Angeles, which by evening was [âŚ]
Hereâs the Real Number of Children Receiving Gender-Affirming Medical Treatment
Countless words have been spilledâincluding in Mother Jonesâon the topic of medical care for transgender youth. The attention, in part, comes from a steep jump in the number of teens who self-identify as transgender in surveysâand, even more significantly, by the massive, coordinated, right-wing campaign designed to politically weaponize transgender kidsâ very existence. At least [âŚ]
Jimmy Carter is no saint in my house
For President Biden's legacy, we should look to late President Jimmy Carter's history in Central America.
10 people have now died in the wildfires spreading across Southern California
The number of dead tied to the wildfires increases as local officials warn the toll will increase. About 180,000 people have had to evacuate.
Firefighters battling LA fires make some progress, but harsh winds threaten gains
Despite some progress, the biggest blazes â the Palisades and Eaton fires â rage uncontrolled as anxious residents receive alerts sent in error and face massive damages.
Trump set for sentencing in his New York felony conviction
Trump on Thursday exhausted his last legal maneuver to stop the sentencing, after a narrow majority of Supreme Court justices declined to intervene.
Hey, meat eaters. Your gut health can rival a vegan's. Here's how
Our guts are home to trillions of microbes that influence our health. A new study finds the key to a healthy microbiome is the variety of plant-based food in your diet, even if you eat meat.
After 17 years, it's Hoda Kotb's last 'Today' show
Craig Melvin, current news anchor and host of Today's 3rd Hour, has been named Kotb's successor.
How these suburban moms in Ukraine manage grief by training to down Russian drones
Women from a Kyiv suburb traumatized by a 2022 massacre by Russian troops joined a volunteer air defense unit to take down Russia's drones â and deal with their fears.
Q&A: CIA Chief on how the U.S. intel community handled Russia, China and Mideast
In an exit interview with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, CIA Director William Burns says he still thinks "there's a chance" for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Her family thought they would return home the next day. Now, their house is gone.
Jinghuan Liu Tervalon packed a few documents, keepsakes and clothing before leaving her Altadena, Calif., home ahead of the fast-moving Eaton Canyon Fire. Her son returned to find rubble and ash.
TikTok is heading to the Supreme Court to challenge its U.S. ban. Here's what to know
Lawyers for TikTok will argue that banning the app will violate the free speech of 170 million American users. The Justice Department will contend that the app is a national security risk.
Who's in, who's out and who wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico? The quiz is back!
This week, we tackle the Golden Globes, free speech, Girl Scout cookies, dragons and more. Add a perfect score to your New Year's resolutions!
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
brucelawson@vivaldi.net ("Bruce Lawson â (quiet time)") wrote:
"Some of the worldâs most popular apps are likely being co-opted by rogue members of the advertising industry to harvest sensitive location data on a massive scale, with that data ending up with a location data company whose subsidiary has previously sold global location data to US law enforcement." https://www.404media.co/candy-crush-tinder-myfitnesspal-see-the-thousands-of-apps-hijacked-to-spy-on-your-location/
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
Meanwhile, sales of the premium and ultra-premium devices that you carry as a developer still represent *much* less than half of the market by volume. That's how you can get Apple breaching $1K ASP while the worldwide average stays at 1/3 that: selling *six* >$250 phones for every iPhone 16 Pro.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
benschwarz@front-end.social wrote:
đ I made a completely free website speed test tool!
You can use it to optimise your pages, no sign up required.
In each test:
- Performance metrics
- Lighthouse Audits
- Third Party script report
- Google Core Web Vitals DashboardNo money down, fast website đ
https://calibreapp.com/tools/website-speed-test
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
Just need to make this super clear: the worldwide Average Selling Price of a smartphone (new, unlocked, not including secondary sales) *has not been higher than the price of Apple's cheapest model* at almost any point in a decade.
Today's cheapest iPhone from Apple cost ~18% more than the global ASP:
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Alec Baldwin sues New Mexico officials over handling of 'Rust' shooting case
Actor Alec Baldwin has filed a civil lawsuit for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western movie Rust.
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
For the Performance Inequality Gap series, I'm gathering new data points in charts that I'd only talked to in prose in previous years. One of those is the difference between the various market segements looks at by price, with the Flagships clocking the new, unlocked cost of the fastest chip in each line, while the lower-end lines capture the mid-tier and low-end segments from various manufacturers.
The blue line that has never bumped above $375? That's worldwide average selling price.
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- Each of the Flagship lines represents the new, unlocked price of the cheapest phone containing the fastest chip in each group. Meanwhile, the Budget and Low-End segments try to capture where the offerings in those ranges are from relatively consistent manufacturers over the years at ~$250 and ~$100, respectively. The blue line is the worldwide ASP, not including refurb or secondhand. As ever, the "i" in "iPhone" stands for "inequality". (remote)
slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell") wrote:
The thing folks at the low-end are mostly missing out on is performance, which is dominated by combined L1 + L2 + L3 + SLC on-package caches, with process-shrink-driven frequency scaling not far behind:
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- By Dec 2024, a fast-ish Android had finally shipped. (remote)
- Yes, you're reading that right. Apple *has* been trouncing everyone else in single-core performance for a decade by adding several multiples of everyone else's combined cache allocations for die space. Just an unbelievable drubbing. (remote)
- Cores and frequencies don't mean squat when it comes to mobile phones. The action is all in the amount of die space allocated to caches. (remote)
'Pizzagate' gunman killed by police in North Carolina, authorities say
A man who fired a gun inside a restaurant in the nation's capital after a fake online conspiracy theory motivated him to do so nearly a decade ago was shot and killed by North Carolina police.
Reblogged by jakedel@mamot.fr ("S. Delafond"):
freexian@hachyderm.io ("Freexian :debian:") wrote:
In December 2024, Freexian collaborators were very busy contributing to Debian. These contributions cover tracker.debian.org updates, Salsa CI improvements, Coinstallable build-essential, Python 3.13 transition, Ruby 3.3 transition and more!
You can read all about it in our monthly report: https://www.freexian.com/blog/debian-contributions-12-2024/
We thank the organizations subscribing to our Long Term Support contracts (https://www.freexian.com/lts/) and consulting services (https://www.freexian.com/services/) for making this possible.
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
wezm@mastodon.decentralised.social ("Wesley Moore") wrote:
I'm curious how widely known these are.
Are you aware of these text editing behaviours?
- Double click to select a word.
- Double click and drag to select text a whole word at a time.
- Triple click to select a paragraph.Trivia: the first two were present in the original 1984 Macintosh.
Winter Storm Cora brings cold and snow to the Southern U.S.
A major winter storm is expected to be the biggest in years as cold air moves in from the Arctic bringing snow and frigid temperatures across 20 Southern States.
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
Every smartphone in LA accidentally received a wildfire evacuation alert | TechCrunch:
"But on Thursday afternoon, a wildfire evacuation alert was mistakenly sent to the smartphone of every resident in Los Angeles County, a region with more than 9 million people."
fraying@xoxo.zone ("Derek Powazek đ") wrote:
They'll boil the oceans for the promise of free labor. That's what's driving all the AI bullshit: a bunch of rich assholes who don't want to pay workers.
https://gizmodo.com/41-of-employers-worldwide-say-theyll-reduce-staff-by-2030-due-to-ai-2000548131
Trump loses Supreme Court appeal to block hush-money sentencing
This was the only one of Trump's criminal charges to reach and complete a trial, making him the first former or future U.S. president to be convicted of criminal charges.
Supreme Court Allows Trumpâs Felony Sentencing to Proceed
The Supreme Court on Thursday narrowly denied President-elect Donald Trumpâs last ditch effort to delay his sentencing in the New York hush money case in which he was convicted of 34 felony counts in May. That sentencing will now proceed tomorrow, January 10. Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up payments [âŚ]
Reblogged by fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť"):
jdp23@gotosocial.thenexus.today ("Jon P") wrote:
Here's EFF's follow-up post https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/metas-new-content-policy-will-harm-vulnerable-users-if-it-really-valued-free ... including
"It was our mistake to formulate our responses and expectations on what is essentially a marketing video for upcoming policy changes before any of those changes were reflected in their documentation."
No shit.
Jillian C. York said "sometimes people are exhausted and move too quickly and get things wrong" which is true, and I don't attribute any bad intent to her, but then again it's their (organizational) elitism that makes them feel like they have to comment ASAP without taking the time to let things develop a little, and their lack of effectiveness that nobody in the loop said "wait a second ... it's Mark F---ing Zuckerberg, he's almost certainly lying, and he's almost certainly not doing anything in good faith, maybe we should think about this a bit before hittiung publish?"
fromjason ("fromjason.xyz â¤ď¸ đť") wrote:
Needle (iOS) is a music-based social media platform. Iâve been perusing the feed, discovering new music for the last few days and I like it. Itâs cozy and simple to use.
Currently, the app reports no data collection and it looks like itâs an indie developer. đ
Letâs be friends on there so I can subject you to my music taste. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/needle-music/id1539883285
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This wildfire evacuation alert accidentally went out to everyone in LA County
This is the alert that inadvertently went out to everyone in LA County, | Screenshot: Sheena Visani
After two days of dealing with wildfires that have burned thousands of acres, residents across Los Angeles County received a wildfire evacuation alert on Thursday afternoon that was a mistake. Shortly after, officials sent a follow-up alert saying that the notice was intended only for people near the Kenneth Fire in Woodland Hills.
Los Angeles County shared a message on X explaining what happened. âAn evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was mistakenly issued Countywide,â according to the post. âThis alert was only intended for residents of Calabasas and Agoura Hills.â
CBS Los Angeles quoted Sup. Janice Hahn saying, âI have been informed the evacuation warning that many of us just received on our phones was mistakenly issued countywide due to a technical error.â
An evacuation order for residents near the Kenneth Fire currently burning in West Hills was mistakenly issued Countywide. For updates on wildfires currently burning in LA County, including evacuation information please visit https://t.co/p46PbDz31o. pic.twitter.com/JRQhOCBx3j
â Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) January 10, 2025
Many wildfires are burning in the LA area, and there have been at least six deaths confirmed by officials, CNN reports.
Developing...
Appleâs weird iPhone alarm problems are still happening
Image: Satechi
Apple acknowledged issues with the reliability of the iPhoneâs built-in alarm feature last April after a report by NBCâs Today morning show and said it was working on a fix, but some people are still having trouble. Android Authority points out this Reddit post by bryanlolwut in the r/iPhone subreddit from Wednesday with a picture of an iPhone with an Alarm set for 10:30, but the alarm goes off at 12:42 instead â the time displayed on an Apple Watch.
Late into Thursday, many Reddit users are still commenting on the thread, saying theyâre having similar issues.
âMy morning alarm was displaying as going off while making no sound and no haptics for 40 minutes,â said Slawek_Zupa. Another post says their alarm went off at 5PM when it was supposed to go off at 7AM.
The reports in the thread today include people still using iOS 17 and others who have updated to iOS 18 with Apple Intelligence.
Some say theyâve tried turning off Appleâs Attention Awareness Features, which can reduce the alarm volume when it goes off if the iPhone detects your face. However, it hasnât solved the problem for many, and you lose out on features like seeing full notifications on your lock screen.
Weâve asked Apple if theyâre still looking into this problem, but we have not received a response yet. Personally, Iâve also noticed my iPhone sometimes doesnât make sounds or vibrate in the morning, but it does drop down a lifeless notification as if it did. Luckily, Iâve got a Google Pixel 8 Pro as a backup that usually gets me going, and Iâm trying the Nintendo Alarmo, too, but my wife has had enough of Zelda yelling at Link to wake up.
Losing Your Home Is HellâBut So Is Being Unhoused in a Wildfire
The ongoing Los Angeles wildfires have reportedly killed at least 5 people and destroyed thousands of structures, leaving entire neighborhoods in heaps of ashes. With stately homes burned to the ground, or too damaged to imminently return to, wealthy Angelenos reportedly fled to hotels or other cities: Those who could afford the nightly rate of [âŚ]
rmi@cloudisland.nz ("Rob Isaac") wrote:
Stop calling it Meta. Itâs not fucking âmeta.â Facebook in a rusty white panel van, parked outside a school with a sign that says FREE CANDY, is about the least âmetaâ thing that exists.
kissane@mas.to ("Erin Kissane") wrote:
I was going to post something else this week, but the structural inability of global corporations to govern platforms seems inescapably relevant.
Microlinoâs âanti-pickup truckâ is designed for Americans
Hot dog and eagle, sold separately. | Image: Micro
Micro â maker of those electric bubble cars found in some European cities â has a new Microlino especially for Americans. The all-electric Microlino Spider is dubbed the âanti-pickup truckâ and is meant to be a golf cart replacement. No, not for use on fairways, but at expansive resorts and so-called golf cart communities where well-heeled urbanites can retire in the relative safety of walkable villages with low-speed roads.
âAmericans donât just drive large cars. In fact, the US is the worldâs biggest market for golf carts, where theyâre often used for personal transport within neighborhoods,â says Wim Ouboter, founder and chair of Switzerland-based Micro. âThatâs exactly why we created the Microlino Spider.â
âConsider it the antithesis to massive electric pickup trucks â not built for the 5 percent of trips where you need to haul a lot,â says Ouboter, âbut for the 95 percent of trips where you are alone.â
The Microlino Spider features an open-door and roof design to make it easy to jump in and out from the sides. Thatâs a marked departure from the highway-legal Microlino Dolce I reviewed last year, or the slower Lite version that only requires a moped license â both of which you enter through the vehicleâs hinged face to the delight of onlookers.
For the moment, Micro is calling the Microlino Spider a âconcept,â but says itâs intent on bringing the micro car to the US âas a more stylish and safer alternative to golf carts, ideal for personal errands or commuting.â Itâs now gauging interest from partners such as âdealer groups, leasing companies, and other entrepreneurs interested in bringing this new vehicle category to the country.â
Unfortunately for Micro, Americans are increasingly drawn to larger and more dangerous vehicles. Just about every truck and SUV sold today is bigger than they were 20 years ago. And those behemoths make up about 80 percent of vehicles sold in the US. Experts have warned that the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the risk to pedestrians and cyclists of injury or death.
Microâs anti-pickup truck may not solve this particular problem. But more small car options is undeniably a good thing in a society overrun by rolling land yachts.
Google launches a âneutralâ Chromium development fund
Illustration: The Verge
Google is partnering with The Linux Foundation to launch an initiative meant to âfund open development and enhance projectsâ in the Chromium ecosystem, according to an announcement on Thursday. The fund, called Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, is billed as a âneutralâ space to support Chromium projects.
Google launched Chromium alongside its Chrome web browser in 2008. Itâs the open-source infrastructure that powers Chrome and many other browsers built on it, including Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Brave.
In addition to Google, there are already several notable companies on board with the initiative, including Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Microsoft said joining will help âprovide clear and open governance that directs funds towards community-driven needs.â
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Image: Google
Googleâs contributions to Chromium.
Google also highlighted the more than 100,000 commits it made to Chromium last year, as well as its efforts to âinvest heavilyâ into the open-source project:
Google also continues to invest heavily in the shared infrastructure of the Open Source project to âkeep the lights onâ, including having thousands of servers endlessly running millions of tests, responding to hundreds of incoming bugs per day, ensuring the important ones get fixed, and constantly investing in code health to keep the whole project maintainable.
The creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative comes months after the US Department of Justice demanded that Google sell Chrome as part of its proposed remedies following the ruling that Google is a monopolist. In response, Google proposed eliminating exclusive deals that make Google the default search engine on web browsers like Safari and Mozilla for three years.
Even if Google is attempting to show the DOJ how much it contributes to Chromium, the creation of the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers suggests the open-source project would still have backing without the companyâs involvement.
Amazon Has 16 More Free Games To Add To Your Massive Backlog
Happy New Year! Did you walk away from Christmas with more games to play and a backlog that seems impossible to chop through? Well, get ready to possibly add even more games to it, as Amazon has announced 16 free games are coming to Prime members in January.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
barnoid@mastodon.me.uk ("Barney Livingston") wrote:
At #emfcamp I was tasked with sticking together the slides for the lightning talks for ease of speaker changeover. One of the talks had about 150 slides, that's 1 every 2 seconds for a 5 minute talk! Surely a mistake, I thought.
I've just seen the result and it's great, high density, stuff:
https://media.ccc.de/v/emf2024-548-lightning-talks-saturday
http://benguin.co.uk/roads/
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
404 Media continues to do the Lord's work. And furthermore, the data broker industry must be destroyed.
'He saved our lives.' A former US hostage reflects on Carter's legacy
Jimmy Carter's four years in the White House were largely defined by an event that took place halfway through his term. On November 4th, 1979 Iranian college students took over the US Embassy in Tehran, and took 52 Americans hostage.For the next 444 days, the Carter administration tried to secure the hostages' release. In April, 1980 they even commissioned a rescue mission that ended in failure. While Carter was trying to end the hostage crisis, he was also campaigning for a second term. A year to the day after the Americans were taken hostage, Ronald Reagan beat Carter in a landslide.The hostage crisis played a key role in Carter's defeat. The Iranian Hostage crisis helped doom Jimmy Carter's presidency, but for some of the people he helped free, he was a hero. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at considerthis@npr.org
The Honda Zero EVs look even more compelling up close
Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Iâm not saying I want to buy one. Iâm just very curious to see where this is going.
Honda released one of the more interesting concepts at last yearâs CES with two Honda Zero prototypes: the Saloon and the Space-Hub. It promised to come back in a year with something a little closer to production. But rather than temper those space-age design elements, Honda leaned into them. Way in.
The Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV retain a lot of what made the concepts so weird and different â and not necessarily in an off-putting way. But itâs definitely not the electric CR-V that customers have been begging the company to make for years. In fact, Honda seems to be saying to all those people who want normie-looking EVs, âWe see you. We hear you. We donât care.â
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Much has already been said about the similarities between these Honda Zero prototypes and certain iconic vehicles from the â70s and â80s, like the Lamborghini Countach, AMC Gremlin, Aston Martin Lagonda Shooting Brake, and (h/t Jason Torchinsky) the Brubaker Box.
My theory is that Honda is reaching for these design inspirations as a way to offset the future shock of an ultra-minimalist interior and all the marketing speak about âsoftware-defined vehicles.â After all, Hondaâs real announcement this year was the operating system it developed in-house, named after its iconic Asimo robot.
The Zero EVs mostly feel like a lot of window dressing for the actual product, which is software. What better way to draw people into listening to a TED talk about âhigh-performance system-on-a-chipâ than to stand in front of a car that looks like it should be floating in low orbit?
Honda 0 Saloon
One of the things I noticed about the Saloon was the lack of a rear window â that rounded rectangle in the back isnât transparent. The depth effect is very impressive, but itâs not obscuring an incognito window. Itâs just the taillight.
Something else that caught my attention was the lack of sideview mirrors. Honda is using cameras instead. Drivers who want to check their blind spots will need to use two screens embedded at either end of the long piece of glass that spans the length of the dashboard. Of course, US safety regulations require regular old sideview mirrors, so this seems mostly aspirational.
Honda 0 SUV
The SUV is less âout thereâ than the Saloon, and that probably means weâre likely to see some version of it on US roads before the sedan. Thereâs definitely a rear window, and the airiness of the greenhouse seems to allude to Honda Zeroâs design principles of âthin, light, and wise.â
We donât have any specs for either vehicle, though Honda has said that its Zero EVs will draw from the automakerâs Formula 1 racing experience. The automaker is also aiming for optimum battery efficiency through its e-Axle system consisting of a motor, inverter, and gearbox that convert electric power into energy for driving. Each EV is expected to have around 300 miles of range, which translates to an 80â90kWh battery.
Other important details include an effort to consolidate electronic control units, similar to Rivianâs recently relaunched R1 vehicles. By reducing the number of components and wiring, Honda is clearly trying to limit its costs in an environment where the price of production seems to be on the rise.
Interior
The absence of anything remotely resembling a physical knob or dial inside either vehicle is a pretty good sign that automakers continue to ignore the pleas of customers to stop porting every last bit of functionality through its digital interfaces. Yes, Iâm an old man yelling at clouds, but for the love of god, give me something to twist or push. Trying to adjust the heat by tapping blindly at a smooth pane of glass while careening down a highway at 75mph isnât exactly my idea of a good time.
The yoke is... a yoke. Automakers love their steering yokes! But when it comes time to actually put something into production, they mostly retreat back to wheel shapes. The moonroof is another one of those features that suggest âthinâ principles. And obviously, Hondaâs promise that its Zero vehicles will come with Level 3 autonomy, also known as âhands-off, eyes-offâ driving, needs a lot more explanation. Whatâs the handoff between autonomous system and driver look like? And how will it account for our very human tendency to zone out when weâre not actively engaged in driving?
There are a lot of questions swirling around these vehicles! Will they ever go into production? Thereâs a nonzero chance.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
aram@aoir.social ("Aram Sinnreich") wrote:
Happy 12th birthday to the defining visual artwork of this era.
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Onion vs. Hard Times: FIGHT!
"Gavin Newsom Spotted Dining At Smoldering Remains Of Nobu", "Biden Takes Immediate Action On Los Angeles Wildfires By Sending New Weapons Package to Israel."
https://jwz.org/b/ykf9
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Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
weatherwest ("Daniel Swain") wrote:
This increase in atmospheric "thirst" is actually caused by same underlying thermodynamic process driving increases in precip intensity w/warming. In new paper, coincidentally published today, we introduce analogy of the "Expanding Atmospheric Sponge." https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-024-00624-z
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
weatherwest ("Daniel Swain") wrote:
With #ClimateChange, we see warming but also widespread increases in atmospheric "thirstiness" (i.e., evaporative demand/vapor pressure deficit). A warmer, thirstier atmosphere means (potentially) drier, more flammable vegetation in absence of compensating precip increases.
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Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
weatherwest ("Daniel Swain") wrote:
What is the primary link between #ClimateChange and wildfire, both in CA specifically and more broadly globally? Vegetation moisture, and therefore its flammability (which includes propensity to ignition, combustion intensity, rates of spread, and etc.). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01224-1
Here are the best Kindle deals right now
Amazonâs second-gen Kindle Scribe is already receiving a $75 discount at several retailers, including Amazon. | Photo: Sheena Vasani / The Verge
When it comes to finding a device to read ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your phone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on X. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.
Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its ever-expanding Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons. The bulk of the devices function as simple ebook readers; however, with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon is moving beyond books and into the realm of writing â something that should make future Kindles function more akin to physical paper.
Below, weâve listed each model currently available. Sometimes there isnât a deal for one or even any of the products, but in those cases, weâve listed the most recent sale price.
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Image: Amazon
The entry-level Kindle remains the smallest e-reader Amazon offers, one thatâs available in either black or green.
The best Kindle (2024) deals
In case you missed it, Amazon announced a new entry-level Kindle in October, one that was designed to replace the outgoing 2022 model. The latest Kindle â which starts at $109.99 â boasts a brighter 94-nit display, improved contrast levels, and slightly faster page turns. It also comes in a âmatchaâ green instead of âdenim,â just in case youâre not a fan of the default black color. Otherwise, though, itâs nearly identical to its predecessor, with the same six-inch 300ppi screen, support for USB-C, and 16GB of base storage.
In the past, Amazonâs newest ad-supported Kindle has dropped to as low as $84.99 ($25 off) with three months of Kindle Unlimited. Right now, however, you can only buy the Kindle at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for its full retail price of $109.99.
The best Kindle Kids (2024) deals
Amazon also updated its kid-friendly Kindle in late 2024. The new Kindle Kids is identical to the standard model but comes with several accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books. Like the last-gen Kindle Kids, the latest model retails for $20 more than the base model, bringing the MSRP to $129.99.
In terms of add-ons, the new Kindle Kids edition consists of four items: the device, a protective case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and six months of Amazon Kids Plus. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns and lack of ads, as it allows parents to grant their child access to games, videos, and books â including those in the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter series â at no additional cost.
In the past, weâve seen the new Kindle Kids sell for as low as $94.99 ($35 off). Right now, however, you can only buy the e-reader at its full price of $129.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.
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The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.
The best Kindle Paperwhite (2024) deals
The latest Kindle Paperwhite, which launched last year, is Amazonâs 12th-gen model. Considering itâs one of the companyâs higher-end configurations, it offers all the features found in the entry-level Kindle, including USB-C charging and a crisp 300ppi display. That being said, itâs noticeably faster than Amazonâs base ebook reader and features IPX8 waterproofing, a larger seven-inch display, and longer battery life.
Like other Kindles, the new Paperwhite is available in a few different configurations. Thereâs an ad-free Signature Edition for $199.99, which is identical to the standard model but comes with 32GB of storage, Qi wireless charging, and a backlight that will automatically adjust when needed. Thereâs also a Paperwhite Kids for $179.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and six months of Amazon Kids Plus.
In the past, weâve seen the Paperwhite drop to as low as $129.99. Unfortunately, the standalone model is currently only available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target starting at $159.99 (its full retail price). If youâre okay with purchasing a bundle, you can also grab it at Amazon with a power adapter and a black, green, or pink fabric cover for $196.97 ($20 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $202.97 ($20 off).
Read our Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review.
As for the ad-free Signature Edition, itâs available at Amazon and Best Buy right now for $199.99 â its regular retail price. You can also grab it at Amazon with a wireless charging dock and a black, green, or pink fabric cover starting at $251.97 ($25 off) or with a plant-based black, green, or pink leather cover for $257.97 ($25 off).
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You can write in the Kindle Scribe and use its AI features to clean up the handwriting or summarize your notes.
The best Kindle Scribe (2024) deals
Like its predecessor, the second-gen Kindle Scribe is Amazonâs biggest e-reader. It packs a 10.2-inch display with 300 dpi, along with the same great battery life for which Kindles have become known. What separates the Scribe from other Kindles, however, is that it comes with a stylus, which can be used to jot down notes or doodle in the ebook readerâs built-in notebook. With the latest Scribe, Amazon also introduced a new Active Canvas feature, so you can scribble notes directly on ebook pages, as well as a suite of AI-powered features that can summarize your notes and refine your handwriting.
The new Kindle Scribe starts at $399.99 with 16GB of storage, but right now, you can buy it at Amazon and Best Buy. for an all-time low of $324.99 ($75 off).
Read our Kindle Scribe (2024) review.
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Photos by Andrew Liszewski / The Verge
The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is Amazonâs only color e-reader.
The best Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition deals
In October, Amazon announced its first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. Like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, it boasts a seven-inch display with a crisp 300ppi resolution, IPX8 water resistance, wireless charging, and 32GB of storage. However, unlike the Paperwhite, the e-reader offers a color mode, which cuts the resolution in half. Thankfully, itâs still vibrant for a color E-Ink screen despite the lower resolution, rendering it particularly ideal for reading comic books and manga.
We have yet to see the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition go on sale. Right now, you can only buy the standalone e-reader at Amazon and Best Buy for its full retail price of $279.99. However, you can save some money if you buy it as a part of a bundle for $327.97 ($35 off), which nets you a wireless charging dock and plant-based leather cover in black, pink, or green. You can also buy it with a âpremiumâ leather cover in red or black for $349.97 ($35 off).
Read our Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition review.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
TIL that you can just watch cosmic rays hit the Superkamiokande experiment's giant (30m diameter) water tank 1000m below the Japanese alps in real time online:
Attachments:
- A screenshot of a data visualization of a single event captured by super-kamiokande. The detectors cover the full cylindrical surface of the device, and there are two shells of detectors, the inner shell, and the more sparse outer shell. The detectors of the inner shell are plotted in the middle of the picture, and the outer shell smaller in one corner. Each of the roughly 10000 detectors is colored by incident photon energy, painting a picture of a clipped cone. (remote)
@jasonkoebler "Shock and disillusionment amongst employees of Leopards Eating Faces LLC".
Reblogged by isagalaev ("Ivan Sagalaev :flag_wbw:"):
mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io ("mekka okereke :verified:") wrote:
Facts.
The above post is much deeper and more profound than it might seem.
I want people to read it again, and really understand it.
When an Open Source or volunteer based initiative offers a similar service to a VC backed startup or publicly traded company, the odds can seem insurmountable, because the VC backed company budgets are astronomical. But... their budgets also include the need to both generate profit, and to grow at an exponential rate.
Customer acquisition is *usually* very expensive. But if you don't also have that same need to generate profit, or grow at an exponential rate, then you can operate at a similar quality, for a fraction of the cost.
"đ¤ˇđťââď¸ Meh. I don't care about hypergrowth, and I don't care about making a billion dollars." Is ironically, a devastatingly powerful *competitive* statement. It kills giants.
But you have to believe that all this is true, to fully unlock your mind to then believe that you can create something of similar quality. Because if you don't truly believe this, then you instead tell yourself things like, "I don't deserve good UX in my product, because I don't have $200MM in funding." This is self-defeating excuse making.
Mastodon is a unique "business" in that its customer acquisition cost is effectively negative.đđ
Because the most successful Mastodon marketing campaigns, are negative "customer attrition campaignsđ¤Ą" paid for and run by their competitors, that drive away their own customers, like Sonic losing his rings. They pay good money to drive their own customers to BlueSky and Mastodon.đ¤Śđżââď¸
Lebanon chooses a new president after two years without one
Lebanon's parliament chose the head of the country's armed forces, Joseph Aoun, to be its next president, a post that's been vacant since October 2022.
Powerful winds fueling the California wildfires are expected through Friday
Red flag warnings are in effect for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as the National Weather Service warns that powerful winds and low humidity will increase the risk of fire.
What it is Like to Live and Report in Gaza
Israel has prevented international journalists from entering Gaza, which means getting information from the territory is difficult. NPR has relied on producer Anas Baba who lives in and reports from Gaza to be our microphone. In a conversation with NPR's correspondent Israel Daniel Estrin, we hear about the daily challenges Baba faces in Gaza. For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org/mideastupdates
As Deadly LA Fires Rage Nearby, Riot Games Promises To 'Give Back In Every Way We Can'
Riot Games is temporarily closing its headquarters in Los Angeles County as dangerous fires continue to burn in the Palisades and elsewhere. The League of Legends maker, which is situated just a few miles from the current edge of the Santa Monica evacuation warning zone, will only allow staff associated with âcriticalâŚ
World Health Organization head on bond with Jimmy Carter: 'I consider him my mentor'
The World Health Organization leader worked with Carter for 20 years to fight the world's "neglected" diseases. After attending Carter's funeral, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared memories.
X launches Grokâs iPhone app in the US
Image: The Verge
xAI has released an iOS app in the US for its Grok chatbot, as spotted earlier by TechCrunch. The standalone app version of the chatbot, which xAI calls a beta, can perform the same functions as the one built into X, as it can field real-time information, answer questions, and generate images.
xAI started testing Grokâs standalone iOS app in December in a handful of countries. Thereâs no word on when it may come to Android.
Though Grok was initially only available to X Premium subscribers, the platform started letting all users access the chatbot last month, bringing it in line with other free-to-use chatbots like OpenAIâs ChatGPT, Anthropicâs Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot.
As pointed out by TechCrunch, it seems xAI is also working on a dedicated Grok.com website that currently has a âcoming soonâ message on it. After raising $6 billion in June, xAI reported another $6 billion funding round, including from âstrategic investorsâ like Nvidia and AMD.
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social ("Kevin Beaumont") wrote:
Looking back at it, maybe Myspace Tom was a good friend after all, given he sold the company and just went travelling with his money instead of trying to overthrow democracy.
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You can finally buy a Thunderbolt 5 SSD
LaCieâs new Rugged SSD Pro5 will be available in 2TB and 4TB capacities. | Image: Seagate
Following the arrival of the first Thunderbolt 5 cables last July and the first Thunderbolt 5 dock last September, it might finally be time to start upgrading your external storage to take advantage of the increased performance. Itâs been a slow rollout for Thunderbolt 5 hardware following its official reveal in September 2023, but companies like Seagate, OWC, and Sabrent finally have SSDs en route supporting the new standard.
Seagate announced its new Thunderbolt 5 LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 external drive at CES this week. The company says it will be available sometime this month in a 2TB version for $399.99 and a 4TB version for $599.99. Theyâll offer read and write speeds of 6,700MB/s and 5,300MB/s, respectively.
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Image: Seagate
Like previous LaCie rugged drives, the new SSD comes in a rubber enclosure in blue, black, and orange color options, helping it survive drops from heights of up to three meters. Itâs also waterproof with an IP68 rating, so it can survive a complete dunking to depths of one meter.
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Image: Sabrent
There are a few other choices that have been announced, too, though with varying levels of availability. Sabrent, for example, was actually one of the first companies to announce a Thunderbolt 5 SSD last August, but the SSD isnât out yet. The Rocket XTRM 5 comes in a silicone sleeve for extra protection from falls, and the company says it can reach read and write speeds of 6,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s, respectively. Itâs expected to be available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities but is still listed as only being available for preorder through Sabrentâs website.
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Image: OWC
OWC announced its Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 SSD last September. The company says the external drive is water-resistant, dust-resistant, and crushproof, and offers read speeds of over 6,000MB/s. When it was announced, OWC said the Envoy Ultra would be available in a 2TB version for $399.99 and a 4TB version for $599.99, with shipping starting in late October. The first shipments of the drives sold out, but itâs still available for preorder through OWCâs website with an expected ship date of mid-January 2025.
If youâd rather take a DIY approach, several Thunderbolt 5-compatible SSD enclosures have also been announced over the past few months.
However, despite the promised performance improvements, and the yearlong wait for hardware to finally materialize, upgrading your setup to Thunderbolt 5 might still have a few speed bumps. Thatâs what Mark Hachman, the senior editor of PCWorld, discovered when trying to get a Maingear ML-17 laptop, Kensingtonâs Thunderbolt 5 dock, OWCâs Envoy Ultra SSD, and Acerâs Nitro XV5 displays to play nice. The setup was plagued by laggy performance and slow transfer speeds.
It all still felt not quite ready for primetime, Hachman found. âWhen you buy (or test) bleeding-edge hardware, sometimes youâre the one that ends up with the cuts,â Hachman said.
Reblogged by keul@fosstodon.org ("Luca Fabbri"):
scott@carfree.city ("scott f") wrote:
The SoCal fires are utterly terrifying, but I agree with @debcha that "thereâs no, 'itâs too late, its over' for anthropogenic climate change. Every molecule of CO2 that doesnât go into the atmosphere makes a difference. Preventing 0.1 degree of warming makes a difference. Every bit of climate resilience we build together makes a difference."
Reblogged by slightlyoff@toot.cafe ("Alex Russell"):
owa ("Open Web Advocacy") wrote:
OWA's 2024 in Review! A huge and special thank-you to all of our volunteers and donors.
We can't wait to see what we can do together in 2025!
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Remedy Has A Plan To Make Sure Its Online Shooter Doesn't Flop Like Concord
In 2025, the idea of releasing a paid, online-only multiplayer shooter seems very risky, as weâve seen plenty of them fail. But Remedy, the developers behind Control and Alan Wake, have a plan to make sure their first multiplayer gameâFBC: Firebreakâsucceeds and doesnât flop like Concord or XDefiant.
The best instant cameras you can buy right now
Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge
We found the best cameras for your budget and needs.
As Los Angeles Burns, Conspiracy Peddlers Lie Aboutâand Celebrateâthe Danger Weâre Living Through
For the last two mornings, Iâve woken up from broken sleep in my house on Los Angelesâ east side in a blind panic, the smell of smoke permeating the air. The light slanting in is a horrible, eerie orange, illuminating the white kitchen cabinets like a nightmare projection screen. When I climb onto the roof, [âŚ]
Last Of Us Part 2 Latest Sony PC Port To Require A PSN Login
Here we go again. The Last Of Us Part 2 Remastered, a single-player video game with no multiplayer modes or features, will for some reason require players to login into a PlayStation Network account on Steam when it arrives in April.
We tried to hold Acerâs giant new Nitro Blaze 11 handheld
I can juuuust stretch my fingers far enough to grasp this wide boy.
The PC handheld space continues to grow, and the biggest of all isAcerâs new Nitro Blaze 11. As soon as I saw it announced at CES, I knew I had to try and get it in my hands, at least for the sheer curiosity of âWill this thing even fit in my hands?â The answer is yes â though kind of just barely.
I brought a Steam Deck OLED with me for a quick size and feel comparison.One of the first things I noticed is that itâs much more precarious to pick up the Blaze 11 the way Iâm used to grabbing the Steam Deck: by gripping it on the top and bottom edges. My fingers just barely stretch far enough for this position. Once in hand, the 2.3-pound Blaze 11 actually feels lighter than youâd expect, making it not too unwieldy if you do most of your âportableâ gaming at home on the couch like I do. (Playing it in bed may be a hazardto your face.)
While the Blaze 11 isnât as heavy as I feared, the Steam Deck OLEDâs 1.41 pounds feel like a featherweight in comparison. The Deck also feels a little more solidly built. Acerâs handheld isnât flimsy, but it did seem cheaper.
But credit where creditâs due: playing games on such a big screen in your hands is a treat, and the kickstand felt solid for propping it up in tablet mode with detached controllers, which the Steam Deck canât do. Acer also gets points for using Hall effect sticks and triggers.
Weâll have to wait and see how this jumbo $1,099 handheld fares when it launches in Q2 2025, as the competition heats up with the impending arrival of the Lenovo Legion Go S and the constantly leaking Nintendo Switch 2. In the meantime, here are a bunch of pictures of the Blaze 11 and the Steam Deck OLED.
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Maybe if we one day get 13- or 14-inch handhelds, a Steam Deck will be able to fit within the screen itself.
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The Steam Deck OLEDâs screen is 7.4 inches, compared to the 10.95 inches of the Blaze 11.
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I only held the Blaze 11 for a short time, but I can say I did find the Steam Deck more ergonomic.
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Acerâs launcher looks and feels a bit spartan. It sits atop Windows, while Valveâs SteamOS is Linux-based.
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I donât know what these pins on the bottom of the Blaze 11 are, but Iâve reached out to Acer to find out.
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The top of the Blaze 11 has dual USB 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm headset jack.
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Donât talk to me or my son ever again.
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The rear feels like a wall of black plastic.
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The Blaze 11 has detachable controllers and a kickstand, which the Steam Deck does not.
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The Blaze 11âs tablet mode. With a screen this big, it actually seems fairly usable in this configuration.
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A handheld this big isnât likely to be something you take on the road very much.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
mergesort@macaw.social ("Joe Fabisevich :verified:") wrote:
Starting to read an article only to discover it was generated by AI is now called being slopped in the face. Sorry I do not make the rules.
garrettmurray ("Garrett Murray") wrote:
In light of the awful fires and air quality in Los Angeles, I've made Breathable free and app will remain free permanently. I charged for the app prior only so I could donate the proceeds to climate change charities, but paying Apple 15% for that privilege is silly. https://breathable.app
You can get the newest 8BitDo Ultimate or 8BitDo Pro 2 wired Xbox controllers for $30
You can pay the same price for the pictured 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired or the PlayStation-like 8Bitdo Pro 2. | Photo: 8Bitdo
Xbox gamers have a growing list of options among the best Xbox controllers, but even expensive ones like the Xbox Elite Series 2 can develop stick drift and other issues.
If youâre tired of shelling out for unreliable controllers, 8Bitdoâs latest wired Xbox models with Hall effect analog sticks and triggers can offer affordable relief, as you can get them for 33 percent off right now. That includes the 8BitDo Ultimate controller, which has dropped to a record low $29.99 ($15 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and 8BitDo. The DualShock-like 8BitDo Pro 2 is also on saleat Amazon and 8BitDo starting at $29.99 (about $15 off), which is only $2 more than the lowest price to date.
8BitDoâs wired Xbox controllers have been on the market for a few years now, so even if you already have one, you may have missed the refreshed Hall effect models. The older ones have ALPS-based sticks, which are commonly used in the standard controllers that ship with major consoles. They use mechanically moving parts and sensors to read the sticksâ positioning, which can eventually degrade and cause misreads to the point that your in-game characters can move even when youâre not touching the controller.
Hall effect sticks, instead, use magnetism and the sensors donât have moving parts, and while they arenât completely immune to eventually getting stick drift, they should last much longer. That doesnât mean you canât still break a controller from excessive sweaty rounds of Marvel Rivals. The triggers on both controllers benefit from similar technology and also include dedicated vibration motors.
The 8BitDo Ultimate and 8BitDo Pro 2 offer other perks that are nice to have at this price point, too, like dual rear buttons, software-based remapping (the 8BitDo Ultimate supports on-the-fly switching between three profiles using a dedicated button), and configurable sensitivity and vibration settings. In addition to Xbox One, Series X, and Series S, you can also use the controllers on Windows PCs, Android, and iOS devices by plugging them in using the detachable USB-C cable.