Pelican Press

Elon Musk Is Focused on DOGE. What About Tesla? Elon Musk Is Focused on DOGE. What About Tesla? Elon Musk’s role as President Trump’s cost-cutting czar and his immersion in right-wing politics appears to be diverting his attention from Tesla at a perilous moment for the electric car company. Tesla’s car sales fell 1 percent last year even as the global market for electric vehicles grew 25 percent. Mr. Musk has not addressed that underperformance, and he has offered no concrete plan to revive sales. He has also provided no details about a more affordable model Tesla says it will start producing this year. In the past, Mr. Musk spent months or years promoting vehicles before they appeared in showrooms. And he has spent much of his time since the election in Washington and at Mr. Trump’s home in Florida — far from Austin, Texas, where Tesla has its corporate headquarters and a factory, or the San Francisco Bay Area, where it has a factory and engineering offices. In the past decade or so, Tesla went from a struggling start-up to upending the global auto industry. The company sold millions of electric cars and generated huge profits, forcing established automakers to invest billions of dollars to catch up. Tesla’s success has been reflected in its soaring stock price, which helped make Mr. Musk the world’s richest person. But now, he seems to have lost interest in the grinding business of developing, producing and selling cars, investors and analysts say. That could have serious ramifications for his company and the auto industry, which employs millions of people worldwide. Even before he joined the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Mr. Musk’s running multiple operations had made investors and corporate governance experts wondered whether Mr. Musk was spread too thin. Besides Tesla, Mr. Musk controls and runs SpaceX, whose rockets carry astronauts and satellites for NASA and others; X, the social media site; and xAI, which is developing artificial intelligence. And he wants to colonize Mars. “We don’t have a C.E.O. who is fully focused on ensuring that Tesla remains a leader in the E.V. space,” said Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, who oversees employee pension funds that own Tesla shares worth $1.25 billion. Mr. Lander said he wanted Mr. Musk to stay on Tesla’s board and relinquish his chief executive duties to someone who would do the job full time. “That’s not too much to ask for,” Mr. Lander said. “That’s just the basic model of shareholder governance in America.” Few, if any, executives have ever had such an array of responsibilities, said Eric Talley, a Columbia Law School professor who focuses on corporate governance. And while some of Mr. Musk’s businesses stand to benefit from his ties to the president, it is virtually impossible for Mr. Musk’s commercial and political interests not to collide in ways that could hurt Tesla and his other companies, Mr. Talley said. “The more you split your loyalties,” Mr. Talley said, “the more it’s going to be difficult to claim you had an undivided loyalty to any company.” Mr. Musk and Tesla did not respond to emails seeking comment. Mr. Musk’s support for right-wing leaders at home and in Germany, Britain, France and other countries appears to have alienated significant numbers of customers. There are signs that Mr. Musk’s political activities and reduced presence at Tesla are also stirring dissatisfaction within the company. The discontent was apparent during an unusual meeting last month at the company’s offices in Palo Alto, Calif., where numerous employees vented their frustrations. A senior executive who spoke at the meeting told the employees that he, too, was discouraged by Mr. Musk’s “mercurial” behavior and by the departure of some senior executives who had been a moderating influence. The chief executive’s polarizing social media posts and work in the Trump administration were driving away customers, prompting some employees to leave and making it harder to recruit new talent to Tesla, the manager said, according to an audio recording of the meeting reviewed by The New York Times. The executive urged employees to focus on their work and tune out Mr. Musk’s comments on X and other forums. “I just kind of ignore it and think about what are we working on and is it exciting to me and is it having an impact?” the manager said. “That’s the best advice I can give for how to handle it.” The recording was first reported by The Washington Post. There are signs that at least some investors are having doubts, too. Tesla’s share price has fallen 25 percent since mid-December, though it is still up about 40 percent since the election. Many investors still have faith in Mr. Musk. That’s why Wall Street treats Tesla as being more than three times as valuable as Toyota, the world’s largest automaker. Optimistic investors believe that the company develop cars that can drive themselves in most conditions. ARK Invest, an investment firm that has long been bullish about Mr. Musk’s endeavors, estimates that Tesla could control half of an estimated $10 trillion market for autonomous ride-hailing services. “I see a path for Tesla being the most valuable company in the world by far,” Mr. Musk said in January. The growth, he added, would “overwhelmingly be due to autonomous vehicles and autonomous humanoid robots.” What Mr. Musk has appeared surprisingly unconcerned about is Tesla’s biggest business today: selling cars. During a conference call last month to discuss Tesla’s fourth quarter results, a financial analyst asked him to elaborate on his plans to sell more cars to take advantage of Tesla’s competitive advantage in technology that allows cars in some cases to steer, accelerate and slow down on their own. Mr. Musk said he didn’t understand the question and said the company already had millions of cars on the road. The company has lost market share to BYD in China; BMW and Volkswagen in Europe; and Hyundai and General Motors in the United States. Some Tesla drivers like the musician Sheryl Crow are so upset by Mr. Musk’s political activities that they are selling their cars or saying they won’t buy another one. In January Tesla’s sales were down 59 percent in Germany, 63 percent in France and 12 percent in Britain after Mr. Musk endorsed right-wing politicians and made inflammatory statements on social media. Tesla sales fell 12 percent last year in California, which accounts for nearly one-third of the electric cars sold in the United States. “The hate is real,” Ross *******, chief executive of ******* Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, wrote on an X post along with a photo of a Cybertruck that someone had defaced with an obscenity. But political blowback is not the company’s only problem. Tesla remains reliant on two vehicles, the Model 3 and Model Y, for 95 percent of its sales. BYD has more than a dozen electric models, some costing much less than $20,000. The Model 3 starts at $42,000 in the United States. Auto experts say Tesla badly needs a cheaper car to revive sales. But last year, Mr. Musk delayed indefinitely plans to build a low-cost car in Monterrey, Mexico, that would have cost $25,000. The company has promised to begin producing a new model at its existing factories by the end of June, but it has not displayed a prototype or provided details. Analysts expect it to be based on the Model 3 and cost a lot more than $25,000. “You would think they would be doubling down and trying to capitalize on the lead they have on other players,” said Michael Lenox, a professor of business at the University of Virginia. “It begs the question,” he added, “has there been a lack of attention?” Some investors said that Mr. Musk’s lack of interest in selling cars was apparent in how little he had said about Mr. Trump’s initiatives that could hurt Tesla’s sales. The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, last week said that some of Mr. Trump’s plans to repeal Biden era incentives for electric cars could force the company to layoff workers. But Mr. Musk has said nothing publicly about them. Environmentalists in particular are very concerned that Mr. Musk, who once talked about electric vehicles as a solution for climate change, has allied himself with climate change deniers. “It’s really concerning that Elon is more focused on D.C. than on advancing E.V. production,” said Katherine Garcia, director of the Clean Transportation for All campaign at the Sierra Club. Mr. Musk has argued that electric cars don’t need government incentives. “You can’t stop the advent of electric cars,” Mr. Musk said in January. “It’s going to happen.” Source link #Elon #Musk #Focused #DOGE #Tesla Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Thursday, February 20 NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Thursday, February 20 Table of Contents Table of Contents How to play Strands Hint for today’s Strands puzzle Today’s Strand answers Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle. Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below. How to play Strands You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable. If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it. Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once. Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow. The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints. Hint for today’s Strands puzzle Today’s theme is “‘Together for the present” Here’s a hint that might help you: a date you don’t want to forget. Today’s Strand answers NYT Today’s spanagram We’ll start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own: Today’s Strands answers FIRST SIXTIETH FIFTIETH DIAMOND GOLD PAPER Source link #NYT #Strands #today #hints #spangram #answers #Thursday #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How Clinton’s “reinventing government” compares to DOGE’s approach: “We cut **** and they cut muscle” How Clinton’s “reinventing government” compares to DOGE’s approach: “We cut **** and they cut muscle” As President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency push to slash spending, Republican allies have pointed to a White House program from 30 years ago as akin to DOGE’s efforts. Over 30 years ago, Vice President Al Gore was tasked by Democratic President Bill Clinton to cut waste, red tape and streamline the bureaucracy to “create a government that works better and costs less.” The “reinventing government” program cut nearly half a million federal jobs and dispensed with a massive number of regulations. But according to the woman who ran the program under the Clinton administration, any similarities between that program and DOGE’s end there. “We cut **** and they cut muscle. It’s as simple as that,” Elaine Kamarck, now a senior fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings, told CBS News. “We didn’t have any meltdowns of agencies, we didn’t have any dysfunction going on, and we obeyed the law. When we thought something was wrong, we sent it to Congress and asked them to change it.” The National Partnership for Reinventing Government followed through on Clinton’s promise on the campaign trail to make the government more efficient and effective. The project was spearheaded by Gore and officially created in March 1993, kicking off a review of government agencies that would go on to become the longest-running reform effort in the nation’s history, wrapping up its work in 1998. Kamarck was hired by Gore to direct the program, and the two put together a team of about 400 civil servants to work across a number of teams. They conducted reviews of Cabinet-level agencies with a partner team within the agency and returned recommendations for review. Six months later, the project had yielded hundreds of recommendations bound in a report titled “Creating a Government that Works Better & Costs Less.” The effort, which would ultimately trim the federal workforce by around 426,000 in less than eight years while cutting thousands of pages of regulations, focused on saving the government money. But Kamarck said it also focused on “making the government work better,” with attention toward performance and customer service standards that remain today. “Basically, we worked with people in the government to identify where we could make it work better, and where we could make it cost less,” Kamarck said. The program went on well beyond the six-month review ******* to focus on implementation, acting upon around two-thirds of the recommendations, and yielding an estimated $136 billion in savings for taxpayers. Now, more than three decades later, a new cost-cutting effort is underway. Mr. Trump announced in December that Musk, who played a major role in his reelection effort, would lead DOGE in the new administration, and signed an executive order on his first day in office to officially create the Department of Government Efficiency. Its website says it’s found $55 billion in savings so far, but a CBS News review of those savings shows some discrepancies. Unlike the Clinton-era program, which took six months to make its recommendations, DOGE, in under a month has worked with Cabinet department and agency heads to shrink the government workforce immediately and pause swaths of government spending. DOGE first turned its focus to excising federal contracts and spending on issues like diversity, equity and inclusion provisions and foreign aid and has moved on to other federal agencies. The Trump administration offered a deferred resignation plan to more than 2 million civilian federal employees and convinced 75,000 to accept it before shutting it down and ordered agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees. DOGE has also gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system. And an IRS employee associated with DOGE requested access to the IRS’ data system that includes individual taxpayer information in recent days. The moves have sparked controversy — and lawsuits — over the administration’s authority to carry out its dramatic reshaping of the federal government in a compressed ******* of time. Facing scrutiny, Musk and allies have held up the example of the Clinton administration’s government overhaul seemingly as a kind of model for their own. During a hearing held by the House’s newly created DOGE subcommittee last week, one Republican lawmaker showed a video featuring Clinton and Gore’s announcement after the six-month review to remind Democrats of what their “party believed in.” Musk himself has highlighted the comparison between his work and the effort three decades prior in recent days, sharing an AI-generated post on reductions to the federal workforce under the Clinton administration and concurring with a post that called Clinton and Gore “the original Doges.” Kamarck, though she has advocated for new government cuts, said the “big difference” between the Clinton administration program and DOGE is that the earlier program sought to understand what was going on in the agency and what was important — using a fine-toothed comb to make cuts. “If they were doing it the same way we did it, they could do a hell of a lot of good for the government,” Kamarck said. “But instead, they’re just, they’re throwing out the baby with the bath water.” Still, Clinton’s government cutting received its share of criticism, sparking frustrations when the program chose to close many regional offices deemed to be obsolete and incompatible with advancements in electronic communications. Kamarck conceded that they didn’t win every fight. Though they succeeded on procurement reform, pioneered electronic filing of tax returns and generally helped usher the federal government into the internet age, they fell short on civil service reform without an advocate in Congress. And although their effort to reduce the size of the government workforce took place over years instead of weeks, there were some who felt that the buyout strategy they used was not as effective as it could have been. “Many with special skills left, and people who stayed might have been those we’d have wanted to leave,” Donald Kettl, the former dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, told Government Executive in 2013. Kamarck said the process the Clinton administration followed is the “harder way to do it” — and not how DOGE is proceeding. “They are pretending that there is no law governing the bureaucracy,” she said. Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Source link #Clintons #reinventing #government #compares #DOGEs #approach #cut #**** #cut #muscle Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Narcissists feel more excluded and experience ‘social pain,’ scientists say – The Washington Post Narcissists feel more excluded and experience ‘social pain,’ scientists say – The Washington Post Narcissists feel more excluded and experience ‘social pain,’ scientists say The Washington PostView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #Narcissists #feel #excluded #experience #social #pain #scientists #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A four-pack of Chipolo One Bluetooth trackers is on ***** for 32 percent off A four-pack of Chipolo One Bluetooth trackers is on ***** for 32 percent off If you’re constantly losing your keys, wallet and other important stuff, Bluetooth trackers could be a big help. Attach them onto your things and you can monitor their location directly from your phone. Our current favorites are the Chipolo One trackers, and right now you can snag a pack of four for just under $68. Chipolo’s having a ***** that brings the pack down to $75, but you can use the code ENGADGET10 at checkout to get an extra 10 percent off and bring the price down to $67.50. That code works across Chipolo’s site as well, giving you an additional 10 percent off anything else you want to purchase. This gadget not only made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers, but it’s our favorite release in the product category. The One is a near-perfect tracker. The battery lasts two full years, it works great with both Android and iOS devices and the ringer is incredibly loud. This is great news for those who tend to misplace items under mountains of linens or between couch cushions. Chipolo This is over 30 percent off. Save $32 with code ENGADGET10 $68 at Chipolo There’s also no perceptible lag between pressing the Ring to Find button and hearing the trill. This isn’t true of many rival trackers. It even has a handy hole for attaching to keychains and the like. This may seem like an obvious design element, but Apple AirTags lack this hole. The only downside involves the finding network. Chipolo isn’t a big name like Apple or Samsung, so there are fewer people on the network. This could be an issue if you don’t live in a major metropolitan area. Basically, the One is perfect for looking for lost items in or near the home, but not as useful when searching for misplaced stuff (like luggage at an airport) out in the wild. And don’t forget: remember that coupon code from before? It works across the entire site, so feel free to grab a ten percent discount on everything else Chipolo makes using the code ENGADGET10. This includes wallet trackers that are shaped like credit cards and smaller tracking rings. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice. Source link #fourpack #Chipolo #Bluetooth #trackers #***** #percent Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘I love bass, bass, bass and bass’: DJ Paulette, Carl Craig and more on the best DJ headphones | Headphones ‘I love bass, bass, bass and bass’: DJ Paulette, Carl Craig and more on the best DJ headphones | Headphones Ask any DJ what their most important bit of kit is and they’ll tell you it’s what goes around their head. Whether playing off a laptop, CDJs or decks, a pair of decent headphones is your portal to the mix and an essential element to get right. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Luckily, we’ve assembled some of the world’s best selectors to evangelise about the pairs they’re faithful to: from reliable specialist brands to old-school one-ear models, these are the best DJ headphones for crystal-clear sound and to hear that all-important bass. DJs on their favourite headphones Sennheiser HD 25 £129 at Sennheiser £117 at Amazon I love bass, bass, bass and bass – and Sennheisers hear my call. I first bought these headphones in 1993 and I now use the HD 25-C-II model. They’re perfect for someone with a little head and ears who requires a **** bottom-end and crystal-clear monitoring. The sound has to have the capacity to push through the noise in a festival space and yet be accurate in a quieter, more intimate setting, and the Sennheiser’s small closed-ear cup gives the best sound isolation. They have to work hard and need to be ridiculously durable, as they’re taken on and off my head repeatedly through each set – the 3m spiral cable (or as I fondly call it, the curly pigtail extension cable) has been an essential lifeline, giving me a huge range of movement. And did I say they take a hammering? They may look cheap and plasticky, but the build is hard to beat and every part is replaceable. They are hard-wearing and hard-working. DJ Paulette Reloop RHP-10 Mono £57 at Thomann £59 at Amazon I stayed away from lollipops for a long time because these one-ear headphones were always seen as kind of a New York thing – everyone was following Larry Levan. You’re going to buy a Fender Stratocaster because you love Jimi Hendrix; if you love basketball then you’re going to wear whatever LeBron James is wearing. Larry was the superstar DJ at the time, and everybody followed suit. But I’m from Detroit. One of the main reasons I started using a lollipop, though, has to do with protecting my hearing. Most of us DJs play far too loud, not only in the booth but also to hear what we’re cueing. When I would have headphones strapped around my head all the time, they were hurting my ears. With a lollipop, I don’t need to have it on all the time; often I just hold it with my hand. I use Reloops because they’re cheap and utilitarian. It doesn’t have to look sexy, I’m not taking it out to dinner. Let’s look at it like a hammer: it doesn’t need to be titanium, it just needs to do the job. I have some headphones that are $2,000 and I can stand up on stage and everybody’ll think, “Oh my God, he’s so great with those headphones on.” But no, Reloops do the job. I don’t really care about anything else. Carl Craig Technics EAH-DJ1200 £139 at Discdjstore £169 at Amazon Headphones are possibly the most important thing for a DJ to get right. I’ve been using these Technics ones for more than 20 years – the same make as the legendary turntables. The bass sounds really good through them, and I rarely take them off; I just move the headphones past my ears and over my head to hear the monitors. They’re not too bulky, either, and they’re good value for money. The only downside is that in summer the leather headband can get sweaty when the temperature in the club gets hotter. But it hasn’t stopped me from wearing them for most of my career. Severino Pioneer HDJ-X7 £179 at Selfridges £161 at Amazon There are new models of these headphones available but I got these in 2017. I like comfort and want something that’s going to hug my ear. These can flip around and fold up – there are so many nice elements – but they’re really comfortable, which is the main thing. Sometimes, you get headphones that are too tight or too loose. With these, I can have one can on my ear and one on the side of my head, and it’ll sit there nicely. I think you have to splash out on DJ headphones. You can’t go too cheap because you won’t hear what you need to. You need quality of sound. For me, it’s the bass. I need to be able to hear that kick drum because that’s what you mix with. And then everything else needs to be clear, otherwise it’s distorted, especially in a club – because you have to have it quite loud. Most of us now wear ear defenders, so then you have to have the music in the headphones even louder. These have got a bit of gravitas. They’ve got a weight behind them, and they’re sturdy but comfortable. You can knock these around quite a lot but, if you look after them, they will last you a long time. Smokin Jo skip past newsletter promotion Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Aiaiai Audio TMA-2 DJ £159 at Amazon I had a gig and I’d left my headphones in a club in Ibiza the night before, so my DJ friend lent me his Aiaiais, and I was converted. The good thing about them is that they’re modular: you can buy a new lead or earpieces separately, which is essential when you’re using them all the time. My headphones generally only used to last about a year (because normally the lead connection would get loose, as you move around a lot behind the decks and the headphone wire gets pulled a fair amount), but the Aiaiais have lasted a lot longer. Apart from the obvious – sound quality (and these are also great to listen to music with at home/travelling/in the studio) – the key feature I look for is whether the headphones will stay on my teeny head. Most brands just fall off! Sophie Lloyd Audio-Technica ATH-M50x £115 at Advanced MP3 Players £127 at Amazon Durability is important to me as my headphones get thrown in record bags etc, so they need to be sturdy – and the M50xs came highly recommended. I love them because they don’t break. They also have a rich, full sound: headphones should make you feel like you’re immersed in the music and able to notice the slightest detail in the mix. These headphones also double up as ear defenders: I remember plonking myself in the middle of the New Regency Orchestra, an 18-piece band that I direct, as we were recording the ***** section live. I had the mix of the rhythm section in my ears and was listening to the horns blowing on top through the cans – they certainly protected my ears from being in the direct line of fire of the 12 horns blowing in my face! Plus, they go over the ears and keep them warm, which is handy when I’m DJing in a church for my event Church of Sound – it can get chilly in the winter! Lex Blondin Pioneer HDJ-CUE1 £60 at Argos £54.99 at Amazon I bought these headphones in 2021, and they’ve survived countless festival fields and dark clubs since. A friend recommended them as a great entry-level pair to start getting a bit more serious with. Despite buying other headphones, I do keep finding myself coming back to them more often than not: they do a great job and are Pioneers’ most affordable model. I need them to be comfortable. Great sound, obviously. But also something that can pack down nicely to fit in a bumbag. They’re really flexible, clear on the low end and the finish is clean. Rohan Rakhit Sony MDR-7506 £95 at Gear4music £82.56 at Amazon I bought these while I was on tour about a decade ago because I had lost my other headphones. They were less expensive and I had seen people using them. I still have the same ones all these years later because they’re good quality and unpretentious. You can replace the ear cushions, which wear out with heavy use. They also have a cable that looks like an old-school telephone cable, so there’s some flexibility. Also, I think they look cool: simple, functional, not too “aesthetic” like some boutique ‘phones. They’re also quite slick, not some giant silver plastic thing that has EDM written all over it. I can use them also for vocal recordings because they have closed cups, which is the standard headphone style that you will find in most studios. If aliens would arrive on this planet and would ask me what a headphone is, I would probably show them this one. Matias Aguayo DJ Paulette’s book, Welcome to the Club, is on ***** now. Buy it for £20 at guardianbookshop.com – the paperback is out 29 April. Smokin Jo’s book, You Don’t Need a ***** to DJ, is out now. Buy it for £19.80 at guardianbookshop.com Source link #love #bass #bass #bass #bass #Paulette #Carl #Craig #headphones #Headphones Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Trump Team Plans Cuts at HUD Office That Funds Disaster Recovery Trump Team Plans Cuts at HUD Office That Funds Disaster Recovery The Trump administration plans to all but eliminate the office that oversees America’s recovery from the largest disasters, raising questions about how the United States will rebuild from hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities made worse by climate change. The Office of Community Planning and Development, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, pays to rebuild homes and other recovery efforts after the country’s worst disasters, such as Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Hurricane Milton in Florida. The administration plans to cut the staff in that office by 84 percent, according to a document obtained by The New York Times. The number of workers would be cut to 150, from 936 when Mr. Trump took office last month. Those cuts could slow the distribution of recovery money to North Carolina and other recent disasters, depending how quickly they happen. “HUD is carrying out President Trump’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to serve the American people at the highest standard,” a spokeswoman for the department, Kasey Lovett, said in a statement. The primary responsibility for rebuilding communities after major disasters falls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which helps state and local governments pay to repair or rebuild damaged roads, bridges, schools, water treatments plants and other public infrastructure. The agency also provides money to help repair damaged homes. But some disasters are so big that they exceed FEMA’s funding, or the damage doesn’t fit neatly within FEMA’s programs. When that happens, Congress can choose to provide additional help, through a program at HUD called the Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery. That extra help from Congress can involve far greater sums than what FEMA can provide. In 2006, for example, Congress provided almost $17 billion to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. After Hurricane Sandy, Congress gave Housing and Urban Development more than $15 billion to help rebuild the Northeast. As disasters have grown more frequent and severe, HUD’s disaster recovery program has become central to the country’s strategy for coping with climate change. During the 1990s, Congress typically gave the program a few hundred million dollars a year. Over the past decade, by contrast, Congress has often provided billions or even tens of billions annually. HUD’s disaster recovery money also comes with fewer strings attached. The money is largely used to rebuild homes that were either uninsured or underinsured, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not pay for. It also goes toward rebuilding infrastructure that’s not covered by FEMA, like the private roads and bridges that were significantly damaged by Helene in North Carolina. The money can also be used for job training, to help workers whose employers went out of business after a disaster. Because state and local officials are often overwhelmed by a disaster, and because the influx of federal funds is large and quick, one of HUD’s main jobs is ensuring the money isn’t lost to waste, fraud or abuse. That includes tasks like helping state and local governments set up systems to avoid paying contractors twice, according to a former official who worked on the program. It can also mean more complicated tasks like coordinating HUD’s grants with other federal disaster programs. Housing and Urban Development’s community planning and development office was already stretched thin, especially as large-scale disasters have become more frequent. On average, the HUD employees who manage disaster grants are each responsible for overseeing about $1 billion in grants, according to an official who worked in the office. Deep cuts to staffing levels would make it harder for HUD to prevent fraud, waste and abuse, according to two former officials familiar with the program who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. The cuts are being dictated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, whose stated goal is to reduce fraud, waste and abuse. The community planning and development office is responsible for managing other spending programs beyond disaster recovery. Those include paying for infrastructure upgrades like sewers and sidewalks, affordable housing projects and programs like Meals on Wheels. Source link #Trump #Team #Plans #Cuts #HUD #Office #Funds #Disaster #Recovery Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Did Siri break the law? Apple’s latest privacy complaint in France doesn’t bode well Did Siri break the law? Apple’s latest privacy complaint in France doesn’t bode well France’s human rights NGO, Ligue des droits de l’Homme, has accused Apple of violations of privacy, unlawful processing of personal data, and deceptive commercial practice, as first reported by Radio France and Le Monde. The privacy complaint is based on information provided by a former employee who has supposedly shared proof of the massive collection and processing of Siri’s voice recordings without user consent. The French complaint – filed with the Paris prosecutor on Thursday, February 13, 2025 – comes only weeks after the Big Tech giant agreed to pay $95 million in settlements for a similar lawsuit in California, despite not admitting wrongdoing. Invasion of privacy and GDPR violations Frenchman Thomas Le Bonniec began working for Globe Technical Services (GTS) in Cork, Ireland, in the spring of 2019. He was part of a team tasked to improve Siri’s multilingual chatbot response by listening, transcribing, and tagging the recordings triggered by Apple’s vocal assistant. “On the very first day, we were told we were going to work on recordings of people talking to their assistant Siri or on recordings captured without their knowledge when the machine was triggered by mistake,” Le Bonniec told Radio France. His job mainly involved checking Siri’s transcriptions for accuracy and determining whether they were accidental recordings. During his time at GTS, Le Bonniec said he and his colleagues listened to a considerable number of very private conversations triggered by mistake. Some in the team, Le Bonniec explained, were also tasked with labeling duties. “They had to compare the keywords spoken during a recording and relate them to the data stored in the devices to which we had access such as contacts, geolocation, music, films, brands, etc. They tagged this personal data with keywords,” he added. As consulted by Radio France’s investigation unit, the LDH’s complaint accuses Apple’s practices of going against GDPR rules on data protection and informed consent. La @LDH_Fr dépose plainte contre Apple et son assistant vocal “Siri” pour violation de la vie privée, traitement illicite des données personnelles et pratique commerciale trompeuse. Pour lire l’enquête de Stéphane Pair à lire dans son intégralité pic.twitter.com/3MqY9b5P00February 14, 2025 Talking to a French TV channel, LDH president Nathalie Tehio said the complaint focuses on two main offenses: the invasion of privacy through recordings made without individuals’ consent, and the violation of EU personal data protection law. “It’s not just spied on, it’s recorded. There is listening, recording, and even sending,” said Tehio. “There is recording without people’s knowledge. This is an infraction. On the other hand, there is a violation of the GDPR, that is to say, the fact that we have not given our informed consent for this aspiration of personal data. These are two crimes.” Contacted by TechRadar, an Apple spokesperson pointed out how the French case is only a privacy complaint at the time of writing and no investigation has been opened yet. Apple also explains it made some changes in 2019 to ensure Siri’s compliance with the company’s privacy commitment. These include no longer retaining audio recordings of Siri interactions. Users can also opt in or opt out of allowing Siri to improve by learning from the audio samples of their requests. As per Apple’s statement published in January 2025, “Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and never sold it to anyone for any purpose. We are constantly developing technologies to make Siri even more private, and will continue to do so.” What’s next? Whether the LDH complaint will open up a wider investigation into Apple’s data handling practices is too early to know for certain. As mentioned earlier, however, Apple is currently dealing with similar issues back home. The California class action lawsuit, Lopez et al v. Apple Inc, accuses Siri of disclosing private conversations to advertisers. Despite not confirming such allegations, Apple decided to settle for $95 million “to avoid additional litigation so we can move forward from concerns about third-party grading that we already addressed in 2019,” a company spokesperson told TechRadar at the time. Considering that, as research from one of the best VPN providers Proton VPN shows, Big Tech needed less than three weeks this year to pay off over $8 billion in 2024 fines, the California lawsuit’s settlement seems to be set to to pile up among the costs of doing business rather than having a real impact. Source link #Siri #break #law #Apples #latest #privacy #complaint #France #doesnt #bode Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

2 Auto Stocks to Let Go and 1 Worth Buying for the Long Haul 2 Auto Stocks to Let Go and 1 Worth Buying for the Long Haul Most investors fall into what’s called “Indicator purgatory,” where they rely heavily on indicators and chart patterns to tell them where to start buying and selling in the market. However, there comes a point in the economic cycle, such as today, when those strategies become too crowded, and most participants collectively look at the same set of indicators all at once. This is when professional money managers and traders start to zoom out to generate the best ideas, the ones that earn them the big bucks, so to speak. One simple way they achieve this is by considering economic data as a whole, such as the recently released retail sales data, which, despite a contraction, still shows investors a massive opportunity to adjust their portfolios. While there are dozens of ideas to be had within this report, today’s focus is on the automotive sector. Particularly, why investors should consider selling or avoiding names like O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:) and AutoZone Inc (NYSE:) while also looking to buy the heavy discounts in Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:) as fantastic risk-to-reward setup based on fundamentals. Not a Great Month in Auto Parts Looking at the latest release in retail sales data can shine a brighter light on the reality of the market (and the economy) today. While auto parts are still leading the way with a 6.4% annual growth rate, zooming in could show a potential downside to some of the overextended stocks in the space. This stems from the fact that auto parts sales contracted up to 2.8% over the past month, showing a potential slowdown and retreat from their bullish momentum. However, it is still too early for investors to decide whether this will become a long-term theme. Especially now that new car prices and financing rates are not the most favorable for buyers, this could lead them to the used car market or to simply maintain the car they currently have. Of course, this could create a strong tailwind for auto parts demand, but there’s a risk that it won’t be as aggressive as some think. Cutting O’Reilly and AutoZone out of a portfolio might be beneficial from a risk management perspective, despite what Wall Street analyst ratings might suggest. O’Reilly and AutoZone trade within 95% of their 52-week highs, while Advance Auto Parts only trades at 54%. Additionally, macroeconomic headwinds such as persistent inflation and weakening consumer sentiment could put further pressure on discretionary spending, even for vehicle maintenance. If sales continue to soften, valuations for these stocks could come under scrutiny, making it even more critical for investors to assess their exposure in the sector. Better Reward, Lower Risk in Advance Auto Parts More than that, investors can look to the valuation multiples inherent in these stocks, such as the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, which also favors Advance Auto Parts from a risk-to-reward perspective. By trading at only 15.6x forward P/E, Advance Auto Parts offers a steep discount to O’Reilly’s 26.2x and AutoZone’s 20.0x. That’s not all. The thesis behind the market shifting to bulk orders to maintain or trade used cars favors Advance Auto Parts and its business model the most, even as it falls out of favor from Wall Street ratings due to bearish momentum. This could be why contrarian analysts have landed on a much more optimistic outlook when it comes to the company’s underlying earnings power. Investors can see that through the forecast for up to $0.96 in earnings per share (EPS) for Advance Auto Parts in the next 12 months, a massive jump from today’s net loss of $0.04 per share. With this in mind, it becomes clear that Advance Auto Parts is superior to the flattish forecasts in O’Reilly or the single-digit percentage increase in AutoZone. Investors need to remember that analysts will guard their jobs and reputations when rating these stocks, which is why they might have leaned on boosting AutoZone and O’Reilly rather than Advance Auto Parts when it comes to price targets, but that doesn’t truly reflect the underlying momentum in these names. With this in mind, and knowing that EPS growth typically drives a stock’s price higher, investors can see that Advance Auto Parts offers a much better setup than its competitors, where the downside is relatively already priced in. This simple setup also explains why up to $550 million in institutional capital made its way into Advance Auto Parts stock over the past quarter alone, led by those at the Vanguard Group and Price T Rowe Associates, each with a stake of $314.2 and $316.2 million, respectively. On the other hand, up to $4.04 billion in institutional capital was sold over the past quarter, a potential sign of investors realizing that the stock might be overextended today. For AutoZone, those from the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decided to unload up to 1.4% of their holdings in AutoZone stock as of February, another sign of lost confidence in these extended names, adding to the optimism in Advance Auto Parts stock. Original Post Source link #Auto #Stocks #Worth #Buying #Long #Haul Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

James Bond’s long-serving producers give control to Amazon James Bond’s long-serving producers give control to Amazon The James Bond film franchise will no longer be controlled by the Broccoli dynasty, after long-serving masterminds Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson announced they are stepping down. The Bond films were launched by Albert “Cubby” Broccoli in 1962, before his daughter and stepson took over. The pair will now give creative control to Amazon MGM Studios, which was formed when Amazon bought Bond’s parent studio in 2022. The new deal comes after mounting speculation about the fate of the British spy, four years after his last outing in No Time to Die, which was also Daniel Craig’s final appearance in the role. A statement said Broccoli and Wilson will “remain co-owners of the franchise” as part of a new joint venture but Amazon MGM Studios “will gain creative control”. Wilson, 83, said: “With my 007 career spanning nearly 60 incredible years, I am stepping back from producing the James Bond films to focus on art and charitable projects. “Therefore, Barbara and I agree, it is time for our trusted partner, Amazon MGM Studios, to lead James Bond into the future.” Broccoli, 64, added: “My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli. “I have had the honour of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. “With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.” Source link #James #Bonds #longserving #producers #give #control #Amazon Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Twitch streamers’ uploads and highlights can no longer exceed 100 hours Twitch streamers’ uploads and highlights can no longer exceed 100 hours Twitch is putting a cap on how much storage a streamer can take up for their uploads and highlight videos. The streaming service has announced that starting on April 19, all uploads and highlights will count towards a new 100-hour storage limit for each streamer, whether the videos are published or not. To note, the cap doesn’t apply to past broadcasts, which are previous livestreams saved to a streamer’s account for on-demand viewing, or clips, which are minute-long segments that can be shared to social networks. Highlights can be longer than clips and can be made of several key moments from a video, which means they could take up more storage space. The service explained that it originally launched highlights to drive discovery and engagement for streamers, but the feature apparently hasn’t been as effective clips and the mobile discovery feed. Storage is costly, and limiting highlights and uploads will allow the service to support the videos users want to keep on their accounts while also investing in improvements for features like Clips and mobile feed. Twitch said less than 0.5 percent of active streamers has gone over the 100-hour limit, and those who have will be notified directly. To make it easier for streamers to choose which videos they want to keep, Twitch has rolled out filters for Video Producer that will allow them to sort their content based on length, view count and date created. The service will be deleting videos for users that go beyond the 100-hour cap on April 19 and will be limiting uploads and highlights going forward. Source link #Twitch #streamers #uploads #highlights #longer #exceed #hours Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

5070 vs 9070 — battle for the best affordable 5070 vs 9070 — battle for the best affordable Nvidia Table of Contents Table of Contents Pricing and availability Specifications Performance AMD’s time is now, but can it meet the moment? Let’s be real. As much as we might get excited about the RTX 5080’s gaming chops and the sheer ridiculousness of the RTX 5090, but almost nobody is going to actually buy these cards. The most popular GPUs by far are the more mid-range alternatives, with the XX70 series being a great cross-section between affordability and aspiration. Most people buy an XX60 card, but if you can buy an XX70, you will. That’s why the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 are two of the most enticing cards of 2025. How will they perform? How much will they cost? Which is the better buy? We can’t know for sure until we’ve had enough hands on time with them, but until then, here’s how they shake out with what we know so far. Pricing and availability Neither of these cards are available at the time of writing. However, we have a launch date and suggested retail price for the RTX 5070. It’s set to launch on March 5, with Nvidia pushing for a price tag of $550. That seems unlikely to last long after launch, though, as to date all 50-series cards have sold out almost immediately at launch and prices have risen astronomically in turn as scalpers run wild. Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming AMD’s RX 9070 hasn’t been officially unveiled just yet, but AMD is set to give us more details in early March. Its expected to go on ***** that same month, but pricing remains completely unknown for now. There have been rumors, but they’ve been so wildly broad that there’s clearly little consensus in what the GPU will cost as of yet. TechPowerUp / Gigabyte Specifications Nvidia RTX 5070 AMD RX 9070 Graphics Cores 6,144 4,096 (rumored) RT Cores 48, 4th generation 64 (rumored) Tensor Cores 192, 5th generation N/A Boost clock 2.51GHz 2.7GHz (rumored) Memory size 12GB GDDR7 16GB GDDR6 (rumored) Memory bus 192-bit 256-bit (rumored) Memory speed 28Gbps 19.5Gbps (rumored) Memory bandwidth 672GBps 624GBps (rumored) TBP 250W 260W (rumored) The RTX 5070 is only a very modest uptick in its on-paper capabilities compared to the last-generation 4070. It has only four percent more CUDA cores, and literally two more RT cores — although they, like the Tensor cores, are part of a new-generation design. Clock speeds are similar, too, and there’s the same quantity of memory, albeit GDDR7 this time around, so it’s faster. All of that sets up fairly standard competition for AMD’s RX 9070, which unfortunately we don’t have official specifications for yet. However, rumors do give us some numbers to play with, notably the larger 16GB of GDDR6 memory, which would give this card some more headroom in modern gaming at 1440p. We’re already seeing some top titles demand over 15GB at 4K, so the 12GB on the 5070 might hit a wall in the not-too-distant future and struggle with higher-end visual features. Here’s hoping neural texture rendering can help there. Performance This one is very much an unknown, even if we do have some rumors, leaks, and some heavily-skewed graphs from Nvidia to help guide our thoughts. Nvidia Nvidia claimed at CES 2025 that the 5070 was going to offer 4090 performance. Well, the 5080 doesn’t even do that, so that claim is out the window. If we look to the far left of Nvidia’s graph, it looks like the 5070 will be maybe 20-30% faster than the 4070 — that’s the non-Super variant, mind you. AMD’s RX 9070 has been rumored to perform around the same level as a 7900 GRE, or a little faster than the 4070 Super… so potentially very close to the 5070. If that proved to be the case, AMD would need to undercut the potentially much-higher Nvidia price tag, once scalpers get their hands on it. The elephant in the room though, is upscaling and frame generation. Nvidia’s DLSS 4 is excellent and the multi frame gen can be great in the right circumstances. AMD will introduce FSR4 and its own frame generation technology with theh RX 9000 series, so it does have the potential to pull level with Nvidia. It hasn’t managed to do it yet, though, so we’ll have to see how that shakes out. AMD’s time is now, but can it meet the moment? AMD looks set to launch a card that is roughly comparable in performance to the 5070, with more memory, a frame generation technology of its own, and improved dynamic FSR upscaling. If that all proves true, it really needs to meet the moment on price. If AMD can sell this card for $450, or even $500 and actually have the card in stock, it could be exceedingly popular. Recent GPU pricing madness means you’ll need to spend over $400 to even buy an RTX 4060, so something that’s close to twice that performance for just $100 more? AMD would be on to a winner. It just comes down to what kind of stock it has. If there’s a lot, AMD could be on to a real win, but if not, it’s a toss up as far as we can see for now. Source link #battle #affordable Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Delta Upside-Down Plane ****** Outcome a ‘Miracle,’ Experts Say Delta Upside-Down Plane ****** Outcome a ‘Miracle,’ Experts Say Experts are calling it a “miracle” after no one died when a Delta Airlines plane flipped upside down while landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The harrowing incident unfolded Monday afternoon when an airplane from Minneapolis was attempting to land. All 80 passengers and crew members are accounted for, with eight people injured. Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start” Greg Feith, former senior air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, told News Nation it’s possible the CRJ900 jet bounced upon landing, causing the pilots to lose control. “The good thing is … both the wings were shed,” he said. “That usually takes up a lot of the major impact forces. And because the tube — the fuselage tube — stayed intact, that’s what enhanced the survivability for all these people, even though there was a small fire that did break out.” Two retired commercial pilots, Richard Levy and Michael Coffield, called the traumatic ordeal a “miracle.” After the ******, 21 people were transported to area hospitals. In a statement released Tuesday morning, Delta Airlines revealed 19 of them had been released from the hospital. “Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved,” said Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian. Experts explained to The Minnesota Star Tribune investigators will be looking into a number of factors that could have contributed to the incident, including the experience levels of the pilots and crew as well as the weather conditions in Toronto, like the potential for complications from a crosswind. “Maneuvering crosswinds can be challenging,” said J.F. Joseph of Joseph Aviation Consulting. “No two crosswinds are alike; they are dynamic. That presents additional challenges to the pilot.” Please continue to pray for the recovery of all those involved in the ******. ***Please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.*** Source link #Delta #UpsideDown #Plane #****** #Outcome #Miracle #Experts Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Marvel Rivals Layoffs At US Team Influenced In Part By “Geopolitical Risks,” Analyst Says Marvel Rivals Layoffs At US Team Influenced In Part By “Geopolitical Risks,” Analyst Says The recent announcement that NetEase was laying off some of its US-based Marvel Rivals developers, including one of the game’s directors, prompted concern and questions given that the hero shooter is performing well in the market with 40 million players. Now, a clearer picture of what’s going on and the context behind the shocking decision is coming into focus. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad published a report in which he offered his take. Ahmad said there is “some truth” to how various ******** game companies are downsizing their US operations due in part to “geopolitical risks” under the new Trump administration. However, there may be more to the story. Ahmad said the “full picture is more nuanced” and might also reflect NetEase performing a “recalibration of its global strategy.” In addition to the layoffs at the Marvel Rivals team at NetEase is Seattle–under a dozen people were reportedly affected–NetEase made a number of other significant drawbacks to its global games business. Ahmad pointed out how NetEase either closed or scaled down funding for Ouka Studio in Japan, Worlds Untold in Canada, and Jar of Sparks in the US. More recently, Just Cause creator Christopher Sundberg’s new studio Liquid Swords announced cuts, as did Halo Infinite co-developer SkyBox Labs in Canada. Both teams were funded in part by NetEase. “NetEase aggressively expanded its overseas footprint between 2019 and 2023, opening and investing in numerous studios outside China with the aim to develop high-end PC and console games,” Ahmad said. “NetEase’s recent decisions regarding its overseas investments and studio operations reflect a broader recalibration of its global strategy, driven by multiple factors. This change in strategy has impacted both US based studios and non-US based studios.” Ahmad went on to note that the “core” development team for Marvel Rivals is based in Guangzhou, China. This includes a second game director, Guangyun Chen, alongside the US-based director, Thaddeus Sasser, who was let go this week. Also in his note, Ahmad said NetEase and other ******** giants like Tencent and miHoYo invested significantly in overseas games and teams to try to reach players globally. However, Ahmad said a “turning point” for ******** companies came in 2024 when ****** Myth: Wukong, developed by a relatively small ******** team at Game Science, broke out and became a giant success. “The success of ****** Myth: Wukong challenged the industry’s assumption that only Western or Japanese AAA studios could produce globally competitive PC and console titles,” Ahmad said. So why did NetEase cut its US-based Marvel Rivals development team? We may never know the real answer, but Ahmad said it has more to do with “high costs and lower returns” over the past few years following a pullback after the ***** of the pandemic. “Therefore, streamlining operations helps reduce costs and shorten development cycles, and NetEase is now following a new strategy both for these reasons and to mitigate risk from US-China policy changes,” he said. It’s not just NetEase that’s scaling back operations in the US, as the US video game industry has undergone turbulent times of late, with thousands of layoffs rocking the business in the past few years. These cuts come as some US-based video game companies, including Electronic Arts, continue to see huge profits. Source link #Marvel #Rivals #Layoffs #Team #Influenced #Part #Geopolitical #Risks #Analyst Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Apple’s careful approach is killing my interest in Apple Intelligence – here’s what I want Apple to do Apple’s careful approach is killing my interest in Apple Intelligence – here’s what I want Apple to do Apple has arguably delivered a lot of artificial intelligence in the roughly 8 months since it unveiled Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, but it’s also failed to deliver the most promising aspect of its AI strategy: a smarter, more useful, and far more aware Siri. Siri hasn’t been entirely left out. It’s more conversational but the limits of its capabilities are still painfully apparent. Virtually all difficult questions are handed off to ChatGPT, OpenAI’s far more powerful generative chatbot. And it’s not even a particularly smooth or fast handover. When I was on vacation, I started taking pictures of the stars with the iPhone 16 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. At one point I realized I couldn’t easily identify some of the star clusters and constellations. I captured a screenshot and asked Siri to identify the stars in the image I shared. There was a pause and then Siri told me, “To answer that, I’ll need to send this photo to ChatGPT. Should I go ahead?” While I guess I’m glad Apple has a way to answer these questions, I still can’t get over the fact that Apple hasn’t figured out how to natively support them. I get that Apple is not a generative, large language model leader like OpenAI or Google (Gemini support has been promised but has yet to arrive), but this feels like it’s not even trying. Okay, perhaps I can get over the fact that Apple Intelligence will never produce one-stop shopping for all my generative AI needs, but my disappointment goes further than that. (Image credit: Future) The long wait Apple promised that by this year we’d have all of Apple Intelligence’s features including the ones I’ve been waiting for: Siri’s situational awareness (using what it knows about you from the phone) and its ability to see what’s going on on your screen, understand it, and act on your behalf based on that knowledge. Some believed we might see the full realization of this promise with iOS 18.4 but that update appears delayed. No one knows why and Apple certainly isn’t talking about it but I’m concerned that this is another by-product of Apple’s overly cautious approach. Yes, I get that Apple is the most privacy-aware and secure consumer platform and ecosystem. A portion of their AI strategy revolves around Private Cloud Compute. But what is that locked-down vapor actually doing for us? I worry that Apple is so afraid of breaking this ironclad security promise that it’s falling way behind the AI competition, which happily runs roughshod over most of these privacy and data concerns, and usually does mop-up after the fact when someone cries foul. It is the “move fast and break things” style of development that Facebook (now Meta) once ascribed to and eventually left behind when the company grew up. But that was then and this is now – and by now, I mean the AI revolution. The only way to stay ahead of it is to move as fast as it’s developing around you. AI Time Apple appears locked in an old model of long-term software upgrade cycles. I won’t claim that Apple is working on the old 18-month model, but the promises for Apple Intelligence stretched out over almost a year. It’s as if Apple doesn’t fully comprehend the AI development pace. OpenAI and its competitors are not working on 12-, 9-, or 6-month cycles. We’re getting significant model updates every three months, and sometimes in bunches. It feels like a free-for-all because it is. I think everyone in this space understands this as a race and it’s only Apple that appears stuck near the starting line. You might argue that Apple has delivered a lot of Apple intelligence since June. There are features like Genmojis, Image Playground, and Writing Tools that vary on the scale of utility. Most are not very useful at all. Why do I need to spend time creating silly images of me or my friends, or whimsical Genmojis featuring animals that I can share in messages? I’d honestly prefer Apple get to work on generative image creation that produces more usable images. Even writing Tools is not something I tap into very often (if at all). and don’t get me started on summaries, most of which are word salads of important information, slamming together disparate ideas in a way that makes them more confusing than actionable. Meanwhile, Siri remains the disappointment it’s long been, trailing so far behind Gemini and ChatGPT that it’s clear they’re not in the same class. It’s time for Apple to stop being so cautious and officially join the fight. I think Siri is still a massive opportunity for on-device intelligence, instant information, and automation. Now it’s time for Apple to let go, hurry up, and do its thing. You might also like Source link #Apples #careful #approach #killing #interest #Apple #Intelligence #heres #Apple Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Homelessness Australia calls for boost to support services ahead of 2025 federal election Homelessness Australia calls for boost to support services ahead of 2025 federal election Voters are looking for increased support for homelessness services, as more than 120,000 Australians facing homelessness reveal they’re not getting the support they need. The latest Homelessness Australia analysis found 75,277 people are turned away by overstretched homelessness services each year, while 48,195 people don’t even make it through the door. The analysis, which cross-referenced data from the *********** Institute of Health and ********, Productivity Commission and Impact Economics, revealed these unmet needs could be fulfilled with an overall funding boost of $671m. Camera IconNew research reveals homelessness is at top of mind for voters. NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui Credit: News Corp Australia Homelessness Australia chief executive officer Kate Colvin said voters were becoming increasingly aware of the risk of homelessness as cost of living pressures continue to hit household budgets. “People’s fears have escalated beyond missing a rent or mortgage payment,” Ms Colvin said. “They now fear being turfed out of their home, with no safety net to catch them. “Our housing crisis has created a national homelessness emergency and voters want to know the government has their back. “This data shows there is a political opportunity to put forward a plan to catch people before they fall into homelessness and ensure that no one is ever turned away because support services are overstretched.” Camera IconHomelessness Australia chief executive officer Kate Colvin says voters are looking to the politicians to step and provide support for those at risk of homelessness. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia The latest Redbridge data found there was increasing support for increasing investment in services for homeless children and young people, with 86 per cent of voters aged 18-34 showing support and 92 per cent of voters aged 65 and older supporting the idea. It comes as Redbridge research across 24 battleground electorates also found 60 per cent of respondents under financial stress have noticed an increase in homelessness in their communities. Ms Colvin said the majority of those polled called for the bolstering of services, including 89 per cent for increased investment for women and children escaping domestic violence, 80 per cent for people sleeping rough, and 73 per cent for those at risk of losing their home. “We know homelessness not only takes a toll on the people experiencing it, but on the broader community, and people want this issue addressed,” she said. “This polling shows that ending long-term homelessness is not only the right thing to do, it has deep public support. “We know what needs to be done to end homelessness and ease the housing crisis, we just need a commitment from the federal government to fund these initiatives. Voters are on board, so it’s time to get it done.” Ahead of the federal election, the Homelessness Australia is also calling for low cost social or affordable rentals to make up at least 10 per cent of the total housing stock as well as a boost to Commonwealth Rent Assistance. Source link #Homelessness #Australia #calls #boost #support #services #ahead #federal #election Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Microsoft trims File Explorer’s Recent, Favorites, and Recommended content in Europe Microsoft trims File Explorer’s Recent, Favorites, and Recommended content in Europe Windows 11 24H2 Preview Build 26120.3281 is now available on the Dev and Beta channels, and one of its biggest changes is the removal of Recent, Favorites, and Recommended content, alongside the Details Pane, in File Explorer. According to The Register, the Redmond software giant made this move to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations, as these four features require account-based content. Note that this move will only affect Entra ID (i.e., corporate) users in the European Economic Area, so you probably won’t have to explain to your mom why her Favorites folder is missing. While these shortcuts are quite useful in simplifying workflows, they could also reveal sensitive user data. So, Microsoft had to deprecate these features, at least in Europe, to comply with the GDPR. Aside from this, the company is also removing the Location History API from this update, meaning your device’s location data will no longer be stored on it. This will also remove Location from Settings > Privacy & security, so you no longer have to worry about your PC keeping notes on the places where it’s been. The API was previously used by Cortana to determine your device’s location, but it’s no longer needed after the company the discontinuation of the assistant and its replacement by Copilot. However, even if the operating system no longer saves your location locally, Microsoft has yet to confirm if it saves your location data online. These updates are still on the Dev and Beta channels, so the average Windows user should not expect to see the changes arrive soon. Furthermore, seeing these changes in Preview Releases does not mean that they will even make it to general release — there’s still a chance that Microsoft might find use for the Location API, or its users might complain about the missing File Explorer features. We just hope that the changes that it’s making to Windows 11 will not introduce new problems for users. After all, Microsoft has a history of problematic updates, like a security update that broke the sound output of PCs using external DACs, and the latest one breaking the File Explorer app and preventing users from accessing their files and folders. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #Microsoft #trims #File #Explorers #Favorites #Recommended #content #Europe Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

James Bond Shocker: Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise as Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Step Back – Variety James Bond Shocker: Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise as Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Step Back – Variety James Bond Shocker: Amazon MGM Gains Creative Control of 007 Franchise as Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Step Back VarietyJames Bond Shakeup: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson Cede Creative Control to Amazon MGM Studios TheWrapJames Bond’s long-serving producers give control to Amazon BBC.comAmazon’s MGM Studios to take creative control over ‘James Bond’ franchise Yahoo FinanceThe Future of James Bond Is Now in Amazon Studios’ Hands Collider Source link #James #Bond #Shocker #Amazon #MGM #Gains #Creative #Control #Franchise #Producers #Barbara #Broccoli #Michael #Wilson #Step #Variety Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Valve just released the source code for Team Fortress 2 — on purpose Valve just released the source code for Team Fortress 2 — on purpose Valve just released the entirety of the Team Fortress 2 client and server source code, and it wasn’t even an accident. In a post on the Team Fortress website titled “The TF2 SDK has arrived!” Valve addresses mod creators directly. “We’ve just released a massive update to the Source SDK, adding all the Team Fortress 2 client and server game code. This update will allow content creators to build entirely new games based on TF2,” the post says. Valve adds that it is also updating all of its multiplayer back-catalogue Source engine titles, adding in a load of improvements to make them more playable. However, there’s a caveat: any games created with this source code must be free: “The SDK is licensed to users on a non-commercial basis, meaning that any mod created using the SDK must be free, and any content in those mods must be free.” Valve goes on to ask that mod makers not create mods that would profit off the efforts of all the Steam Workshop contributors over the years, and that they hope players will continue to be able to access their TF2 inventory if it makes sense for the mod. Valve Software Team Fortress 2 is 18 years old now, long past the point most player counts have dwindled to nothing, yet its fan base continues to be as loyal as ever. Part of that is due to Valve’s continued support of the game, fixing bugs 17 years after the game launched. Please enable Javascript to view this content Valve acknowledges the community’s part in keeping the game alive. “The majority of items in the game now are thanks to the hard work of the TF2 community,” its post says. Releasing the source code feels like Valve is officially passing the torch to the fans, a final tribute to the community — especially since Valve is bound by fate to never release a trilogy. With the full source code in hand, the community can keep the Team Fortress 2 going for years to come and potentially create an entire extended universe of Scout-based shenanigans. Source link #Valve #released #source #code #Team #Fortress #purpose Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Cube semantic layer eases data access from Power ***, Excel Cube semantic layer eases data access from Power ***, Excel Cube unveiled an expanded partnership with Microsoft, launching new integrations between its semantic layer and both Power *** and Excel, enabling joint customers to better access data for analysis. Based in San Francisco, Cube is a 2019 startup whose Cube Cloud platform is a semantic layer designed to enable users to eliminate isolated data, establish consistent models and governance, simplify access and exploration, discover data for reuse and easily integrate with APIs. Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) API for Power *** integrates Cube’s semantic layer with Power *** so that joint customers can access live data in cloud data warehouses directly from Power *** using DAX, Power ***’s native query language. Cube Cloud for Excel Add-in, meanwhile, uses Cube’s Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) API to connect governed data with Excel so users can update spreadsheets with a single click to analyze current data. Accessing live data in data warehouses has been a struggle for many Power *** users, according to Donald Farmer, founder and principal of TreeHive Strategy. As a result, Cube’s new integration with Power ***, launched on Feb. 18, and its semantic layer is a significant addition for joint Cube and Microsoft customers. “The ability to query cloud data warehouses with DAX really is a breakthrough for teams who have struggled to make Power *** work with their preferred data warehouse platforms,” Farmer said, noting that even using Power *** with Microsoft’s own Fabric platform has been a struggle for data architects and engineers. Regarding the integration between Cube’s semantic layer and Excel, Farmer added that it also is significant because it simplifies connections between Excel and cloud data storage platforms. “The Excel connectivity is also an excellent addition,” he said. Cube and Microsoft first partnered in March 2024. New capabilities Data architects and engineers have long been able to connect Power *** and Excel directly to data warehouses such as Azure or third-party platforms, including Databricks and Snowflake. Such direct connections, however, don’t always work smoothly. MDX was developed by Microsoft in the late 1990s to connect analytics tools with multi-dimensional online application processing (OLAP) cubes. DAX was developed later by Microsoft as an intended improvement and became the query language for Power ***. Neither, however, is the current industry standard. Instead, SQL has become the query language for most analytics and data warehouse platforms. Before Cube’s new integrations, Power *** and Excel users had to either copy and move data from data warehouses via import mode or MDX and DAX needed to be translated to SQL in Microsoft’s DirectQuery mode. Copying and moving data can be labor intensive. At the same time, translations from Microsoft’s query languages to SQL are not always seamless, which leads to lack of performance, according to Artyom Keydunov, Cube’s founder and CEO. The integrations between Cube’s semantic layer and Microsoft’s analytics platforms are intended to address query performance. “The SQL generated is frequently unoptimized and performs poorly,” Keydunov said. “Our aim with the [the integrations] is to improve this performance.” Because the integrations improve query performance between Power *** and Excel and cloud data warehouses, they address major trends, according to Kevin Petrie, an analyst at BARC U.S. One is the sustained popularity of spreadsheets. Another is that data remains highly distributed despite the efforts of cloud data platforms to help organizations consolidate. As a result, the integrations are noteworthy. “This announcement gives companies a useful method of analyzing data,” Petrie said. “Analysts and data teams of all types need to access distributed data wherever it resides in order to drive decisions and support increasingly advanced models.” Like Keydunov, Farmer noted that direct connections between Microsoft’s analytics platforms and data warehouses often produce poor results. In addition, for those choosing to use DirectQuery, costs can add up, he continued. Cube’s semantic layer enables users to cache data, which results in more efficient access from Power *** and Excel. And it enables such access via DAX and MDX. “By enabling connectivity with both these standards, Cube has created a modern OLAP solution which is a real breakthrough in engineering for them,” Farmer said. Regarding the impetus for integrating Cube’s semantic layer with Power *** and Excel, customer feedback was a significant factor, according to Keydunov. Power *** is perhaps the most widely used business intelligence platform, with over 12 million users. Excel, meanwhile, remains the most popular tool for business analysis, with over 750 million users. “The continued investments in new Microsoft integrations are a direct response to enterprise customer demand for these capabilities,” Keydunov said. Future plans In addition to its partnership with Microsoft, Cube is a partner with AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks and Snowflake. However, despite integrations with prominent data platform vendors, Cube’s semantic layer platform is a relative newcomer compared to others providing similar capabilities, such as AtScale, GoodData, Looker and MicroStrategy. In addition, its total funding of $46.7 million, including $25 million in 2024, is far less than that of other competitors, such as DBT Labs. To compete, one of Cube’s goals is to continue modernizing OLAP, according to Keydunov. Another is to emerge as a catalyst for AI adoption by enabling customers to turn raw cloud data into AI-ready data. “With well-defined semantic modeling, it becomes possible to deliver consistent, reliable, and trustworthy AI outputs and autonomous actions,” Keydunov said. That focus on supporting AI platforms is wise, according to Petrie. Universal semantic layers are a valuable way to unify access to distributed data, he noted. Migrating data, data sovereignty requirements and security risks often prevent organizations from consolidating data in one location. Semantic layers help address that sprawl. Access to data, meanwhile, is critical for AI development. Cube now supports platforms such as the LangChain framework. But there are opportunities to integrate with others, according to Petrie. “I would recommend they consider extending their support to include other AI/ML platforms such as Dataiku and Domino Data Lab,” he said. “Data scientists need easy access to structured data as they train advanced models and put them into production.” Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for Informa TechTarget and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management. Source link #Cube #semantic #layer #eases #data #access #Power #Excel Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

3 Beauty Stocks Off to an Ugly Start—Can 1 Stage a Comeback? 3 Beauty Stocks Off to an Ugly Start—Can 1 Stage a Comeback? However, retail and wholesale beauty stocks have been in a steady decline, with losses accelerating in 2025. Once a Wall Street favorite, Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) ended 2024 down 11.24% and is currently down 16.05% YTD. Coty (NYSE:) fared worse, closing 2024 with a 43.96% loss and sliding 19.83% YTD. e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:) also struggled, finishing 2024 with a 13.02% drop. The biggest loser in 2025 so far is e.l.f. Beauty, which has plummeted 41.86% YTD as of Feb. 14, 2025. While the sector’s rough start has been anything but glamorous, beauty stocks may be approaching a capitulation point—setting up at least one for a potential comeback this year. 1. Ulta Beauty: The Incumbent Retailer Giant Ulta Beauty is the nation’s largest beauty supply retailer, selling mass and high-end premium cosmetics, skincare, fragrances, and hair care products in all 50 states through 1,385 locations. The company even has store-within-stores at select Target (NYSE:) department stores. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for Ulta Beauty has been 17% since 2010, with operating margins consistently in the 12% to 15% range. Of the five categories, including cosmetics, skincare, bath & fragrance, and hair care, skincare has been the strongest growth driver at a CAGR of 19.3%. Ulta Reports Solid FQ3 Earnings and Raised Guidance Ulta Beauty reported fiscal Q3 2025 EPS of $5.14, beating consensus estimates by 61 cents. Revenues rose 1.7% YoY to $2.53 billion, beating consensus estimates of $2.5 billion. Same-store comps rose 0.6% YoY. The company addressed normalization in the beauty industry as customers remained focused on extracting the most from their tightening budgets. Ulta Beauty issued upside guidance for fiscal 2025 with EPS of $23.20 to $23.75, up from 22.60 to $23.50 previously forecast, versus $23.13 consensus estimates. Revenues are expected between $11.1 billion to $11.2 billion, versus $11.17 billion. The company expects YoY comps to be negative 1% to flat. 2. Coty: Pockets of Headwinds Causing Top and Bottom-Line Miss Coty is a manufacturer of beauty products and also a licensor of fragrance brands. Coty saw weakness in China, which led to weak sales of its color cosmetics. Prestige Fragrances continued to outperform. Coty’s Prestige portfolio of brands includes Tiffany & Co. Burberry, Calvin Klein, Cloe, Davidoff, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Joop!, Kylie Cosmetics, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs and SKKN. Coty reported fiscal Q2 2025 EPS of 11 cents, missing consensus estimates by 10 cents. Revenues fell 3.3% YoY to $1.67 billion, which also missed consensus estimates of $1.72 billion. The company issued in-line guidance for fiscal FY 2025 EPS of 50 cents to 52 cents vs. 52 cents consensus estimates. CEO Sue Nabi commented, “Pressure in pockets of our business, which we discussed at length on the last earnings call, namely in China, Travel Retail Asia, Australia, and in Consumer Beauty U.S., cumulatively impacted us even more significantly in Q2.” e.l.f. Beauty: Flying Too Close to the Sun e.l.f. Beauty shareholders have been on a rollercoaster ride as shares surged to a high of $221.83 in 2024 but have since unraveled to 52-week lows on its recent earnings miss. e.l.f. Beauty is also a manufacturer of cosmetic and skincare products under its e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. Skin, Well People, Keys Soulcare, and Naturium brands. The company’s products had a perfect storm of social media buzz, Gen-Z buyers, value, quality, and affordability in the age of inclusivity. However, the stock has been unraveling just as fast as it surged. Even with the sell-off, shares are still trading at a P/E of 43.2, which is much higher than the 24.3 industry average, and a price-to-free cash flow (FCF) of 173.4, much higher than the industry average of 22.05. 3. The Higher They Go, The Harder They Fall e.l.f. Beauty reported fiscal Q3 2025 EPS of 74 cents, missing estimates by 2 cents. Revenues still surged impressively by 31.2% YoY to $355.3 million, crushing $330.4 million. FQ3 was the 24th consecutive quarter of revenue growth as U.S. market share increased by 220 bps. Softer-than-expected consumption trends at the start of the calendar year 2025 are attributed to the declining category. The company cut its Q4 net sales outlook to a range of negative 1% to 2%, e.l.f. Beauty lowered its guidance for the fiscal full-year 2025 of EPS of $3.27 to $3.32, down from earlier estimates of $3.47 to $3.53, versus $3.60 consensus estimates. FY 2025 revenue is expected to be between $1.300 to $1.310 billion, down from the previous estimate of $1.315 to $1.335 billion, vs. $1.34 billion. e.l.f. CEO Mandy Fields commented, “Given softer-than-expected trends in January, we are taking a prudent approach and lowering our outlook for the final quarter of our fiscal year. Our updated outlook for fiscal 2025 reflects an expected 27-28% year-over-year increase in net sales, as compared to an expected 28-30% increase previously.” The Bottom Line: Ulta Stands Out for a 2025 Comeback The beauty sector has struggled in 2025, with Ulta, Coty, and e.l.f. Beauty all facing steep declines. While challenges persist, Ulta Beauty appears best positioned for a rebound. Unlike Coty and e.l.f., Ulta benefits from a diverse product lineup, strong customer loyalty, and growing digital engagement. With 44.4 million active loyalty members and steady earnings, Ulta has the foundation to weather industry headwinds better than its peers. e.l.f. still trades at a premium valuation, while Coty’s exposure to international markets adds risk. For investors seeking stability in the beauty sector, Ulta could be the best bet for a 2025 turnaround. Original Post Source link #Beauty #Stocks #Ugly #StartCan #Stage #Comeback Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Birkenstock sandals are not art, says ******* court Birkenstock sandals are not art, says ******* court Birkenstocks may be cool enough for Barbie but the sandals do not qualify as works of art, a ******* court has ruled. The company had claimed that its footwear could be classified as art and so was protected by copyright laws, and brought the case to stop rivals selling copycat versions of its cork-soled sandals. But a judge dismissed the claim, saying the shoes were practical design items. Birkenstocks were once deemed uncool but in recent years have become hugely popular, and gained more attention after actress Margot Robbie wore a pink pair of the sandals in the final scene of the 2023 hit Barbie movie. The sandals, which feature a moulded footbed, have been praised for being comfortable and sturdy, and many colour options and strap styles have evolved since the original leather-strapped version in the 1960s. Even though it was initially rejected from the catwalks, it soon became a fashionable item, scoring a seal of approval from supermodel Kate Moss in the 1990s, and even appeared on celebrity feet at the Academy Awards. The company eventually listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2023, valuing the firm at roughly $8.6bn (£7.08bn) – double its worth in 2021. Birkenstocks’ popularity means rivals often sell knock-off versions, prompting the firm to make the claim to protect what it called its “iconic design”. ******* law distinguishes between design and art when it comes to a product. Design serves a practical purpose, whereas works of art need to show a certain amount of individual creativity. Art is covered by copyright protection, which lasts for 70 years after the creator’s death, whereas design protection last for 25 years from when the filing was made. Shoemaker Karl Birkenstock, born in the 1930s, is still alive. Since some of his sandals no longer enjoy design protection, the firm attempted to gain copyright protection by seeking to classify its footwear as art. But the claim was “unfounded”, presiding judge Thomas Koch said. His ruling added that for copyright protection, “a degree of design must be achieved that shows individuality”. Source link #Birkenstock #sandals #art #******* #court Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Lenovo Legion Go S review (Windows version): Not so fast Lenovo Legion Go S review (Windows version): Not so fast Lenovo has already teased the second-gen version of its flagship gaming handheld. But that won’t be out until much later this year, so in the meantime, it’s come out with the Legion Go S, a slightly sturdier and more portable way to frag while you’re out and about. Now the tricky thing about this device is that it will be available in a bunch of different configurations including one that comes pre-installed with SteamOS — a first for any portable PC not made by Valve. Frankly, that’s the version we’re most interested in. However, the one running Windows 11 is out now, so it’s a good time to get familiar with it and see if it’s worth the money or if you should just wait for the variant that comes with Valve’s OS instead. Design and display: A mid-cycle streamlining Lenovo The Legion Go S takes a lot of the good stuff from its predecessor and distills it into a slightly more compact and portable package. However, the launch model currently costs more than the original Legion Go, while offering worse performance, a smaller screen and no detachable controllers, which makes this a hard handheld to love. Pros Big 120Hz 8-inch screen Handy little built-in touchpad Solid design with adjustable triggers Hall effect joysticks Dual USB ports Cons No fingerprint reader Lackluster vibration motor Too pricey for the performance Legion Space app is still kind of finicky $730 at Best Buy Regardless of what platform they’re based on, both models feature the same design with the only difference being that the Windows 11 version comes in white while the SteamOS variant features a dark purple shell. However, unlike the original Legion Go, the Go S doesn’t have detachable controllers. But aside from that, many of the highlight features from its predecessor are still there. It sports a 1,920 x 1,200 display with a 120Hz refresh rate. At 8 inches, that’s larger than most handhelds, though it is a slight downgrade from the 8.8-inch panel on its predecessor. You also get joysticks with precise Hall effect sensors, an assortment of face and shoulder buttons, dual USB 4 ports (which both support power and data), 3.5mm audio and a microSD card reader. Another small tweak is that instead of four paddles in back, you only get two, with Lenovo trading out the second pair for a set of toggle switches that let you adjust how deep you want the handheld’s triggers to go. It’s a nice touch for people who enjoy things like racing games where a bit of extra analog sensitivity can go a long way, but still want the freedom to have a shorter pull when playing stuff like fighting games, where longer triggers hurt more than they help. And while the touchpad on the Legion Go S is much smaller than the one on the original, I’m really glad Lenovo didn’t axe it altogether as it makes navigating through settings and menus in Windows so much easier than relying strictly on the joysticks or touch support. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The one feature I wish Lenovo had included is an onboard fingerprint sensor. Without it, you need to use a PIN or password to get into Windows 11. On a system without a keyboard, that means every time you pick up the system, you have to shift your hands away from the joysticks and tap the middle of the touchscreen, because the tiny touchpad doesn’t even work for this. Frankly, it’s just kind of awkward and could have been avoided entirely if Lenovo had opted for a power button with a built-in finger scanner like many of the Legion Go’s rivals including the ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Finally, while the Go S does have a built-in rumble motor, the vibrations it puts out are hilariously one-note, especially when it’s set to buzz anytime you use the touchpad. So I ended up turning it off entirely. Performance: Not as fast as you might expect The Legion Go S will eventually support a handful of processors and configurations, but right now it comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip along with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. And if you’re comparing it to its predecessor, you might think this thing would offer better performance. After all, the original Legion Go has less RAM and an older Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, and two is higher than one, right? Well not so fast, because the Z1 Extreme features a base clock of 3.3GHz with eight cores and 16 threads compared to the Z2 Go’s base clock of 3GHz with just four cores and eight threads. Furthermore, the older Z1 Extreme also has a GPU based on AMD’s newer RDNA 3 architecture compared to RDNA 2 for the Z2 Go. So in actuality, the Legion Go S with this chip is about 10 to 15 percent less powerful than the model that came before it. Sam Rutherford for Engadget This becomes a lot more obvious when looking at benchmarks where the Legion Go S delivered 45 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 800p and medium settings with FSR upscaling set to performance, while the original Legion Go hit 51 fps with both systems set to the same 15-watt performance mode. Meanwhile in Returnal, we saw a similar pattern with the Go S reaching 23 fps on medium graphics at 800p compared to 34 fps for the older Legion Go, once again with both devices set to 15 watts. Seeing poorer performance on the new model might set off alarms for some people, but before anyone panics, consider this: The Legion Go S is supposed to be a more streamlined and affordable take on the original, so in some respects not being able to achieve the same or higher framerates is to be expected. To me, the real issue is that 32GB of RAM is sort of overkill for this chip, which means you’re paying more for memory that can’t be fully utilized. And remember, while the Go S’ launch config comes with a Z2 Go, there are other versions that are expected to get a Z1 Extreme and possibly a vanilla Z2 at some point in the future. 1 / 3 Lenovo Legion Go S (Windows 11 version) Lenovo Legion Go S (Windows 11 version) design photos. Of course, if you want higher framerates, you can always adjust how much power you’re sending to its processor. Lenovo’s default balanced setting uses 15 watts, while performance mode pumps things up to 30. But if you want more precise control, the custom mode can go from as little as 5 watts all the way up to 40, though you’ll want or need to be plugged into the wall to utilize its full TDP (thermal design power). Battery life: Good enough Naturally, whatever performance mode you choose will ultimately impact your battery life. I found that when playing Metal Slug Tactics using the 15-watt balanced setting, the Legion Go S lasted for around two and a half hours, which is pretty solid. When playing more demanding titles, longevity wasn’t quite as good, with runtimes closer to an hour and a half. Though, with the Go S featuring a 55.5WHr battery compared to something like the 80WHr pack in the ROG Ally X, that kind of discrepancy isn’t entirely unexpected. Software: Better, but still clunky Sam Rutherford for Engadget Lenovo has done a lot to improve the Legion Space app since it came out a couple years ago. Not only is it much better as a general place to launch games from, it’s a lot easier to adjust settings or download new drivers or software updates. Even the UI is more spacious and intuitive. However, at the end of the day, the handoff between Legion Space and the rest of Windows 11 still feels awkward. Depending on what you’re trying to tweak, you have to jump between menus from Lenovo and Microsoft while switching between joystick and touchpad to navigate. I also noticed some bugs like when trying to install Steam from the Legion Space app. It failed every time, which meant I had to download the app directly from Valve and do things manually. In a lot of respects, this is where Windows-based handhelds lag behind the most, so it’s a shame it’ll be another few months before the SteamOS model goes on ***** sometime in May. Wrap-up The Legion Go S has all the makings of a solid portable gaming PC. It’s got a straightforward design with good ergonomics, Hall effect joysticks and a sensible button layout. Lenovo also includes some nice perks like dual USB-C ports, a decent-sized battery and a handy little touchpad for navigating Windows. I just wish there was a built-in fingerprint scanner too. And while its 8-inch OLED display is a touch smaller than the one on its predecessor, there’s not much to dislike about it. You even get more storage (1TB) than a base Legion Go (512GB). Sam Rutherford for Engadget The hard thing to come to terms with is that right now a Legion Go S costs $730 for worse performance, no detachable controllers and the lack of bonuses like an included carrying case or vertical mouse functionality like on the original Legion Go, which can be had for $30 less ($700). Normally, that would be a death sentence for a new system because that value proposition simply doesn’t make sense. But in this case, the issue is that Lenovo hasn’t fully rolled out all of its variations. I still think 32GB of RAM on this device is excessive; not even the ROG Ally X has that much. But more importantly, the Legion Go S’ other configs aren’t available yet. So even if you aren’t holding out for the SteamOS variant, you’d be silly not to wait for less expensive versions to come out with starting prices closer to $600 (or even $500 for the one with Valve’s platform), which will instantly make this handheld a lot more attractive. Source link #Lenovo #Legion #review #Windows #version #fast Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Privacy at a crossroads in the age of AI and quantum Privacy at a crossroads in the age of AI and quantum The digital landscape is entering a critical turning point, shaped by two game-changing technologies: generative AI (GenAI) and the imminent arrival of quantum computing. These technologies hold vast promise for innovation, but they also magnify the risks to privacy, data security, and trust. Organisations that want to thrive sustainably in this new era must adapt quickly, recognising that the traditional methods used to protect personal data will no longer suffice. The evolving privacy landscape Privacy has long been a legal obligation for organisations. Today, it’s much more than that. In fact, privacy has become a competitive differentiator – organisations that handle customer data with integrity can build stronger relationships and earn more loyalty. Currently, around 75% of the global population is covered by modern privacy laws, which signals that privacy is increasingly seen as a universal right. However, despite these widespread legal frameworks, there are still significant gaps in how laws are executed across different regions and industries. Data breaches continue to escalate, misinformation is increasingly rampant, and consumers are becoming more sceptical about how their personal data is handled. The rise of GenAI has only intensified these challenges as machine-generated content blurs the lines between fact and fiction. Meanwhile, quantum computing looms on the horizon, introducing an entirely new set of challenges. By 2029, the computational power and availability of quantum systems is expected to make current encryption methods obsolete, putting sensitive data at unprecedented risk. For many organisations, the sheer cost of ensuring that this data remains secure could become unmanageable, potentially forcing them to purge vast quantities of personal data to prevent breaches. A growing threat to data integrity As the use of AI accelerates across industries, the quality of the data feeding these systems becomes even more crucial. However, too many organisations continue to focus primarily on protecting the confidentiality of data, while overlooking its integrity. This imbalance has led to a slew of problems, from poor decision-making to failed AI initiatives that fail to deliver meaningful outcomes. Gartner predicts that by 2028, organisations will invest as much in ensuring data integrity as they do in confidentiality. This is a major shift, and rightly so. For AI models to be effective, they need high-quality, trustworthy data to train on. If this data is flawed or unreliable, the resulting AI systems will be just as flawed and unreliable. Beyond AI, maintaining data integrity is critical for everything from regulatory compliance to safeguarding consumer trust in the organisation’s practices. In addition, data integrity plays a critical role in mitigating the risks posed by misinformation and AI-generated content. As GenAI continues to evolve, ensuring that data is accurate, traceable, and verifiable will become more important than ever. Without these measures, AI models risk becoming susceptible to manipulation, making them less effective – and ultimately less trustworthy – across industries. Preparing for the quantum age The rise of quantum computing is not just a future concern; it’s a present reality that organisations must begin preparing for today. The concept of “harvest now, decrypt later” is already a reality, with malicious actors stockpiling encrypted data in anticipation of quantum breakthroughs that would render traditional encryption methods obsolete. This poses a grave risk to organisations, as sensitive information that is currently safe from hackers could one day be compromised by quantum systems. Governments around the world are already pushing for the development and adoption of post-quantum cryptography (PQC) encryption methods that are resistant to the computational power of quantum machines. But making the shift to PQC is no small feat. It requires a fundamental overhaul of existing cryptographic systems and infrastructure, a process that will take years to complete. For many organisations, the pressure is mounting to begin this transition as soon as possible to protect their sensitive data and remain ahead of the quantum curve. A strategic response for organisations To navigate these challenges, organisations need to act decisively: Reassess Data Strategies: Move away from storing huge amounts of data to adopting data minimisation practices. Retaining only necessary information reduces risk and aligns with modern privacy regulations. Invest in Data Integrity: Apply robust measures to ensure data accuracy, provenance, and lineage. This is critical for AI applications and for maintaining consumer trust. Adopt Post-Quantum Cryptography: Begin developing crypto-agility and a migration to quantum-resistant encryption methods now to safeguard sensitive data before quantum computing becomes mainstream. Enhance Privacy Practices: Integrate privacy-by-design principles into every product and service, offering consumers granular control over their data. The broader implications The intersection of GenAI and quantum computing represents a critical turning point for organisations. Failing to adapt to the evolving privacy and security landscape could lead to lost consumer trust, regulatory penalties, and competitive disadvantage. On the other hand, those who take proactive steps to protect data and embrace emerging technologies will not only minimise risks but also position themselves as leaders in the digital economy. Bart Willemsen is a VP analyst at Gartner, with a focus on privacy, ethics and digital society. Source link #Privacy #crossroads #age #quantum Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

SoFi Stock Rallying Strong in the Last 5 Days—What’s Driving It? SoFi Stock Rallying Strong in the Last 5 Days—What’s Driving It? After a massive 200% rally from August through January, SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:) looked unstoppable. That momentum carried the fintech stock to a multi-year high at the end of January, supported by a streak of strong earnings reports. But instead of breaking out further, SoFi plunged 20% after its latest despite once again beating expectations. The reason? Management’s lighter-than-expected forward guidance. Investors, already sitting on huge gains, took the opportunity to lock in profits. But as the past week of gains has shown, the market, in all likelihood, overreacted. The bears have run out of steam, and bulls have rushed back in, pushing shares up 18% in the past five days. With momentum returning and the uptrend resuming, this looks like a textbook buy-the-dip set-up for investors who recognize the long-term growth story is still intact. SoFi Posts Another Profitable Quarter, Reinforcing Its Turnaround SoFi’s end-of-January earnings report was strong across the board, even if the market didn’t immediately reward it. Revenue climbed 20% year over year, marking another quarter of steady expansion. The company also delivered a profitable EPS print, extending its streak of quarterly profitability after consistent losses throughout 2022 and 2023. One of the biggest positives was the record growth in members and product adoption. SoFi added 785,000 new members and 1.1 million new products, setting new company records. These numbers highlight continued demand for SoFi’s financial services and reinforce its ability to scale at a high level. But instead of rewarding these results, investors focused on management’s softer forward guidance. Given the stock’s massive run-up leading into earnings, this was enough to spark a wave of profit-taking. The initial reaction was understandable, but as the sharp rebound over the past week suggests, Wall Street may have been too quick to sell. Wall Street Remains Confident in SoFi’s Long-Term Growth Potential Adding fuel to this theory is the fact that many analysts remained confident in SoFi’s long-term growth. Immediately after the earnings, Needham & Company reiterated its Buy rating and even raised its price target to $20. For those of us still on the sidelines, that implies there’s nearly 25% upside from where shares were trading on Wednesday. While some firms, including Goldman Sachs and UBS, maintained Neutral ratings, their stance appears to be based on valuation concerns rather than business fundamentals. With SoFi proving it can sustain profitability while growing aggressively, analysts still on the sidelines may soon be forced to adjust their outlooks higher. SoFi’s Growth Story Is Strong, But Market Expectations Are High Despite the renewed rally, there are still a few risks to consider. The biggest concern is whether SoFi’s May earnings report will be strong enough to keep investor confidence high. While this quarter showed solid financials, another soft forward guidance update could lead to a more prolonged pullback. Additionally, while Needham boosted its price target, some are taking a more cautious approach as they await further confirmation that SoFi can sustain its growth rates. For Investors on the Sidelines, This Could Be the Moment to Act From a technical perspective, SoFi’s momentum is back on track. After weeks of selling, the stock has had a run of green days, signaling that buyers have regained control. The RSI now sits at 57 and is trending higher, which historically signals that a stock has plenty of room to run before becoming overbought. With selling pressure fully exhausted and investors rotating back in, this could be one of the best entry points in months. If momentum continues, a return to January’s highs, and potentially beyond, looks increasingly likely. Watch This Space—SoFi’s Best Days May Still Be Ahead SoFi’s post-earnings drop wasn’t about weak fundamentals but about investors overreacting to management’s cautious outlook. The stock is regaining its footing, with revenue growth still strong, profitability intact, and bullish analyst support. For those looking to capitalize on this fast-growing fintech leader, this pullback may have been the perfect reset before the next leg higher. Watch this space; the next stage of SoFi’s rally is only getting started. Original Post Source link #SoFi #Stock #Rallying #Strong #DaysWhats #Driving Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]