U.S., Russia restore embassy staffing amid Ukraine war negotiations – National
U.S., Russia restore embassy staffing amid Ukraine war negotiations – National
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that officials at U.S.-Russia talks agreed to restore embassy staffing and create a high-level team to negotiate peace in Ukraine peace and promote economic cooperation.
Rubio said that actions over the last several years have reduced both countries’ diplomatic missions’ abilities to operate.
“We’re going to need to have vibrant diplomatic missions that are able to function normally in order to be able to continue these conduits,” he said.
This comes as top diplomats from Russia and the U.S. met Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to discuss improving ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine — talks that reflected a major and rapid change in American foreign policy under U.S. President Donald Trump.
No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, which came as the beleaguered country is slowly but steadily losing ground against more numerous Russian troops in a grinding war that began nearly three years ago. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country won’t accept any outcome from this week’s talks if Kyiv doesn’t take part. European allies have also expressed concerns they are being sidelined.
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Beyond Ukraine, the meeting — attended by Rubio, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other senior officials — had been expected to focus on thawing relations between the two countries, whose ties have fallen to their lowest level in decades.
It was also meant to pave the way for a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the talks wrapped, Putin’s foreign affairs advisor, Yuri Ushakov, told Russia’s Channel One that no date has been set yet for that summit but that it was “unlikely” to take place next week.
3:24
U.S. vows Ukraine’s involvement in peace talks with Russia, Zelenskyy unaware of negotiations
Concerns from allies they are being sidelined
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the talks would be primarily focused on “restoring the entire range of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce has said the meeting was aimed at determining how serious the Russians are about wanting peace and whether detailed negotiations can be started.
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After the meeting, Ushakov’s remarks suggested the two sides made little progress. Russia and the United States agreed to “take each other’s interests into account” and advance their relations. He added that it was “hard to say” that the two countries’ positions “are getting closer, but there was talk about it.”
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In the wake of Moscow’s 2022 invasion, the U.S., along with European nations, imposed a raft of sanctions on Russia and the allies have repeatedly expanded the measures to damage its economy.
The recent U.S. diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Ukraine and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that won’t be favorable to them.
Kyiv’s absence at Tuesday’s talks has rankled many Ukrainians, and France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K. on Monday to discuss the war.
2:17
European leaders push for army as Ukraine war talks loom
Bruce has said that even though Ukraine will not be at the table Tuesday, any actual peace negotiations will include the country. Kyiv’s participation in such talks was a bedrock of U.S. policy under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, whose administration also led international efforts to isolate Russia over the war.
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White House officials have also pushed back against the notion that Europe has been left out of the conversation, noting that administration officials have spoken to several leaders.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said he spoke by phone to Trump and Zelenskyy following the meeting he called in Paris.
“We seek a strong and lasting peace in Ukraine,” Macron wrote on social media platform X. “To achieve this, Russia must end its aggression, and this must be accompanied by strong and credible security guarantees for the Ukrainians,” he said and vowed to “work on this together with all Europeans, Americans, and Ukrainians.”
Peskov on Tuesday said that Putin has repeatedly expressed readiness for peace talks, and noted that a durable settlement of the conflict in Ukraine would be impossible without “a comprehensive consideration of security issues” in Europe.
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The meeting at the Diriyah Palace in the Saudi capital of Riyadh also highlights de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to be a major diplomatic player, burnishing a reputation severely tarnished by the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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Saudi state media described the talks as happening at the prince’s direction. Like the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the prince has maintained close relations to Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, both through the OPEC+ oil cartel and diplomatically as well.
Saudi Arabia has also helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Zelenskyy for an Arab League summit in 2023. Zelenskyy said he would travel to the kingdom later this week.
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Ukraine’s future in sharp focus as JD Vance and Zelenskyy meet
Rubio was accompanied by U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff, while Lavrov sat next to the Kremlin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and national security adviser Musaed al Alban joined Rubio, Lavrov and others for the start of the meeting but were expected to leave early in the talks.
Ahead of the talks, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund who the Kremlin said might join, underscored the importance of the meeting.
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“Good U.S.-Russia relations are very important for the whole world. Only jointly can Russia and the U.S. address lots of world problems, resolve for global conflicts and offer solutions,” Dmitriev, who said he and his team would focus on economic issues at the talks, told The Associated Press.
The meeting marked the most extensive contact between the two countries since Moscow’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion. Lavrov and then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked briefly on the sidelines of a G-20 meeting in India nearly two years ago, and in the fall of 2022, U.S. and Russian spymasters met in Turkey amid Washington’s concerns that Moscow could resort to nuclear weapons amid battlefield setbacks.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones, according to Kyiv’s military. The Ukrainian air force said Russian troops launched a barrage of 176 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were destroyed or disabled by jamming.
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One Russian drone struck a residential building in Dolynska in the Kirovohrad region, wounding a mother and her two children and prompting an evacuation of 38 apartments, the regional administration reported. Four more residential buildings were damaged by drone debris in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine, according to local officials.
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Grab the ThermoWorks Thermapen One while it’s on ***** for $79
Grab the ThermoWorks Thermapen One while it’s on ***** for $79
We’ve long been fans of ThermoWorks’ instant-read thermometers for grilling and all kinds of cooking, and now you can get our favorite for one of the best prices we’ve seen. Engadget readers can pick up the Thermapen One for only $79 right now thanks to an exclusive deal that knocks $30 off the normal price.
The Thermopen One is calibrated to record temperatures accurately, with an error margin of 0.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.3 degrees Celsius). It also does this within a second. To help users check the temperature conveniently, the display rotates 360 degrees and has a smart backlight display that brightens when it’s covered or in a low-light environment.
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The ThermoWorks Thermapen One is on ***** for $79 right now. This Engadget exclusive ***** brings it close to its lowest price.
$79 at ThermoWorks
The company claims that a single AAA battery in the thermometer will last for 2,000 hours, and it’s partly due to how it automatically turns on or off when you pick it up or put it down. An IP67 rating makes it safe to use in wet and dusty locations for a while. (You should still try to keep it clean and dry, though.) If that’s not reassuring enough, each Thermapen One comes with a five-year warranty.
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Cyber Monitoring Centre develops hurricane scale to count cost of cyber attacks
Cyber Monitoring Centre develops hurricane scale to count cost of cyber attacks
The CrowdStrike incident in 2024 hit the *** like a hurricane. As it swept across the country, it ground flights to a standstill, forced hospitals to cancel operations, and brought down the computer systems and websites of hundreds of businesses.
Since the early 1970s, it has been possible to predict the damage likely to be caused by hurricanes using a five-point wind scale.
Category one hurricanes may damage roofs or break branches on trees, and at the other end of the scale, a category five hurricane could leave areas uninhabitable for months.
There’s no such way to categorise the destructive impact of cyber events like the CrowdStrike update, which brought down Windows computers worldwide in July 2024 – but that is set to change, as an initiative gets underway this year to assess the damage caused by major cyber attacks on a hurricane-inspired five-point scale.
The Cyber Monitoring Centre (CMC), the first organisation of its type, has been set up by the insurance industry as an arms-length organisation to assess the impact of serious cyber attacks that have systemic implications for the ***’s infrastructure and services. It aims to make it easier for businesses to buy cyber insurance cover, and know exactly what will be covered and what won’t.
There are many ways to assess the impact of a cyber event. It could be measured in loss of life through cancelled hospital operations, the disruption caused by leaks of people’s personally identifiable information on the internet, or the strategic implications of the loss of classified government information to a hostile nation state.
The CMC will focus on just one: the economic impact. The centre has appointed a technical committee of eminent experts to assign cyber events to a five-point scale ranging from small-scale disruptions impacting hundreds of people to catastrophic attacks affecting hundreds of thousands. Damage impacts range from less than £100m for category one events to more than £5bn for category five.
The centre plans to monitor press reports and reports from business organisations to identify significant cyber attacks with multiple victims. It has partnerships with data providers to provide statistics on cancelled flights and disruption to datacentres, and works with the NHS to gather data on cancelled operations and hospital procedures. It also has access to advice from legal experts and cyber security specialists that respond to incidents, to help it build financial models of each significant cyber event. The models are reviewed and stress-tested. The final say goes to CMC’s technical committee
The centre aims to produce an impact report within 30 days of the cyber event that will focus on immediate financial losses. It will not take into account longer-term losses caused by, for example, the risk of litigation, or other delayed effects.
What counts as a cyber war and who decides?
The aim of the CMC is to make it easier for companies to buy cyber insurance and know what magnitude of cyber event on the five-point scale they can expect to be covered for, said Ed Lewis, a director and founder of the centre.
The insurance industry has long struggled with how to insure cyber risks. Back in 2022, Lloyds of London issued a bulletin mandating the exclusion of “cyber war incidents” from cyber insurance cover. But who would decide whether a cyber attack was an act of warfare by a hostile state? Government or insurers?
Add to that the complex exclusion clauses developed by the London market for cyber insurance, and it was a “lawyer’s dream”, said Lewis.
It became clear that what mattered most was not which country was responsible for an act of cyber warfare, but the scale and severity of an attack. If a cyber attack had the digital fingerprints to show that it was directed against multiple targets, it had the hallmarks of a “systemic attack”.
Some insurers, particularly those that insure multiple small and medium-sized businesses, do not cover systemic risks. That is to avoid large losses if multiple clients are hit by the same catastrophic incident. However, businesses can obtain insurance cover to protect against systemic risks from other specialist insurers.
During the summer of 2022, Lewis went with a team of lawyers from his firm, Weightmans, working with insurer CFC, to France for six weeks to hammer out a solution. They came up with the idea of creating a company limited by guarantee to act as an independent centre of expertise on systemic cyber attacks.
The team spent the first half of 2023 developing a methodology to assess the financial impact of cyber attacks on a five-point, hurricane-inspired scale, and in October that year incorporated CMC as a company limited by guarantee.
The most talked-about cyber attacks are not the most damaging
The centre reviewed three cyber attacks in a trial run in 2024, and the results were surprising. Some of the most talked-about cyber attacks were not necessarily the most damaging to the *** economy.
Take the attack on the file transfer service, MoveIT, in May 2023. It affected over 2,000 organisations and exposed the personal data of around 64 million people.
Although it generated headlines around the world and captivated the attention of the cyber security community, the economic impact of the attack on MoveIT on the *** was as “close to negligible” as it is possible to reach on the CMC’s “hurricane” scale.
In June 2024, another ransomware group struck pathology laboratory Synnovis, which processes blood tests for NHS organisations across London. The attack led to major disruptions for GP surgeries and NHS trusts, leading to delays in medical procedures, cancelled appointments and shortages of blood stocks.
Despite attracting mass interest, CMC judged the economic impact as relatively low, at between £100m and £1bn, with less than 0.1% of the population affected. That won it a rating of category two on the five-point scale.
The failure of an update to CrowdStrike’s security software in July 2024 caused worldwide disruption to Windows computers, but after an initial burst of press coverage, it failed to capture the public’s continued interest. However, CMC’s experts rated CrowdStrike as a category three incident – significantly more impactful than MoveIT and Synnovis.
How the Cyber Monitoring Centre rated three high-profile cyber events
The need for trust and independence
The CMC’s assessments may not be infallible, but they come with a clear methodology and use data to inform the technical committee’s decisions, all of which will be published and open to public scrutiny.
The idea is that the centre will act very much like an independent arbitrator. Companies offering insurance and those buying insurance will be able to agree to be bound by its decision in any dispute over insurance cover.
That means that the centre will need to be seen as completely independent of the insurance industry and government and that it will need to build a reputation for trusted decisions if it is to be successful.
The centre’s current plans are to raise funding through membership fees, with the organisation hoping to attract members from a wide range of industries, professional services, manufacturing and retail, and insurers. Lewis stressed, however, that insurers and government will have no influence over the CMC’s assessments.
“What we are very clear on is that the work of the technical committee has to be independent of government and independent of insurers,” he said. “They have to be as far as practically possible, beyond the potential for impeachment.”
CMC could impact government policy
The work of the CMC is likely to influence the direction of government policy over cyber risks. Many hope it will help to shift the balance of regulation from policing data leaks to policing cyber failures which result in the loss of essential services.
Ciaran Martin cited as an example an attack by the Conti ransomware group on the Irish health service, which disrupted healthcare for months in 2021.
When the Irish state refused to immediately pay the ransom, the Conti crime group stepped up the pressure by releasing medical data on the internet. It was only at that point that Ireland’s Health Service Executive was obliged to notify regulators about the incident.
“It’s such a stark illustration of the point that a whole national healthcare system, including ******* surgeries had to stop, and that’s not a breach of obligations, but the loss of a small amount of medical data [was considered a breach],” he told Computer Weekly.
That could change in the *** if the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill passes through parliament as expected. It introduces obligations for organisations to maintain critical services, and could lead to mandatory reporting of ransomware attacks.
“I’m not saying, ‘Let’s repeal data regulation and let’s impose sweeping service obligations on small hairdressing salons’, but I’m saying, ‘Let’s think about it carefully’,” said Martin.
If you give a victim the choice between two bad situations – one is the loss of critical health services and the other is the loss of their personal data, most people would opt for losing personal data rather than losing access to medical care, he added.
Lewis concurs. “There seems to be a disproportionate focus on cyber incidents that also involve a data breach,” he said. “I think it’s probably fair to say there’s been quite a bit of criticism of the Information Commissioner’s Office and how those powers have been used over recent times.”
Need to tackle ‘victim stigma’
He hopes that the CMC can remove what he calls “victim stigma”, where fear of bad publicity or litigation can lead organisations hit by cyber attacks to opt for secrecy rather than openness.
There are signs that this is happening already. The British Library, which faced major disruption after an attack by the Rhysida ransomware gang, published a comprehensive lessons-learned report, which was widely applauded in the cyber security community.
The Harris Federation, a network of schools in London and the South East that lost email and telephone access after a ransomware attack in 2021, has talked about its experience in a series of podcasts to help others improve their own cyber resilience.
For Martin, the CMC’s primary aim is to deliver a better-functioning insurance market and better provision for companies seeking to insure against cyber attacks.
He would like to see the CMC gain credibility over time as a source of factual information for academic, government and industry papers.
And if the CMC is doing its job, he said, the media will be able to get a better handle on what cyber incidents are serious and what are likely to have a minor economic impact.
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Greens push to cut home insurance costs by $4bn through polluter pays, scrapping stamp duty fees, extending Reinsurance Pool
Greens push to cut home insurance costs by $4bn through polluter pays, scrapping stamp duty fees, extending Reinsurance Pool
The minor party has proposed a five-pronged attack to lower rising insurance premiums which they say could save households a total of $4bn.
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Review: Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is triple Lara Croft action on Switch – Entertainium
Review: Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered is triple Lara Croft action on Switch – Entertainium
With another generous set of remasters, we finally have the complete inaugural generation of a PlayStation icon. The ports aren’t perfect, but a generous selection of modern options balance out the imperfections of Tomb Raider: Last Revelation and its sequel Chronicles. Having The Angel Of Darkness in a good enough state to revisit might be worth the price alone.
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A Delta flight crashed then flipped upside down while landing in Toronto. Here’s what we know – CNN
A Delta flight crashed then flipped upside down while landing in Toronto. Here’s what we know – CNN
A Delta flight crashed then flipped upside down while landing in Toronto. Here’s what we know CNNDelta plane ****** investigators piece together Toronto Airport incident Yahoo18 injured after plane crashes, flips at Toronto’s Pearson airport CBC.ca’Hanging like bats’: Toronto plane ****** survivor speaks out after aircraft flips on runway ABC NewsWhy did a plane ****** in Toronto, and how did everyone survive? BBC.com
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One Hardware Choice Ripped the First Final Fantasy from Nintendo and Crowned Sony Instead
One Hardware Choice Ripped the First Final Fantasy from Nintendo and Crowned Sony Instead
Nintendo may be the most fascinating business to research in the video game industry. But it missed out on the first Final Fantasy game on the N64. The company has managed its history to run through a variety of ups and downs that no one ever anticipated, and they have had such a phenomenally successful run of things that continues to this day.
The first Final Fantasy game didn’t launch on the N64. | Credit: Nintendo.
Nintendo has occasionally been so erratic that they have even caught prospective partners off guard, and Sony is no exception. There are also a few instances in Nintendo’s history where the company’s operations went horribly wrong. The possible collaboration between Sony and Nintendo on the SNES could be viewed along the same lines, albeit possibly on a scale that hasn’t been observed since.
The first Final Fantasy game wasn’t launched on Nintendo because it didn’t have a CD-ROM
The N64 console didn’t have any CD-ROM. | Credit: Squaresoft.
Diehard Fans of Nintendo are aware that Sony and Nintendo nearly collaborated on a CD-ROM add-on for the SNES that was dubbed the SNES PlayStation. Perhaps its biggest mistake was when Nintendo changed its mind at the last minute and decided to sign a deal with Phillips.
After failing to collaborate with Sony on the SNES add-on, Sony launched the PlayStation, which has grown to be one of the largest gaming industry titans. Due to the absence of this CD-ROM, the company failed to launch the first Final Fantasy game.
In a new interview from VentureBeat, former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida stated Nintendo rejected Squaresoft’s (older name Square Enix) attempts to persuade them that CDs were the best option for the N64. Maybe Squaresoft wouldn’t have brought Final Fantasy to the PlayStation if Nintendo had taken that action. This is what Yoshida said:
Of course, initially, they weren’t interested. They were close to Nintendo. But Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, loved the potential of CDs. His dream was to create a movie-like Final Fantasy game. He was disappointed when he learned that the Nintendo 64 still used cartridges.
Although Squaresoft tried to convince Nintendo to build a CD-ROM in its console at that time, the popular console company never believed that idea. That’s why they licensed the Super Nintendo add-on project to Sony in the first place because they believed CD-ROM was just too slow to ever make for a good game system.
Sakaguchi wanted to fit his game’s movies in the CDs because they were capable of doing that, unlike the cartridges of Nintendo. As a consequence, Final Fantasy went on to be released on the PlayStation instead of the N64.
That might not be the case with the Nintendo Switch 2
FF7 Remake and Rebirth is rumored to be launched on the Nintendo Switch 2. | Credit: Square Enix.
After that, a lot of Final Fantasy games surfaced on the Nintendo consoles. And it seems the highly anticipated Switch 2 is not going to be an exception as well. Although a recent leak indicates that Square Enix will release both FF 7 Remake and FF 7 Rebirth for the home console/handheld hybrid, the company has not yet revealed any Switch 2 games.
According to NatetheHate, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth are coming to Xbox & Switch 2.
Remake will come in 2025, Rebirth in 2026. pic.twitter.com/mf6T7Sy4yU
— Stealth (@Stealth40k) January 10, 2025
NateDrake, also known as Nate the Hate, is the source of this leak. He has previously leaked Switch 2 news with accuracy. According to information shared on Resetera, Square Enix has no immediate plans to release FF 16 on the platform and is instead focusing on FF 7 Remake and Rebirth for Switch 2.
We will have a better idea of the capabilities of the Switch 2 if Square Enix brings FF 7 Remake and Rebirth to the system as rumored. Although there might be significant compromises made to get the games to run on Nintendo’s new system, it appears that the Switch 2 might be more powerful than some anticipate.
Finally, it is impossible to predict when fans will be able to see FF 7 Remake and Rebirth running on the Switch 2 themselves, so they won’t know for sure until they do.
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Grok 3 launch confirmed as 10 times more powerful than previous model
Grok 3 launch confirmed as 10 times more powerful than previous model
Elon Musk and the xAI team announced the Grok 3 AI model in an evening live stream on Monday.
The team detailed that the new model is “a magnitude more capable” than Grok 2, indicating Grok 3 has 10 to 15 times more power than Grok 2. They also claim that Grok 3 is more powerful than its AI model competitors such as DeekSeek and Google Gemini.
The xAI team said it has been improving on the Grok 3 AI model over the last several months, noting that it will be very, very funny, and adding that it has only been 17 months since the launch of the Grok 1 model.
The team has tested Grok 3 against many scholastic challenges, including the American Invitational Mapping Foundation, which the model matched up well against.
In demos, the xAI team showed how Grok 3 performed interesting tasks, such as computing a spacecraft mission from Earth to Mars and back and creating a game that is a mix of Tetris and Bejeweled. The team also mentioned that Grok 3 includes a feature called Big Brain, which is a reasoning model mode allowing for deeper thinking when processing queries.
Musk noted that 17 months prior, the original Grok model could barely solve high school problems, and now “Grok is ready to go to college,” with how much it has advanced.
In addition to Grok 3, the team also mentioned that it is working on an AI gaming studio, which will be a service for consumers. Additionally, it is developing a Deep Search feature for Grok, which will be xAI’s version of AI Agents.
Grok 3 will be available as of Monday for Premium + users. The team is also rolling out a new subscription product called SuperGrok, which will have better access to the AI model and additional features.
xAI
The xAI team noted that Grok 3 should be treated as a beta version, and users should be mindful of errors in its processing.
In a post-launch Q&A, the team confirmed that Grok 3 can process audio into text. Additionally, they confirmed, that Grok 2 will be made open source once Grok 3 is “mature and stable.”
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Story will continue beyond film says creator Stephen Knight
Story will continue beyond film says creator Stephen Knight
Paul Glynn
Culture reporter
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Barry Keoghan (left) and Cillian Murphy, in the upcoming Peaky Blinders film
Peaky Blinders will continue beyond the upcoming film, says creator Steven Knight, sparking rumours of a potential new series.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Tuesday, he said that work so far on The Immortal Man: A Peaky Blinders Film looks “fantastic” and will prove to be “a very fitting way to end this part of the Peaky story.”
When quizzed on what he meant by “this part” by presenters Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell, Knight added: “It’s not over, let’s just put it like that. I’m not allowed to announce it… but I’m just saying that the world of Peaky will continue.”
The writer and producer was appearing on the show to promote his new Disney+ ******* drama, A Thousand Blows, starring Stephen Graham.
‘Best British actors’
There have been six series of the Bafta-winning hit BBC TV show Peaky Blinders, from 2013-2022, with the upcoming Netflix film continuing the story of Tommy Shelby and his Birmingham crime gang.
It will see Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy reprise his lead role alongside an ensemble cast including Graham, Sophie Rundle, Ned Dennehy, Packy Lee and Ian *****; as well as Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Jay Lycurgo, and Barry Keoghan.
“I think we’ve got the best British actors all in one place, including Stephen,” noted Knight.
“The stuff that I’m watching, the rushes… no-one will be disappointed.
“It is quite an incredible thing.”
Getty Images
Peaky Blinders and A Thousand Blows creator Steven Knight has been behind many hit series, including BBC dramas SAS Rogue Heroes, Taboo and This Town, as well as co-creating the ITV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Knight also described himself as a “BBC loyalist”, despite the fact his new ******* drama A Thousand Blows is launching on Disney+.
In his latest creation, Graham stars as notorious boxer Sugar Goodson making his way in the dangerous world of ******** boxing in 1880s Victorian London.
It follows the tale of two friends from Jamaica, Hezekiah Moscow (Small Axe star Malachi Kirby) and Alec Munroe (Francis Lovehall), who find themselves thrust into the capital’s bare-knuckle boxing scene.
It’s here that Hezekiah meets Mary Carr (The Crown star Erin Doherty), queen of an all-female criminal gang known as the Forty Elephants, who hopes to use his talents to her and her gang’s advantage.
Disney+
Stephen Graham and Malachi Kirby go head-to-head in the cut-throat new series
Asked by Today presenter Nick Robinson if this type of show could still be made by the BBC, Knight replied: “Peaky is a BBC show and there was no issue with making that at the BBC. I’m a huge BBC loyalist, as I think you know.
“I love to work with the BBC creatively. There is no place like it. I think the BBC should be strutting on the world stage amongst the streamers, more so than it does.”
He continued: “There are issues of money. I think the BBC has a history of making do and making the best of what they have.
“I’m working with the BBC on another series now, this just happened to come along from a different direction.”
‘Brutal new drama’
His new drama, based on the blurring of several true stories, finds him – with the help of executive producer, broadcaster and historian David Olusoga – imagining “what would have happened” if Hezekiah Moscow and Mary Carr had met.
“I find that the best stories are the ones least told for some reason,” he added.
Knight added he was trying to address the issue of class within the series, as that was more prominent at the time than the issues of gender and race.
“People in the East End [of all genders and races], if you’re cold, you’re cold; if you’re hungry, you’re hungry,” he noted.
“The real struggle, I suppose, in A Thousands Blows, is about east versus west”, he added.
In a five-star review, the Telegraph’s Benji Wilson said Knight’s “brutal new drama may be his best yet.”
“The Disney+ 19th-century bare-knuckle boxing series is blockbusting television in every conceivable sense.”
Disney+
Graham stars as notorious boxer Sugar Goodson making his way in the dangerous world of ******** boxing in 1880s Victorian London
The Standard’s Adam Bloodworth awarded it four stars, writing: “The result is a fantastically entertaining stew – as well as a chaotic and gruesome one, where limbs get hacked off in the ring and bones crunch like so many cornflakes.
“Tinge Krishnan and Nick Murphy’s directorial vision is a dingy but Disney-fied labyrinth of intimidating backstreets and ropey pubs, while script writer and creator Steven Knight’s script is confident but often sparse; a look speaks a thousand words, but when men like Goodson talk, you listen.”
Empire’s Nicola Austin also gave it four stars, calling Graham’s “metamorphosis” into Goodson “incredible”.
“Though not always a total knockout, A Thousand Blows certainly packs a punch – courtesy of excellent lead performances, a gripping plot, and a fascinating historical setting,” she wrote.
Morgan Cormack of the Radio Times wrote another four star review, saying: “Peaky Blinders comparisons will come, but this boxing drama is its own beast.”
Series one of A Thousand Blows launches on Disney+ in the *** on 21 February, with production on a second series already completed.
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Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 Review – TheGamer
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 Review – TheGamer
TheGamer Writes “Don’t Nod’s ’90s-themed return to adventure games is more than nostalgia bait.”
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Lenovo ThinkBook Flip AI PC with foldable rollable OLED display leaks ahead of MWC 2025
Lenovo ThinkBook Flip AI PC with foldable rollable OLED display leaks ahead of MWC 2025
Lenovo is set to unveil a series of new devices at the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, with the ThinkBook Flip AI PC emerging as a standout. Renowned leaker Evan Blass has shared renders of this upcoming laptop, showcasing a unique rollable and foldable OLED display that reimagines traditional laptop design.
The ThinkBook Flip features a dual-hinge mechanism, allowing the screen to fold outward and effectively double its vertical size when fully rolled out. This design should provide users with an expanded workspace, ideal for multitasking or viewing extensive content without relying on external monitors. When the additional screen space isn’t needed, the top half can be folded back, converting the device into a conventional laptop form factor. This flexibility also enables the upper portion to function as a secondary display, facilitating content sharing during presentations or collaborative sessions.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Evan Blass)
(Image credit: Evan Blass)
(Image credit: Evan Blass)
Unlike previous foldable devices such as the ThinkPad X1 Fold, which was essentially a foldable tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard, the ThinkBook Flip comes with a built-in keyboard. The device’s minimalist design includes flat edges which should include essential ports like USB Type-C and USB Type-A, although it is not very clear from the leaked renders. Additionally, there is a webcam positioned within a notch at the top of the screen.
While specific hardware specifications remain undisclosed, it is expected that the ThinkBook Flip will be equipped with Intel’s forthcoming Arrow Lake-H or Lunar Lake processor options. There is also speculation about potential AMD variants, possibly integrating Strix Point-based Ryzen AI 7 series chips. Essentially, it could end up being a high-performance device catering to both professional and creative users.
Lenovo has been experimenting with foldable and rollable display technologies for some time. At CES (Consumer Electronic Show) last month, the company unveiled the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, featuring a rollable display that could expand vertically with just the wave of a hand.
Notably, the leaked ThinkBook Flip AI PC aligns with previous reports, which highlighted Lenovo’s plans to introduce a range of new devices at MWC 2025. Among the anticipated releases are nine new laptops and a hybrid 2D/3D 34-inch curved monitor.
The monitor, bearing Lenovo’s Legion gaming brand, is expected to target professionals and gamers alike, offering a larger alternative to the existing ThinkVision 27 3D. The leaked laptops include models such as the IdeaPad Slim 3x, featuring a 15-inch screen and likely powered by a Snapdragon X chip, and the ThinkPad T14s 2-in-1, marking the first 2-in-1 form factor in Lenovo’s flagship ThinkPad T-series.
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Other models, like the ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 5, ThinkBook 16p Gen 5, ThinkPad T14 Gen 6, ThinkPad T16 Gen 4, ThinkPad X13 Gen 6, and the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, are expected to offer incremental upgrades with newer chips and components. Notably, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, a 14-inch laptop powered by a Snapdragon X chip.
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Charli XCX hints at Lou Reed-style record with Clairo
Charli XCX hints at Lou Reed-style record with Clairo
Charli XCX has suggested making a Lou Reed-inspired album with Clairo.
The pop pair recently teamed up to perform Sofia from the latter’s 2019 debut studio album Immunity at the Laneway Festival in Melbourne last week.
Charli has hinted they could make a guitar-based record like rock legend Reed.
In a video, she said of their duet: “I really had fun doing it and it got me thinking, what if we made a record with guitars or strings or both. Lou Reed era maybe, I dunno just saying.”
Charli teasing a potential guitar record with Clairo – who also featured on her 2019 track February 2017 with Yaeji – comes after her producers revealed the 360 singer might go “anti-Brat” on her next album.
The Grammy winning dance pop star dominated 2024 with her acclaimed album Brat, and her top collaborators spilled their conversations with Charli about what’s next, including potentially doing “the complete opposite thing again”.
Charli’s lead producer A.G. Cook told Grammy.com when asked about new material: “Not truly, it’s just loose chatting about things. (For Charli) the genesis of things is really about having an idea but then being very impulsive. I think you need a certain amount of space to do that.”
Charli won three Grammy Awards for Brat – Best Dance/Electronic Album and Best Recording Package, while the track Von Dutch took Best Dance Pop Recording.
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Lost Records: Bloom & Rage proves that narrative adventures can still innovate
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage proves that narrative adventures can still innovate
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A captivating slice-of-life tale
A change in perspective
At this point, the gameplay formula for narrative adventure games is set in stone. Third-person exploration in confined spaces interspersed between conversations where players have to make impactful, story-shaping choices is the genre norm. Occasionally, a puzzle is thrown in for good measure, but these gameplay segments are often the weakest parts of narrative adventure titles like Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, on the other hand, does not have that problem.
In 2014, Don’t Nod was the first studio outside of Telltale to show that the narrative adventure genre had legs with the original Life is Strange. Now, many of the developers who worked on the first two Life is Strange games are back with a new game looking to push the genre forward yet again. While many narrative adventure games can feel the same nowadays, the first episode of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, which is out now, reminded me that there’s still plenty of room for innovation in the space.
From how it switches perspectives to differentiate what’s happening in the past and present to how naturally some dialogue options can appear to its shockingly authentic feeling in-game camcorder, Lost Records isn’t afraid to play around with genre conventions. That makes it a must-play for fans of narrative adventure titles and, hopefully, the start of something new for Don’t Nod.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage – First Look Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Games
A captivating slice-of-life tale
The first episode of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage jumps between two different timelines. In the present day, presented through a first-person perspective, we see a group of friends reuniting in their hometown after over twenty years of not talking to each other. They’re getting back together to reminisce about their childhood after one of them receives a mysterious package addressed to their old band name.
As they talk, Lost Records flashes back to the 1990s, where players — in a third-person perspective — follow the main character Swann as she meets this group of friends for the first time. The central mystery comes from figuring out what happened during that summer that caused these friends to never talk to each other again. Toss in a bit of the supernatural, and you have a clever twist on the coming-of-age story Don’t Nod is known for telling with its narrative adventure games.
Don’t Nod
Although the era of home videos and riot grrrl bands that the past segments of Lost Records harken back to is a little before my time, I still found a lot to relate to in this slice-of-life tale. If you’ve ever struggled with social anxiety, making friends, finding ways to express yourself, or reconnecting with friends you haven’t talked to for years, then Swann’s journey in Lost Records will resonate with you. Based on the narrative and writing alone, Don’t Nod already reminds us why it’s a master of the narrative adventure and lays the building blocks to create a worthy spiritual successor to Life is Strange.
A change in perspective
The parts of Lost Records that take place in the past with Swann are the most similar to your typical narrative adventure game, but Don’t Nod layers a camcorder mechanic on top of that to give these segments a unique feel. Swann is a videographer who likes to make home videos of whatever she comes across, from animals to her friends. Players are constantly encouraged to whip out Swann’s camera and film what’s going on and can then lightly edit that footage together into home videos.
The gyroscope of the DualSense controller gives these segments an authentic feel and makes it feel like I’m not just interacting with Lost Records’ world in the same way I do in other narrative adventure games. Gameplay is much simpler in the present day, but the switch to the first-person perspective is quite effective.
Don’t Nod
The third-person perspective of the past segments makes sense as the player is supposed to feel like an onlooker to these memories; by making the modern-day segments first-person, it reinforces thematically that those moments are going on in the here and now and makes reuniting with these digital friends feel all the more intimate and personal.
I enjoy how Lost Records lets players look for answers in their environment too. For instance, I can look around in first person while at the bar to unlock new options for which drink Swann will order. Many of these choices continue to pop up, often with more narrative heft, but it reinforces the feeling that players are shaping the story based on their actions.
At its core, Lost Records’ choice-driven structure isn’t that different from what players did a decade ago in Life is Strange. But by putting these small twists on the formula, Don’t Nod reinvigorates a genre that has felt desperate for innovation recently. Telling a relatable, immersive story goes a long way, but the truly great narrative-driven games find ways to challenge or evolve genre conventions in ways we haven’t thought of before. Lost Records sets itself apart from the crowd by doing just that.
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 1 is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Tape 2 will be released and conclude the story on April 15.
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What are COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS?
What are COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS?
COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS are abbreviations that describe prepackaged software or — less commonly — hardware purchase alternatives. The four acronyms denote different classifications of software and hardware, each with its own unique characteristics and usage scenarios:
COTS. Commercial off-the-shelf software.
MOTS. Modified, modifiable or military off-the-shelf software.
GOTS. Government off-the-shelf software.
NOTS. Niche or NATO off-the-shelf software.
Let’s take a more in-depth look at each acronym, starting with COTS.
COTS: Commercial off-the-shelf software
COTS represents the most common category of software that users purchase. These products are ready-to-use upon installation and are designed to easily integrate with an existing system.
COTS offerings cater to a broad audience. Examples include SaaS products like Microsoft 365, Slack and Salesforce, as well as operating systems and productivity applications. The appeal of COTS products lies in their convenience, affordability and scalability. Regular updates and support provided by vendors ensure they remain adaptable to changing technology trends and user needs.
Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software includes productivity applications such as Microsoft Office, LibreOffice, Google Workspace, Zoho Office Suite and Apple iWork.
MOTS: Modified, modifiable or military off-the-shelf software
MOTS refers to COTS products that include accessible source code, enabling vendors, purchasers or third parties to customize them for specific needs. In industries like healthcare and defense, MOTS solutions are often tailored to ensure regulatory compliance or address unique operational requirements.
In a military context, MOTS refers to COTS software that has been tailored to fulfill specific military needs. Despite its flexibility, MOTS raises concerns within government agencies due to the lack of control over future updates managed by external entities.
GOTS: Government off-the-shelf software
Unlike COTS and MOTS, government off-the-shelf software is typically developed by the technical team of the government agency that intends to use it. Alternatively, an external body might develop it under the agency’s funding and specifications.
Examples of GOTS software include NASA’s Open Mission Control Technologies (OpenMCT), which provides a specialized solution tailored to mission-specific needs. GOTS solutions are particularly valued for giving agencies full control over software evolution, security and compliance.
NOTS: Niche or NATO off-the-shelf software
NOTS can refer to NATO off-the-shelf software or niche off-the-shelf software, depending on the context. NATO off-the-shelf software, developed by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), supports specific military or organizational needs within the alliance.
In contrast, niche off-the-shelf solutions are tailored for specific industries or highly specialized markets. These tools, often designed for advanced manufacturing, biotech or research applications, offer functionality beyond what is typically available in broad-market COTS solutions.
Emerging trends in COTS, MOTS, GOTS, and NOTS
Advancements in technology are reshaping the landscape of off-the-shelf solutions:
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are being embedded in COTS products, enabling features like automation, predictive analytics and real-time insights.
Cloud-native MOTS solutions are becoming increasingly prevalent, allowing for seamless integration with hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
GOTS software now prioritizes cybersecurity and compliance to meet stringent government regulations, such as FedRAMP.
Niche solutions in sectors like advanced manufacturing are leveraging specialized functionalities tailored to unique user needs.
These trends reflect how off-the-shelf software continues to adapt to the demands of modern organizations.
How to choose between COTS, MOTS, GOTS and NOTS
Choosing the right software — be it COTS, MOTS, GOTS or NOTS — requires an organization to assess its specific needs, budget, technical capabilities and long-term goals.
An essential initial step is understanding the organization’s unique requirements. COTS products, for example, are usually suitable for standard business processes, thanks to their cost-effectiveness and broad support community.
However, if customization is crucial to an organization’s operations or competitive advantage, then MOTS or even NOTS with their modifiable nature might be more appropriate.
Additionally, an organization must evaluate its technical capacity to maintain and modify software, if necessary. For instance, adopting GOTS solutions would mean the organization needs in-house expertise to manage and evolve the software over time.
The choice of software is also influenced by budgetary constraints, with COTS often being the most affordable, and custom solutions like GOTS or NOTS requiring more substantial investment.
Ultimately, the decision should balance the software’s fit to the organization’s needs, its compatibility with the existing systems and the total cost of ownership. The latter includes a product’s initial purchase, customization and ongoing maintenance costs.
Advantages and challenges of each approach
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of each model.
Advantages:
COTS: Cost-effective, readily available and widely supported.
MOTS: Highly customizable to fit specific operational needs.
GOTS: Complete control over updates, security and compliance.
NOTS: Designed for specialized markets, offering tailored functionality.
Challenges:
COTS: Limited customization, potential vendor lock-in.
MOTS: Can be costly and complex to maintain.
GOTS: Requires in-house expertise and higher upfront investment.
NOTS: Narrow focus can lead to compatibility challenges with other systems.
Compliance and security considerations
Compliance with regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) often determines the choice of software. For example, GOTS solutions are typically preferred in highly regulated environments due to their ability to meet stringent security standards.
Similarly, MOTS and NOTS solutions might require additional compliance measures to align with industry-specific requirements.
Even the most sophisticated software products and services require consistent updates. Delve into the reasons why software updates are important. Discover the main differences between COTS and GOTS.
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Schools, families fretting over Trump administration’s deportations
Schools, families fretting over Trump administration’s deportations
In Fresno, California, social media rumors about impending immigration raids at the city’s schools left some parents panicking – even though the raids were all hoaxes. In Denver, a real immigration raid at an apartment complex led to scores of students staying home from school, according to a lawsuit. And in Alice, Texas, a school official incorrectly told parents Border Patrol agents might board school buses to check immigration papers.
President Trump’s immigration policies are already affecting schools across the country, as officials find themselves responding to rising anxiety among parents and their children, including those who are here legally. Mr. Trump’s executive actions vastly expanded who is eligible for deportation and lifted a ban on immigration enforcement in schools.
While many public and school officials have been working to encourage immigrants to send their children to school, some have done the opposite. Meanwhile, Republicans in Oklahoma and Tennessee have put forward proposals that would make it difficult – or even impossible – for children in the country illegally and U.S.-born children of parents without documentation to attend school at all.
As they weigh the risks, many families have struggled with separating facts from rumor.
Anxiety spreading
In the Alice Independent School District in Texas, school officials told parents that the district “received information” that U.S. Border Patrol agents could ask students about their citizenship status during field trips on school buses that pass through checkpoints about 60 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The information ended up being false.
Angelib Hernandez of Aurora, Colorado, began keeping her children home from their schools a few days a week after Mr. Trump’s inauguration. Now she doesn’t send them at all.
She’s worried immigration agents will visit her children’s schools, detain them and separate her family.
“They’ve told me, ‘Hopefully we won’t ever be detained by ourselves,'” she said. “That would terrify them.”
Hernandez and her children arrived about a year ago and applied for asylum. She was working through the proper legal channels to remain in the U.S., but changes in immigration policies have made her status tenuous.
In the past week, her fears have intensified. Now, she says, her perception is “everyone” – from Spanish-language media to social media to other students and parents – is giving the impression that immigration agents plan to enter Denver-area schools. The school tells parents that kids are safe. “But we don’t trust it.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents aren’t known to have entered schools anywhere. But the possibility has alarmed families enough that some districts are pushing for a change in the policy allowing agents to operate in schools.
Denver Public Schools has sued the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the Trump administration of interfering with the education of young people in its care. Denver took in 43,000 migrants from the southern border last year, including children who ended up in the city’s public schools. Attendance at schools where migrant kids are concentrated has fallen in recent weeks, the district said in the lawsuit, saying the immigration raid at a local apartment complex was a factor.
The support Denver schools have given to students and families to help through the uncertainty involves “tasks that distract and divert resources from DPS’s core and essential educational mission,” lawyers for the district said in the lawsuit.
Some pushing tougher stands
Around the country, conservatives have been questioning whether immigrants without legal status should even have the right to a public education.
Oklahoma’s Republican state superintendent, Ryan Walters, pushed a rule that would have required parents to show proof of citizenship – a birth certificate or passport – to enroll their children in school. The rule would have allowed parents to register their children even if they couldn’t provide proof, but advocates say it would have strongly discouraged them from doing so. Even the state’s Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, thought the rule went too far – and vetoed it.
In Tennessee, Republican lawmakers have put forward a bill that would allow school districts to decide whether to admit students without papers. They say they hope to invite legal challenges, which would give them a chance to overturn a four-decade-old precedent protecting the right of every child in the country to get an education
The implications of immigration policy for U.S. schools are enormous. Fwd.us, a group advocating for criminal justice and immigration reform, estimated in 2021 that 600,000 K-12 students in the U.S. lacked legal status. Nearly 4 million students – many of them born in the U.S. – have a parent living in the country illegally.
Afraid to go to school
Immigration raids have been shown to impact academic performance for students – even those who are native-born. In North Carolina and California, researchers have found lower attendance and a drop in enrollment among Hispanic students when local police participate in a program that deputizes them to enforce immigration law. Another study found test scores of Hispanic students dropped in schools near the sites of workplace raids.
In Fresno, attendance has dropped since Mr. Trump took office by anywhere from 700 to 1,000 students a day. Officials in the central California district have received countless panicked calls from parents about rumored immigration raids – including about raids at schools, said Carlos Castillo, chief of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Fresno Unified School District. The feared school raids have all been hoaxes.
“It goes beyond just the students who … have citizenship status or legal status,” Castillo said. Students are afraid for their parents, relatives and friends, and they’re terrified that immigration agents might raid their schools or homes, he said.
A school principal recently called Castillo in tears after a family reached out to say they were too afraid to go buy groceries. The principal went shopping for the family and delivered $100 in groceries to their home – and then sat with the family and cried, Castillo said.
The district has been working with families to inform them of their rights and advise them on things like liquidating assets or planning for the custody of children if the parents leave the U.S. The district has partnered with local organizations that can give legal advice to families and has held almost a dozen meetings, including some on Zoom.
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Dell Tech Days: Big Savings on AI-Ready PCs and More
Dell Tech Days: Big Savings on AI-Ready PCs and More
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Good news if you’ve been waiting for the right time to upgrade your PC setup, Dell Tech Days is offering deals that make waiting worth it. on top PCs, monitors, and accessories, plus 2x Dell Rewards. Pull the trigger and get yourself an AI-ready machine and score big on premium hardware.
Savings on Products Recommended by our Staff
This little Alienware PC fits just about anywhere. Jacob ****** / Digital Trends
The Alienware Aurora R16 is a serious contender for gamers and power users alike, and during Dell Tech Days, it’s on ***** for $1,999.99 – a $210 discount off its regular price ($2,209.99). Our Digital Trends team had hands-on time with this beast (read the Aurora R16 review) and was impressed with its smaller form factor compared to previous versions, cool and quiet operation, and configurability to suit different performance needs. If you’re looking for a gaming rig that balances power and efficiency, this is a good pick.
Dell / Dell
Not every upgrade needs to be about raw power, though, sometimes it’s about visuals. The Dell 27 4K UHD Monitor (S2721QS) is discounted to $199.99 (down from $279.99, saving you $80). Our product testers gave this 4K monitor (read the Dell S2721QS review) solid marks because of its accurate colors, crisp resolution, and excellent build quality. This is a great deal to go for if you need a solid 4K display for work, gaming, or content creation.
Can’t Decide Which Gaming Laptop to Buy? Let Us Help
Luke Larsen / Digital Trends
Dell is also offering a major discount on the M16 R2 ($400 off) and the X16 R2 ($900 off). Both are powerhouses, but if you’re unsure which model to buy, check out our head-to-head buying guide to see which Alienware machine is best for you.
More Ways to Save
These are just some of the deals on PCs, monitors, and accessories available at Dell Tech Days. With 2x Dell Rewards, your purchase gets you closer to even more discounts down the road. Whether you want an AI-ready PC, a high-end gaming setup, or just a great monitor deal, this is the week to buy.
Act fast – deals end February 23!
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President Day protests erupt at state capitols, including Georgia – FOX 5 Atlanta
President Day protests erupt at state capitols, including Georgia – FOX 5 Atlanta
President Day protests erupt at state capitols, including Georgia FOX 5 Atlanta‘No kings on Presidents Day’ rings out from protests against Trump and Musk The Associated Press’A constitutional crisis in process’ America Has No King rally held in Myrtle Beach Myhorrynews
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DJI’s Osmo Mobile 7P gimbal can track you around on any Android or iOS camera app
DJI’s Osmo Mobile 7P gimbal can track you around on any Android or iOS camera app
DJI has unveiled two new smartphone gimbals, the Osmo Mobile 7 and 7P, with the latter offering native app tracking on both Android and iOS thanks to its “Multifunctional Module.” That feature is clearly designed to rival Insta360’s Flow 2 Pro, which until yesterday only offered native app tracking on iPhones via Apple’s Dockkit.
The primary differences between the Osmo Pocket 7 and 7P is that the latter comes with the Multifunctional Module, while the Osmo Mobile 7 doesn’t (though it can be purchased separately later if you change your mind). The Osmo Mobile 7P also has a built-in extension rod that’s missing on the Osmo Mobile 7. With that said, the products look very similar and have the same folding design carried over from the Osmo Mobile 6. A key addition to both is that the tripod is now built in to the gimbal (just like on the Flow 2 Pro) so you no longer need to ****** on an accessory like before.
Steve Dent for Engadget
DJI sent me the Osmo Mobile 7P to test, so I’ll be referring to that product from now on. As with the Osmo Mobile 6, it’s primarily designed as a three-axis gimbal to smooth out smartphone video better than your mobile device’s built-in camera ever could, with the ability to shoot in both “Tilt Lock” and “FPV” modes for either steady or more dynamic footage. At the same time, you can control the gimbal’s direction using the built-in joystick.
It also tracks subjects automatically, and that’s where the Multifunctional Module comes in. On the Osmo Mobile 6, automatic subject tracking only worked with DJI’s Mimo camera app. Now, with the new module connected to your smartphone, the Osmo Mobile 7P can track your subject automatically (with gesture control) in nearly any app on both Android devices and iPhones.
Here’s how it works. The Multifunctional Module can be mounted either forward for the main camera or backward for the selfie camera. It’s about the size of DJI’s Mic 2, and has a built-in tracking camera along with an LED light. It also works as a receiver for DJI’s Mic Mini wireless microphones.
Steve Dent for Engadget
With the module installed on the side of the gimbal and connected via a USB-C cable to your phone, just open your app of choice (I tried the native camera apps on an iPhone 16 and Pixel 7a, plus Zoom, Google Chat and Blackmagic Camera). Then, simply hold up your palm to the camera or have your subject do it and tracking will begin automatically, as indicated by a green light on the module — then hold up two fingers to start and stop recording. From there, you can move around while you vlog or conduct a video call, and the Pocket 7P will move to keep you in view. It works reliably with only minor lag provided you stay within the gimbal’s range of motion.
Interestingly, Insta360 just released a similar module for its Flow 2 Pro gimbal called the AI Tracker that performs the same function. Up until now, native app tracking on the Flow 2 Pro only worked on iPhones via Apple’s Dockkit function, so Android users were out of luck. Insta360’s new module brings the same feature set to Android users, albeit at a cost of $40, or in a bundle with the Flow 2 Pro at $180.
That does beg the question as to whether DJI will introduce Dockkit support for the Osmo Pocket 7/7P, as it would allow iPhone users to get the tracking benefit of the module without having to pay for it. However, DJI is staying mum on that matter for now.
Steve Dent for Engadget
Other features on both gimbals include 10-hour battery life, and when the gimbal isn’t in use, it works as a power bank to charge your phone. With the DJI Mimo app, tracking supports multiple people in a scene as well as pets, and you can easily switch subjects by tapping on the tracking box. The Mimo app also supports panoramic shooting, dynamic zoom and other intelligent functions, along with zoom/focus control via the side wheel, which also activates the fill light.
And of course, the Osmo Mobile 7P’s Multifunctional Module works as a receiver for DJI’s $59 Mic Mini transmitter, so if you have one of those, you’ll get far better sound quality than you would from your phone alone — a big advantage over the Flow 2 Pro.
Given the rivalry with Insta360, the Osmo Pocket 7/7P is an interesting addition to DJI’s lineup — particularly in light of the Flow 2 Pro’s very similar new AI Module. The Osmo Pocket 7 ($89) and Osmo Pocket 7P ($149) are now available to order with shipping starting today. There’s no word yet on pricing for OM 7 Series Tracking Kit when it’s purchased separately.
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RTX 5080 vs 9070 XT — battle of the stock
RTX 5080 vs 9070 XT — battle of the stock
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Pricing and availability
Specifications
Performance
We’ll need to see more to be sure
The matchup between new-generation AMD and Nvidia graphics cards is heating up in early-2025, with Nvidia’s RTX 50 storming out the gates, and AMD’s RDNA4 GPUs waiting excitedly in the wings. With stock levels all over the place, prices skewing wildly too, questions abound about how these new cards will fair against one another in a straight head to head.
Until we have hands-on time with these cards ourselves (and the embargos lift) we can’t tell you for sure, but we can make some educated estimations of how the battle might turn out.
Here’s how the RTX 5080 and RX 9070 XT compare.
Pricing and availability
The RTX 5080 officially launched on January 30, with a suggested price tag of $1,000. However, due to incredible stock shortages and the Trump administration’s tariffs, prices quickly ballooned out of control. At the time of writing, these cards are completely unavailable at any major retailers, and they’re being sold at close to double their original price on Ebay and similar second-hand sites.
GplayTV
The RX 9070 XT is slated to launch in “Early March,” with AMD yet to commit to a firm date. Rumors suggest March 6 is likely, but they’ve yet to be confirmed. Pricing rumors abound, too, with some setting the 9070 XT at around $750, which would put it at around the same price as the Nvidia 5070 Ti, but several hundred dollars behind even the suggested price of the RTX 5080.
Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Specifications
Nvidia RTX 5080
AMD RX 9070 XT
Graphics Cores
10,752
4,096 (rumored)
RT Cores
84, 4th generation
64 (rumored)
Tensor Cores
336, 5th generation
N/A
Boost clock
2.6GHz
3GHz (rumored)
Memory size
16GB GDDR7
16GB GDDR6 (rumored)
Memory bus
256-bit
256-bit (rumored)
Memory speed
30Gbps
19.5Gbps (rumored)
Memory bandwidth
960GBps
624GBps (rumored)
TBP
360W
260W (rumored)
Until AMD gives us some full specifications for its new RDNA4 cards later this month, there isn’t much we can say for sure about the RX 9070 XT. We know it’ll be based on AMD’s new RDNA4 architecture, but details on that are very thin on the ground.
We know it’ll have a second-generation of AMD’s AI accelerators, though they’re built into the graphics cores, rather than being their own distinct chip, like in Nvidia’s RTX GPUs. We know they’ll be built on the TSMC 4NP node, which should make it roughly equivalent to the process used in Nvidia’s RTX 50-series. This card will also have a new, 3rd generation of RT accelerators, so ray tracing performance should get a nice bump too.
TechPowerUp / Gigabyte
As for the head to head with the 5080, based on leaks and rumored hardware specs so far, the Nvidia card should be the more capable GPU. It’ll have faster memory, greater overall bandwidth, and likely lots more cores to work with. That should give it an edge. If pricing rumors are to be believed, too, AMD seems well aware of this and is undercutting it accordingly.
Performance
We know how well the RTX 5080 performs. It’s good, but not exactly stellar, beating the last-generation 4080 Super, but falling behing the RTX 4090, and way, way behhind the new flagship, the RTX 5090.
Jacob ****** / Digital Trends
The question is, how will it compare to the RX 9070 XT? AMD has in the past suggested we could see 7900 XT-like performance from the 9070 XT, which would put the 9070 XT around the 4070 Ti mark — a significant stone’s throw behind the 5080.
We’ll need to wait for firm benchmarks (and our own hands-on testing time) with these new cards to confirm, but the 9070 XT is likely to be a more modest, but more-affordable graphics card than the RTX 5080. Especially as stock remains elusive.
We’ll need to see more to be sure
AMD has been uncharacteristically coy about its 9070 XT. The hope is that this is to underpromise and overdeliver, showing off something in the next couple of weeks that blows us away and gives Nvidia serious concern for its mid-range. In reality, though, we’re likely looking at a card that doesn’t really break boundaries, but offers a modest upgrade for those on older RX 5000 or 6000 graphics cards, with a strong boost to ray tracing performance.
FSR4 with frame generation could help, too, though. Multi frame generation was the big standout feature of the RTX 50-series, so if AMD can offer an equivalent and actually have its cards in stock, it could still be on to a winner. Best to wait and see for now, though.
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Six Nations 2025: Ireland’s Caelan Doris, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong to miss Wales game
Six Nations 2025: Ireland’s Caelan Doris, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong to miss Wales game
Ireland captain Caelan Doris, Ronan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong have been ruled out of Saturday’s Six Nations game against Wales in Cardiff.
Leinster back row Doris has picked up a knee injury, while hooker Kelleher is struggling with a neck issue.
Prop Furlong missed Ireland’s wins over England and Scotland, and while the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) said he was “making good progress” on Sunday, he remains unavailable.
After facing Wales, there is another down week before Ireland host France at Aviva Stadium on 8 March.
“We’re hoping they’ll be available for France, they’re just going through their processes they do with the physios, but they’re all making good progress,” said Ireland attack coach Andrew Goodman.
With Ulster’s Iain Henderson and Cormac Izuchukwu also ruled out, Ireland called up six players on Sunday, including Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Nick Timoney.
Munster forwards Gavin Coombes and John Hodnett and Leinster back row Diarmuid Mangan were also added to interim boss Simon Easterby’s panel on Sunday.
“There are some guys who have been playing well for their provinces in those positions that are ready for an opportunity, so it’s exciting for them,” added Goodman.
When asked who will captain Ireland against Wales in Doris’ absence, Goodman said: “There’s some good leaders in the squad.
“The leadership group’s been growing well over the past couple of years and there’s a number of players who have captained their provinces, so we have some good options there.”
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More Monster Hunter Wilds content is coming to Monster Hunter Now
More Monster Hunter Wilds content is coming to Monster Hunter Now
The second phase of Monter Hunter Now’s collaboration with Monster Hunter Wilds is rolling out now.
Earlier this year, Niantic‘s Pokemon Go-like Monster Hunter game offered bonuses based on the upcoming console game Monster Hunter Worlds.
Now the second phase of the event is due to begin, with a new monster from Worlds entering the pool of encounterable beasts in Monster Hunter Now.
When the second phase of the event begins, the Wilds Chatacabra will appear in Monster Hunter Now. Alongside this, 12 weapons from Monster Hunter Wilds will appear in Monster Hunter Now. Players of Now will also receive an inflatable version of the Seikret mount, which is the in-game mount in Wilds.
Following the Monster Hunter Wilds collaboration, Monster Hunter Now will begin rolling out its next full season. The Blossoming Blade, which is due to begin on March 6, will introduce several classic monsters. The Glavenus, first seen in Monster Hunter Generation headlines the new season, alongside the Arzuors, which made its debut in Monster Hunter Portable 3rd.
Niantic has said that the collaborations between Monster Hunter Wilds and the mobile title will continue into 2025.
“This is the beginning of the collaboration between Monster Hunter Wilds and Monster Hunter Now, and we are planning to do more later down the road,” said Niantic during a briefing attended by Polygon.
Monster Hunter Wilds will be released on February 28, 2025 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
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Trump tariffs result in 10% laptop price hike in U.S. says Acer CEO
Trump tariffs result in 10% laptop price hike in U.S. says Acer CEO
Acer Laptop prices in the U.S. are set to rise by 10% from March 2025 commented CEO Jason Chen in an interview with The Telegraph. Chen states that the price hike is a direct result of the Trump administration’s incoming tariffs.
“We will have to adjust the end user price to reflect the tariff,” Chen said to The Telegraph. “We think 10% probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax. It’s very straightforward.” The Acer CEO continued.
The decision to increase prices was reportedly confirmed last week, with the Taiwanese tech giant remaining unaffected by tariffs on products that left China before February. Therefore, stock hitting U.S. channels afterward will be those that are subject to increased tariffs.
Acer’s most expensive laptop on *****, the Acer Predator Triton 17-inch gaming laptop, is currently $3,799 at Best Buy. But, next month that price is set to increase to $4,178 if increases are passed directly to consumers. It’s unclear if the blanket price rise will also affect products currently sitting on shelves, but it’s likely that as new stock arrives, older stock will also be subject to the price rise.
Chen notes that the incoming tariff may offer an ‘excuse’ for others in the segment to raise prices by more than 10%. No other PC manufacturer has made a public statement regarding the incoming tariffs and inevitable price rises.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Acer shifted the assembly of its desktop PCs away from China during Trump’s previous term and says that it is “looking at different supply chains beyond China”, with U.S. production “one of the options” being considered.
The Consumer Technology Association claims that 80% of U.S. laptop imports currently come from China and that the incoming tariff could set U.S. customers back a collective $143 Billion, hurting sales. Moreover, the benefits to U.S. industry may be meager, with U.S. production forecast to rise by only 8%, and prices potentially rising by up to 45%.
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A Digitimes senior supply chain analyst further suggests that the US’s 100% tariff on semiconductors could mean that companies such as Nvidia, AMD, and Apple could all face pricing challenges ahead. This is supposedly due to the lack of overseas manufacturing, though the U.S. government is pushing TSMC and Intel to bolster local manufacturing.
Until Acer manages to find a U.S.-based provider for its laptops, the real cost of the tariffs is likely to be passed onto the consumer. With other manufacturers still silent, if Acer’s approach is anything to go by, it sets an ill-portent for U.S. consumers.
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Editorial: Rate cut might not deliver relief to Labor
Editorial: Rate cut might not deliver relief to Labor
There’s a danger that the RBA’s decision to cut rates will do more to remind mortgage-holders of just how much their repayments have risen than it will to overwhelm voters with feelings of gratitude.
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Dog Man: Impawsible Mission Review | TheSixthAxis
Dog Man: Impawsible Mission Review | TheSixthAxis
TSA writes: Dog Man: Impawsible Mission is a light and breezy platformer that will keep fans of the books happy for a number of hours. However, parents might need to be on hand to get past some of the trickier sections.
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