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Watch Fed Chair Powell testify live before the Senate Banking Committee Watch Fed Chair Powell testify live before the Senate Banking Committee [The stream is slated to start at 10 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers his semiannual remarks on monetary policy and the economy this week on Capitol Hill. First up will be an appearance Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee, during which he is expected to be peppered with questions about his position on tariffs from the Trump administration, inflation and the state of the labor market. In addition, legislators also likely will seek Powell’s views on banking regulation as Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr exits his position and as the Fed retools a controversial set of banking regulations proposals. So far, Powell and his colleagues have avoided saying much about the Trump tariffs, though some officials have expressed worry of their inflation impact should they trigger a broader trade war. On monetary policy, the Fed is expected to be on hold until at least June or July while it evaluates the various dynamics playing out. Powell speaks Wednesday to the House Financial Services Committee. Read more:Fed officials are raising concerns about the impact Trump’s tariffs could have on inflationThe Fed could find itself in a policy Catch-22 if tariffs spike inflation and slow growthIn a switch, Trump approves of the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady Source link #Watch #Fed #Chair #Powell #testify #live #Senate #Banking #Committee Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Football and social media: What next for players and clubs in a changing landscape? Football and social media: What next for players and clubs in a changing landscape? Erling Haaland has posted only once on X in the past two weeks. The message was unremarkable and safe but notable nevertheless for a player of the Manchester City striker’s profile using a platform that has become a no-go zone for many footballers. All together pic.twitter.com/YozFL4EdKC — Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) January 29, 2025 Haaland’s posts are invariably bland. Jude Bellingham is rare among high-profile footballers in that his X posts occasionally contain a slightly more personal element. Familia. — Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) December 27, 2024 But the Real Madrid and England star last posted on December 27 and many of the entries on his timeline are reposts from Madrid, sponsors or fan accounts. Kylian Mbappe has posted once, with one retweet, since October. Mohamed Salah posts regularly but almost always purely in photographic form. Cristiano Ronaldo largely follows the Haaland/Bellingham/Mbappe blueprint. Lionel Messi does not even have an account. For years, Twitter, now known as X, was the platform of choice for professional players. Not anymore. “When we’re working with new players, X is never even a conversation anymore, really, whereas four or five years ago it used to be,” says Ehsen Shah, the founder and CEO of B-Engaged, a company that provides social media services to players including Hector Bellerin, Kai Havertz, Thiago, Alphonso Davies and Serge Gnabry. “We used to say, ‘This is a platform where you can have a bit more of a raw opinion, you can say what you want to say in a word format rather than always having to rely on having an image and sitting on your Instagram grid’, which players want to look a certain way. “Players can’t really do that anymore. They don’t see it as a platform that they can actually work with and for us as the professionals behind it, it’s because of the negativity on that platform, whether it’s politics, sport, whatever else it might be. “So why are we going to throw a player into that? It’s almost like seeing a house burning and thinking, ‘Oh yeah, let me just go in there and see what’s going on’.” Arsenal’s Kai Havertz in 2024 (Alex Pantling/Getty Images) A decade or more ago, Twitter was the growth platform for players. They used it to converse directly with supporters and Wayne Rooney even appeared to use it to arrange transportation to training. Hi rio do u want picking up in the morning pal — Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) April 23, 2011 But things have moved on. “In the past five years, the way players want to be seen on social media has changed,” says a media officer from a Premier League club, speaking to The Athletic anonymously to protect relationships. “When X did suit players’ needs it was more because they wanted to engage with the fanbase. “That has changed a lot. Now they are personal brands, so with branded content, with collaborations with Nike, Adidas, whoever your boot supplier is, everything is set up on Instagram far more to benefit players as brands. “I’m not saying players don’t want to connect with fans, but they want to be seen as brands more.” The changing face of social media appears to have led to a decline in player activity on X. While many retain accounts, relatively few engage actively with other users. Many have been drawn to more visual platforms. For younger players, that sometimes means TikTok, but for the majority, Instagram is the network of choice. “It was the first social media app that was created for smartphone users, and that’s what Instagram did very well, very quickly and it really resonated with Millennial/Gen Z, which most footballers currently are,” says Amar Singh, an ex-journalist, former head of content at West Ham United and now senior vice-president at sports marketing agency MKTG. “It’s a very visual platform, and consequently people are more likely to engage with brands there and more likely to follow brands and personalities based on the visuals. “It’s less of a word challenge than X, where it’s all about what you’re saying in however many characters it is, which immediately appealed to broadcasters and journalists — people who like words. “With footballers, social media is an expression of their personality and their image, just like the influencers and content creators, and Instagram is a great platform for expressing some of those aesthetics. “Footballers have got better at understanding the platform, and using it to drive partnerships to grow audiences.” If the golden age of football Twitter is over, seemingly never to return, the picture for clubs is different. X is long-established as the go-to place online for breaking news, updates and links to official statements. Its format works as a news feed and, despite the changes since it was bought and rebranded by the billionaire Elon Musk, its dominant position is unlikely to change. “Clubs do have Instagram accounts, but they don’t really use them to disseminate information,” says Singh. “They will sometimes, but it’s just not a platform really set up for that. Link sharing is tricky on Instagram. “You can post links on Twitter, for example, and say, ‘Come and read the full statement on our website’. You can move people around from Twitter in a way that you can’t from Instagram.” In November last year, the ******* club St Pauli took a stand against X. The Hamburg-based side became the first from one of Europe’s major leagues to walk away from the platform in response to Musk’s takeover, the changes to fact-checking and Musk’s links with re-elected U.S. president Donald Trump. Elon Musk had a prominent place at President Trump’s inauguration last month (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images) “Elon Musk has turned a debate room into a hate amplifier that can also influence the ******* parliamentary election campaign,” St Pauli spokesperson Patrick Gensing told The Athletic. “Insults and threats are barely sanctioned and sold as supposed freedom of speech. “It can be assumed that X will also promote authoritarian, misanthropic and right-wing extremist content in the ******* parliamentary election campaign and thus manipulate public discourse. Musk tries to influence the discussions and the election in Germany and he supports the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany).” Musk addressed an AfD campaign event last month via video link and St Pauli’s allegations against him and X have been echoed by other commentators. The Athletic asked X for a response to all the allegations from both Musk and the company itself but did not receive a response. The Athletic also contacted Tesla, Musk’s most famous company, to ask for a response from its owner, but again did not receive a comment. Werder Bremen followed St Pauli’s lead a few days later but the idea that their stand might prompt a mass exodus of major clubs seems far-fetched. “I’m sure a lot of clubs have had internal conversations, and I’m sure there’ll be members of staff at clubs who’d be quite happy for political reasons to leave X,” says the Premier League club’s media officer. “But there’s no real whisper among the people we talk to about clubs leaving X. “The difficulty for a club comes from the fact there will be an element of your fanbase that actually likes the changes Musk has made to X and the way it is slanted politically. “******* football is a lot more politically driven anyway and St Pauli has a very clear identity, so if you’re a St Pauli fan, you’re also signing up to a certain way of living your life. “I don’t think the majority of English professional clubs have that behind them, so there will always be an element of a fanbase which has absolutely no issue with what X is right now. “If any club said they were coming off X they would almost be saying to a proportion of your fans — in some cases, it might be 10 per cent and in others, it might be 80 per cent — “we disagree with what this platform is and therefore, by extension, we disagree with you”, so I think that would be very difficult for a club to do. “Even clubs like Liverpool or Everton that come from a very socialist, working-class city, there will still be people there who agree with the basic principles of the way X has shifted right, so either of those clubs coming off X would be like them saying to those fans, ‘You’re not for us’, basically.” Any clubs who opted to leave X or scale back their activity on the platform would now have more options than ever. Since Musk’s takeover, Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has launched Threads as a direct competitor. Bluesky, the mirror platform launched from within Twitter but later sold by the company, has enjoyed rapid growth. Disgruntled X users have migrated to Bluesky in large numbers, but the idea of ‘football Twitter’ making the move en masse appears to be a non-starter. “It’s important to remember where Bluesky and Threads came from,” says Lewis Wiltshire, formerly Twitter ***’s first head of sport and now senior vice-president and managing director of digital at IMG. “Bluesky was created within Twitter as a research project. It no longer has corporate ties to Twitter but remains, in essence, a replica. Threads was created as a competitor to Twitter. Original Twitter, now X, is still alive and kicking. “Despite a lot of headlines after the U.S. election proclaiming that people were deserting X, the vast majority of sports organisations are still using it pretty much as they did before. So it’s not as if Bluesky and Threads have an open goal. “Digital marketing teams also have to consider a website, app, CRM (customer relationship management) activity, digital membership, e-comm, possibly a direct-to-consumer streaming service, and more. “Within social media, they need to assess what are the best platforms to achieve various objectives, one of which is real-time updates. That’s the part Twitter/X has always excelled at. “There are a hundred things to do or places to be, so if there’s no burning problem to solve, it’s going to be at the bottom of their pile. “But let’s imagine for a moment that every organisation in football upped and left X. There is no evidence this is happening, or is about to happen, but even if it did, the audience we call ‘Football Twitter’ would not lift-and-shift to one specific alternative. “The reality is, those people would disperse across multiple different platforms. The biggest winner might not be Bluesky or Threads. It could be Reddit, which was a big riser in our 2025 IMG Platform Power Rankings, as we see fans increasingly being drawn towards community-focused platforms. “Also, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Discord, apps like The Athletic, and more. “And even if all of Football Twitter lifted and shifted to one platform as one block of people, en masse — which absolutely will not happen — it would still be niche. Despite having been one of the most famous platforms in the world for almost 20 years, X is much smaller than Instagram and TikTok, which in turn are much smaller than behemoths like YouTube and Facebook.” GO DEEPER LinkedIn: The social media platform footballers are turning to for recruitment and self-expression For now, X remains the most popular platform for clubs. It has been estimated that all 20 Premier League clubs joined Threads within 14 hours of its launch and some have become active on the platform, while most have set up Bluesky accounts but few post regularly. Bluesky is still seen by many as a fall-back platform, according to the Premier League club media officer. “At the moment there’s just an unknown about X,” he says. “And I think this is what has given birth to Threads and Bluesky — there’s almost a thought that you might wake up one morning and X just might not exist. “So I wouldn’t say Bluesky and Threads are fall-backs, but if anything happens to X, they’re definitely clubs’ alternatives.” For players, though, the appeal of new X alternatives appears to be minimal. Since moving away from active posting on X, most have found a comfortable home on Instagram. “When Threads came out, there was a big push from Meta to onboard players but most players said, ‘I just don’t really want to deal with another platform’,” says Shah. “You can try to bring new platforms to players but they’re not that receptive to it. “Even with TikTok, you’ve got a younger generation that consumes it, but they might not necessarily use it to post anything on there. “TikTok is so huge but that platform works because it was providing something completely different. Bluesky and Threads are just providing something that already exists.” So, for the time being, the picture appears to be set. X remains the primary news platform for clubs, Instagram is the preferred branding and image-boosting network for players and Facebook remains an important part of a multi-platform world due to its sheer number of users. But clubs are increasingly looking to branch out on their own. Many clubs have launched WhatsApp channels, disseminating information directly to their own fans. Most major sides have their own apps, providing bespoke content catering to the needs of a single fanbase, with the added bonus that clubs can collate the kind of data on their users that social media companies would demand payment for. So, while the dominance of X, Instagram and Facebook is unlikely to end anytime soon, there are still lots of unknowns. “I do think everything’s in play,” says Singh. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how Bluesky and Threads develop. Both feel like much less toxic places than X, and I think a lot of football people are there because they dearly want Bluesky to work. “It looks and feels like the golden days of Twitter, but it feels like it hasn’t yet got the clout with the stakeholders. “Ultimately, people will go to where the fans are. It’s a numbers game. Clubs often have small, very hard-working social media teams, the ‘admins’ as people call them, and there are only so many platforms you can operate and activate effectively at the same time and ultimately they will go where the fans are. “People forget that actually, even though it’s not as socially relevant anymore, you’ve got 3.1 billion users on Facebook and 400 users are added every minute. It still accounts for about 30 per cent of all social media ads spent. “So Facebook is an absolute monster, and in other markets in the world, places such as Africa and Asia, it’s still absolutely huge as the first point of call for fandom. GO DEEPER Tracking down the people making thousands out of posting fake Man United news online “I think clubs will want to have more direct relationships with fans, because they’re always looking for new ways to leverage their intellectual property and commercialise more effectively. “It’s becoming about having your own dataset on fans. Football clubs realised very quickly that social media is great for reaching a critical mass of fans and talking to fans, but when it came to trying to get some rich data on those fans, the social media platforms said you had to pay for it or they were putting up barriers. “Football clubs are starting to wake up to the importance of developing their own platforms. You’ve got Real Madrid who have got 126 million Facebook followers, but what does that actually mean in terms of fans? “You can’t really call each account on there a Real Madrid fan so it’s a bit of a false economy and I think football clubs are really going to be focused more on growing their own audiences directly. “It’s much more valuable to them to have someone download their own app and log into it a few times a week. “They’re going to be able to get more out of that user in terms of understanding how to target them, how to speak to them, what they’re interested in, and how they can shape their strategy than they would ever get from a social platform.” (Top illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; istock) Source link #Football #social #media #players #clubs #changing #landscape Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

People are starting to trust AI more – and view it as more human-like People are starting to trust AI more – and view it as more human-like People are trusting AI more and more J Studios/Getty Images People are becoming more trusting of and warm towards AI models, according to a year-long survey of those living in the US. Myra Cheng at Stanford University in California and her colleagues gathered this information on the crowdsourcing platform Prolific. Between May 2023 and August 2024, roughly 1000 participants a month completed the researchers’ questionnaire, although – due to technical issues with the platform – only 12 months of data was collected over the 16-month ******* surveyed. The participants, who… Source link #People #starting #trust #view #humanlike Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

AI Action Summit: European AI investment ramps up AI Action Summit: European AI investment ramps up European governments and private companies have committed around €200bn to artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments, including datacentres and gigafactories, over the course of the AI Action Summit in Paris. It follows the inaugural AI Safety Summit hosted by the *** government at Bletchley Park in November 2023, and the AI Seoul Summit in South Korea in May 2024. During the first day of the Paris Summit, dozens of major corporations and startups – led by venture capital firm General Catalyst – launched the EU AI Champions Initiative, to invest €150bn in European AI over the next five years. It has already called for simplified AI regulation in Europe, greater investment in infrastructure, and a public campaign to improve people’s understanding and trust of the technology. “By seizing the moment, working with greater intention and embracing deep collaboration, Europe can seize a generational opportunity by leading in applied AI, integrating it into our industrial base to boost productivity, resilience and economic sovereignty,” said Jeannette zu Fürstenburg, managing director and head of Europe at General Catalyst. Backers of the initiative include Deutsche Bank, ******* defence startup Helsing, French AI developer Mistral, and Swedish music-streaming giant Spotify. Speaking on the first day of the Summit, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen announced a €50bn initiative called InvestAI to “top up” the investments coming through the AI Champions programme, proclaiming that “global leadership is still up for grabs”. She further outlined that an additional €20bn will be specifically invested in AI gigafactories. “We aim to mobilise a total of €200bn for AI investments in Europe,” she said. “This unique public-private partnership, akin to a Cern for AI, will enable all our scientists and companies – not just the biggest – to develop the most advanced, very large models needed to make Europe an AI continent.” In total, the combined investment from private companies and the EU makes it the largest public-private investment in the world. In the run-up to the summit, French president Emmanuel Macron announced the country would attract €109bn worth of private investment in datacentres and AI projects “in the coming years”, including up to €50bn from the United Arab Emirates for a datacentre, and a further €20bn investment in AI infrastructure from Canada’s Brookfield Corporation. Further investments are expected from French companies Iliad SA, Orange SA and Thales SA. On the second day of the summit, the *** government announced its own investment into AI research for ******* and drug discovery, which will be worth £82.6m. The *** government also announced it would expand its involvement in the European High-Performance Computing (EuroHPC) Joint Undertaking, by committing a further £7.8m to funding *** researchers and businesses’ participation. It claimed the investment would enable British AI and computing researchers to work unobstructed with their European peers. “The focus of this summit has been on how we can put AI to work in the public interest, and today’s announcements are living proof of how the *** is leading that charge through our plan for change,” said digital secretary Peter Kyle. “We’ve already set out a bold new blueprint for AI which will help to spark a decade of national renewal, and key to that plan is supporting our expert researchers and businesses with the support they need to drive forward their game-changing innovations. “Today, we open new avenues for them to do exactly that – building bridges with our international partners so the entire global community can share in the boundless opportunities of AI-powered progress and backing new innovative companies applying AI to tackle real-world challenges.” As part of its AI opportunities action plan, the *** government is also encouraging local authorities to put in bids for AI growth zones, which it has claimed will boost local and regional economic growth opportunities, particularly in deindustrialised areas of the country, through the construction of datacentres and other key infrastructure. Source link #Action #Summit #European #investment #ramps Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

John Deere aims to streamline baling with Weave Automation John Deere aims to streamline baling with Weave Automation John Deere has launched new weave automation for select round balers to speed up the baling process and reduce farmers’ “frustration” when trying to create a quality hay bale. The new technology enables operators to place the windrow between the front tires of the tractor and let the baler take over. It comes after the global company introduced gate speed and automation, bringing the tractor to a stop when the bale was completed. John Deere go-to-market manager for hay and forage equipment Kaylene Ballesteros said the automation would allow the baler to align with the tractor’s movements to effectively cover windrows of varying shapes and sizes. “Gone are the days where operators must weave a tractor during the baling process to ensure quality bale shape while not driving over windrows,” she said. The weaving hitch system allows a 38c swing from left to right, is designed to minimise the contamination of debris from other windrows as well as placing the bales in a way that reduces risk of movement on uneven terrain or hills. “To some, the traditional baling process can be frustrating due to the weaving needed to ensure a quality bale,” Ballesteros said. “Weave automation mitigates the need for manual correction and is an easy-to-use feature that provides consistent quality bales, no matter the operator’s expertise level.” Source link #John #Deere #aims #streamline #baling #Weave #Automation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Madden’s Super Bowl 59 prediction was right, but missed details Madden’s Super Bowl 59 prediction was right, but missed details In case you missed it, Super Bowl 59 (LIX) was yesterday, and the Eagles whooped the Chiefs by an unexpected margin. Madden predicted this with a simulated game between the two teams, guessing that it would be a tight game that the Eagles would ultimately win. While Philadelphia did take home the championship, it was not a close game; the Eagles won 40-22, versus the predicted 23-21. More than that, the Chiefs scored two touchdowns at the end of the game during “garbage time.” In actuality, the score gap was much wider. Every year, Electronic Arts runs a simulated game between the two teams competing in the Super Bowl, and it’s actually correct more often than not. The football franchise has had a 55% success rate in predicting the winner since 2004, and sometimes it has been almost too accurate. Take 2015, for instance, when the game somehow determined the Patriots would make an incredible comeback and nailed almost every detail down to the final score. Interestingly enough, this year’s prediction also called out quarterback Jalen Hurts as the MVP. It’s almost enough to make you believe the Madden franchise has a touch of clairvoyance. EA Like we said earlier, though — EA’s predictions aren’t always correct. It has never guessed correctly more than twice in a row, but then again, it hasn’t been wrong more than twice in a row, either. Please enable Javascript to view this content Fans take it upon themselves each year to run their own simulations and compare the results against EA’s “official” prediction. Several people reported a predicted Chiefs win, but in the end, none of the predictions were close to reality. This year’s Super Bowl was something of an upset, with odds favoring the Chiefs over the Eagles, and that same outcome seems to have been played out on the virtual field, too. Source link #Maddens #Super #Bowl #prediction #missed #details Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Intel needed a win — its new laptop CPU delivers just that Intel needed a win — its new laptop CPU delivers just that Table of Contents Table of Contents By the numbers Insane efficiency Intel needed a win It feels cliche at this point, but it’s true. Intel can’t catch a break. The new Arrow Lake-H chips feel like a tide shift for Team Blue, though, leveraging the highly efficient architectures the company debuted with Lunar Lake to deliver performance and battery life worthy of the best laptops on the market. By the numbers We’ve already seen what Intel’s Lunar Lake processors are capable of — read our Asus Zenbook S 14 review for more on that — but these new Arrow Lake-H offerings are a bit different. Under the hood, Intel is still using its Lion Cove and Skymont core architectures, which Arrow Lake-H shares with Lunar Lake. However, these chips get a larger core count, higher power budget, and beefier integrated graphics based on Intel’s Battlemage architecture. Jacob ****** / Digital Trends The power budget is really important here. The base power is 45W, but Intel allows the chip to boost up to 115W for short periods of time. The core split is interesting, too. You get 16 total cores, but they’re split between six performance cores, eight efficient cores, and two low-power efficient cores. If you remember, the efficient cores are actually the main performance driver in this architecture, so the extra two low-power ones are simply there for a little extra multi-core grunt. I’ve brought in a few comparisons from AMD here. First is an identical laptop packing the Ryzen AI 9 365 — which Intel compares the Core Ultra 9 285H to — and second is an Asus Zenbook S 16 with a beefier Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. These are 10-core and 12-core CPUs, respectively, but they use simultaneous multi-threading. The Core Ultra 9 285H doesn’t, so while Intel has a core advantage, AMD actually has a thread advantage. MSI Prestige 16 (Core Ultra 9 285H) MSI Prestige 16 (Ryzen 9 AI 365) Asus Zenbook S 16 (Ryzen AI 9 HX 370) Cinebench R24 (single/multi) 128 / 918 111 / 819 110 / 871 Geekbench 6 (single/multi) 2,776 / 15,773 2,832 / 14,059 N/A PCMark 10 7,508 7,352 7,229 PugetBench for Photoshop 7,717 7,656 7,248 PugetBench for Premiere Pro 3,520 3,107 2,971 3DMark Time Spy 4,018 3,565 3,207 3DMark Steel Nomad Light 3,494 3,088 3,219 Intel’s approach clearly works, as you can see in both Cinebench and Geekbench. These apps typically favor a thread advantage, but Intel is still coming out on top. That’s probably due to a solid lead in single-core speed, which you can see in Cinebench. PCMark 10 is a bit different, with all three laptops more or less falling in the same range. That’s not too surprising. These are high-end CPUs in some of the best laptops money can buy, so of course they can handle basic office and productivity tasks with ease. The difference makers are Photoshop and Premiere. Intel is providing a slight edge in Photoshop, but there’s a massive boost in Premiere. The Battlemage GPU is certainly helping there, along with QuickSync. Gaming sees a huge boost, as well — frankly, AMD isn’t even close with its integrated graphics, at least until we see the Ryzen AI MAX chips later this year. Intel is no stranger to performance, and frankly, it’s not impressive that Intel can outclass the competition (especially considering the larger power budget). What is impressive is that Intel is able to deliver this level of performance while keeping its battery life in check. Insane efficiency Jacob ****** / Digital Trends It was very strange queuing up a video to loop on the Core Ultra 9 285H when I left work, only to find it still looping the next morning, and with around half the battery to spare. That’s the kind of efficiency Intel is offering here and without any of the typical tricks in Windows that kick in when the battery gets low enough. In local video playback, I got nearly 21 hours of battery life out of the MSI Prestige 16 — 20 hours and 46 minutes, to be exact. For context, the Acer Swift 14 AI with the Ryzen AI 9 365 managed 18 hours and 36 minutes, the MacBook Air M3 lasted 19 hours and 29 minutes, and the HP Omnibook X with the Snapdragon X Elite stayed on for 22 hours and 4 minutes. The Snapdragon chip comes out on top, but Intel is damn close considering this is a 16-core flagship chip. I expected decent battery life given that Intel is using the same core architectures as its Lunar Lake offerings, but with more cores and a higher budget, I didn’t expect this Arrow Lake-H chip to be as close as it is to Intel’s Lunar Lake offerings. Not only is Intel’s performance fantastic here — its battery life holds up equally as well. Intel needed a win Jacob ****** / Digital Trends Something struck me when testing Intel’s new Arrow Lake-H chip. It just worked. Intel has really struggled to catch a break, and although its Lunar Lake laptop chips were a small highlight, they weren’t enough to reverse the narrative established by the desktop Arrow Lake range. Arrow Lake-H makes a lot of sense, though, and it proves Intel was onto something when it decided to focus on efficiency. Now, finally, we can see how Intel is able to scale its design to deliver great performance and battery life in a single package. It’s a great change of pace for Intel, who up to this point struggled to provide a clean ramp between performance and efficiency in laptops, rather splitting the ranges in half with two completely different approaches to architecture. Arrow Lake-H feels like everything coming together, and for a company that’s been promising that everything will come together soon for years, that’s a big win. Source link #Intel #needed #win #laptop #CPU #delivers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Labour ploughs £400m into migrant deportation flights drive as it seeks to fend off Farage’s Reform Labour ploughs £400m into migrant deportation flights drive as it seeks to fend off Farage’s Reform Labour will plough as much as £392 million into its drive to deport more ******** migrants, amid accusations it is trying to ape Nigel Farage’s resurgent Reform party, The Independent can reveal. The Home Office is seeking a company to oversee the booking and oversight of flights deporting those with no right to remain in the ***. Contract documents seen by The Independent reveal the department is planning to spend between £179 million and £392 million over up to seven years on a “comprehensive service” to return migrants overseas. Provisions being sought under the contract include a travel service for migrants being deported on scheduled flights, relationship management between the government and airline carriers to keep costs down and occasional provision of accommodation for Home Office staff. The government is ramping up efforts to deport more migrants (PA Wire) The details of the contract come amid a growing backlash at Labour’s plans to film immigration raids and publish pictures of deportation flights in a bid to “show not tell” the public what it is doing to crack down on migration. The Refugee Council said the government was using “performative” stunts to try to promote division, while former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said it was “sickening” to see Labour try to appease Reform. But the change in tactics comes after Mr Farage took the lead over Labour in a series of polls, with the Reform *** leader claiming he has “terrified” Sir Keir Starmer. The huge cost of the contract comes as it includes the cost of tickets on flights, chartering aircrafts and hotel bookings. It will be awarded to the successful supplier in April. The drive comes as Nigel Farage’s Reform has overtaken Sir Keir Starmer’s party in a series of polls (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire) Labour MP for Dover and Deal Mike Tapp defended the party, telling The Independent: “We inherited open borders and a broken system. Already, in just six months, we’ve established the Border Security Command and deported a record 16,400 who shouldn’t be here. “The Tories have no plan, just unworkable gimmicks like Rwanda, and Reform just say things but put no thought into it. It’s easy in opposition to talk, but we are focused on delivery.” But left-wing Labour MP Kim Johnson said the latest plans, revealed by The Independent, are “deeply worrying”. She added: “It echoes previous Tory policies and borrows from the far-right playbook instead of offering a real alternative, prioritising performative toughness over humane and practical solutions. Labour MP Kim Johnson said the plans were ‘deeply worrying’ (PA) “The only way to prevent further loss of life from perilous small boat journeys is to implement safe routes to claiming asylum. Parroting the same hostile environment rhetoric that has failed for years will just boost Reform and its reactionary narrative. The only way to win is by fighting hate with hope, division with unity. “The prime minister has previously promised to defend migrants and develop an asylum system based on compassion and dignity – this should be our focus.” A Home Office source told The Independent the supplier is being sought to replace an existing arrangement that is set to expire. Writing in The Independent, veteran left-wing Labour MP Diane Abbott said Sir Keir is playing “a mug’s game” in following Mr Farage on migration. But Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle denied Labour was mimicking Reform, saying the government is simply “enforcing the rules” and “showing the world” it is not easy to come to the *** illegally and get work. The Home Office has highlighted figures showing a record number of ******** working raids under Labour. And the party launched advertisements in Reform’s distinctive turquoise claiming to have hit a five-year high in migrant removals. Labour MP Mike Tapp said the party is ‘focused on delivery’ (Getty Images) SNP MP Stephen Gethins said voters expected change after the general election, but Labour is delivering “more of the same”. He told The Independent: “As the Tories move ever further right, dancing to Reform’s tune, Labour are in hot pursuit behind them. “It is high time that we took these ideas on, be it on a failed Brexit or a failure to set up safe and legal routes for those fleeing war. More of the same at Westminster just won’t cut it any more.” Meanwhile Liberal Democrat MP Caroline Voaden said investing £393 million into a programme of deportation flights “seems confused” while the fact they want to publicise the flights “is even more concerning”. She told The Independent: “We need an efficient immigration system that works quickly for all involved, not more gimmicks. And filming deportations will only play into the culture wars which we have to move away from. Real people’s lives are involved here – this should not become reality TV.” The Home Office said it does not comment on commercial arrangements. Source link #Labour #ploughs #400m #migrant #deportation #flights #drive #seeks #fend #Farages #Reform Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Apple’s AR glasses are coming, but they could be too late for Mac fans Apple’s AR glasses are coming, but they could be too late for Mac fans Mac fans received some bad news a week or two ago. No, it wasn’t that the upcoming MacBook Air has been canned or that prices are doubling on the MacBook Pro. It was that Apple had canceled a plan to release a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses that would pair with a Mac, giving users a brand-new way to use their computer in 3D space. Sure, it sounds like a pretty niche device. But it could have been an interesting stopgap between the Vision Pro — with its big, bulky design that’s ill-suited to long-term use — and a proper pair of AR glasses that don’t need to be connected to your home computer. Instead, they’re gone, and the question now is simple: what’s next for Mac users? Well, we can get some sort of idea from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter. There, the journalist explains that John Ternus, the project’s chief, “doesn’t want another flop on his hands.” That means “Apple’s long-term goal of standalone AR glasses remains intact, and the company will keep working on underlying technology — like screens and silicon — to help make such a device more feasible.” Apple Vision Pro provides virtual screens for your Mac. Apple In other words, it sounds an awful lot like we’ll have a long wait on our hands before Apple releases its AR glasses. If you want a virtual workspace, complete with as many floating windows as you can manage, your only option is the Vision Pro — and with Apple not expected to launch its glasses until 2027 at the very earliest, things will likely stay that way for years to come. That’s a problem because while the Vision Pro has many benefits for Mac users — not least its expandable workspace, impressive processing power and superb visuals — it’s still a flawed option for anyone pairing it with one of Apple’s computers. Take the most basic issue: its size and weight. Considering work is one of its main uses, anyone who wants a virtual workspace will need to use it for hours at a time. Yet countless people have reported that doing so results in uncomfortable neck strain and large prints left on your face. That’s one area where a pair of AR glasses would have a clear advantage. We’ve heard intermittent rumors that Apple is working on a lighter follow-up to the Vision Pro, and it could even launch this year. But it’s unlikely to depart too far from the Vision Pro’s established form factor, so I’m not expecting its weight savings to be substantial. Without even a stopgap AR glasses project on the way, we’re going to have to put up with the discomfort for a while longer. Picking up the pace There are times that only the AirPods Pro will do. Bu the Ray-Ban Meta often are the only “earbuds” in my bag. Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends Perhaps this shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, Apple is well known for taking its time and trying to make the best product it can, rather than rushing to market with a half-baked device that quickly falls flat. Yet perhaps that approach is not the optimal one this time around. For one thing, the Vision Pro took years of refinement and untold sums of money to develop, yet it is undoubtedly, as Gurman put it, a “flop” that hasn’t sold in anything like the numbers that Apple was likely hoping for. Sometimes, slow and steady doesn’t win the race. And there’s another issue. While Apple is pacing itself and trying to perfect everything about its AR glasses, its rivals are already hitting store shelves with popular products of their own. We’re not just talking about risky upstarts and minnow companies either — Meta has released its own AR glasses that have won plenty of plaudits. Apple isn’t just getting outmaneuvered by the small, nimble players — even the giants are beating it to the punch. Perhaps I wouldn’t be so worried if we knew Apple planned to imminently launch its own device, but that’s not the case. It risks being left behind by its powerful competitors. Hopefully, Apple has learned plenty of lessons from the Vision Pro and will (eventually) launch something that’s a hit with its users. As a Mac fan who’s intrigued by AR’s potential, I’ll be keenly watching from the sidelines. But I just wish Apple would pick up the pace and not leave its Mac users waiting in the dark for so long. Source link #Apples #glasses #coming #late #Mac #fans Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Ninja Swirl by Creami is conquering the hardest type of ice cream to make at home The Ninja Swirl by Creami is conquering the hardest type of ice cream to make at home When it launched a couple of years back, the Ninja Creami became a viral sensation by making it easy to turn almost anything into a tasty frozen treat. However, there was still one thing it couldn’t do: a classic soft serve, like the kind you dream about on hot summer days. But Ninja has made it its goal to change that by launching the today, and after getting a chance to taste what it makes, I’d say: mission accomplished. In a lot of ways, even though the Swirl is its own standalone gadget, it sort of like an expansion pack for the original Ninja Creami. That’s because if you look at the right side of the machine, it looks almost identical to its predecessor. The big change is the new module on the left, which is reserved entirely for soft serve. The other major difference is the design of Ninja’s pint containers. Now there’s a new base featuring a built-in nozzle for spitting out soft serve and not one but two lids. There are also a few other details like a large handle on the side of the device, but we’ll get to that later. Sam Rutherford for Engadget For anyone who has used the original, the general workflow is quite familiar. First, whip up an ice cream base and then freeze it in a pint container. From there, you select one of two main modes (traditional scoops or soft serve), attach the paddle lid and then spin your frozen base as normal. If you’re making a traditional churned-style ice cream or one of its variants, you can simply stop there. But if you want soft serve, here’s where things take a turn. After spinning your base, you take the paddle lid off, put on Ninja’s soft serve lid before slotting the entire pint into the cavity on the left side of the machine. Then you need to twist the base of the container to open up the previously mentioned nozzle. Now you can pull down on the handle to the right and after a short pause, the Swirl will push out smooth, airy soft serve just like your favorite local shop. Or Pinkberry, because this thing can do froyo too. The Ninja Swirl uses a new pint container with a built-in nozzle for dispensing soft serve. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) Granted, Ninja’s latest two-in-one contraption takes a few extra steps to get to the end zone, but the results really do speak for themselves (assuming you started with a decent recipe, of course). The Swirl’s soft serve is light and ******* without a hint of any crystal to mess up that unique semi-solid texture. And as its name implies, you can even twirl it around to create that signature spiral of frozen goodness on top of a cone or cup. Honestly, it’s kind of magical. I will die on this hill, but to me there’s nothing better than enjoying soft serve on a super hot day (preferably after a game of mini golf or a trip to the beach). So to have the power to make it at home feels really special, as soft serve has long been one of those things you need to go outside to get. During my demo, I tried a basic chocolate soft serve, froyo, peanut butter “Creamifit” (which is basically soft serve with added protein and less sugar) and even a faux Shamrock Shake, all made using the Swirl. Heck, there was even some frozen mango and pineapple that were blended up to create homemade Dole Whips. And all of them tasted fantastic. The nozzle on the Swirl’s pint container even recreates the look and shape you get from commercial soft serve machines. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget) Aside from soft serve, the Swirl also features a few improvements over previous models. Ninja says it has refined some of its programs to reduce things like the need to respin ice cream in order to get the proper consistency. The machine is also a bit quieter and it has indicator lights that tell how long it takes to finish blending a frozen base. And for people who like making treats with alternative sugars, the Lite Ice Cream mode has been adjusted to produce better results. That said, there are a couple of important things to know about the Swirl before you run out and buy one. Like the standard Creami, it uses traditional pint-sized containers instead of the larger 24-ounce cups used with the Creami Deluxe. You also can’t spin half a pint like you can on the larger models, though if you want, you can make soft serve out of store-bought ice cream (you know, in case you’re too lazy or impatient to make your own). Finally, when making soft serve, mix-ins are better left for the end rather than trying to blend them in. 1 / 8 Ninja Swirl by Creami hands-on photo Mint soft serve ice cream made by the Ninja Swirl. It was created from the same base as the mint milkshake. Regardless, similar to what the original Creami did for ice cream by distilling the tech from a $5,000+ into a $200 machine regular folk can actually afford, the Swirl is now doing the same for soft serve. Right now, even the cheapest single-purpose machine on the market , while the $350 Ninja Swirl can do everything the old Creami could do (which includes making milkshakes, sorbets, gelatos and more) plus practically every type of soft serve you can imagine — all in one device. So while it’s definitely pricer and bulkier than its predecessor, the Swirl really feels like a one-stop home ice cream shop. The is available today directly from Ninja or third-party retailers including Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Kohl’s. Source link #Ninja #Swirl #Creami #conquering #hardest #type #ice #cream #home Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Shopify beats on fourth-quarter revenue, but gives mixed guidance Shopify beats on fourth-quarter revenue, but gives mixed guidance An employee works at Shopify’s headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario in Canada. Chris Wattie | Reuters Shopify on Tuesday reported better-than-expected sales for the fourth quarter but missed on earnings. Shares whipsawed in premarket trading. Here’s how the company did: Earnings: 39 cents per share vs. 43 cents per share expected by LSEGRevenue: $2.81 billion vs. $2.73 billion expected by LSEG Shopify forecasted revenue in the first quarter to grow at a mid-20% percentage rate, which is roughly in line with analysts’ expectations of 24.4% revenue growth, according to LSEG. “We expect the strong merchant momentum from Q4 to carry over into Q1, recognizing that Q1 is consistently our lowest [gross merchandise volume] quarter seasonally,” the company said in its earnings release. The first quarter includes the results of the holiday shopping season. Online spending jumped nearly 9% to $241.1 billion in November and December, according to data from Adobe Analytics, which tracks sales on retailers’ websites. That was slightly higher than analysts’ forecast for sales of $240.8 billion. The company said it expects operating expense as a percentage of revenue to be 41% to 42% in the current quarter. That’s a step up from 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Net income nearly doubled to $1.3 billion, or 99 cents per share, from $657 million, or 51 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue in the fourth quarter jumped 31% from $2.14 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Gross merchandise volume, or the total volume of merchandise sold on the platform, came in at $94.5 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were looking for GMV of $93 billion. Shopify sells software for merchants who run online businesses as well as services such as advertising and payment processing tools. The company has made its name as a platform for small businesses and direct-to-consumer brands to launch online storefronts. More recently, it has looked to attract ******* customers, such as Reebok, Mattel and Barnes & Noble, as a way to boost its growth. Source link #Shopify #beats #fourthquarter #revenue #mixed #guidance Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fallout Season 2 Gets Update From Walton Goggins Fallout Season 2 Gets Update From Walton Goggins Fallout Season 2 is now in production and series star Walton Goggins has provided an update on it. Goggins, who plays The Ghoul, said Season 2 is “in the middle of filming” currently and that Season 2 is ******* and better than Season 1. “I can tell you that I thought Season 1 was extraordinary, personally, I was very pleased with it,” Goggins told Deadline. “This blows it out of the water, what these writers have done and the artisans that have come together to tell this story. It’s really gonna be something. I can’t wait for people to see it. We’re working really hard to make that happen.” Season 2 is expected to take viewers to new locations where they will battle Deathclaws. Whereas Season 1 was filmed in New York, Season 2 shifted to California due in part to a huge tax credit. Season 2 brings back Goggins as The Ghoul as well as Ella Purnell returning as Lucy. In terms of new cast members, MaCaulay Culkin is coming aboard to play a “mad genius,” while Kumail Nanjiani is said to be joining the cast in an unspecified role. For more, check out GameSpot’s Fallout TV show review. We also have an explainer for the ending of Season 1. The first season was a big success in terms of ratings, reaching 80 million viewers. As for the Fallout game series, Bethesda Game Studios is working on Fallout 5, but it’s not coming anytime soon. The developer’s next big release is The Elder Scrolls VI, which has been in the works for years and has no release date yet. Source link #Fallout #Season #Update #Walton #Goggins Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Did you turn off Apple Intelligence? Updating to iOS 18.3.1 or macOS 15.3.1 might’ve turned it on again Did you turn off Apple Intelligence? Updating to iOS 18.3.1 or macOS 15.3.1 might’ve turned it on again iOS 18.3.1 and macOS 15.3.1 launched this week Some users who had previously disabled Apple Intelligence have found it re-enabled on the new software update Easy to disable again, but it’s still an annoying bug Have you turned off Apple Intelligence? Well it might’ve been turned on again when you updated to the latest iOS 18.3.1 or macOS 15.3.1. Some users are reporting that the new software updates that released yesterday with security updates has been re-enabling Apple Intelligence, despite users having turned off Apple’s AI prior to updating. The issue was brought to our attention via a blog post by developer Jeff Johnson who says, “Some people who had previously disabled Apple Intelligence in macOS 15.3 and iOS 18.3 saw it re-enabled after updating to macOS 15.3.1 and iOS 18.3.1 today. In fact, I personally have two different Apple silicon Macs running macOS Sequoia, and after I updated both Macs to 15.3.1, Apple Intelligence was re-enabled on my MacBook Pro but not on my Mac mini.” Other users have also reported an issue were the ‘Welcome’ screen essentially turns on Apple Intelligence and removes your previously registered preferences. It’s fair to assume that this bug should be fixed promptly, although it’s worth remembering before you see Apple Intelligence features like Notification summaries, Mail categorization, and ChatGPT in Siri re-enabled on your devices. AI should always be opt-in (Image credit: Apple) Apple, of course, wants users to use Apple Intelligence on compatible devices but fortunately there’s the built-in option to disable the AI tools. While this particular bug isn’t that inconvenient and can be rectified by simply heading to Settings>Apple Intelligence & Siri>Toggle off, it’s still something that might catch you off guard. We expect Apple to fix this issue swiftly and have reached out to the company for comment. Apple Intelligence continues to improve daily and we’re expecting to see even more AI tools when iOS 18.4 releases later this year. If you’ve not used Apple Intelligence in a while, this might be the nudge you need to give it a try again. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. You might also like Source link #turn #Apple #Intelligence #Updating #iOS #18.3.1 #macOS #15.3.1 #mightve #turned Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Ye Advertised Website Selling T-Shirts With Swastikas in Super Bowl Commercial – The New York Times Ye Advertised Website Selling T-Shirts With Swastikas in Super Bowl Commercial – The New York Times Ye Advertised Website Selling T-Shirts With Swastikas in Super Bowl Commercial The New York TimesCharlie Puth Sends Ye Urgent Message About Antisemitic Twitter Spree and Swastika Shirt: ‘I BEG You to Stop’ YahooKanye West’s Bizarre Super Bowl Ad: Shot on an iPhone While Sitting in a Dentist Chair VarietyKanye West’s Yeezy Brand Is Selling Only One Thing: A Swastika T-Shirt ForbesAnalysis | Kanye West’s Super Bowl ad shows how speech bounds have shifted The Washington Post Source link #Advertised #Website #Selling #TShirts #Swastikas #Super #Bowl #Commercial #York #Times Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Civilization 7: tips and tricks Civilization 7: tips and tricks Table of Contents Table of Contents Choose your Leader with a plan Expand with purpose Manage your resources and trade Use your Influence wisely Focus on your objectives The Civilization series has been a fan favorite for decades. This 4X series allows you to take a civilization from early history and build it up all the way through the ages — as long as you survive that long, that is. Civilization 7 is the latest entry and is far more than just a graphical update. There are dozens of new civilizations to play with, mechanics to learn, and strategies to employ for every win condition. Those who have already put hundreds of hours into the series will have a leg up, but there are still a few things you will need to unlearn. Newcomers especially will benefit from some tactics that would otherwise take hours of experimenting and losses to figure out. Let’s make sure your Civilization 7 experience starts off on the right foot with these essential tips and tricks. Choose your Leader with a plan 2k Games Like previous games in the series, Civilization 7 allows you to win in multiple ways. This time, you can win through Cultural, Military, Economic, or Scientific goals. Each path has different objectives you need to hit across each age before giving you one final victory condition in the Modern Age. You don’t need to only invest in one of these categories, and wouldn’t make it far if you did, but starting the game with a focus in mind is essential for guiding your civilization. That begins with picking your leader. Civilization 7 has dozens of leaders to choose from and each one has two focuses, such as economic and militaristic, plus a unique ability and agenda that further diversifies them. Knowing which victory type you’re going for will make this list far more manageable, and then you can just compare the unique skills of each leader to make a final decision. While the Leader’s main attributes are important, you also shouldn’t spend too long stressing over the other details unless you’re playing on the highest difficulty or in PvP. Be aware that during each of the three age transitions you will select a new civ from a few options to replace your previous one. When this happens, you will have a second opportunity to pick a civ with the same or different attributes. While you can pivot here if you wish, it is highly recommended that you continue focusing on your initial victory condition. This is also where Legacy Points come into play. These points are earned by reaching specific milestones in each of the four corresponding Legacy Paths. We will talk more about those later, but it is another small opportunity to either reinforce your goal or help redistribute your bonuses if you’ve been lacking in other areas. If you’re new to the entire 4X genre and have no idea where to start, choosing random to start is a fantastic way to begin. Don’t be tempted to simply choose militaristic. While that might sound the most fun, it is one of the more challenging ways to play before you understand all the other systems and resources you need to pay attention to besides your army. Expand with purpose 2K Games When you first land on a map, you will want to expand in three major ways: uncovering the map with a scout, building out your capital city, and setting up additional towns. Scouts will be the first unit you can produce, so make one right away and send them off into the deep unknown. Knowing what’s around you in terms of resources, oceans, independent powers, and other proper civilizations will guide your entire strategy. A good rule of thumb is to navigate your account between tiles with the VII logo on them since they indicate some point of interest. Also, remember to take advantage of a scout’s ability to take a turn to expand their sight range so you don’t waste turns moving towards a dead end or ocean and then have to backtrack. When it comes to your capital, the tiles you can expand to each have different resources they offer once you claim them, but that shouldn’t be your only concern. You want to balance getting enough of the necessary resources — especially gold — while also working towards bonus tiles on the map that give you additional resources. There are also times when you don’t want to expand but either add a structure onto an existing tile for bonuses. Pay attention to what you’re building and what benefits it can get or give to adjacent areas. If you need to, you can build over areas you’ve already settled but that shouldn’t be done until after the first Age if it can be avoided. Finally, founding new settlements is a big priority in the early game. You can do this with your own settler units, or by building your relations to an Independant Power long enough to incorporate them into your civ. However, be aware that there is a limit on how many new Towns you can settle in each Age so try and pick ones with plenty of resources nearby to expand to. Also, don’t upgrade all your Towns into Cities. This costs more and more gold to do, and there are positives and negatives to each settlement type. It is best to keep an equal balance of Towns to Cities. Manage your resources and trade 2K Games The main resources you will be juggling in Civilization 7 are gold, happiness, influence, food, production, science, and culture. These each serve a purpose, but nearly every building will cost you one resource in order to provide more of another. Once you start making new settlements, you should focus each one on producing a couple of those to all balance out in the end. While you shouldn’t let anything get critically low in a city, the most important thing is that your total from all sources on each resource is in the positive. Map resources are also too many and spread out to get the benefits of each type. As soon as you can make merchants and have a positive enough relationship with your neighboring Leaders, get trade routes going to add more resource buffs than you could get staying isolated. Use your Influence wisely 2K Games Influence is a brand new mechanic in Civilization 7 that is spent on all diplomatic interactions. This includes improving relations with other Leaders, accepting their proposals for temporary buffs, giving you advantages when war is declared, incorporating Independant Powers, and more. You will have an Influence income each turn much like gold that you need to pay attention to and grow. You don’t want to get caught without enough when there’s a proposal you want to take advantage of (or deny to spite that Leader) and ******* actions cost hundreds of Influence. Focus on your objectives 2K / 2K Civilization 7 still offers the same four primary victory conditions we spoke about earlier but is much more guided in helping you know exactly how to achieve that end goal one step at a time. Your objectives are always listed on the top left of your screen which will push you forward on your target Legacy Path. Whichever path you’re taking, make sure you’re always working towards that next objective. After the first few, however, the next step won’t be something you can directly work towards, such as asking you to research a technology that isn’t yet an option. This is when you want to open your tech or culture skill tree and check out the paths available during that Age. Like any skill tree, you will need to progress through the right set of earlier skills to unlock the option to research the one you need, and the path isn’t always obvious. In fact, you need to pay close attention even when studying the tree since the lines connecting each skill don’t always move forward linearly like it looks a first. Quite often a skill at the top will curve down and connect to one near the bottom or vice versa. It pays to double-check which skill actually leads you to the next objective so you don’t spend 10 or more turns researching something that doesn’t connect to what you need it to. Source link #Civilization #tips #tricks Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

RTX 5090 cable overheats to 150 degrees Celsius — Uneven current distribution likely the culprit RTX 5090 cable overheats to 150 degrees Celsius — Uneven current distribution likely the culprit Following an RTX 5090 melting incident just a few days ago, YouTuber Der8auer AKA Roman Hartung contacted the affected party and managed to acquire the damaged graphics card, power cable, and even the PSU for investigation. While the user was absolutely sure there was no user error involved, many blamed using a custom cable from MODDIY instead of official Nvidia adapters for the plastic-melting failures. On further analysis, Der8auer revealed a critically damaged wire, noting that its condition was far worse than the others. Roman put his own RTX 5090 FE to the test, only to find out that of the six 12V cables, one drew over 22A of current, breaching safety limits with temperatures north of 150 degrees Celsius. 12VHPWR on RTX 5090 is Extremely Concerning – YouTube Watch On Back when the news broke, the Reddit OP revealed that they were using a third-party 16-pin cable from MODDIY instead of the official one included in the GPU box. This obviously led to some backlash, with many blaming the quote-unquote inferior quality of the cables as the root cause of the damage. Der8auer believes the criticism is unjustified, citing his positive experiences with the cable company and its repute in the DIY community. In any case, the damage had already been done and now was time to investigate the crime scene. Roman captured high-quality microscopic shots (some attached below) of both ends of the melted cable, the GPU’s connector, and even the damaged PSU. While horrifying, the damage is pretty standard considering this is not the first case we’re seeing. As noted above, significant damage to one particular wire prompted further investigation. Roman paired his latest custom water block equipped RTX 5090 FE, connected to Corsair’s AX1600i PSU, making sure to double-check that the GPU connector is seated properly. The GPU was put through its paces in FurMark, where it was seen drawing around 570W of power. Just 45 seconds into the test, two of the six 12V wires shot up to nearly 60 degrees Celsius. On the PSU end, Roman witnessed a hotspot of almost 130 degrees Celsius, spiking to over 150 degrees Celsius after just four minutes. With the help of a current clamp, one 12V wire was carrying over 22 Amperes of current, equivalent to 264W of power. For context, the 12VHPWR and 12V-2×6 standard allows for a maximum of 9.5 Amperes through a single pin. The reported current readings for the remaining five wires were: 2A (24W), 5A (60W), 11A (132W), 8A (96W), and 3A (36W) with a moderate margin of error as it’s hard to get precise measurements across all wires concurrently. In short, uneven current distribution leads to dangerously high temperatures which can potentially burn or melt the cable and damage connected components. In isolation, this incident could’ve been swept under the rug as a one-off, however, Roman’s near one-to-one recreation of the problem suggests there’s something else at play here. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #RTX #cable #overheats #degrees #Celsius #Uneven #current #distribution #culprit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Swedish woman Lina Ishaq convicted of genocide for IS crimes against Yazidis Swedish woman Lina Ishaq convicted of genocide for IS crimes against Yazidis A Swedish woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for committing genocide and war crimes against the Yazidi people after she joined jihadist group Islamic State (IS) in Syria. Lina Ishaq, 52, was found guilty of holding three Yazidi women and six Yazidi children as slaves in Raqqa between 2014-2016 in September last year. It is the first time IS crimes against the Yazidis, one of Iraq’s religious minorities, have been tried in Sweden. Ishaq joined IS and moved her family to Syria in 2013. She is already serving jail sentences for taking her two year-old son to Syria and “failing to prevent” IS from using her 12-year-old son as a child soldier. He died in 2017, aged 16. Ishaq forced her prisoners to wear a veil and practise Islam, and she physically assaulted them. “The convicted woman was part of the large-scale enslavement system which IS introduced for Yazidi women and children,” said Stockholm District Court presiding judge, Maria Ulfsdotter Klang. “She has acted independently in maintaining the enslavement and deprivation of liberty of the victims and contributed to trafficking them further.” The Yazidis are an ancient religious ********* based largely in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq. In early August 2014 IS invaded Yazidi settlements in the Sinjar region launching a genocidal campaign against them. Over a ******* of three years about 5,000 Yazidis were killed by IS and half a million people were displaced. More than 6,000 women and children were taken captive and held as slaves. IS members tortured their detainees and subjected them to strategic ******* violence aiming to eradicate the Yazidi people, according to the UN. Lina Ishaq was born in Iraq to a Christian family, who moved to Sweden when she was a child, Swedish media report. She converted to Islam prior to her marriage. Along with around 300 other Swedish nationals, a quarter of them women, Ishaq joined IS in 2013. When the so-called IS caliphate began to collapse in 2017, Ishaq fled Raqqa and escaped to Turkey. She was extradited to Sweden in 2020. Sweden is now home to around 6,000 Yazidis. Dawood Khalaf, chairman of the Yazidi association in Skaraborg has said Ishaq’s prosecution has helped build trust between the community in Sweden and local authorities. “I know women who have been called for questioning by Swedish police who have not dared to testify for fear of being handed over to IS,” he told public broadcaster SVT. “After this indictment, the picture has changed.” Ishaq’s lawyer Mikael Westerlund said Ishaq still denied the charges and would consider an appeal. Source link #Swedish #woman #Lina #Ishaq #convicted #genocide #crimes #Yazidis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google Maps and Apple Maps can’t agree on the name of the Gulf of America, and I am so confused Google Maps and Apple Maps can’t agree on the name of the Gulf of America, and I am so confused I like to imagine someone swimming in the Gulf of Mexico when Google unceremoniously renamed it to the Gulf of America. There they are, backstroking across the pristine green and blue waters as the giant words float down from the sky and land on top of them. They’re distressed and confused, quickly kick out from under the huge letters, pull out their iPhone, and open Maps to switch it back to the Gulf of Mexico. That’s right, there’s now technical disagreement on the name of a major body of water across two hugely popular map systems: Google Maps and Apple Maps. Here’s how it started: Donald Trump takes the oath of Office as US President on January 21, 2025, and immediately announces his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, along with renaming Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley, and other geographic ambitions like annexing Canda, taking over Greenland, and reclaiming the Panama Canal. While some of these ideas seemed far-fetched or ridiculous, Google soon announced it would be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico in Google Maps. As of February 10, 2025, the change is live on all versions of Google Maps that, at least, Americans can see. The hard truths of cartography have gone wobbly so anything is on the table. Apple, however, has resisted, or perhaps they’ve postponed the change until a future iOS 18 update. I’ve asked Apple and Google for comment. In particular, I want to know how Google made the decision and what technical hurdles exist when you’re trying to region-set map labels for the world. Someone is opening Google Maps somewhere in Mexico and still seeing “Gulf of Mexico.” If they slide into the water and swim toward their American friend paddling near Texas, at what point does their Google Maps view change? Perhaps they’d consider switching to Apple Maps for a singular view of this 617,800 square mile, watery expanse. Enter confusion Google’s choice is not without consequences. By so quickly acquiescing, does that mean that our US Google Maps experience becomes a moveable feast? Should we expect Mount Denali to switch over to McKinley (it’s still Denali on Google Maps)? Will Google preemptively put an asterisk next to Canada or Granada? (*Label under interest of current US administration). From a technical standpoint, I do wonder if those traveling from, say, the *** to the US for a holiday in the Gulf would find their Google Maps switching when they arrive in the States. Since maps are now so changeable, perhaps Google (and Apple, too) can introduce some customization tools so we can all set our labeling preferences. I’d like to continue calling that water zone “The Gulf of Mexico.” Can I set that somewhere? Right now, no, but the hard truths of cartography have gone wobbly so anything is on the table. Apple holds – for now A tale of two gulfs: Apple Maps is on the left and Google Maps is on the right. (Image credit: Future) Apple has not commented publicly on why they’re resisting (if that’s what it is). Still, considering that Apple CEO Tim Cook (along with other tech leaders like Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Meta CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerberg) was at Trump’s inauguration, it might be fair to assume that the lack of a relabeling in Apple Maps is less about resistance than it is about tech timing. Apple might very well be planning to make the change, but, as with so many things, Apple would do it on its own timeline. What about the children? For the first time, your choice of map apps might be less about features, utility, and turn-by-turn navigation and instead about which world view they share. If you were a fan of the Gulf of Mexico, you might choose or stick with Apple Maps. If you like splashing America’s name as far and wide as possible, you might now be a big fan of Google Maps. As for those new to mapping, like school-age kids, this split might present a problem, especially if two major maps cannot agree on the name of one of the largest bodies of water in the world. I wonder how teachers will try and likely fail to explain away the confusion. The great thing about digital maps is that they dispelled the confusion of old maps that could only show so much detail and eventually fell apart in your hands; your phone and its maps app are a world of accurate navigational information in your pocket. But now that trust is a bit fractured. One map might give you accurate directions to the Gulf of Mexico, and the other could confuse you by switching it to the Gulf of America and simply assume you’re up to speed. What a mess. You might also like Source link #Google #Maps #Apple #Maps #agree #Gulf #America #confused Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Chelsea star Sam Kerr cleared of racial harassment Chelsea star Sam Kerr cleared of racial harassment Chelsea striker Sam Kerr has been found not guilty of causing racially aggravated harassment, after calling a Metropolitan Police officer “stupid and white”. A jury at Kingston Crown Court cleared her in relation to an incident in Twickenham, south-west London, on 30 January 2023. Ms Kerr said she was “antagonised” by officers after she was taken to the police station by a taxi driver following a dispute. She did not deny using the words “stupid and white” but denied it amounted to a racial offence. Source link #Chelsea #star #Sam #Kerr #cleared #racial #harassment Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Magia Exedria announces new character Ren Isuzu Puella Magi Madoka Magica Magia Exedria announces new character Ren Isuzu Puella Madoka Magica Magia Exedra is set to introduce new character Ren Isuzu That’s off the back of a highly-successful pre-reg campaign with over half a million sign ups Magia Exedra introduces a fully 3D turn-based RPG based on the hit series Puella Madoka Magica Magia Exedra (and that is the only time I’m writing the full title in this article) has announced that they have accrued over half a million pre-registrations, and also a new character is set to be included with fan-favourite Ren Isuzu. Puella Madoka Magica, a cult classic anime series that takes the relatively soft and light magical girl genre with some darker twists, once more returns to mobile very soon with Magia Exedra. And now another fan favourite of this series will return in the form of Ren Isuzu, a shy but strong magical girl whose bond with the others drives her on. Ren’s announcement will surely be a welcome one for fans of Puella Madoka Magica, especially since the pre-registration campaign itself doesn’t promise new characters but rather fan kits (wallpapers and whatnot) for existing ones. Being a magical girl ain’t easy It’s rather ironic that Puella Madoka Magica, a series praised for its cerebral and often subversive take on the magical girl genre, has arguably become just as emblematic of the franchising and merchandising around it. Still, it’s to be expected when a series like this gains as much popularity as it has both domestically and abroad. Certainly, it’s interesting to see the slow creep from 2D battlers to full 3D becoming standard, as can be seen with Magia Exedra and its flashy, effects-filled battle scenes. So if you were dazzled by the animation in the original Puella Madoka Magica you won’t be left disappointed by Magia Exedra. But if you’re short on things to do while you wait for the upcoming release of Magia Exedra, why not check out our latest list of the top five new mobile games to try this week? This regular feature brings new releases right to you in virtually every genre! Source link #Puella #Magi #Madoka #Magica #Magia #Exedria #announces #character #Ren #Isuzu Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Sam Altman thinks GPT-5 will be smarter than him — but what does that mean? Sam Altman thinks GPT-5 will be smarter than him — but what does that mean? Sam Altman did a panel discussion at Technische Universität Berlin last week, where he predicted that ChatGPT-5 would be smarter than him — or more accurately, that he wouldn’t be smarter than GPT-5. He also did a bit with the audience, asking who considered themselves smarter than GPT-4, and who thinks they will also be smarter than GPT-5. “I don’t think I’m going to be smarter than GPT-5. And I don’t feel sad about it because I think it just means that we’ll be able to use it to do incredible things. And you know like we want more science to get done. We want more, we want to enable researchers to do things they couldn’t do before. This is the history of, this is like the long history of humanity.” The whole thing seemed rather prepared, especially since he forced it into a response to a fairly unrelated question. The host asked about his expectations when partnering with research organizations, and he replied “Uh… There are many reasons I am excited about AI. …The single thing I’m most excited about is what this is going to do for scientific discovery.” He didn’t answer the host’s question at any point during his reply, and he also didn’t give any details or explanation regarding his comment. What does it mean for GPT-5 to be smarter than Sam Altman? Does it mean GPT-5 will be trained on data covering in-depth knowledge of more subjects than Altman has experience with? That’s probably already the case with GPT-4 but people don’t describe it as smart because it’s so bad at following instructions, retaining context, and revising its responses. So, can we expect GPT-5 to improve in this area? It shouldn’t be impossible — my experience with DeepSeek, for example, has been much more positive in this area. If I ask for no more than 100 words, two bullet-point lists, and information taken from a certain link, it actually delivers. Then, when I ask it to add an extra section summarizing an additional webpage I provide — I get what I asked for. I’ve never been able to achieve this kind of smooth and accurate operation with GPT-4, and I’m not even asking for anything complicated. These are the kind of things I consider when assessing how “smart” I think an AI model is but it’s impossible to know what kind of criteria Altman judges by. He keeps talking about science and research — he even mentioned curing ******* at one point — but it’s hard to see how ChatGPT fits into such things. I can see how artificial intelligence as a whole might contribute, but an LLM? The official site for ChatGPT describes it as a brainstorming partner, a meeting summarizer, a code generator, and a way to search the web. Which of these features will meaningfully help a research scientist dealing with questions no human has the answers to yet? If Altman has thoughts or answers on these topics, he isn’t sharing them. He just sticks to sweeping statements that only sound impressive until you realize you have no idea what he actually means in practical terms. Source link #Sam #Altman #thinks #GPT5 #smarter Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Albanese government leaves door open for potential Commonwealth acquisition of beleaguered Rex Airlines Albanese government leaves door open for potential Commonwealth acquisition of beleaguered Rex Airlines While the beleaguered Rex Airlines is yet to find a buyer, Anthony Albanese has promised to keep the carrier flying in regional and remote Australia. Source link #Albanese #government #leaves #door #open #potential #Commonwealth #acquisition #beleaguered #Rex #Airlines Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google One AI Premium now includes one of my favourite AI tools for no extra cost, and it’s 50% off for students Google One AI Premium now includes one of my favourite AI tools for no extra cost, and it’s 50% off for students Google adds NotebookLM Plus to its Google One AI Premium subscription Students get a 50% discount Google One AI Premium gives you access to the best Gemini models Google is now offering a 50% discount on its Google One AI Premium subscription for students, but the best bit is that it is throwing one of my favorite AI tools, NotebookLM Plus into the bundle for everybody at no extra cost. As soon as I discovered NotebookLM it was a complete game changer for me. It creates a podcast based on whatever sources you feed it, like PDFs, YouTube videos or articles. The AI-voiced podcast sounds so real it’s hard to believe you’re not listening to two real people discussing whatever subject you’ve fed it. Speed up learning Initially I thought it was just a cool gimmick – listening to AI voices that sound indistinguishable from humans is inherently cool – but lately I’ve realized what a boost NotebookLM can be when you’re learning a new subject. NotebookLM’s audio overviews can really speed up your learning process, especially if you are a slow reader, or you just don’t enjoy reading. Instead you can get a podcast containing exactly the information you need to absorb that can be listened to in situations where reading wouldn’t be possible. For students, who have to absorb an incredible amount of information very quickly, they can be invaluable. NotebookLM is free to use, but limited, while NotebookLM Plus, which is now part of the Google One AI Premium subscription, has more features. The differences between NotebookLM and NotebookLM Plus are five times as many audio overviews, notebooks, and sources per notebook. With Plus, you can also customize style and tone, and share your creations. Google One AI Premium gives you access to the best Gemini features. (Image credit: Google) As well as NotebookLM Plus, you get all the other benefits of a Google One AI Premium subscription, including Gemini Advanced (which has higher usage limits and access to more LLMs, including Deep Research), Gemini in Gmail, Docs and more. Not to mention a whopping 2 TB of storage. A standard Google One AI Premium subscription costs $19.99/£18.99/AU$32 With NotebookLM now being added to the bundle at no extra cost. Students in the US will be able to save 50% off an AI Premium plan, making it just $9.99 a month for 12 months, which is an incredible deal. You may also like Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Source link #Google #Premium #includes #favourite #tools #extra #cost #students Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

A Colorado electronics repair shop has filed more than 85 lawsuits against customers — but they’re fighting back A Colorado electronics repair shop has filed more than 85 lawsuits against customers — but they’re fighting back How many times have you skimmed over a contract before accepting the terms and conditions? Most people don’t have the time or patience to read them in full, but it may be time to start paying more attention. Denver7 Investigates reported that Acme Revival, an electronics repair shop in Denver, filed more than 85 lawsuits against customers over “device abandonment.” Don’t miss While the company has settled with dozens of customers, dozens more have had their cases heard in Jefferson County court. And one customer has counter-sued in a New Jersey court, alleging fraudulent business practices. “Well, I will first say that these aren’t customers. Customers pay,” Logan Beck, Acme Revival’s CEO, told Denver7 Investigates, claiming that 30% to 40% of customers were delinquent on payments. “It’s called Acme Revival. We’re trying to revive electronics, not dispose of them.” Some customers, however, have a different point of view. Florida resident Glenn Weber sent a pair of $300 binoculars to Acme Revival for repair and racked up a $5,000 ‘storage’ fee. “I said ‘I’m not going to pay them. This is insane,’” he told Denver7 Investigates Florida. Here’s why the business is clashing with so many of its customers. Why is Acme Revival suing its customers? So what exactly is device abandonment? In a press release last October, Acme Revival allegedly said an alarming number of customers decided, after receiving their diagnostic and repair quote, that they didn’t want to pay for or pick up their device. This has turned the company’s repair facilities into “unintended electronic wastelands,” according to the release. It says many of these devices are classified as hazardous waste, while others contain personal data that needs to be purged. Customers sued by Acme Revival feel differently. Weber, for example, told Denver7 Investigates Florida that since the repairs on his binoculars were unsuccessful, he told the company in an email they could give them away. But after a 15-day grace *******, Acme Revival started charging Weber $25 a day in storage fees. In September, the company filed a claim against Weber with his outstanding balance nearing $5,000. These fees troubled many other customers, too. On Jan. 31, Denver7 Investigates reported that Jefferson County Judge Keith Goman had dismissed 47 cases against out-of-state defendants. While he said the court doesn’t have jurisdiction in these cases, he also called the storage fee “unconscionable,” particularly since the fees quickly exceed the value of the devices being repaired. The company’s attorney, Anthony Garcia, told Denver7 Investigates that Acme Revival will probably appeal the cases in district court. And after receiving dozens of similar complaints from customers, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) initially gave Acme Revival an “F” rating, though the company is currently “Not Rated” as it responds to customers complaints, some of which aren’t related to storage fees. Read more: Home prices in America could fly through the roof in 2025 — here’s the big reason why and how to take full advantage (with as little as $10) Be careful with agreements Acme Revival has defended its actions by saying the storage fee policy is outlined in the first email that gets sent out to customers and that they agreed to the terms of service. We don’t know the specifics of the placement or language of the email or terms of service, but generally, most people don’t read the fine print — and that’s often by design. One study by Secure Data Recovery analyzed customer agreements on 100 major websites and found that the fine print on these contracts had an average of 10,835 words and took an average of 54 minutes to read. In addition, some of those contracts used jargon considered “very difficult” based on the Flesch Reading Ease Formula. Indeed, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has recognized this issue by proposing a new rule to stop companies from using contract clauses that erode Americans’ rights by “slipping clauses into take-it-or-leave-it contracts that seek an unfair leg up by attempting to deny individuals the benefits of a free market.” And according to a 2017 Deloitte survey, a whopping 91% of American consumers accept legal terms and conditions without reading them. So, before agreeing to any terms of service — even something as seemingly innocuous as repairing your binoculars — you may want to take a closer look. Keep an eye out for any hidden fees or sneaky charges, and look for red flags such as overly complicated language or jargon. It could be worth searching for customer reviews (while keeping in mind that reviews are subjective), as well as checking out the company’s Better Business Bureau rating. For larger contracts, you may even want a lawyer to go over the contract before singing on the dotted line. After you sign a contract, or even just start doing business with a company, keep all receipts and a record of all communications with the company (such as email correspondence). In some instances, the wording may be such that you are agreeing to the terms by simply continuing to do business with someone. It’s also worth familiarizing yourself with consumer protection laws so you have an idea of your rights as a consumer. So, if a company takes extreme measures such as suing you for breach of contract over a ‘storage’ fee, you’ll be in a better position to fight back. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Source link #Colorado #electronics #repair #shop #filed #lawsuits #customers #theyre #fighting Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Eight teenagers sentenced for rioting in Ely Eight teenagers sentenced for rioting in Ely Eight young people have been sentenced for violent disorder following riots which broke out after the deaths of two boys. Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and his best friend Harvey Evans, 15, died in an e-bike ****** in Ely, Cardiff, on 22 May 2023. The disorder which followed continued until the early hours, leaving 31 police officers injured, property damaged and cars torched and, to date, more than 40 people have been charged in connection with the incident. The group of teenagers were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday, each receiving a 12-month referral order, which is a type of community sentence used in youth courts. Footage shown in the youth court hearing showed missiles including rocks, bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs being thrown at the police, and several cars set alight. The youngest of the defendants was 14 at the time of the riots and is now 16. Four of the group are now 18, while three are now aged 17, and they all pleaded guilty at earlier hearings between October and January. The court heard that many of the young people knew the boys who died very well, and the violent behaviour was was condoned by adults and older relatives involved in the riots. District Judge Stephen Harmes said this had been one of the most serious riots in the history of south Wales, but he understood that the defendants had been “swept up by the mob” and became carried away by their emotions, becoming embroiled in violence instead of processing their grief. He added that emotions had been “elevated by trauma spread on social media with the police made scapegoats”. Addressing the group, the judge said: “You were very young, your friends had just died. Very few young people will experience such a loss, It was a very distressing context.” He added they should “try and make the most of this opportunity to do the best you can” adding that was the best way to honour the memory of Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans. “You have been given that chance… if you come back to court, you won’t be given a second chance.” Source link #teenagers #sentenced #rioting #Ely Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]