Pelican Press

Want to know how the world ends? Try this Wikipedia page | Culture Want to know how the world ends? Try this Wikipedia page | Culture This is the way the world ends: not with a bang, but with a … slurp? According to my favourite Wikipedia wormhole, that’s just one of the many possible ways our universe could bite the bullet some 100 quindecillion (give or take a few septillion) years from now. To me, Wikipedia’s seemingly innocuous Timeline of the far future page (along with its existentially harrowing cousin, Ultimate fate of the universe) is the perfect encapsulation of the internet’s inbuilt dissonance: monolithic in meaning but oh-so pedestrian in its presentation. It offers a snapshot of mind-boggling scientific theory wrapped up in a boring, colour-coded spreadsheet, built and tended to by faceless back-end contributors who are probably goosing up Elon Musk’s own Wikipedia page at the same time as they’re casually cataloguing the theoretical extinction of the Y chromosome 5 million years from now. Every year of human history has its own dedicated Wikipedia page, going back as far as 719BC (when apparently not much happened other than Zhou Huan Wang becoming ruler of China). Some years are leaner than others, naturally, but in general these pages offer a useful TL;DR snapshot of major world events, famous births and deaths and astronomical phenomena. As you scroll through the 2020s, though, you’ll notice that the pages keep going: 2026, 2027, 2028 and so on. The reliably dull Wikipedia interface remains unchanged, even as recorded history cedes to speculative history. Spectators at a performance of John Cage’s As Slow As Possible – which began in 2001 and is scheduled to conclude in 2640. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP It’s possible to surf Wikipedia into the very far future, with each page offering a current best-guess as to what that year, decade, century, or millennium might have in store. In 2029, “The digital time capsule ‘A Message from Earth’ will reach its destination on the planet Gliese 581c.” In 2085, “the ‘secret’ letter of Queen Elizabeth II will be opened in Sydney.” In 2140, “all of the roughly 21 million Bitcoins are expected to be mined.” It’s a heady mix of asteroid near-misses, grim climate catastrophe and bizarre geopolitics until around the 24th century, when things start to get really trippy: a “negative equinoctial paradox” in 2353, every person in Japan having the same surname by 2531, and “the 639-year-long performance of John Cage’s organ work As Slow as Possible” concluding in 2640. A still from the film 2012. Will the world end with ‘the Big Freeze, Big Crunch, Big Bounce, Big Rip or, indeed, the Big Slurp?’ Photograph: Sony/Sportsphoto/Allstar From there, all roads lead to Timeline of the far future, an online abyss that absolutely gazes back at you. Here one can learn about exploding red supergiants visible in the daytime sky, the addition of leap seconds to every day on Earth, planetary collisions, evaporating oceans, spacetime singularities, the erosion of the pyramids, the terraformation of Mars, ****** holes, Boltzmann brains and the final demise of JavaScript (time of death: 13 September 275,760 CE). The truly adventurous can delve even further into the Ultimate fate of the universe page, which reads like a tasting menu for total annihilation: will it be the Big Freeze, Big Crunch, Big Bounce, Big Rip or, indeed, the Big Slurp? Wikipedia, like any encyclopedia, was never designed to spark emotion – but sometimes the sheer psychic weight of its information can’t help but instil a kind of awe in me. When I read these wholly benign chronicles of “astroengineering projects” and “femtosecond laser-etched nanostructures”, I can feel my tiny human brain butting up against the limits of its imagination. Some people describe looking up at the stars on a clear night and feeling reverential and small. I get that same feeling by scrolling these Wikipedia pages, reading history before it’s happened; me at my little desk with my little keyboard doing my little jobs, trying to wrap my head around a world in which future archaeologists identify the “urban stratum” of fossilised coastal cities – just like mine – a hundred million years from now. Then I close all my browser tabs and race off to pilates. Source link #world #ends #Wikipedia #page #Culture Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery: AP explains West Bank Palestinians face more Israeli barriers, traffic and misery: AP explains After ******’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack triggered Israel’s bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip, Israel intensified its crackdown on the occupied West Bank, ramping up raids against militants in the north of the territory and subjecting Palestinians in the area to the strictest scrutiny. Source link #West #Bank #Palestinians #face #Israeli #barriers #traffic #misery #explains Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The First Berserker: Khazan Devs on How the Game Fits into the DNF Universe The First Berserker: Khazan Devs on How the Game Fits into the DNF Universe Game Rant caught up with Nexon to discuss its upcoming soulslike, The First Berserker: Khazan, and how it fits into the DNF universe. Source link #Berserker #Khazan #Devs #Game #Fits #DNF #Universe Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Building the ultimate AI and machine learning PC Building the ultimate AI and machine learning PC Table of Contents Table of Contents What does an AI PC need? CPU Motherboard Graphics card Memory Storage Power Put it all together One of the best ways to reduce your vulnerability to data theft or privacy invasions when using large language model artificial intelligence or machine learning, is to run the model locally. Depending on the model you choose to run, you don’t even need the most powerful system in the world — although it does help. Here’s how to build a PC for AI and machine learning workloads, so you can keep your data secure and private, and ensure the AI is always ready and waiting for you. What does an AI PC need? AI PCs aren’t drastically different to high-powered PCs for different tasks, although they do have some slightly quirky requirements that mean building a system with in mind is slightly different to building a powerful gaming PC. Although many of the major CPU manufacturers have talked a lot in the past year about neural processors and how efficient that can be, they only tend to offer a few 10s of TOPS (trillions of operations per second). That might seem like a lot, until you find out that an Nvidia RTX 4090 can deliver over 1,300 TOPS. In short, for AI workloads that CPU is far less important. While a fast processor is always helpful and having lots of cores will absolutely speed up your machine learning workloads and ensure the system remains functional even when working hard, the real horsepower comes from the graphics card. So we’re looking for a powerful GPU, preferably with lots of video memory, lots of system memory when that’s not enough, and some expansive and fast local storage. That also means we need a high-end motherboard. While that won’t give us any additional AI performance in its own right, a top-tier motherboard ensures smooth power to the CPU and GPU, as well as adding support for multiple graphics cards if you really want to accelerate your machine learning tasks, or run more than one in parallel. Outside of that you can put it in whatever case you like, with a big power supply and some good cooling to keep the system running without overheating and throttling. Some nice-to-haves might include high efficiency through lower power draw to keep running costs down — but that moves counter intuitive to our high-end GPU choices. We’ll also consider upgradeability in the future. CPU Jacob ****** / Digital Trends Usually the CPU is the heart of a PC, whether it’s used for gaming, office-work, streaming, or video editing. But while it still plays a part in our machine learning, AI PC, it’s not the lynchpin. Still, you want a modern one with lots of cores and preferably a strong upgrade path for the future, too. To that end, we’d recommend the AMD Ryzen 9950X. It’s one of AMD’s latest CPUs with 16 cores and support for 32 threads. It’s relatively low-power for such a high-end CPU, too, and will give you plenty of scope for running its own large language models, or just supporting the system that’s training them on a monstrous GPU. If you want a more affordable alternative, the last-generation 7950X is still plenty capable and around $100 cheaper and still offers excellent performance. If you’re more of an Intel fan, consider the Core Ultra 9 285K or Core Ultra 7 265K they have boat loads of cores and impressive efficiency, as well as their own onboard neural processor. Motherboard ASRock The motherboard is rarely the most exciting component in any custom build PC, but with an AI and machine learning computer it plays a ******* role than you’d think. You want something with strong, stable VRMs for handling all the power this system will be dealing with. Ideally, you want PCIExpress 5 support for the fastest storage, and supporting multiple graphics cards doesn’t hurt if you want to double up your training GPUs. Or you can just get any old motherboard because it’ll probably do. I’m being facetious, because who wants to spend close to $1,000 on a motherboard? But ultimately anything outside of the bargain basement models will probably suffice, just make sure it’s got the features you want for your kind of budget. Also make sure to get one that matches your CPU. If in doubt, double check before buying. Graphics card Jacob ****** / Digital Trends If you’re going to sink your budget into any component in your AI and machine learning PC, make it the graphics card. When you’re training large language models, or even just running big and complicated ones, you need a powerful graphics card. They have the VRAM to store the model on the card itself, and the thousands of parallel processing cores to actually run it. If you don’t have much budget to spare, look to a card like the Nvidia RTX 3060 12GB — you can grab that for around $300 at the time of writing. However, if you really want to push your AI training or run some of the most advanced, demanding models, then the higher-end you can go, the better. The RTX 5090 is the best graphics card in the world right now, but it’s very hard to get hold of. Last-generation alternatives aren’t that easy to find either, so you may need to wait a little. The best we could find at the time of writing was a renewed RTX 3090 for $1500, or a 4070 Ti Super with 16GB of VRAM. What about AMD? Unfortunately while AMD’s AI accelerators are great for gaming, they just don’t compete with CUDA and Tensor cores for AI tasks yet. Maybe that will change, but for now if you want to create an AI PC, Nvidia GPUs are the best option. Memory Kingston You can min-max performance with memory, but it’s not going to make a massive difference in an AI PC. The best thing you can do is make sure you have lots of fast memory and don’t overthink it — unless you’re into overclocking. Grab yourself a 64GB kit of 6400 MHz memory from a major manufacturer like Corsair, Kingston, G-Skill, Patriot, or TeamGroup. Anything faster and you have to start dabbling in settings tweaks to make the most of it. Better to just make sure you have enough. Storage WD Lots of fast storage is useful for AI and machine learning PCs so that they can handle all the training data you’re going to be throwing their way. Fortunately, modern storage is faster and cheaper than ever, so you can grab yourself several terabytes of PCIe 5 SSD storage for a few hundred dollars. Any of the major brand name SSDs will do here, but like with memory, just make sure you have lots of it. Power Digital Trends Power supplies are one area you don’t want to try to skrimp and save on. A good power supply makes sure that your whole, expensive AI PC stays healthy for the longterm. Get a 1,200W + Titanium or Platinum PSU from one of the major PSU brands and you’ll have a solid choice. EVGA, Corsair, Seasonic, FSP, Thermaltake, Enermax, SuperFlower, or beQuiet! are great options. Put it all together If you grabbed all the above hardware but want some tips on how to actually build the thing, we’ve got you covered. Once it’s done (or you’ve had someone else build it for you) you’ll be off and running with a super powerful, super capable AI and machine learning PC. Source link #Building #ultimate #machine #learning Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

McDonald’s U.S. Sales Drop as Customers Spend Less – The Wall Street Journal McDonald’s U.S. Sales Drop as Customers Spend Less – The Wall Street Journal McDonald’s U.S. Sales Drop as Customers Spend Less The Wall Street JournalView Full Coverage on Google News Source link #McDonalds #U.S #Sales #Drop #Customers #Spend #Wall #Street #Journal Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Monday, February 10 NYT Strands today: hints, spangram and answers for Monday, February 10 Table of Contents Table of Contents How to play Strands Hint for today’s Strands puzzle Today’s Strand answers Strands is a brand new daily puzzle from the New York Times. A trickier take on the classic word search, you’ll need a keen eye to solve this puzzle. Like Wordle, Connections, and the Mini Crossword, Strands can be a bit difficult to solve some days. There’s no shame in needing a little help from time to time. If you’re stuck and need to know the answers to today’s Strands puzzle, check out the solved puzzle below. How to play Strands You start every Strands puzzle with the goal of finding the “theme words” hidden in the grid of letters. Manipulate letters by dragging or tapping to craft words; double-tap the final letter to confirm. If you find the correct word, the letters will be highlighted blue and will no longer be selectable. If you find a word that isn’t a theme word, it still helps! For every three non-theme words you find that are at least four letters long, you’ll get a hint — the letters of one of the theme words will be revealed and you’ll just have to unscramble it. Every single letter on the grid is used to spell out the theme words and there is no overlap. Every letter will be used once, and only once. Each puzzle contains one “spangram,” a special theme word (or words) that describe the puzzle’s theme and touches two opposite sides of the board. When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted yellow. The goal should be to complete the puzzle quickly without using too many hints. Hint for today’s Strands puzzle Today’s theme is “The munchies” Here’s a hint that might help you: between meals. Today’s Strand answers NYT Today’s spanagram We’ll start by giving you the spangram, which might help you figure out the theme and solve the rest of the puzzle on your own: Today’s Strands answers GRANOLA NUTS CANDY POPCORN CHEESE FRUIT CHIPS Source link #NYT #Strands #today #hints #spangram #answers #Monday #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

French retailer suggests Nvidia will launch the RTX 5070 Ti on February 20 French retailer suggests Nvidia will launch the RTX 5070 Ti on February 20 Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 5070 Ti graphics card is scheduled for release later this month, indicates French retailer Top Achat (h/t VideoCard). According to an MSI RTX 5070 Ti product listing, the latest Nvidia mid-range GPU will be available for purchase starting February 20 at 3PM CET. Notably, the launch date coincides with similar product listings spotted last month on the European retailer Proshop, further reinforcing the likelihood of a February 20 AIB product release. (Image credit: Topachat) The RTX 5070 Ti’s launch follows the January 30 debut of Nvidia’s higher-end RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 models. The RTX 5090 has been praised for its impressive 4K gaming performance. However, concerns have emerged regarding its high power consumption. Additionally, the first legitimate report of a melted power cable on the RTX 5090 recently surfaced on Reddit, raising safety concerns. Meanwhile, the RTX 5080 has been recognized as a well-balanced high-end GPU, offering solid performance while maintaining reasonable power efficiency. While it presents a compelling upgrade for those with older GPUs, its performance gains over its predecessor models are considered modest. Both the new RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 have a significant Achilles Heel, though – insufficient supplies at launch have led to a predictably grim cycle of rising prices, scalping, and bundling. As a quick refresher, the RTX 5070 Ti is built on the GB203-300 graphics processor, featuring 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. It comes equipped with 16GB of GDDR7 memory operating on a 256-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 896 GB/s. Designed with a total board power (TBP) of 300W, the RTX 5070 Ti will be available with either a single 16-pin PCIe Gen 5 power connector, but some AIBs might furnish dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors. During the product launch in January, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang claimed that the non-Ti version of the RTX 5070 would deliver the same performance as an RTX 4090. By that logic, the RTX 5070 Ti should be even faster, but reviews of the RTX 5090 and 5080 have completely taken the polish off such expectations. The suggested MSRP for the RTX 5070 Ti, according to Nvidia, is $749—$50 less than its predecessors, the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4070 Ti Super. However, since there is no Founder’s Edition variant, customers will have to rely on board partners that are expected to apply their own premiums, potentially pushing prices between $800 to $1,000. Additionally, scalpers and resellers may drive up pricing even further, making availability a key concern at launch. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #French #retailer #suggests #Nvidia #launch #RTX #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

3 Cybersecurity Stocks Leading the Surge and Why They Stand Out 3 Cybersecurity Stocks Leading the Surge and Why They Stand Out In recent years, the broader technology sector has often been the driving force behind market growth. However, at the start of 2025, a specific industry within tech has emerged as the clear outperformer: cybersecurity. Cybersecurity stocks have seen an exceptional rally, with leading names such as CrowdStrike and Fortinet surging by double digits year-to-date, far outpacing the benchmark index’s modest 3% gain. The Cybersecurity *****: Why Now? The surge in cybersecurity stocks is primarily fueled by a rise in global cyber threats and high-profile data breaches, forcing businesses and governments to prioritize digital security. As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape industries, cybersecurity firms are leveraging AI-powered solutions to strengthen defenses, making them a crucial pillar of the digital economy. While much of the market’s focus remains on AI-driven innovation, cybersecurity stocks began showing immense relative strength when the broader tech sector faced selling pressure following the DeepSeek news. Earnings growth, robust demand, and favorable sentiment continue to support this sector’s rally. Here are three cybersecurity stocks leading the charge in 2025. 1. AI-Powered Cybersecurity: CrowdStrike Enhances Falcon Identity Protection CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:), a leading multinational cybersecurity firm headquartered in Austin, Texas, specializes in cloud-based security solutions, endpoint protection, and threat intelligence. It ranks as the third-largest holding in the HACK ETF and is a key component of both the and indices. CRWD has been one of the top-performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2025, already up 23% as of Thursday’s close and trading at all-time highs. The company’s adoption of AI has been instrumental in its success. On February 4, CrowdStrike announced a new AI-powered feature for its Falcon Identity Protection customers, designed to detect early signs of reconnaissance, an essential first step in cyberattacks. By utilizing machine learning and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) search signatures, the feature enables security teams to proactively identify and mitigate threats. Investor sentiment remains overwhelmingly positive. CRWD is featured on MarketBeat’s Most Upgraded List and holds a consensus Moderate Buy rating from 44 analysts. However, with a 71 RSI, the stock has entered into overbought territory. Investors should pay close attention to its upcoming earnings release set for March 4 after the market closes. 2. Fortinet’s Expanding Market Presence Supports Long-Term Growth Fortinet (NASDAQ:), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps organizations protect networks, data, and applications from cyber threats. Like CrowdStrike, Fortinet is a member of the S&P 500 and has surged to new all-time highs in early 2025. FTNT’s rally was further fueled by its impressive Q4 earnings report. The company reported earnings per share of $0.74, surpassing Wall Street estimates of $0.61, with revenue hitting $1.66 billion, exceeding the expected $1.59 billion. Looking ahead, Fortinet projects Q1 revenue between $1.5 billion and $1.56 billion, with full-year 2025 revenue expectations ranging from $6.65 billion to $6.85 billion. Stifel analysts highlighted Fortinet’s upcoming firewall refresh opportunity, noting its potential for strong cross-selling in the coming quarters. While the stock currently holds a Hold rating from 33 analysts, recent earnings may lead to upward revisions in the near future. 3. CyberArk Stock Surges 15% in 2025, Outperforming Cybersecurity Peers Cyberark (NASDAQ:) specializes in identity security solutions, helping enterprises safeguard privileged accounts and critical systems. While smaller in market capitalization than CrowdStrike and Fortinet, it remains a significant holding in the HACK ETF and has outperformed many peers with a 15% year-to-date surge. On February 4, CyberArk announced a strategic partnership with SentinelOne (NYSE:), integrating AI-powered cybersecurity capabilities to enhance threat detection and response. This collaboration combines CyberArk’s identity security expertise with SentinelOne’s AI-driven SIEM and XDR solutions, strengthening endpoint protection and improving security analytics. Analyst sentiment on CYBR is highly bullish. The stock carries a Moderate Buy rating, with 26 out of 27 analysts assigning a Buy recommendation. With shares trading at new all-time highs, investors remain optimistic about the company’s continued momentum in AI-driven security solutions. Rising Demand Positions Cybersecurity for Long-Term Success Cybersecurity stocks are proving to be a dominant force in the market’s early 2025 performance. As digital threats evolve and businesses ramp up security spending, the sector remains well-positioned for sustained growth. With strong earnings, AI integration, and rising demand, CrowdStrike, Fortinet, and CyberArk stand out as top cybersecurity plays to watch in the months ahead. Original Post Source link #Cybersecurity #Stocks #Leading #Surge #Stand Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Patrick Mahomes’ legacy, a shaken Chiefs dynasty and what comes next: Sando’s Pick Six Patrick Mahomes’ legacy, a shaken Chiefs dynasty and what comes next: Sando’s Pick Six NEW ORLEANS — The second Patrick Mahomes interception, right before halftime of a Super Bowl that was already slipping away, left no doubt about what the Kansas City Chiefs must do to stabilize a dynasty shaken by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Superdome. We’ll get to that soon enough, but with Kansas City suffering a 40-22 defeat to spoil its shot at the first Super Bowl three-peat, the Pick Six column begins with a counterintuitive proclamation. This defeat actually draws Mahomes’ Chiefs closer to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in the dynasty department. Both quarterbacks lost Super Bowls as favorites to end their seventh seasons as starters. Both squandered historic opportunities that could have set them apart. For Brady, it was the perfect season, wrecked by Eli Manning’s New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. For Mahomes, it was the elusive three-peat, buried under a green sea of Eagles pass rushers. The full menu for this final Pick Six column of the 2024 NFL season: • Mahomes, Brady and what Chiefs need • Eagles ran to get here, passed to win • HOF fallout: small class, less star power • MVPs: Lamar, Josh and Nikola Jokić? • Myles Garrett comps, future • Two-minute drill: Burrow’s chirping 1. Wait, this Kansas City defeat actually draws Mahomes’ Chiefs closer to Brady’s Patriots on the dynasty timeline? • Dynasty update: The Chiefs were a victory over Philadelphia away from matching the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynastic run from 1974 to ’79. They stand one championship short but otherwise match up favorably. And their runway appears longer because Mahomes should have much more left now than Terry Bradshaw had left heading into 1980. Dynasty PIT KC Season range 1974-79 2019-24 Total seasons 6 6 Winning seasons 6 6 Record 67-20-1 78-22 Win pct. .767 .780 Win pct. rank 1 1 PPG margin 10.1 6.3 CC appearances 5 6 CC pct. 83% [5 of 6] 100% [6 of 6] SB appearances 4 5 SB wins 4 3 Because of that remaining runway, the Patriots comp felt more relevant Sunday, especially with Brady in the broadcast booth for Fox and seeming to experience his post-2007 Super Bowl agony all over again. He knew what was at stake for Mahomes. “We were on the precipice of history,” Brady said as the Chiefs trailed 40-6 midway through the fourth quarter. “We faced a (Giants) team that played their hearts out that day and beat us. And I still haven’t really lived it down, because you care so deeply, and I know this Chiefs team does as well. Patrick is the ultimate competitor. But the reality of a loss in this game is, you don’t ever get over them.” Brady’s 2007 Patriots took an 18-0 record into Super Bowl XLII. Favored by 12 against the Giants, they fell 17-14, as gathering Spygate allegations gave critics license to question the legitimacy of New England’s excellence. Brady would later call this defeat the toughest of his career. “I got on the bus after the game,” Brady said as the fourth quarter dragged on Sunday, “and I had no — I absolutely believed 100 percent we were going to win. And it was just devastating, because I couldn’t speak for the rest of the night. … I just always remember waking up the next morning and I thought, ‘That’s a nightmare. That’s a nightmare. That game didn’t happen. I was dreaming, and we lost badly, but we actually haven’t played the game yet.’” Mahomes’ 2024 Chiefs were far less dominant during the regular season than those 2007 Patriots were, but their streak of 17 consecutive victories in one-score games, aided by a few high-profile penalty flags that opportunists wielded to discredit Kansas City, provided a sense of inevitability to their games. GO DEEPER The Chiefs’ reach for immortality, Bills, Eagles (and refs) be damned: Sando’s Pick Six Mahomes’ incredible 106-27 record as a starter (counting playoffs) is nearly identical to Brady’s 104-29 mark through the same number of career starts. Both sat on the bench behind hard-luck No. 1 overall picks (Drew Bledsoe in New England, Alex Smith in Kansas City) before winning three Super Bowls quickly — Brady needing four seasons to do it, Mahomes six. Those Patriots kept the same head coach (Bill Belichick), quarterback (Brady), defensive architect (Belichick), special teams coach (Brad Seely) and kicker (Adam Vinatieri) through their first three Super Bowl wins. Kansas City has had Andy Reid, Mahomes, Steve Spagnuolo, Dave Toub and Harrison Butker in those roles for six seasons and counting. “That right there is the most powerful part of the whole thing,” a coach from another team said, “because they do not make the big errors, they are the most deadly team late in halves — just complete core competence.” Those things probably aren’t changing much for the Chiefs any time soon, but Kansas City can learn from what the Patriots, in retrospect, wish they had done after losing their shot at history in that crushing defeat to the Giants in Arizona. • Lessons in the Patriots’ regret: New England’s 2007 season was its third in a nine-season run without a Super Bowl victory. The torn ACL Brady suffered in the 2008 opener had something to do with that, but Belichick later regretted letting the defense slide from 2009 to ’13. The Patriots had been such an offensive machine in 2007 that they fell into a trap by thinking they could simply outscore teams. The emergence of Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins and others (plus the one-year rental of Darrelle Revis in 2014) contributed to New England winning Super Bowls again after the 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons. The challenge for the Chiefs is similar now. Their streak of 17 consecutive victories in games decided by eight or fewer points has opened a wide gap between their record (23-2 in their past 25 games before Sunday, excluding a game when Kansas City rested starters) and their average point differential across those games (6.3, which is good, but not as dominant as the record would indicate). Losing as badly as the Chiefs lost to Philadelphia should help Kansas City face its shortcomings with honesty. Mahomes ranked first in EPA/dropback over his first five years as a starter (2018-22), including playoffs, at 0.25. The next-best (minimum three seasons played) was Aaron Rodgers at just over half of Mahomes’ mark (0.13). Mahomes ranks ninth since the start of 2023 at 0.11, just over half of Brock Purdy’s league-leading figure (0.21) during that span. Mahomes EPA/dropback by season, including playoffs Season EPA/dropback Rank 2018 0.3 1 2019 0.28 2 2020 0.21 2 2021 0.19 2 2022 0.27 1 2023 0.1 9 2024 0.12 10 The Chiefs should not shrug off Mahomes’ diminishing returns in the passing game simply because the team kept winning anyway. After investing first- or second-round picks on receivers Skyy Moore, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy over the past three drafts, in addition to spending a 2025 conditional fourth on DeAndre Hopkins during this past season, it’s time to address the real problem. • Circling back to Marino: When the Chiefs started the season 7-0, we warned that Mahomes, like Dan Marino at about the same point in his career, needed improved play from his offensive tackles to regain peak production in the passing game. “I might find a way to get a real tackle, a legitimate one-side-or-the-other tackle, and solidify that for the next five years to protect the quarterback so he is not running for his life and having to make all the plays,” an exec from another team said after the Chiefs’ 7-0 start. Kansas City adjusted successfully by moving guard Joe Thuney to left tackle, but when the Eagles’ Josh Sweat drove Thuney into Mahomes, forcing the interception shortly before halftime, it was a reminder that the Chiefs should still pursue a long-term solution. Credit the Eagles. They built a dominant pass rush and won the game exactly how other teams have beaten Mahomes over the years: by making him hold the ball until the pass rush converged. Blame Mahomes. He put the ball at risk early in the game, over and over. “That’s why I take ownership of this loss more than probably any other loss more than any in my career, because I put us in the bad spot,” he said afterward. “There’s things I have to get better at, and they kinda showed today on the biggest stage. I have to find a way this offseason to combat what defenses are doing to me. … I can’t make bad plays worse.” Is time on Mahomes’ side? We asked the question last week (item No. 3 here) in laying out how Mahomes’ average time to throw (or to sack) correlated so strongly with the Chiefs’ wins and losses. The correlation was much stronger for Mahomes than it was for Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, two other mobile star quarterbacks (see table below). Time to throw Mahomes W-L Allen W-L Jackson W-L 2.3 to 2.8 31-2 (.939) 22-3 (.880) 5-4 (.556) 2.81 to 3.0 40-5 (.888) 24-9 (.727) 18-5 (.783) 3.01 to 3.3 31-12 (.722) 24-19 (.558) 34-10 (.773) 3.31+ 2-8 (.200) 15-6 (.714) 16-10 (.615) Through three quarters Sunday, Mahomes held the ball longer, on average, than he had in all but one career start (3.65 seconds). That shrunk to 3.30 by game’s end, thanks to garbage-time production. As the chart below shows, many of Mahomes’ defeats look the same. The Chiefs are 6-12 when Mahomes has an average time to throw of 3.23 seconds or longer, including Sunday’s loss. They are 1-8 when it is 3.34 seconds or longer. Marino’s Dolphins drafted left tackle Richmond Flowers, who became a perennial Pro Bowl choice, along with guard Keith Sims in 1990. Marino’s once-historic production, which had been in retreat, same as Mahomes’ is now, returned to some degree, although a torn Achilles tendon and other issues prevented a full Marino revival. Could the Chiefs pull off something similar? Following Mahomes’ first Super Bowl loss — when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ pass rush hounded him much like the Eagles’ did on Sunday — Chiefs general manager Brett Veach remade the offensive line emphatically, signing Thuney to a record contract, trading for tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and drafting center Creed Humphrey and guard Trey Smith (who is now set to be a top free agent). It would be tough to match that in a single offseason, but that should surely be Veach’s top priority. • New England’s edge: Belichick was a few months shy of his 56th birthday when his Patriots lost that Super Bowl to the Giants after the 2007 season. He coached 16 more seasons, with the dynasty continuing for 12 of those seasons until Brady departed. Reid turns 67 in March. He might catch Belichick and even Don Shula on the all-time wins list, but he won’t be coaching another dozen seasons. Brady thrived under various offensive play callers and another head coach (Bruce Arians in Tampa), but we haven’t yet seen Mahomes without Reid, who has gotten the best out of almost every quarterback who has ever played for him. Spagnuolo isn’t far behind Reid at 65. Travis Kelce is 35, declining statistically and could be approaching retirement. Chris Jones is 31. Neither has missed extended time due to injury other than Kelce’s rookie season. Mahomes has never played without Kelce the way Brady did without Rob Gronkowski due to injury (2013, 2016) and a temporary retirement (2019). Brady’s play suffered in Gronkowski’s absence. GO DEEPER Was this Travis Kelce’s last Super Bowl? He has tough decision after Chiefs’ loss No one is writing off Mahomes’ ability to overcome such things. Even if the dynasty window remains open in Kansas City, there must be renewed urgency after a defeat as resounding as this one. “It’s a difficult feeling to have,” Brady continued on the broadcast, “but if there’s anybody that can rebound, it’s Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid. This organization and what they’re built on, they got so many great tenets of this organization in place.” 2. The Chiefs weren’t going to let Saquon Barkley beat them. Jalen Hurts and a dominant defense were plenty. That, and other quick-hitters from Super Bowl LIX, including a poll on officiating. • Doing it right: When the Eagles win Super Bowls, they do it right — first against Belichick, Brady and New England, now against Reid, Mahomes and Kansas City, and both interrupting what might have otherwise been a three-peat. Their 41-33 victory over the Patriots after the 2017 season featured the second-most points scored against a New England defense in the 429 total games Belichick coached the team. Their 40-22 victory Sunday handed the Chiefs their second-worst point differential in a game with Mahomes in the lineup (Kansas City lost 27-3 at Tennessee in 2021), even after two garbage-time K.C. touchdowns. These were signature victories of the highest order. • Hurts’ validation: Jalen Hurts carried the Lombardi Trophy from the Eagles’ locker room into a hallway, where he sat with the hardware and, appearing exhausted, took some time to soak in the moment. His redemption story is well-known. Now, it is complete. He’s a Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP and, along with Brady, a winner over Mahomes’ Chiefs on the biggest stage. Was pretty cool seeing @JalenHurts walk away with the Lombardi Trophy, trying to take in a pretty crazy moment. Guy who was benched in college, dismissed as a pro prospect, and kept his head down. Great lessons for everyone in the Eagles QB’s path. pic.twitter.com/Z1ESXnjFUG — Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 10, 2025 • Lurie joins club: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who purchased the team in 1994, joined a short list of current owners with multiple Lombardi Trophies. Robert Kraft has six since buying the Patriots that same year. Kansas City’s Clark Hunt has three since succeeding his father as owner in 2006. Dallas’ Jerry Jones has three since 1989. The Giants’ John Mara has two since succeeding his father in 2005. Other families have won more than one, from the Glazers in Tampa to the Rooneys in Pittsburgh, but not under their current principal owners. • Barkley to Hurts: Twenty-five carries. Fifty-seven yards. Longest gain: 10. That was the stat line for Barkley against the Chiefs. It was enough to move Barkley past 1998 Terrell Davis for most rushing yards in a full season, counting playoffs. Barkley needed 20 games to surpass what Davis did in 19. His regular-season rushing accounted for 32 percent of the Eagles’ total yards, the third-highest rate for a leading rusher on a Super Bowl team (1998 produced the top two, with Davis at 33.6 percent and Atlanta’s Jamal Anderson at 33.0). The chart below extends the same research to include playoff production, with a focus on Super Bowl winners since 2005. Barkley’s rushing accounted for 33 percent of Philadelphia’s total yards, the first time any back has topped 25 percent since 2004. Again, he was the engine that drove this Eagles offense — even Sunday, when the Chiefs sold out to stop him, creating opportunities for Hurts to exploit in the passing game (17 of 22, 221 yards) and as a runner himself (game-high 72 yards on 11 carries). It’s been decades since a team won a Super Bowl by leaning so heavily on one running back. After Barkley led a league-wide renaissance at the position, is this a model to follow moving forward? An outlier? GO DEEPER Why the NFL has seen a running back renaissance led by Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry While running games are on the upswing across the league, the Eagles did it with the league’s best running back, best offensive line and perhaps the best defense, too. That’s a difficult formula to recreate. • Moore to Saints: Would the market for soon-to-be New Orleans Saints coach Kellen Moore be stronger now if six of the seven teams with head-coaching vacancies had not made their hires already? Jacksonville and Dallas conducted virtual interviews with Moore, but that was the extent of his market outside New Orleans. By leaning into the run game, Moore bucked the stereotype of the offensive coordinator who tries to help his job prospects by padding his stats through the air. The head coach has something to do with that as well. What’s his name again? • Credit to Sirianni: When we outlined NFC contender concerns in early December, there were two for the Eagles. The first was their 1.3-point scoring average in first quarters, which ranked 792nd out of 796 teams since 2000 to that point in a season, per TruMedia. Philly averaged a league-leading 10.3 offensive points per game in first quarters from that moment through the playoffs. Problem solved. The second concern for the Eagles entering the season’s final stretch: Nick Sirianni’s temperament. GO DEEPER Not everybody loves Nick Sirianni, but all the Eagles coach does is win “It is amazing how they have evolved and how Sirianni now is Coach of the Year material,” an exec from another team said at the time. “Can Sirianni keep it going another month? They have players and they have really competent coordinators. I think they learned from what happened last year. The defensive guys especially are in a better place. They have punched the clock better and more consistently as workers than they did last year.” Mission accomplished. Sirianni handled the Super Bowl spotlight comfortably. His team was ready to play every week. “From my perspective, working with successful teams and non-successful teams, it’s all about the head coach,” another exec said. “How is he managing all of the things at his disposal to get players to play well on Sunday? Calling plays is the most overvalued thing with a coach. Having a good game plan, having good processes, getting your guys to play hard through things. To me, that is the mark of a good coach.” • About that OPI call: Before the Eagles pulled away, officiating threatened to become a leading storyline thanks to a call for offensive pass interference on the Eagles’ opening drive. The call wiped out a 32-yard gain on fourth-and-2, precipitating a Philly punt. The Eagles were called for Offensive PI on this play Do you agree with the call? pic.twitter.com/WIWgpCgRVh — FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) February 9, 2025 I asked four coaches to rate the call on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being at the most egregious end of the spectrum. Their answers: 8.0, 7.5, 7.0 and … 2.0. “Very rarely does that get called,” one of the coaches said. Think of it another way. If officials failed to make the call, would the Chiefs submit the play to the league office for retroactive review? Probably not. The outlier coach said he was OK with the call because the receiver, A.J. Brown, significantly hindered the defender, cornerback Trent McDuffie, in a one-way exchange that would not qualify as hand-fighting. The coach rendering a 7.5 grade noted that the official throwing the flag, side judge Boris Cheek, ranks highly among officials at his position in penalty rate. Fortunately for everyone but Kansas City, the call became a footnote, nothing more. The flags evened out some when a call for unnecessary roughness against McDuffie prolonged the Eagles’ second drive. GO DEEPER Chiefs’ DeAndre Hopkins: ‘A lot of touchy calls’ in Super Bowl LIX 3. The Hall of Fame shrunk its class for 2025 without raising the bar for enshrinement. Here’s how to fix the problem. The Hall adopted new rules this year to “help ensure that membership in the Hall of Fame remains elite” after some felt too many borderline candidates were earning gold jackets. The changes reduced the class size to four in 2025 after the Hall averaged 7.8 inductees per year from 2015-24, not counting a 20-member Centennial class. GO DEEPER Hall of Fame voting rules: Why the highest NFL honor is now more exclusive Antonio Gates, Eric Allen and Jared Allen earned enshrinement as modern-era players. Sterling Sharpe earned enshrinement as a senior player (retired at least 25 years). The four-member class was the Hall’s smallest since 2005. The changes failed in another sense because, in my view as one of the 49 selectors, the committee did not sufficiently prioritize voting for the most elite candidates regardless of how long other candidates had been waiting. Gates and linebacker Luke Kuechly met the super-elite standard better than the other modern-era finalists, but Kuechly, in his first year of eligibility, was forced to wait. Opinions on players vary. Not everyone will agree with my take on Kuechly relative to the other finalists. But I’m very confident the public outcry would be much louder if, say, Kuechly were excluded over a 10-year ******* than if Eric Allen, Jared Allen or both were excluded for that long (Eric Allen had been excluded much longer than that, gaining enshrinement in his 19th year of eligibility). Some voters advocate hurrying to enshrine long-eligible candidates before they fall into an abyss with other senior candidates, perhaps never to surface again. Some of these voters also complain about too many first-ballot selections, contending these players push others into the seniors category. This thinking was more defensible when enough slots were effectively available for nearly all finalists to earn enshrinement eventually. Following this line of thinking under the new, more restrictive rules creates a disconnect with the Hall’s mission to improve class quality. That disconnect was on display Thursday night when the Hall introduced a class lacking in both size and star power. Modern-era finalists, 2025 The table above stacks the 15 modern-era finalists for 2025 by how likely each was to earn enshrinement based on Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor score, which takes into account career production and honors. This is not, by any means, how Hall classes should be elected. But it’s a thoughtful, independent point of reference. It’s telling when almost none of the highest-rated players earn enshrinement. Voters must recalibrate. The chart below arranges modern-era Hall of Fame player classes by weighted career AV (Y axis) and Hall of Fame Monitor score (X axis). The problem should resolve itself temporarily in 2026 when Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald become eligible. A three-man class with Brees, Fitzgerald and Kuechly would rank sixth among 46 modern-era player classes since 1980 in average Hall of Fame Monitor score (the 2025 class ranks 40th). Bill Belichick could be the choice in the senior/coach/contributor category, further elevating the 2026 class prestige. There are other concerns. In addition to the 15 modern-era finalists listed above, the committee also considered three seniors, one coach and one contributor separately. Sharpe was the only one to earn enshrinement under rules that assure between one and three are enshrined. The Hall would be wise to reconsider slot allocation. Three slots for seniors is too many after 18 were enshrined in the past six years, including 10 in 2020. I see no obvious contributor candidates beyond Robert Kraft. Should that category be in the mix every year? Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin are the strongest coach candidates, pending Belichick’s eligibility. Their candidacies are stronger than those for contributors. The way things are set up now, voters pick three of the five finalists in this combined category, with 80 percent of votes (40 of 49 this year) required for enshrinement. Seven of the broader selection committee members serve on the subcommittee for senior candidates. They could, in theory, vote only for seniors, while the other subcommittee members (nine on the coach committee and seven on the contributor committee) must also choose players. I do not think subcommittee voters are this rigid, but with every vote being so precious, and with players naturally having the edge over coaches and contributors anyway, the 3-1-1 distribution exaggerates the imbalance. We saw the results of that imbalance when only Sharpe qualified, when many voters thought both Sharpe and Holmgren would make it. 4. Lamar Jackson was the Associated Press’ first-team All-Pro quarterback, but Josh Allen was the MVP. What happened? Someone should ask NBA superstar Nikola Jokić. A call came in from a veteran NFL executive after the Pick Six column from Dec. 2 explained why Jackson looked like the best MVP candidate with roughly a month remaining in the regular season. The betting odds had shifted in Allen’s favor as the players’ statistics came into closer alignment for a stretch. Jackson would later rally, and when he was named the first-team All-Pro QB over Allen, that seemed to signal Jackson was in line for his third MVP. Bills QB Josh Allen wins AP NFL MVP after finishing second to Lamar Jackson in All-Pro voting. Allen is third player to win MVP after not making first-team All-Pro. Steve McNair shared 2003 MVP with Peyton Manning after Manning was the All-Pro and John Elway beat out #49ers Jerry… — Josh Dubow (@JoshDubowAP) February 7, 2025 When Allen won the award, that December conversation with the NFL executive came to mind. The exec had theorized that Jackson’s candidacy would suffer because he had already won MVP honors twice without enjoying much playoff success. “Jokić ran into the same problem when he was the best player in the league, but he was not winning playoff games,” the exec said. Jokić was the NBA’s MVP for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He finished second in 2022-23, but when his Denver Nuggets won a championship after that season, Jokić re-emerged as the MVP in 2023-24. “As Jokić went into that third (potential MVP) season, it felt like, if he doesn’t have accomplishments in the playoffs, no matter how good he is playing in the regular season, we are not going to let him be an MVP,” the exec said. This line of thinking did not make sense to me. I saw my job as analyzing how players performed during the 2024 regular season. While I thought Allen was a solid choice, I voted for Jackson as my first-team All-Pro QB and as the MVP, for reasons laid out here. “Your statistical analysis is right on,” the exec said, “but at a certain point, if you do not deliver in the postseason when you have been an MVP in the regular season, it somewhat disqualifies you until you have had that success.” Seven voters named Jackson as their first-team All-Pro QB while listing Allen as their MVP. That swung the results for Allen. He’s a worthy candidate, but the logic behind some voters’ choices still does not compute for me. 5. Myles Garrett wants out of Cleveland. Should we take his request at face value? Here’s what is so interesting about the situation. Garrett is one of 16 defensive linemen in NFL history with at least four Associated Press first-team All-Pro selections across his fourth through eighth NFL seasons, per Pro Football Reference. Of those 16, Garrett is among 11 whose Year 8 production — as measured by PFR’s Approximate Value metric — did not fall substantively. Those elite players’ season-level AV in Years 4-8 declined over their ninth through 11th seasons in all but one case (****** White). Elite DL average AV: Yrs 4-8 vs. Yrs 9-11 Elite DL Yrs 4-8 Yrs 9-11 Change 13.8 16.0 2.2 13.8 11.7 -2.1 17.6 15.0 -2.6 16.8 12.7 -4.1 14.2 9.7 -4.5 15.0 10.0 -5.0 17.2 11.7 -5.5 15.4 9.3 -6.1 15.2 7.3 -7.9 16.8 7.7 -9.1 16.2 TBD TBD Reggie White also sustained at an elite level, but as the table above indicates, most of the comps for Garrett had played their best football entering their ninth seasons. It’s something for the Browns and any team interested in acquiring Garrett to consider as part of its planning. Garrett, who turned 29 in December, has two years remaining on his contract. None of that money is guaranteed. That can be unnerving for players. Garrett’s earning power is likely higher now, entering his ninth season, than it will be entering his 11th season. Are the Browns interested in a massive extension? Any team acquiring him might want longer-term certainty. It’s always about the money, right? Three decades of covering this league took my mind there first upon hearing the news Garrett wanted out of Cleveland. GO DEEPER Russini’s What I’m Hearing: How Browns are handling Myles Garrett trade talks, Purdy contract coming It’s also plausible under these specific circumstances for Garrett to want out because he no longer sees the Browns’ timeline as aligned with his own. The Deshaun Watson situation hovers over the organization like a cloud. Even if that cloud clears, what are the chances Cleveland suddenly procures a championship-caliber quarterback after struggling to find even average ones for decades? Why would Garrett trust the process? In related news, teammate Joel Bitonio suggested he might retire if the Browns rebuild. Listening to some of these Myles Garrett interviews on radio row, you’d think the #Browns are coming off 1-31. They went 11-6 in 2023 & made the playoffs w/5 QBs. They had DPOY, Coach/Year, Asst/Year, Comeback POY. It’s about the QB. They need one. — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) February 6, 2025 “There is no way they are going to trade that guy,” an evaluator from another team said of Garrett. “They would be crazy to. I think they are just going to sit on it and simmer it down. That said, when Bitonio came out and said he had doubts as well, it affirmed for me that this is all about Deshaun Watson. I think they want him out of the building and they want a clear path to no more drama.” 6. Two-minute drill: Joe Burrow keeps pushing the Bengals’ front office, but will it work? Before the 2020 draft, former NFL quarterback Steve Bartkowski advised Burrow to “pull an Eli Manning” if the Bengals drafted him by forcing a trade, as Manning had done when the Chargers picked him two decades ago. Burrow decided to take his chances with the Bengals, who rewarded him by arming the young QB with a roster that helped Cincinnati reach the Super Bowl after the 2021 season. That roster has deteriorated, especially on defense. The franchise is now heading toward a moment of truth as Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Mike Gesicki are among the Cincy players at contract crossroads. Higgins and Gesicki are set to be free agents, while Chase and Hendrickson want hefty extensions. Joe Burrow on Breakfast Ball on @FS1 right now asked if he is willing to restructure to help keep everyone together: “Of course.” On if he has faith #Bengals ownership will be willing to spend and get all these deals done: “I do. I do. We have the cap space to get it done. I… — Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 6, 2025 Burrow keeps imploring the team to keep its core around him, going so far as to play the “I’ll restructure my contract” card. That declaration makes it harder for the Bengals to cite cap concerns, framing the situation as one where Cincy is either willing or not willing to shell out the cash. “He is putting the hammer on them,” an exec from another team said. “Carson Palmer 2.0.” Palmer forced his way out of Cincinnati 15 years ago after growing frustrated with the organization. Burrow does not appear close to heading down that road, but neither is he sitting by idly as a pivotal offseason approaches. Far from it. “I’m of the thought that when he decided not to make an Eli Manning situation with Cincinnati in the draft, that he had talks beforehand about how they were going to proceed with player acquisition,” another exec said. “And now it is to the point where they have to hold up their end of the bargain.” The chart above compares Burrow to Palmer using team games relative to .500 as their careers played out. “Carson got hurt in a playoff game, but Joe got them to the Super Bowl,” another exec said. “That carries a lot of weight going forward. The issue is going to be, will they spend money elsewhere, at a level necessary to keep guys? I think that this time they might. I’m not saying they will have a wholesale change in their philosophy. Joe has the leverage to have them do something that they might not have wanted to do.” The Bengals reached the 2021 Super Bowl after a historically strong offseason that could be difficult to replicate. The players Cincy added heading into that season — Chase, Hendrickson, Larry Ogunjobi among them — added more Approximate Value than the offseason additions for all but three Super Bowl teams since 1970, per Pro Football Reference. • Rodgers’ future: The news that the Jets will move on without Aaron Rodgers amplifies questions about the quarterback’s future. Will Rodgers play again? “I bet he doesn’t,” an agent said. “He won’t want the teams that will want him.” A team executive noted that Rodgers can “definitely” still play well enough to upgrade teams on the field, but smart team builders will struggle with adding everything else that comes along with Rodgers. That’s what the Jets are moving on from as well. • On the Jets’ setup: Time will tell whether the Jets will become winners after hiring Aaron Glenn as coach, Darren Mougey as GM and Rick Spielman in the newly created role of senior football adviser. The search was a resounding win for the people who led it, in more ways than one. Mike Tannenbaum, the former Jets GM and 33rd Team founder, interviewed more than 30 candidates for the coach and GM jobs. While those interviews surely improved the process for the Jets, they also bolstered Tannenbaum’s own knowledge of the candidates, which is huge for anyone in the consulting business. Spielman, who co-led the search with Tannenbaum, emerged with the type of job front-office veterans dream of — close to the action, but not directly accountable for on-field results. Spielman’s right-hand man in Minnesota was George Paton (current Denver GM), who recommended his right-hand man Darren Mougey for the Jets GM job. And now Mougey has hired Spielman and Rob Paton, George’s nephew. #Jets — Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 6, 2025 • Saleh’s return: The 49ers already pocketed multiple third-round picks after the Jets hired Robert Saleh away from San Francisco to be their head coach, under rules promoting diverse hires. They re-hired Saleh as defensive coordinator this offseason after the Jets fired him as their head coach, which means the cycle could repeat if Saleh remains with San Francisco for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, at least, before another team hires him as its head coach. Teams typically receive two third-round picks when other teams hire away ********* candidates to be their head coaches or GMs. The 49ers got three third-rounders as part of the Saleh departure because they simultaneously lost another ********* candidate, Martin Mayhew, to the Washington Commanders’ GM job. Double departures such as these return three third-rounders instead of four. Getting extra picks is great, but in this case, the 49ers did not maximize them. They selected since-cut cornerback Ambry Thomas with one of the extra third-rounders. They sent another to Miami as part of the ill-fated Trey Lance trade. They used another for kicker Jake Moody, who has struggled. • Eagles crowd: Eagles fans seemed louder than Chiefs fans during pregame warmups, so I put the crowd to a decibel test during each team’s opening drive. Using a measuring app in the open-air press box high above the field, noise for the Eagles’ first couple of plays vacillated from the low 80s to near 90, spiking to 95 when the Chiefs made a tackle for loss, and before Philly’s first third-down play. The meter hit 99 before the fourth-and-2 play, spiking to 105 after Hurts completed a deep pass on the play (wiped out by the aforementioned offensive pass interference). Noise was around 95 decibels for the Chiefs’ first offensive play and 99 before their first third-down play. So, yes, Eagles fans seemed louder from the start. • New Orleans shines: New Orleans strengthened its reputation as a leading Super Bowl city with an assist from the weather, which turned from freezing to borderline steamy just in time. Favorite meals: catfish smothered in shrimp etouffee at Mulate’s; the lightly breaded, warmly seasoned chicken at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken; the tagliatelle with bolognese at Gianna, where the cheesy bread carries hints of citrus; and the beignets at Cafe Beignet. Hospitality highlights: cheerful volunteers preemptively speaking with visitors on the streets to make sure they knew where they were headed. Practical highlights: I walked everywhere except to the game itself. Hotels were close to restaurants and the convention center, which housed the NFL experience and media workrooms. (Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images) Source link #Patrick #Mahomes #legacy #shaken #Chiefs #dynasty #Sandos #Pick Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Apple’s secret Vision Pro controller suggests it’s finally taking VR gaming seriously Apple’s secret Vision Pro controller suggests it’s finally taking VR gaming seriously You would think that Apple’s Vision Pro headset would be the perfect platform for virtual reality (VR) gaming. After all, it has a top-notch processor, super-high-resolution displays, and both VR and augmented reality (AR) capabilities. In theory, that should make it a leading device for gamers. The reality is, unfortunately, very different, with few popular gaming titles making it onto visionOS. And really, Apple’s headset is held back by one key weakness: its lack of proper VR controller support. Sure, it works with console controllers made for the Xbox and PlayStation, but these are ill-suited to games that are designed with VR in mind. And let’s not get started on the other way of operating visionOS — with your fingers — which is only really fit for a very limited set of games. So what’s the solution? Well, we’ve heard before that Apple is working with Sony to bring PlayStation VR2 controllers to the headset. Now, though, it looks like Apple is pushing ahead with its own design, at least according to a recent patent application dubbed Handheld Input Devices. This depicts a Nintendo Wii-style stick controller for the Vision Pro. While the patent doesn’t specifically declare that it’s made for gaming — it barely discusses gaming at all, in fact — it’s hard to imagine it having many other uses. And while it’s unlikely that this is the controller’s final design (as Apple likely wouldn’t spill the beans on that in a patent application), what it does tell us is that Apple is thinking about ways to make the Vision Pro a better gaming device. And that’s important. Getting serious about gaming Apple The patent doesn’t tell us too much about how the controller will actually work and what it will look like, but it does show us how seriously Apple is taking gaming these days. Let’s not forget that we’ve all seen the impressive gaming advances on the Mac. Most modern Macs are equipped with powerful Apple silicon chips that are far more adept at gaming than many people are used to seeing from Apple. The company has been working hard on bringing support for AAA games to macOS (see Cyberpunk 2077 being announced late last year), while it’s also been adding dedicated gaming features like Game Mode to the Mac. Now, that thinking appears to be translating across to the Vision Pro. But it doesn’t just seem like a token effort from Apple — no, the patent actually tells us quite a bit about the company’s attitude towards gaming. Apple Think about it this way. Apple working with a company like Sony to expand support for existing controllers is one thing, but going it alone suggests that Apple is really investing in the idea of gaming on the Vision Pro. After all, it takes a lot more resources to design and build your own controller than to work with an established gaming company like Sony that can share the load with you. To me, that suggests not only that Apple wants to have more, uhh, control over its controller, but that it’s willing to take risks and pour more resources into the idea. If you’ve been hoping gaming improvements will come to the Vision Pro, that’s an encouraging sign. That said, we don’t know when or even if this controller will become a reality — it’s just a patent application for now, and Apple might simply be exploring ideas without any intention to ever build a Vision Pro controller. But the fact that we know Apple is at least considering it is welcome news for gamers. Now Apple just needs to chip away at the longstanding issue of getting more games onto the Vision Pro. And if it’s to stand any chance of doing that, a dedicated VR controller is a good place to start. Source link #Apples #secret #Vision #Pro #controller #suggests #finally #gaming Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Rogue Waters Review – Game Rant Rogue Waters Review – Game Rant Game Rant Writes “Ice Code Games’ Rogue Waters is a tactical turn-based rogue-lite that’s perfect for fans of the genre looking for a pirate adventure.” Source link #Rogue #Waters #Review #Game #Rant Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Romania President Klaus Iohannis resigns ahead of election re-run Romania President Klaus Iohannis resigns ahead of election re-run PA Media Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis has resigned following pressure for him to step down ahead of a re-run of a presidential election that was controversially cancelled last year. The December vote was voided by Romania’s top court after allegations of Russian state meddling. The outgoing Iohannis, a pro-EU liberal, had said he would stay on in office until a successor was elected in May. But that had been strongly criticised by far-right politicians and their supporters, who had performed well in the first round of the vote in December. Their criticism had inspired tens of thousands of Romanians to take to the streets last month in protest against the election’s cancellation. Opposition lawmakers had launched a motion in parliament again on Monday to move for the president’s suspension. In response, Iohannis said he would step down, in a bid to limit what he said would have been be a “damaging” and divisive referendum for the country. “In order to spare Romania and the Romanian citizens from crisis… I resign from the office of president of Romania,” he said. He said he would officially stand down on Wednesday. Source link #Romania #President #Klaus #Iohannis #resigns #ahead #election #rerun Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Was this Travis Kelce’s last Super Bowl? He has tough decision after Chiefs’ loss Was this Travis Kelce’s last Super Bowl? He has tough decision after Chiefs’ loss NEW ORLEANS — This time around, Travis Kelce offered no boisterous bellows. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end had nothing to sing about Sunday night while on the completely opposite end of the Super Bowl spectrum from a year ago. Last February, Kelce stood atop the world, smooching Taylor Swift and belting out the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right,” as red and yellow confetti showered his Chiefs following a successful title defense. Kelce had delivered a prolific performance (nine catches for 93 yards) in the 25-22 overtime win versus the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, and when handed the mic, he didn’t hold back. Fast forward one year later and Kelce was trudging — not dancing — off the field at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. And this confetti was green — the color of the Philadelphia Eagles, who with a 40-22 throttling of Kelce’s Chiefs garnered the Super Bowl LIX trophy and denied Kansas City’s quest to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Having managed just four catches for 39 yards — roughly a third of his 93 yards in Super Bowl LVIII and his lowest postseason output since 2019 — Kelce wanted nothing to do with microphones or spotlights. He opted against going to the podium for a postgame news conference and instead spoke to only a small group of reporters in the visitor locker room before slipping off into the night. Travis Kelce on the Kansas City Chiefs’s Super Bowl loss: “We haven’t played that bad all year.” pic.twitter.com/n6N6gzBVwo — Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) February 10, 2025 As stunning as the Chiefs’ feeble efforts proved on Sunday, Kelce’s output matched the decline he displayed during the regular season. His 823 receiving yards and three touchdown catches were both career lows. At 35, Kelce has started to show his age, and now the future Hall of Famer enters the offseason with rumors of his potential retirement swirling. Kelce certainly wasn’t alone in his anemic production Sunday night. Next to nothing went right for Kansas City. And things felt off for both team and star player early in the contest and never really got better. GO DEEPER Chiefs’ DeAndre Hopkins: ‘A lot of touchy calls’ in Super Bowl LIX Throughout their seven-year union, Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have always played with a connection that seemingly bordered on telepathic. But Sunday night, the usually sure-handed tight end dropped a pass that Mahomes tried to zip to him over the middle. Another target, in the second quarter, skipped off the turf for an incompletion, as did a third-quarter pass for a two-point conversion. There were times when Kelce found holes in the defense, only for Mahomes to never see him because of frequent breakdowns along the offensive line. For much of the game, the Chiefs had as many first downs (one) as Kelce had catches. A couple of late-game catches minimally improved Kelce’s stat line. And those two late receptions nudged him past Jerry Rice’s Super Bowl record of 31 receptions. But Kelce cared about a win, not a record. “This one’s going to hurt,” he said during his brief postgame comments. Asked for his assessment of his team’s struggles, Kelce said: “They just got after us in all three phases and on top of that, turnovers, penalties, playing behind the sticks on offense, dropped passes, not taking advantage of the play call and executing them. There’s a lot that goes into them. You don’t lose that bad without everything going bad.” Kelce kept his postgame comments to a minimum perhaps because he suspected questions about his future would come up again. Kelce reportedly entered Super Bowl LIX undecided on his future, and moments after the gutting loss certainly wasn’t the time to make a decision. GO DEEPER Inside the mind of Chiefs star Travis Kelce: ‘He’s always in his own zone’ Mahomes was, however, asked what he expects from his trusty teammate. The quarterback declined to speculate. “I’ll let Travis make that decision on his own,” Mahomes said. “Man, he’s given so much to this team, to the NFL, and been such a joy, not only for me to work with, but for people to watch. And so he knows he still has a lot of football left in him. You can see it. He always makes plays in the biggest moments, but it’s if he wants to put in that grind. It takes a grind to go out there and play 20 games, whatever it is, and get to the Super Bowl, and he’s done enough to be a gold jacket guy and first-ballot Hall of Famer. “I know he shows love for the game, and he’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own. But he knows he’ll come back here with welcome arms. We love that guy, not only for the football player, but the person that he is every single day.” Kelce certainly could walk away from the game and declare he has accomplished everything possible. He’s one of only 14 players in NFL history with more than 1,000 career receptions. His resume also includes 10 Pro Bowl selections, four All-Pro nods and, of course, three Super Bowl victories in five appearances. Kelce’s days as a No. 1 pass-catcher are over. Sure, he understands coverages so well that he can float in and out of holes in the secondary to get open for Mahomes. But the separation isn’t what it once was, and with more explosive younger players like Xavier Worthy and Noah Gray ascending for the Chiefs, it’s only natural Kelce’s role will continue to diminish. As Mahomes said, Kelce must decide whether he wants to make the commitment to maintain whatever sliver of a physical edge he has left. Kelce doesn’t need football to make money. If he retired, he would instantly become a sought-after media personality, just like brother Jason Kelce was last year following his retirement from the Eagles. The tight end could also embrace the freedom of retirement and do more traveling with Taylor Swift. But it also wouldn’t be surprising if Kelce ultimately decided the taste of this defeat was too strong for him to ignore, and opted to chase one final crack at Super Bowl win No. 4. Sunday’s final images of Kelce — walking through the green confetti, strolling forlornly through the bowels of the stadium in hopes of avoiding intense scrutiny — contrast greatly from those we have seen during his 12-year legendary career: the rumbles toward first downs or end zones, or the rowdy celebrations. Father Time is undefeated, however, and eventually Kelce will succumb. It’s just a matter of how fiercely he wants to continue to fight while the Chiefs’ window of contention remains open. (Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images) Source link #Travis #Kelces #Super #Bowl #tough #decision #Chiefs #loss Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Monday, February 10 NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Monday, February 10 Love crossword puzzles but don’t have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? That’s what The Mini is for! A bite-sized version of the New York Times’ well-known crossword puzzle, The Mini is a quick and easy way to test your crossword skills daily in a lot less time (the average puzzle takes most players just over a minute to solve). While The Mini is smaller and simpler than a normal crossword, it isn’t always easy. Tripping up on one clue can be the difference between a personal best completion time and an embarrassing solve attempt. Just like our Wordle hints and Connections hints, we’re here to help with The Mini today if you’re stuck and need a little help. Please enable Javascript to view this content Below are the answers for the NYT Mini crossword today. NYT Mini Crossword answers today New York Times Across Flowers that bloom in late winter – CROCI Energy fields “read” by psychics – AURAS Conflict jarringly, as colors – CLASH Head, in French – TETE Wrathful feeling – IRE Down Prickly pears, e.g. – CACTI What’ll give you an inch, but not a mile – RULER Make a speech – ORATE Detective’s assignment – CASE “Kinda sorta” – ISH Source link #NYT #Mini #Crossword #today #puzzle #answers #Monday #February Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

West Coast veteran Jeremy McGovern to play on in 2026 after signing contract extension West Coast veteran Jeremy McGovern to play on in 2026 after signing contract extension West Coast veteran Jeremy McGovern has signed a one-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the end of 2026. The West *********** reported last month that McGovern, who will be 33 in April, was in talks to continue his career into a 16th season. McGovern only nine games away from becoming the 29th Eagle to pass the 200-game milestone and is coming off his best season in some time having earned a fifth All-*********** blazer and his first John Worsfold Medal as club champion. In his previous five years McGovern had played only 46 of a possible 85 games because a injuries including hamstring, broken ribs, back and adductor issues. “I’m obviously stoked to recommit with the club and grateful they have given me another opportunity to do what I love for another year,” McGovern said. “The club is in an exciting ******* with a talented young list, and I feel like it’s part of my responsibility to help this young group on and off the field, just like I had when I first started many years ago. “I will always be grateful to have had some amazing senior players who helped to shape my career, and hopefully I can do the same with this young group.” Camera IconJeremy McGovern after winning the John Worsfold Medal. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West *********** McGovern was a pillar of the Eagles’ backline in 2024, playing 19 of the 23 games — his best return in five years — while averaging a career-high 20 disposals But his experience is set to be even more pivotal this season after partner-in-crime Tom Barrass was traded to Hawthorn last year. “Jeremy is a legacy player at our club and an outstanding leader of our developing playing group on and off the field,” West Coast general manager of football Gavin Bell said. “It was terrific to see him get back to his best last year and he has set himself up for another quality season with an impressive pre-season to date. “He is highly motivated to help guide our playing squad into our next chapter, and we’re delighted he has extended his contract for another year.”. Locking McGovern away is one of several big contract moves the Eagles are set to make this year. Co-captain Oscar Allen is out of contract and a free agent, with clubs like Brisbane chasing the forward to bolster their attack. John Worsfold medallist Tim Kelly is also without a deal beyond this year after crossing from Geelong at the end of the 2019 season. Source link #West #Coast #veteran #Jeremy #McGovern #play #signing #contract #extension Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Marchand: Tom Brady brought star power to Super Bowl, but failed to say much Marchand: Tom Brady brought star power to Super Bowl, but failed to say much In becoming the most successful quarterback in NFL history, Tom Brady walked to the line of scrimmage with the answers to the test. As if his mind were working in 4-D, he knew the defense’s plan, as well as his opponent’s. His lightning-quick processing resulted in seven rings and the title of the greatest NFL quarterback of all time. As a $375 million NFL game analyst, Brady has a ways to go if his words are going to lead Fox Sports’ championship coverage instead of just being a part of it. His presence might have made the Super Bowl LIX broadcast feel *******, but it wasn’t by anything he said. Ending his rookie broadcast season in the Super Bowl, Brady, the analyst, wasn’t that much better than the Kansas Chiefs, who were shellacked by the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22. Brady told us a lot of what was happening, but we wanted to know from his 4-D mind — why? Overall, he was pedestrian. Brady’s performance equated to 11-for-25 for 178 yards with no touchdowns, but no interceptions as he rode along for the championship. With Patrick Mahomes seeing the Chiefs historic three-peat quickly slip through his grips and with the Eagles in his face on every play, Brady consistently failed to tell us why Mahomes had no time. In the first half, when Mahomes had a terrible interception that was returned for a touchdown, Brady again failed to tell us why it happened. Brady routinely called Mahomes “Patrick” on the broadcast, which is a subtle difference between being a commentator and a contemporary. Brady kept talking about watching “Patrick’s” feet as the Eagles defensive line harassed him. Any fan could see that “Patrick” was running for his life. We needed “Tom” to tell us: How do you combat that, as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever? The “Brady Rules” have hovered over Brady’s first year as a broadcaster. Since Brady is a ********* owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, the NFL imposed restrictions on him, one of which was to not criticize officials. While overall he was mostly unmemorable in the first half, his best two moments were saying that he didn’t like two penalties that kept drives alive. “I don’t like that one either,” Brady said following the second one, a borderline hit to the head. Despite those moments of candor, overall he just didn’t say much and still needs to fully grasp the concepts of being a successful broadcaster. When Fox committed a 10-year, $375 million contract to Brady in 2022, it did so as much about what he meant around the broadcast as during it. He was brought in to make everything feel *******, which he did during the pregame that began at 1 p.m. By 2 p.m., Brady made his initial appearance, looking cool in a blue blazer and white T-shirt as the Fox NFL Sunday crew cracked jokes at the sweating Rob Gronkowski. Brady’s analysis was rather bland, but his presence added to the festivities, unlike anyone else could. Later, there was an attempt to go viral as Brady fired a couple of passes from one Bourbon Street balcony to another, including one to his old mate, Gronkowski. Brady’s accuracy — perfect strikes, but of course — was actually a detriment as a TV performer because a misfire would have played better. About an hour before kickoff, a Brady interview of Mahomes was in the spotlight, GOAT-to-possible-future-GOAT. It wasn’t Frost-Nixon, but it was a good visual for Fox. The trouble Patrick Mahomes had with the Philadelphia Eagles’ pass rush was the analysis that The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand wanted to hear more about from Fox’s Tom Brady. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images) Fox Sports’ production is so respected that others want to emulate it. Last year, ESPN, with its long-awaited Super Bowl coming in February 2027, tried to hire away Fox Sports’ president of programming and production Brad Zager to run its show before making an internal hire, sources briefed on discussions told The Athletic. Zager, just 46, already has led three Super Bowl broadcasts. His NFL production team of producer Richie Zyontz and director Rich Russo might be the best in the business. The trio, along with play-by-player Kevin Burkhardt, were the ones who developed Greg Olsen. He was the interim No. 1, when Brady played one more season and then took a gap year, before beginning in the booth this year. In his Super Bowl two years ago, the Chiefs’ 38-35 thriller over the Eagles, Olsen was stronger as an analyst than Brady was Sunday. Olsen, with basically an extra season, did have far more reps than Brady before his big game. Still, Eric Shanks, Fox Sports CEO, told The Athletic last week he would make the Brady deal again, without a doubt. Fox swung big on more than Brady for the Super Bowl. The new score bug, while large, was a throwback to a more minimalist approach of yesteryear that shocked hardcore viewers, but has potential. The virtual background of New Orleans instead of a traditional booth was a new approach, though unnecessary. What Fox does so well is capturing the little elements and then thinking big. It spotted Chiefs star defensive lineman Chris Jones wiping away tears during the national anthem. On the pregame show, Fox constructed its studio setup in the wee hours of Sunday morning so it could be live on Bourbon Street. This was an unorthodox decision, as these are usually erected in advance, but, with the crowd on hand in the historic site, the show had tremendous energy at 1 p.m., five-and-a-half hours before kickoff. The pregame concluded with a Lady Gaga performance. Brady and Michael Strahan did a walk-and-talk intro about togetherness, flanked by Roger Goodell, Fox Sports personalities, and most pointedly, first responders, as they remembered recent tragedies from New Orleans to Los Angeles. This was another production that took some chutzpah, as the taping started at 3:30 a.m. Thursday on Bourbon Street, which needed a buy-in from major stars, including Lady Gaga. It was a golden moment for Shanks and Zager. To use a Charles Barkley analogy, Brady was a bus rider, not a bus driver, on the telecast. Fox Sports brought him along for the trip for this championship. Brady said last week he plans to complete his 10-year Fox deal. Its next Super Bowl is not until 2029. Maybe by then, he will be ready to lead. (Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; Michael Owens / Getty Images) Source link #Marchand #Tom #Brady #brought #star #power #Super #Bowl #failed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Nintendo Talks Switch 2 Demand And Gives Small Update On Pricing Nintendo Talks Switch 2 Demand And Gives Small Update On Pricing Some new details about Nintendo’s plans for the Switch 2 launch have been revealed in the company’s latest earnings briefing, with president Shuntaro Furukawa revealing that Nintendo is preparing for a high level of demand for the new console. The executive also discussed Nintendo’s philosophy regarding pricing for the Switch 2 and confirmed there are no plans right now for a Switch price cut. While answering shareholders’ questions about the launch, Furukawa revealed that Nintendo is anticipating a high level of demand for the new console. “As of now, we are taking the risk and proceeding with production to meet as large a demand as possible,” Furukawa said, adding that Nintendo would be estimating the initial demand for the console based off the reaction to its April 4 Switch 2 Nintendo Direct, as well as the response to its hands-on Switch 2 Experience events. Nintendo is also making preparations in case it needs to quickly ramp up production of the consoles, as was the case when the original Nintendo Switch experienced supply issues in 2020. “As was true with Nintendo Switch, we believe it will not be easy to rapidly increase production capacity,” Furukawa said. “So based on our prior experience, we are making preparations to be able to respond as quickly as possible.” You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos. Nintendo Switch 2 – Official First Look Reveal Trailer Size:640 × 360480 × 270 Want us to remember this setting for all your devices? Sign up or Sign in now! Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. This video has an invalid file format. Sorry, but you can’t access this content! Please enter your date of birth to view this video JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900 By clicking ‘enter’, you agree to GameSpot’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy enter The company seems well-positioned to meet demand this time around, with an industry analyst revealing that Nintendo has lined up a supply chain to avoid another chip shortage. Nintendo has also said that having sufficient supply is a key part of its strategy to discourage scalpers–although it has run into a different issue with scalpers, with people attempting to sell off their non-transferable Switch 2 Experience tickets on eBay. The earnings call also included a question about the Switch 2’s pricing. While Nintendo hasn’t revealed a price or even a ballpark range for the Switch 2, Furukawa has explained some of the factors the company has to consider when it comes to pricing. As well as inflation and exchange rates, which Furukawa notes have “changed significantly” since the original Switch released in 2017, it also needs to “consider the price range that consumers expect for Nintendo products.” “I cannot tell you a specific price for Nintendo Switch 2 at this time, but we are taking various factors into account,” Furukawa said, adding that the company has no plans to change the price of the original Nintendo Switch hardware. While Nintendo is staying tight-lipped on the price, analysts have estimated that the console will cost around $400. The original Nintendo Switch launched for $300 in 2017, though when adjusted for inflation is equivalent to around $388, making a $400 price point for the Switch 2 closer to its predecessor than it first appears. Until we get more information about the Switch 2 in the April 4 Nintendo Direct, check out everything we currently know about the upcoming console. Source link #Nintendo #Talks #Switch #Demand #Small #Update #Pricing Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Big tech is dominating my digital life — here’s how I fixed it Big tech is dominating my digital life — here’s how I fixed it Table of Contents Table of Contents What’s so bad about big tech? What’s the alternative? Big tech companies are so dominant and so far-reaching right now that people could probably live their entire digital lives interacting only with Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon products. Things never got quite that bad for me but I did realize recently that I’ve been relying far too much on Google, plus I’ve been using Safari for years even though I don’t actually like it that much. So I decided to find some new apps to try out and came across a nice resource full of European, open-source, or non-profit alternatives for a range of different services. It introduced me to quite a few apps that are more than good enough to replace what I was using, and although I’m not hardcore enough to completely kick Google out of my life, I’m pretty happy with the results. What’s so bad about big tech? Hanif Jackson/Digital Trends, Getty Images / Digital Trends The deal we make with businesses like Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, and the rest of that crowd is pretty straightforward. They give us access to some of the best products and services out there for no upfront cost, and we allow them to collect every kind of data they can get their hands on and sell it to whoever they want. Some of us are very aware of this and others don’t really think about it that much. If you’re aware and consenting, that’s totally fine. The problem is when people feel coerced into accepting this deal. Because — think about it — if you need to find a new restaurant, hotel, or store, does any other map software empower you to the extent Google Maps does? Not really. Google doesn’t just offer these products for “free,” it has also used its long-standing influence, resources, and user base to make them almost unbeatable. Everyone you know uses them, competitors get bought out or struggle to gain traction, and Google’s products just keep growing and growing all the while. This makes people feel like they have no choice but to use them, even if they would ideally prefer to keep their data private. This problem is nothing new but as figures like Tim Cook, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai weasel their way into President Trump’s inner circle in the pursuit of relaxing regulations, things could definitely get worse. What’s the alternative? European Union Across the world, different problems are dealt with in different ways. Big tech likes to stick with the United States because it gives them the most freedom and benefits. Over in the European Union, which is where I am, there’s more of a push to force companies to comply with a strict set of international standards. A good chunk of these standards focus on the protection of personal data, a concept the EU takes so seriously that it’s even included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights — right next to the right to marry and start a family. Three important implications of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) include: Companies must have a reason for processing your data that the EU considers legal They have to tell you exactly what data they are processing and why Processing must be safe and secure, and breaches must be reported within 72 hours Companies that break the GDPR law can get fined up to 20 million euros or 4% of their global sales, whichever is higher. Part of the problem with big tech is the secrecy and uncertainty — we don’t even know what the worst thing they’re doing with our data could be. With European companies, those worst-case scenarios are taken off the table, along with a bunch of lesser annoyances too. It’s not just European companies, though. There are non-profit organizations and open-source projects all over the world, and many of these are committed to data privacy and protection, too. Now, let’s look at some examples. Browsers Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / Mozilla Browsers are one of the easiest switches you can make because there are a lot of good options out there if you want to shop around, and if not, you can just switch to Firefox in about ten seconds flat and never look back. Firefox is free, open-source, and developed by the American non-profit Mozilla Foundation. Unlike most of the recommendations in this article, you will definitely have heard of Firefox — it’s the fourth most popular web browser in the world. It only takes a few seconds to download and you can even import your browser history and your bookmarks from whatever you used before. Not every switch I’ll suggest is easy, but this one truly is. I would say the average person will be able to use Firefox without any issues and without missing any features they’re used to on Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Plus, it blocks ad trackers, stops cross-site cookies, and prevents user fingerprinting. Its Android and iOS apps are also really nice and feature cross-platform syncing that lets you access your tabs from wherever you want. Other browser options include the Vivaldi Browser (Norway), Mullvad Browser (Sweden), Brave (United States), and DuckDuckGo (United States). Search engines Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / Qwant If you’re going to switch browsers, you might as well switch search engines as well. At the moment, most independent search engines are actually built on top of existing infrastructure — in other words, they still use Google’s search index, Bing’s search index, or both to get their results. This isn’t the end of the world — it’s still possible to build a privacy-focused search engine while using these search indexes, it’s just unfortunate that they have to rely on Google and Microsoft to function. My search engine of choice, Qwant (France) has recently teamed up with ******* search engine Ecosia to start developing a European search index so they and other independent search engines can finally stop relying on outside tech. We should hopefully start to see some of the results of this project this year. There’s no need to wait, however. You can download the Qwant extension for Safari, Chrome, Edge, or Firefox to make it your default search engine today and start benefiting from a little extra privacy. Independent search engines also use their own search algorithms, which means you can get a break from the same old “top-ranking SEO posts” that plague Google right now. Plus, since Qwant isn’t tracking your searches, the results page you get isn’t tailored to you. Everyone gets the same results — the ones that are most relevant to your keywords. Qwant does still use advertising, but the ads are untailored and there’s a lot less of them. Qwant isn’t as loaded with features as Google Search is but it is always expanding. It has even jumped on the AI bandwagon and started adding AI-generated summaries to certain types of queries. Other search engine options include Startpage (Netherlands), Good (Germany), metaGer (Germany), swisscows (Switzerland), and DuckDuckGo (United States). Email providers Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / Proton It’s free and easy to change your browser or your search engine, but email providers are a little different. While limited free plans are available with some services, if you want both privacy and functionality from your email provider, you will most likely have to pay with money (not data). There are too many options to list here but the most well-known (and the one I went with) is Proton. It was created in Switzerland by scientists at CERN, which just sounds cool, and all of the data is encrypted so no one, including Proton, can see your emails. It also protects you from trackers, which record what you read and click on and send the information to senders and advertisers. One of the great things about Proton is that if you’re willing to pay a monthly fee, it also has a few other services you can take advantage of — a calendar, a VPN, a file drive, and a password manager. With one subscription, you can kick Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar to the curb. You can also create multiple email addresses and unlimited aliases to sign up for services without showing your email. Plus, you can set up forwarding to get all of your Gmail sent to your Protonmail — this means you can start using Proton straight away but take as long as you want to slowly transition your accounts over to your new email. Translation tools Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / DeepL If you throw things into Google Translate a lot, why not try DeepL instead? It doesn’t work with quite as many languages as Google but the accuracy and readability of its translations are better. Plus it’s a ******* product, so no need to worry if someone is watching what you paste into it. Grammar checkers Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / LanguageTool Grammarly is the best-known grammar checker around and according to its website, it is GDPR compliant. If you’re interested in an alternative, however, you can try out the open-source LanguageTool (Germany). It has both free and paid tiers and it also offers a text editor with basic formatting and the ability to hide all of the suggestions and such until you’re ready to go through them. You can also create temporary or permanent texts — the temporary ones will disappear after seven days. If you prefer to have suggestions pop up wherever you’re writing, there are add-ons for various word processors, browsers, and email providers. Maps Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / Mapy.cz There are a few alternative navigation apps you can try out but I won’t lie, this switch is a hard sell. The combo of Google Maps and Google Business profiles is extremely powerful, and it’s not an easy thing for competitors to replicate. When I plan trips to my favorite holiday destination, Japan, I spend hours on Google Maps zooming in on interesting-looking locations and finding new hotels, attractions, and eateries to bookmark. A couple of years ago, I zoomed in on a little cape of Japan’s smallest main island and found a tiny glamping site on top of a mountain. I booked it and it turned out to be the best part of that trip. So, Google Maps is definitely one of the products I find hardest to let go of. I’m currently trying out a Czech alternative called Mapy.cz — the map and route calculation features are good and it does have some limited business information, too. This kind of stuff is mainly user-generated content so we can only get a true competitor to Google Maps if we help build it ourselves. It’s a lot of work, though. Instant messaging apps Willow Roberts / Digital Trends / Signal Changing the app you use to chat with all of your friends, family, and colleagues is another one that can be a little difficult. If everyone is already using WhatsApp or Messenger or social media apps like Instagram to send messages, it’s a lot easier to just follow the crowd. As I said before, though — every little helps. If you can just convince your closest family members and friends to download an encrypted messaging app like Signal or one of the European alternatives, that’s a lot of data you can keep safe and private. Signal is run by an American non-profit and everything about its users is encrypted. This means the organization doesn’t ever have access to any of your messages, contacts, or even your name. All they have is the phone number you signed up with — so even if the United States government comes knocking at Signal’s door demanding to see your chat history, Signal wouldn’t have anything to show them. I suppose that sounds like I’m encouraging you to do crime, but I’m just trying to convey how untouchable your data is! I’ve used this app for years, and it has never failed me. It also has an unofficial directory of stickers that are super fun and easy to download. You can get the app on Mac, Windows, and Linux — and it has mobile apps too, of course. Other digital products The European Alternatives website includes many more categories than I’ve covered here, including cloud computing platforms, file hosting services, managed DNS providers, video conferencing software, and more. It’s a great resource, so go ahead and use it! You might not be able to protect every drop of your data but if you don’t like the idea of Google scanning every email you get or Meta peeking at all of your private conversations, remember that you can do something about it. Source link #Big #tech #dominating #digital #life #heres #fixed Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

At US$4,887, Is It Time To Put Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) On Your Watch List? At US$4,887, Is It Time To Put Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) On Your Watch List? Let’s talk about the popular Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG). The company’s shares received a lot of attention from a substantial price movement on the NASDAQGS over the last few months, increasing to US$5,300 at one point, and dropping to the lows of US$4,619. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Booking Holdings’ current trading price of US$4,887 reflective of the actual value of the large-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Let’s take a look at Booking Holdings’s outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. View our latest analysis for Booking Holdings Booking Holdings is currently expensive based on our price multiple model, where we look at the company’s price-to-earnings ratio in comparison to the industry average. In this instance, we’ve used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stock’s cash flows. We find that Booking Holdings’s ratio of 32.12x is above its peer average of 24.72x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Hospitality industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Given that Booking Holdings’s share is fairly volatile (i.e. its price movements are magnified relative to the rest of the market) this could mean the price can sink lower, giving us another chance to buy in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for share price volatility. NasdaqGS:BKNG Earnings and Revenue Growth February 10th 2025 Future outlook is an important aspect when you’re looking at buying a stock, especially if you are an investor looking for growth in your portfolio. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so let’s also take a look at the company’s future expectations. With profit expected to grow by 65% over the next couple of years, the future seems bright for Booking Holdings. It looks like higher cash flow is on the cards for the stock, which should feed into a higher share valuation. Are you a shareholder? BKNG’s optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question – is now the right time to sell? If you believe BKNG should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Story Continues Are you a potential investor? If you’ve been keeping tabs on BKNG for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the optimistic prospect is encouraging for BKNG, which means it’s worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop. In light of this, if you’d like to do more analysis on the company, it’s vital to be informed of the risks involved. At Simply Wall St, we found 1 warning sign for Booking Holdings and we think they deserve your attention. If you are no longer interested in Booking Holdings, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Source link #US4887 #Time #Put #Booking #Holdings #NASDAQBKNG #Watch #List Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Donald Trump reveals how much he trusts Elon Musk and why: 'In fact…' – The Times of India Donald Trump reveals how much he trusts Elon Musk and why: 'In fact…' – The Times of India Donald Trump reveals how much he trusts Elon Musk and why: ‘In fact…’ The Times of IndiaSuper Bowl 2025: Philadelphia Eagles beat Kansas City Chiefs – as Trump makes history and Taylor Swift is booed Sky NewsTrump defends Musk and says Doge will look at military spending BBC.comPresident Trump predicts Elon Musk will find ‘hundreds of billions’ in waste in next DOGE directives Fox News Source link #Donald #Trump #reveals #trusts #Elon #Musk #039In #fact…039 #Times #India Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

I did not drop Hermoso over kiss: Spanish soccer coach I did not drop Hermoso over kiss: Spanish soccer coach Spain women’s coach Montse Tomé has told a judge that she was not trying to punish Jenni Hermoso by omitting her from the national team in the fallout of the kiss by former soccer federation president Luis Rubiales. Rubiales is accused of ******* assault for kissing Hermoso at the 2023 Women’s World Cup final presentation ceremony in Sydney, as well as of coercion for allegedly trying to convince the player to support his version of the kiss. Hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss while Rubiales denies wrongdoing and says it was consensual. Three other former federation members are also on trial in Madrid for coercion for allegedly trying to get Hermoso to downplay the kiss. Hermoso’s brother had testified last week that former team coach Jorge Vilda, one of the accused of coercion, tried to threaten Hermoso by saying that her future could be in danger if she refused to record a video together with Rubiales to make light of the incident. Tomé, a former assistant to Vilda who took over the main coaching job shortly after the World Cup, decided not to include Hermoso in her first squad. She said at the time that the decision was made to protect the player from the media circus surrounding the case. “It wasn’t a punishment,” Tomé said a couple of times while testifying at the start of the second week of the trial in Madrid. “I did not include her in the first call-up because of sporting reasons. What I said about protecting her, because of the exceptional situation that we were going through, was also part of the sporting reasons.” Tomé claimed that the attention being given by the media to the case at the time could have affected Hermoso’s performance. “Everything affects the sporting performance,” Tomé said. The other two federation officials on trial for coercion are former sports director of the Spain men’s team, Albert Luque, and former head of marketing Ruben Rivera. Rubiales is expected to testify on Tuesday. He resigned under pressure three weeks after the scandal surfaced and was banned by FIFA for three years. Rubiales had said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists.”. Hermoso testified on the first day of the trial last week and said she “felt disrespected” by Rubiales after winning the Women’s World Cup final. She said that the kiss “stained one of the happiest days of my life”. The kiss prompted outrage in Spain about the prevalence of sexism in sports and beyond. Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players’ association want Rubiales jailed for two-and-a-half years, fined $82,000 (50,000 euros) for damages, and banned from working as a sports official. They want the other three defendants sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison. Source link #drop #Hermoso #kiss #Spanish #soccer #coach Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

McDonald’s posts biggest US sales decline in nearly five years McDonald’s posts biggest US sales decline in nearly five years By Savyata Mishra (Reuters) -McDonald’s posted a *******-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter U.S. comparable sales on Monday, as demand took a hit from a brief E.coli outbreak while diners remained watchful of their spending. It fell 1.4% in the U.S., McDonald’s biggest market, its steepest drop since the COVID-19 pandemic almost five years ago when restaurants limited operations to drive-thru and delivery. Analysts estimated a 0.4% decline, according to LSEG data. Similar to fast-food rivals such as Yum Brands and Wendy’s, McDonald’s ramped up its limited-time offers and meal deals in 2024 to spur spending among customers preferring to eat meals at home. Analysts said the company’s reliance on discounts could hurt margins in the coming quarters. Discounts account for over a third of sales, according to BTIG analyst Peter Saleh. McDonald’s extended its $5 meal deal launched in June into December and introduced Chicken Big Mac in October, along with other special releases. But customer visits weakened after an E.coli outbreak that started on October 22 and forced McDonald’s to temporarily suspend sales of its Quarter Pounder hamburgers in a fifth of its 14,000 U.S. restaurants. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on December 3 ended its investigation of the incident, which sickened hundreds and killed at least one person. Customer traffic improved slightly in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago, the company said, but that was offset by a smaller average amount spent by customers per visit. The company’s global same-store sales rose 0.4% in the quarter ending Dec 31, a surprise rise compared with expectations of a 0.63% decline. This was driven by a 4.1% rise in McDonald’s business segment where restaurants are operated by local partners, led by Middle East and Japan markets. Shares of the company were up 1.3% in choppy premarket trading. It expects 2025 operating margin to be in the mid-to-high 40% range, compared to 45.2% for 2024. Adjusted earnings per share of $2.83 was in line with market expectations. (Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru and Waylon Cunningham in New York; Editing by Sam Holmes and Arun Koyyur) Source link #McDonalds #posts #biggest #sales #decline #years Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Stellar Docks Review | TheXboxHub Stellar Docks Review | TheXboxHub Review – The only real motivation to pick up Stellar Docks is for the Gamerscore. Otherwise, its a waste of your time. Source link #Stellar #Docks #Review #TheXboxHub Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Donald Trump says he will announce tariffs on steel and aluminium – BBC.com Donald Trump says he will announce tariffs on steel and aluminium – BBC.com Donald Trump says he will announce tariffs on steel and aluminium BBC.comTrump to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum — here are the likely winners and losers CNBCLive updates: President Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE seek to reshape government | CNN Politics CNNTrump says he will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports The Washington Post Source link #Donald #Trump #announce #tariffs #steel #aluminium #BBC.com Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Despite 5 Days of Bonus PlayStation Plus Subscription, Sony’s Silence on PSN Outage Is Still Concerning Despite 5 Days of Bonus PlayStation Plus Subscription, Sony’s Silence on PSN Outage Is Still Concerning A major outage occurred on Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) over the weekend, affecting the service from Friday through Saturday night. The outage lasted more than twenty-four hours and was one of the longest unscheduled outages in recent memory. The PlayStation Store, social features, and account management were among the impacted services, which irritated a lot of users. The PSN had gone through one of the most severe server outages in recent times. | Credit: Sony. Time-sensitive online gaming events, such as Bungie’s Destiny 2 competitions and Call of Duty promotions, were also impacted by the disruption, which forced developers to think about making accommodations for affected players. The greatest source for users looking for real-time PSN status updates is still Sony’s official network status page. The good thing is that the system is now restored and Sony is offering compensation for this inconvenience. But their silence regarding the reason for this outage is pretty concerning. Sony is trying to overshadow the reason for PlayStation’s outage with a compensation PS Plus members are going to enjoy an additional 5 days of service. | Credit: Sony. Sony has announced that PlayStation Plus members will be eligible for an extra five days of service in a recent Twitter post from the official Ask PlayStation account. Some users are pleased with this choice, while others are perplexed as to why they decided on five complimentary days instead of providing an explanation for the initial problem. Network services have fully recovered from an operational issue. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank the community for their patience. All PlayStation Plus members will automatically receive an additional 5 days of service. — Ask PlayStation (@AskPlayStation) February 9, 2025 Fans are concerned about the underlying cause of the outage in the first place, even though any kind of compensation for an unanticipated problem is fantastic. However, this outage takes us back to 2011’s dreadful memories. Many players lost their PlayStation 3 profiles as a result of a significant hack that shut down PlayStation services for 24 days back in 2011. This is one of the many reasons why users want an explanation for the “operational issue” that occurred, and it has caused some PlayStation fans to lose faith in Sony over time. At that time too, PlayStation compensated the players with free games like Infamous, but later on, it was revealed how big an attack that was. During that tense time, over 77 million accounts were compromised, and personal information was stolen, possibly including addresses, credit card numbers, and passwords. Famous Industry insider believes it was a DDoS attack The concern of a potential DDoS attack looms over us. | Credit: Sony. A DDoS attack may be the cause of the widespread service outage, according to a post by senior editor Tom Warren of The Verge. Since Sony has not responded formally, it is possible that the PSN issues are related to a significant DDoS attack that targeted Xbox over Christmas. without Sony commenting, nobody knows why PSN has been down for 19 hours and counting. But Microsoft did block a “staggering” DDoS attack on Azure Xbox infrastructure over the Christmas holidays, so it’s possible Sony is dealing with something similar pic.twitter.com/0l3gJf04LJ — Tom Warren (@tomwarren) February 8, 2025 Even though the issue has been fixed, Sony hasn’t yet disclosed any information about the nature of the outage, and at the moment, the majority of PlayStation’s PSN resources are probably being used to find a quick fix. If a DDoS attack is the cause, Sony obviously failed to block it as successfully as Microsoft. Even though it might not seem like there would be enough incentive to launch widespread DDoS attacks against online gaming services, the most recent attempt on Xbox shows that it is still very likely. It’s difficult to determine whether a DDoS attack is the cause or if it’s just a copycat attack, but it’s not an outlandish possibility that a group would switch to targeting PSN if Xbox’s security proved to be completely unbreakable. Whatever may be the reason, Sony needs to address the issues ASAP as the whole responsibility lies on its shoulders. Millions of people’s sensitive data are stored on the servers of this company, and a potential DDoS attack might compromise each of them. Source link #Days #Bonus #PlayStation #Subscription #Sonys #Silence #PSN #Outage Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]