Pelican Press

Cozy Games May Help Improve Players’ Mental Health, Researchers Say Cozy Games May Help Improve Players’ Mental Health, Researchers Say Most of the early research into video games seemed to be designed to find a link between in-game violence and its effects on players in the real world. More recently, there have been studies about the adverse affects of gaming addiction. However, there’s now research that suggests playing games may actually be beneficial for players, depending upon the type of the game. According to Reuters, the majority of the research into the benefits of gaming focuses on cozy video games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These casual games are designed to be soothing to play and almost impossible to lose. That genre also avoids putting players into overly stressful situations. Hiroyuki Egami, an assistant professor at Nihon University, published a study conducted in Japan between 2020-2022 which found that participants experienced greatly reduced stress and an increase in mental health if they spent one extra hour playing games each day. A separate study by McMaster University assistant professor Michael Wong compared the benefits of casual gaming to meditation. “To our surprise, there really wasn’t a difference between the two forms of interventions,” explained Wong. “For blood pressure and heart rate, there was no statistically significant difference between playing a video game and engaging in meditation.” This is an area of study that still remains largely unexplored, but these results are encouraging for players who have touted the benefits of gaming for years. Improved mental health for players isn’t the only way games are creating positive change. Players have also come together to help Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 raise $2.5 million for the Prevent ******* Foundation. Last year at the BAFTA Game Awards, a *** gaming charity called SpecialEffect was given a special award for its efforts to improve access to video games for people with physical disabilities. At its best, gaming can bring people together, and it’s a side of the industry worth celebrating when given the chance. Source link #Cozy #Games #Improve #Players #Mental #Health #Researchers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Dominican hospitals face surge of Haitian mothers fleeing conflict Dominican hospitals face surge of Haitian mothers fleeing conflict STORY: As gang violence in Haiti continues to escalate, access to healthcare is slipping out of reach for most people. For Haitian mothers, like Cineas Lionne, that means seeking care at hospitals in neighboring Dominican Republic. “Would I have a child in Haiti? No I would not. I had my child here. I don’t know what the care is really like in Haitian hospitals. I don’t think I would receive good care because of the government situation. There is no government in Haiti. There is no ruler; our hospitals will never treat us well.” Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean but are divided by a heavily secured border, long-standing tensions and an immense wealth gap. In Haiti, the healthcare system has been pushed to the brink. A U.N. report in October said less than a quarter of hospitals around Port-au-Prince are currently operational. :: Bazil Jephte That assessment came before a spike in violence in late 2024 that saw gangs shoot and kill journalists gathered at Haiti’s largest public hospital. They had been there for a government press conference meant to announce a long-awaited reopening. Those plans have been put on hold. :: WFP The capital’s airport and ports have repeatedly been forced to shut down, prompting hospitals to warn of a lack of supplies such as blood and oxygen. But while the Dominican Republic offers Haitian mothers access to relatively better healthcare, it comes with significant risks. The country deported over 200,000 Haitians in 2024 and nearly 15,000 in the first two weeks of 2025 alone. Authorities have pledged to continue deporting up to 10,000 people per week to manage the influx of migrants. Dominican politicians argue that the country lacks the resources to support the large number of Haitian migrants. Local doctors said many Haitian women are afraid to attend prenatal checkups and tend to arrive late at night or when they are about to give birth, due to the risk of deportation. Source link #Dominican #hospitals #face #surge #Haitian #mothers #fleeing #conflict Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ubisoft’s Internal Memo Says Recent Layoffs is Due to “More Efficient Operating Models” Ubisoft’s Internal Memo Says Recent Layoffs is Due to “More Efficient Operating Models” Following 185 layoffs and a studio shutdown, Ubisoft has sent an internal memo to staff via its Agoro Newsroom about the recent layoffs, saying that the decision was made due to “finding more efficient operating models and to ensure our long-term success.” The internal memo confirms that approximately 65 positions where eliminated at Ubisoft Dusseldorf, approximately 100 roles are effected at Ubisoft Leamington and Ubisoft Reflections, and approximately 20 roles at Ubisoft Stockholm, taking the total to 185 people laid off. In addition, Ubisoft’s Leamington site would be shut down. The update reads, “Jeff Combos, Studio Manager of Ubisoft Dusseldorf, informed the studio yesterday about a plan to reduce its headcount by approximately 65 positions. Most of these reductions would affect production roles currently not assigned to active development for a prolonged ******* of time. The studios in Berlin and Mainz are not affected. Also yesterday, Lisa Opie, Managing Director of the *** studios informed the teams about planned restructuring measures aimed at ensuring Reflections’ long-term stability and meeting its financial targets. Approximately 100 roles could be made redundant across Ubisoft Leamington and Ubisoft Reflections. Additionally, this proposal also includes the decision to close the Leamington site. “I understand the uncertainty these changes will bring. We are committed to supporting everyone who may be impacted during this transition. Let me assure you, these decisions were not made lightly. We believe they are essential to improve our operational efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of our studios, the zone and the company,” says Benedikt Grindel, Production Zone 4 Managing Director. In parallel, Ubisoft Stockholm announced yesterday its plan to reduce approximately 20 roles. This step is necessary to secure the studio’s long-term success and refine the studio strategy. Individual meetings were held with affected employees yesterday. “We know that this decision impacts more than just the studio and its projects; it impacts people-our colleagues, teammates, and friends. We deeply understand how difficult this is, and supporting everyone through this transition is our utmost priority,” Thomas Andren, Production Zone 3 and Stockholm studio Managing Director, said yesterday in his message to the team. Next steps All the team members that are affected have already been informed, and necessary processes are underway depending on the labor laws in each country. While difficult, the changes announced yesterday are targeted at us finding more efficient operating models and to ensure our long-term success. This is driven by a strong conviction: our ability to keep creating and operating unique, powerful, and popular brands that extend beyond video games.” Speaking with both current and former employee’s at Ubisoft, it’s currently unclear on if any Ubisoft projects where effected with the recent layoffs. It’s understood that Ubisoft Reflections are primarily developing an unannounced WW2 live-service extraction shooter named CREST, which was supported by some staff at Ubisoft Leamington. Ubisoft Leamington staff where working on Avatar content. At the time of writing, Ubisoft is currently in the process of exploring its options to stay afloat, including a potential deal with ******** company Tencent, where both companies are in talks for a new venture centered around Ubisoft’s current assets. When asked for comment on whether or not any projects were cancelled, a Ubisoft spokesperson declined to comment. For more Insider Gaming, read our official review of Sniper Elite: Resistance and check out what Xbox head Phil Spencer had to say about the future of Starfield. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam. Source link #Ubisofts #Internal #Memo #Layoffs #Due #Efficient #Operating #Models Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Highlights from CNBC coverage of the World Economic Forum Highlights from CNBC coverage of the World Economic Forum Davos, Switzerland once again played host to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, where many of the world’s most influential voices convened to discuss the pressing global issues impacting global economies, ranging from geopolitics to artificial intelligence and the energy transition. Davos, Switzerland once again played host to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting, where many of the world’s most influential voices convened to discuss the pressing global issues impacting global economies, ranging from geopolitics to artificial intelligence and the energy transition. Just before the forum opened its doors, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. He became a big talking point in Davos, with big hitters from around the world sharing their views on Trump 2.0. In particular, the president’s widely anticipated trade tariffs were one of the week’s biggest talking points. The theme of the 2025 meeting was “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age,” so much of the conversation also centered around Al. On his first full day in office, President Trump announced what he said would be a private sector $500 billion investment into Al infrastructure, which saw OpenAl, SoftBank and Oracle join a venture called Stargate. Many delegates at WEF suggested Trump’s bullish moves in AI and the economy shone a spotlight on Europe’s shortcomings. Watch the best of our interviews from in and around the World Economic Forum in Davos in the video above. Source link #Highlights #CNBC #coverage #World #Economic #Forum Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Healthy food costs more than double less healthy options, analysis says Healthy food costs more than double less healthy options, analysis says Colletta Smith & Abi Smitton Cost of Living correspondent & producer BBC A basket of healthy food costs more than double that of less healthy options, according to new analysis. The Food Foundation found that 1,000 calories of healthy food such as fruit and veg costs £8.80, compared to £4.30 for the equivalent amount of less healthy food, such as ready meals and processed meats. The charity is warning that low-income families are being priced out of being able to afford to eat healthily. The government has said it is committed to introducing a National Food Strategy that will tackle unhealthy diets. The analysis carried out for the Food Foundation looked at the average price of 450 items that the Office for National Statistics uses to calculate monthly inflation. It graded foods based on their nutritional value, according to guidance from the Food Standards Agency. The analysis suggests the gap has widened in the last two years, with the price of healthy foods rising by 21%, while unhealthy options increased by 11%. The charity warns that 60% of an estimated eight million households dealing with food insecurity in 2024 have reduced how much fruit they buy, while 44% have cut down on vegetables. Its research found that the poorest families would need to spend 45% of their disposable income on food to be able to afford to eat the government recommended healthy diet, rising to 70% for those with children. ‘Soul-destroying’ Colette says the cheaper cost of unhealthy food makes her feel guilty Mum-of-two Colette works three jobs, including in-home care work and as a singing teacher. “It’s a bit soul-destroying [shopping] at a normal supermarket sometimes, even in some of the cheaper ones,” she says. “It’s crazy when you think, ‘I’ve not even got one bag of stuff and it’s £20.'” She makes use of her local Bread and Butter Thing food pantry, where surplus food that would otherwise go to landfill is sold to the local community. For £8.50 she gets three bags: fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen food and cupboard staples. “I want to be able to provide for my children. I don’t want to feel like I’m a complete failure as a mother to provide a decent meal every evening.” ‘I’ve had panic attacks at the till’ Up to 75 families use the Bread and Butter Thing pantry in south Manchester every week. Julie, 59, is unable to work due to ill health. She says she would be lost without access to cheap food at the pantry. “I would love to go to a shop and not worry about money. I’ve had panic attacks at the till worrying that I’ve not got enough money,” she says. Julcine is trying to make sure her two-year-old twins eat healthily Julcine has two-year-old twins and says she is determined to feed them healthy food, even if it costs more. “For your children you have to buy the expensive thing, you have no choice. If the supermarkets could bring the prices down it would make a huge difference.” Anna Taylor, the executive director of the Food Foundation, said parents were being “set up to fail”. “Trying to feed children well, particularly on low incomes, is like a high-wire act.” The Food Foundation is calling on the government to incentivise businesses to make healthy food more affordable. “This is a moment in time, the government could really learn from the mistakes of the past and create incentives to produce nutritious food at affordable prices,” Ms Taylor told the BBC. Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner said the report highlighted issues that would be addressed in the government’s proposed National Food Strategy. “We cannot do this alone, which is why we are working with those across the food sector, utilising their expertise, to transform the industry for good,” he said. How can I save money on my food shop?Look at your cupboards so you know what you have alreadyHead to the reduced section first to see if it has anything you needBuy things close to their best before date which will be cheaper and use your freezer Read more tips here Source link #Healthy #food #costs #double #healthy #options #analysis Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Eternal Strands Review – The World is Your Playground | WCCFTECH Eternal Strands Review – The World is Your Playground | WCCFTECH NoobFeed editor Faviyan writes – Eternal Strands is a bold title that challenges you to dream big. With its changing environment, new gaming methodologies, and mixed systems, it stands out in a sea of crowded action-adventure titles. For all its weaknesses, such as floaty fighting and shallow variety in its enemies, its strengths dominate its faults. Source link #Eternal #Strands #Review #World #Playground #WCCFTECH Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia’s RTX 5080 repeats the mistakes of the previous generation Nvidia’s RTX 5080 repeats the mistakes of the previous generation Nvidia’s RTX 5080 is almost here, and some retailers started sharing the first listings ahead of time, which is why we now know how much the GPU will really cost. Arriving with a $999 recommended list price (MSRP), the card is surely set to rival some of the best graphics cards, but unfortunately, it will also repeat the mistake that made the RTX 4080 fairly unpopular when it was first launched. Both the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 are hitting the shelves this Thursday, January 30. While the 5090 sits at an outrageous $2,000, the RTX 5080 seemed more reasonable at just $999. Unfortunately, that price will only be real if you snag one of Nvidia’s Founders Edition cards — at least if these Best Buy listings are anything to go by. Although they appear to have been taken down, VideoCardz spotted them first, which is why we now know what Gigabyte is plotting for the RTX 5080. The prices for the RTX 5080 range from $999 for Gigabyte’s Windforce OC small form factor model, all the way up to $1,400 for the Xtreme Waterforce model, which features built-in liquid cooling. Out of a total of eight different listings, one of which was the Founders Edition GPU, only two were priced at MSRP. From there, it’s a big jump — the next variant bumps the price up to $1,200, which is the price that the RTX 4080 initially launched with. Best Buy / VideoCardz These margins are bound to affect the card’s value. If the RTX 5080 will be next to impossible to pick up at MSRP, it’ll create a similar situation to the RTX 4080, where the price and the performance just didn’t add up. The market course-corrected over time and the RTX 4080 was often found under MSRP; later on, Nvidia itself fixed its previous mistake by pricing the RTX 4080 Super at $999. Still, the MSRP means very little if Nvidia’s partners add up to $400 to the initial price tag. Rumor has it that they didn’t have much of a choice, as Nvidia is said to be selling the cards to its add-in board (AIB) partners at nearly the same price as the MSRP, so to turn a profit, they needed to mark them up. However, we have no way to confirm this, so take it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Many people are also saying that the cards will have limited supply, so scalpers may buy them out before anyone else gets to. The RTX 5080 will have one dubious advantage over the previous generation — gamers will have nowhere else to turn to in that performance bracket. The RTX 5090 will be wildly more expensive, and the RTX 4090 can’t be found under $2,700 right now. AMD also won’t have an answer to the RTX 5080 in RDNA 4, so it’s basically the RTX 5080 or nothing, unless you want to scale down to the RTX 5070 Ti, starting at $750. Source link #Nvidias #RTX #repeats #mistakes #previous #generation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Wynne Evans to take time out of Strictly live tour Wynne Evans to take time out of Strictly live tour Ian Youngs Culture reporter PA Media Evans was paired with Katya Jones on the TV show and current tour Singer and broadcaster Wynne Evans has said he is taking “time out” from the Strictly Come Dancing tour as well as his “other public commitments”, to “prioritise my wellbeing”. The Welsh tenor’s statement came two days after he apologised for making an “inappropriate and unacceptable” comment. The Mail on Sunday reported that he made a sexualised remark as the tour’s dancers prepared for a group photo at the tour’s launch. On Monday, the BBC said he was “taking time off” from presenting his weekday show on BBC Radio Wales. “I’ve agreed with the BBC that I’ll take some time out from my radio show and the Strictly Live tour, as well as my other public commitments, to prioritise my wellbeing,” he said on Tuesday. “I am deeply sorry for the pain my inappropriate actions have caused, and plan to take this time for self-reflection. “Apologies to those I won’t get to see at the remaining performances and I’m grateful to my fellow tour gang for all the amazing support they have given me.” ‘Unacceptable behaviour’ Evans and dance partner Katya Jones were among the Strictly stars who embarked on the arena tour earlier this month. It is due to finish on 9 February. Evans, known for being the opera singer on the Go.Compare adverts, has also been absent from his BBC Radio Wales show this week. At the weekend, a spokesperson for BBC Wales said it does not “tolerate unacceptable behaviour”, before later confirming he would be “taking time off”. However, a new TV show with Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page, Wynne & Joanna: All at Sea, was released by the BBC on Monday as planned. His behaviour during the recent series of Strictly also attracted attention from viewers over what some described as awkward incidents. They included Jones appearing to turn down a high-five from Evans and move his hand from her waist during an episode in October. The duo later said the high-five moment was a “running joke” between them, while Jones said it was “complete nonsense” that Evans’ hand on her waist “made me feel uncomfortable or offended me in any way”. Evans and Jones were the eighth pair to be voted out of the last series of the Strictly TV show, which was won by comedian Chris McCausland. Earlier last year, professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima left Strictly following allegations about their behaviour towards their celebrity partners. The BBC apologised to actress Amanda Abbington about Pernice’s behaviour during the 2023 series of the show and upheld complaints accusing him of verbal bullying and harassment, while the most serious claims of physical aggression were not. The BBC announced new ******** measures for Strictly last July, including introducing chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, adding two new ******** producers and providing additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew. Source link #Wynne #Evans #time #Strictly #live #tour Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

January Windows security updates are breaking audio on PCs using external DACs January Windows security updates are breaking audio on PCs using external DACs Per an official update on Microsoft’s Known Issues page, January security updates made to recent versions of Windows (namely Windows 11 24H2, 10 22H2, Server 2019, and Server 2016) have rendered USB 1.0-based external DACs non-functional with Windows, with no proper fix being available, instead requiring users to directly connect their audio devices to the PC and lose all the benefit of their DACs. Per the official documentation, “After installing this security update, you might experience issues with USB audio devices. You are more likely to experience this issue if you are using a USB 1.0 audio driver based DAC (Digital to Analog converter) in your audio setup. This issue might cause USB audio devices to stop working, […] Resulting from this issue, the Device Manager might display the error ‘This device cannot start. (Code 10) Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API’.” What exactly caused the issue in what should have been innocuous security updates remains unknown. Still, Microsoft is aware of the issue and is actively working on an update to fix the problem. While they do claim, “Users can avoid this issue by avoiding the use of an external DAC in the connection process and directly plugging your audio device to your PC.”, this only fixes the issue of basic audio playback, not any of the numerous audiophile-centric reasons one would want an external DAC or amplifier separate from the interference-heavy internals of your typical PC. This news is sure to displease audio professionals and enthusiasts. Fortunately, suppose you’re far enough behind on your PC updates and haven’t experienced this issue. In that case, you may have some luck stalling out the update window (selectable in Windows Update) long enough to fix this. However, that’s not a sure-fire method,, and you may be forced to update before that time comes. Alternatively, you could consider side-booting Linux to explore the world of open-source audio software. While that certainly has its difficulties, your DAC should work fine on any mainstream Linux distribution at the time of writing. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #January #Windows #security #updates #breaking #audio #PCs #external #DACs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Astro Bot, ****** Myth: Wukong lead Game Developers Choice Award nominees Astro Bot, ****** Myth: Wukong lead Game Developers Choice Award nominees The nominees for the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards are here. This year, Astro Bot and ****** Myth: Wukong lead the field, while indies like Animal Well made a big splash. The Game Developers Choice Awards take place every year at GDC, directly following the Independent Games Festival awards show. While the latter is focused on indie games, the GDC awards are more akin to The Game Awards, honoring a mix of AAA and independent games. This year, Astro Bot and ****** Myth: Wukong both secured seven nominations. That makes them both frontrunners for this year’s Game of the Year honor. The field also includes Balatro, Helldivers 2, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. Please enable Javascript to view this content A few indie games broke through this year in a big way. Animal Well is up for five awards, including Best Design, and UFO 50 made it into the Innovation category. Critical darling 1000xResist nabbed three nominations, including one for Best Narrative. Horror hit Mouthwashing will also compete for that award. The ceremony will live stream on GDC’s Twitch channel on March 19 Best Audio Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / ***** / Studio Zero), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI) Best Debut 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller) Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Pacific Drive (Ironwood Studios / Kepler Interactive) Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best Design Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Innovation Award Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You’re Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best Narrative 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / *****) Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / ***** / Studio Zero) Mouthwashing (Wrong Organ / Critical Reflex) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Best Technology Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC) Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment) Best Visual Art Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode) Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / ***** / Studio Zero) Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive) Social Impact 1000xResist (Sunset Visitor / Fellow Traveller) Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios) Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital) Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts) Game of the Year Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) ****** Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix) Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / ***** / Studio Zero) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / *****), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Source link #Astro #Bot #****** #Myth #Wukong #lead #Game #Developers #Choice #Award #nominees Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Rescue underway as pool-sized sinkhole swallows truck and driver in Japan – National Rescue underway as pool-sized sinkhole swallows truck and driver in Japan – National A large sinkhole has opened up near Tokyo, swallowing a truck with a man inside, and now the race is on to rescue him. Japanese emergency services in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, received calls just before 10 a.m. local time Tuesday morning that the massive sinkhole had appeared in a busy intersection and a truck had plunged into the hole, according to CBS News. A fire department spokesperson told AFP that the sinkhole is about the size of a swimming pool and approximately 33 feet wide and 20 feet deep. In Japan, a truck plunged into a massive sinkhole at a busy intersection The incident occurred near Tokyo. The sinkhole measures approximately 10 meters wide and 5 meters deep. The truck was retrieved using a crane. The collapse likely happened because the road was built on… pic.twitter.com/xD9Oc7EC6t— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 28, 2025 Rescue efforts have been trying to reach the man who was driving the truck, NBC News reports, but had to adjust their operations after a few hours as the sinkhole grew more unstable. Story continues below advertisement The driver of the truck was “initially conscious and capable of talking,” reports local news outlet The Mainichi, and has been trapped in the driver’s seat under mud and sand. Two rescuers sustained minor injuries after they ventured into the hole and sediment fell on them. Get daily National news Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. “Now, we’re trying to see if we can pull up the truck using a large crane,” the spokesperson told AFP. “There is risk that the hole will collapse.” 1:45 Massive sinkhole swallows Illinois soccer field, drone video shows Previous Video Next Video Motohiro Ono, the governor of the Saitama Prefecture, said in a press briefing they believe the sinkhole may have been caused by a sewer pipe running from the nearby Nakagawa River Basin. “It is thought to have been caused by a crack in the Nakagawa River Basin sewer pipe. As a result of this collapse, a passing truck fell in,” Ono said, per NBC News. Story continues below advertisement The Mainichi reports that sediment surrounding the heavily corroded pipe is believed to have flowed into the pipe, resulting in a hollow area under the road, which eventually collapsed under the weight of the vehicles above. According to Nippon TV station, the main focus is rescuing the driver, and they report that rescue teams have been pumping air through a hole in the sediment to help give the man more oxygen as he’s increasingly surrounded by sediment. Trending Now ‘This is insane s—‘: Bill Gates criticizes Elon Musk for far-right support Disinformation an ‘existential threat’ to ********* democracy: Hogue As of publication time, the status of the driver is unclear. Aerial footage from local broadcasters Tuesday morning showed dozens of response vehicles on the scene, which sits to the north of Japan’s capital, Tokyo. There have been previous instances of sinkholes opening up in Japan causing chaos for drivers. Story continues below advertisement In 2016, an Olympic pool-sized sinkhole opened up in the streets of downtown Fukuoka, swallowing up five lanes of a busy street and prompting the evacuation of residents in nearby buildings. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but the incident cut off power, water and gas supplies to parts of the city. 0:41 Sink hole swallows Japan road caught on camera And in September 2024, an underground water pipe in Hiroshima caused a sinkhole when it burst. Several people were trapped in nearby buildings and had to be rescued by the fire department. More on World More videos &copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Source link #Rescue #underway #poolsized #sinkhole #swallows #truck #driver #Japan #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max is $400 off — today only! The 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max is $400 off — today only! Apple fans who are willing to spend to get the most impressive MacBook in their hands should set their sights on Best Buy’s offer for the 16-inch model of the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max. From an original price of $3,999, it’s on ***** for $3,599 following a $400 discount. The savings may not look like much, but if you’re interested in this machine, you might as well take advantage of this lowered price, especially since MacBook deals for the latest models are hard to find. You only have until late tonight to secure your purchase though, so hurry! Why you should buy the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max The Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max is featured in our list of the best MacBooks as the most powerful MacBook, as it’s built for creative professionals who need the fastest device possible. With a 16-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, and 48GB of RAM, this machine operates at breakneck speeds even when dealing with the most demanding tasks. The M4 Max beats the Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card and comes close to matching the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super, illustrating the power of this tiny chip. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display of the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max offers 3456 x 2234 resolution and peak brightness of up to 1600 nits, and the laptop can last up to 24 hours from a full charge. The device also has a MagSafe charging port, an SDXC card slot, an HDMI port, a headphone jack, and three Thunderbolt 5 ports. With a 1TB SSD for internal storage, you’ve got plenty of space for your projects in the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max. The MacBook Pro always generates a lot of attention when it appears in laptop deals, so while Best Buy’s $400 discount for the 16-inch model of the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max is expected to run until tonight, there’s a chance that stocks don’t last that long. If you want to get this extremely powerful device for $3,599 instead of $3,999, we highly recommend adding it to your cart and finishing the checkout process as soon as possible. It’s still expensive, but you definitely won’t regret getting the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max if you need topnotch performance. Source link #16inch #Apple #MacBook #Pro #Max #today Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

X’s payments app will be available later this year X’s payments app will be available later this year It seems that X is getting ready to finally roll out the payments app the company’s leaders have long been promising The company will introduce later this year with Visa as partner, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced. According to Yaccarino, X Money will support person-to-person payments via users’ debit cards with the ability to transfer funds to a bank account, much like Venmo. The service will also allow you to deposit money into an “X Wallet.” To view this content, you’ll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the “Content and social-media partners” setting to do so. Another milestone for the Everything App: @Visa is our first partner for the @XMoney Account, which will debut later this year. Allows for secure + instant funding to your X Wallet via Visa Direct Connects to your debit card allowing P2P payments Option to instantly… — Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) January 28, 2025 Bothe Yaccarino and X owner Elon Musk have long promised to bring financial services to X as they attempt to turn the platform into an “.” In last year, Yaccarino said the company planned to support banking and payments features for users. Musk has also said he wants people to be able their “entire financial world” via X. So far, X Money sounds like it’s a long way off from that vision, though Yaccarino said the Visa partnership is the “first of many big announcements about X Money this year.” X hasn’t disclosed specifics about how X Money will work for users or how it might make money off the service. X’s business is reportedly struggling. Musk recently told employees that “our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we’re barely breaking even,” in a memo The Wall Street Journal. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Source link #payments #app #year Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

*********** world cricket chief executive to step down *********** world cricket chief executive to step down *********** Geoff Allardice is stepping down as chief executive of the International Cricket Council, the governing body has announced. Allardice, who joined the ICC in 2012 as general manager of cricket, has held the post since November 2021, having previously served as the ICC’s acting chief executive for eight months. He said: “It has been a privilege to serve as the chief executive officer of the International Cricket Council and I am incredibly proud of the results we have achieved, from enhancing the global reach of cricket to the commercial foundation put in place for ICC members.” Allardice, cricket operations manager for Australia Cricket before joining the ICC, added: “I believe this is the right time for me to step down and pursue new challenges. I am confident that cricket has exciting times ahead, and I wish the ICC and the global cricket community every success in the future.” ICC chair Jay Shah said: “On behalf of the ICC board, I want to sincerely thank Geoff for his leadership and commitment during his tenure as chief executive. “His efforts have played a key role in advancing cricket globally. We are truly grateful for his service and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.” Source link #*********** #world #cricket #chief #executive #step Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump funding freeze challenged in lawsuit Trump funding freeze challenged in lawsuit U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as reporters ask questions aboard Air Force One during a flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Miami, Florida, U.S., January 25, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters Three non-profit groups and a small-business organization filed a lawsuit on Tuesday asking a judge to temporarily block a funding freeze ordered by the Trump administration of all federal grants and loans. The lawsuit says the freeze imposed by the Office of Management and Budget is ********. The suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., blasts the OMB’s action, which became known Monday night through a memo. “SNAP/EBT Food Stamp Benefits Accepted” is displayed on a screen inside a Family Dollar Stores Inc. store in Chicago, Illinois. Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images “This Memo — made public only through journalists’ reporting, with barely twenty four hours’ notice, devoid of any legal basis or the barest rationale — will have a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of grant recipients who depend on the inflow of grant money (money already obligated and already awarded) to fulfill their missions, pay their employees, pay their rent — and, indeed, improve the day-to-day lives of the many people they work so hard to serve,” the suit says. “Although the Trump Administration is at liberty to “advanc[e] [its] priorities,” itmust do so within the confines of the law. It has not,” the suit says. “The Memo fails to explain the source of OMB’s purported legal authority to gut every grant program in the federal government; it fails to consider the reliance interest of the many grant recipients, including those to whom money had already been promised; and it announces a policy of targeting grant recipients based in part on those recipients’ First Amendment rights and with no bearing on the recipients’ eligibility to receive federal funds.” Senate ********* Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, earlier Tuesday said he had been told the New York state attorney general’s office planned to file its own lawsuit challenging the OMB’s freeze. New York AG Letitia James, in a tweet, wrote, “My office will be taking imminent legal action against this administration’s unconstitutional pause on federal funding.” “We won’t sit idly by while this administration harms our families,” James wrote. This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates. Source link #Trump #funding #freeze #challenged #lawsuit Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally adding split-screen co-op on Xbox Series S Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally adding split-screen co-op on Xbox Series S Larian Studios has confirmed that split-screen co-op is finally coming to Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series S. The game received a delayed release on Xbox Series X/S after Microsoft and Larian reached an agreement to launch the Series S version without split-screen co-op, which it had been struggling to get working sufficiently on the lower-powered console. Larian previously announced that Baldur’s Gate 3’s eighth major update would add cross-play, 12 new subclasses and a photo mode in 2025, with a stress test for the patch set to launch in January. The stress test kicked off today, and it includes the surprise addition of split-screen co-op on Xbox Series S. A detailed rundown of the Patch 8 highlights can be found on the Baldur’s Gate 3 website, where players can also register to participate in the stress test on PC and consoles. It’s currently a mandatory requirement for developers to ensure that their games are compatible with both Series X and Series S in order to release them for Microsoft’s consoles. And Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently reiterated that Microsoft doesn’t have any plans to allow the release of Series X exclusive games. Larian confirmed last April that it was working on two new projects based on its own original IPs, following comments from its boss Swen Vincke that it was moving on from the Dungeons & Dragons universe to try its hand at something else. Source link #Baldurs #Gate #finally #adding #splitscreen #coop #Xbox #Series Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Twisted light may illuminate how quantum spookiness works Twisted light may illuminate how quantum spookiness works Light with complex rotational properties can reveal how quantum effects work Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Getty Images Quantum light has shown that the “spookiness” that can inextricably link two distant particles can be equivalent to an equally odd property of just one. This may be useful for developing quantum technologies and help researchers understand why quantum particles can become entangled to begin with. “The quantum world operates in ways that are fundamentally different from the familiar, deterministic laws of classical physics,” says Jianqi Sheng at Xiamen… Source link #Twisted #light #illuminate #quantum #spookiness #works Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

How DeepSeek flipped the tech world on its head overnight How DeepSeek flipped the tech world on its head overnight Table of Contents Table of Contents Nvidia gets hit by the rise of DeepSeek President Trump: “A wake-up call” Meta is scrambling for solutions Elon Musk isn’t buying what DeepSeek is selling OpenAI’s Sam Altman is up to the challenge DeepSeek suffered its first major cyberattack Experts are wary of DeepSeek DeepSeek, the chatbot made by a ******** startup that seemingly dethroned ChatGPT, is taking the world by storm. It’s currently the number one topic all over the news, and a lot has happened in the past 24 hours. Among other highlights, Nvidia’s stock plummeted as a response to DeepSeek; President Donald Trump commented on the new AI; Mark Zuckerberg is assembling a team to find an answer to DeepSeek. Below, we’ll cover all the latest news you need to know about DeepSeek. Nvidia gets hit by the rise of DeepSeek Nvidia Although ChatGPT is the chatbot that quickly lost its public favorite status with the rise of DeepSeek, Nvidia is the company that suffered the greatest losses. In fact, Nvidia’s market loss following the launch of DeepSeek’s large language model (LLM) marks the greatest one-day stock market drop in history, says Forbes. Nvidia lost nearly $600 billion as a result of the ******** company behind DeepSeek revealing just how cheap the new LLM is to develop in comparison to rivals from Anthropic, Meta, or OpenAI. Nvidia now holds the top spots for the two biggest one-day stock market losses in history, but the other two were nowhere near as bad as this. Yesterday, Nvidia’s shares nosedived by 17%, adding up to a $589 billion loss in market capitalization. Previous loss took place in September 2024 and was valued at $279 billion. Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Markets are emotional, and they responded to DeepSeek’s claims that it only spent $5.6 million on Nvidia’s high-performance computing (HPC) graphics cards in order to develop DeepSeek. Experts claim that figure is vastly lower than the reality, but it’s also a lot lower than anything anyone has ever thought possible, calling into question the need for so many of Nvidia’s GPUs to be sold and used on a daily basis for the purpose of training AI. Nvidia’s stocks are beginning to bounce back, recovering from just over $116 on Tuesday morning to just under $121 per share at the time of writing. On Friday, the stock price was at $142 per share. President Trump: “A wake-up call” Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images President Donald Trump made a statement about DeepSeek, calling it “a wake-up call” for the U.S. tech industry. He referred to DeepSeek’s claim that its new R1 AI model can do all of the same things as its rivals, but it’ll cost a mere fraction of what OpenAI, Meta, and others have spent on their alternatives. As seen on BBC, President Trump said: “The release of DeepSeek, an AI from a ******** company, should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser-focused on competing to win. […] We always have the ideas, we’re always first. I would say that it could be very much a positive development. Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with, hopefully, the same solution.” Meta is scrambling for solutions Meta As mentioned above, OpenAI is far from the only company affected by the sudden interest in DeepSeek. In fact, as reported by Fortune, the new LLM has Mark Zuckerberg scrambling for urgent solutions. The publication reports that Meta has “assembled four war rooms of engineers” with the sole purpose of figuring out how DeepSeek achieved what it claims to have achieved, as well as spearheading innovation on Meta’s end. Fortune reveals that two of the four teams of engineers will focus on finding out how DeepSeek was able to build such a capable LLM at such a low cost. One team’s purpose will be to find out which data sets DeepSeek was trained on. Meanwhile, the final team’s goal will be to work on restructuring Meta’s Llama models and searching for improvements. Elon Musk isn’t buying what DeepSeek is selling Image via NBC Elon Musk took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his doubt as to whether DeepSeek can truly do what it claims to be capable of at such a low cost. He responded to various posts, such as one from Mark Benioff, Salesforce CEO, who announced that DeepSeek was now the number one app on the Apple AppStore. Musk’s many responses were generally poking fun at the AI and its impact on the industry. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2025 Lmao no — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 27, 2025 OpenAI’s Sam Altman is up to the challenge OpenAI Meanwhile, OpenAI’s Sam Altman adopted a different approach. In a short series of posts on X, the CEO behind the company that runs ChatGPT praised DeepSeek while also making it clear that OpenAI isn’t going anywhere. deepseek’s r1 is an impressive model, particularly around what they’re able to deliver for the price. we will obviously deliver much better models and also it’s legit invigorating to have a new competitor! we will pull up some releases. — Sam Altman (@sama) January 28, 2025 “We will obviously deliver much better models and it’s also legit invigorating to have a new competitor! We will pull up some releases,” said Altman. “Look forward to bringing you all AGI and beyond.” DeepSeek suffered its first major cyberattack DeepSeek Going viral has some downsides, as DeepSeek has quickly found out. As reported by CNBC and DeepSeek’s own signup site, the chatbot is being hit with large-scale cyberattacks. As a result, new users may have a hard time registering, as DeepSeek is limiting sign-ups while it deals with these issues. While new users may be unable to join at the moment, if you’re already signed up, you should be able to use DeepSeek without issues. Experts are wary of DeepSeek DeepSeek While the world is hyped with the buzz around DeepSeek, experts are less eager to embrace the new chatbot. As reported by The Guardian, there are data privacy concerns to keep in mind when interacting with the new budget-friendly AI model. A professor from Oxford University warned that the data you share with the chatbot could end up in the hands of the ******** government, saying: “I think it’s fine to download it and ask it about the performance of Liverpool football club or chat about the history of the Roman empire, but would I recommend putting anything sensitive or personal or private on them? Absolutely not — because you don’t know where the data goes.” Source link #DeepSeek #flipped #tech #world #overnight Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants – The Associated Press Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants – The Associated Press Legal battle looms as Trump orders a funding freeze during a review of federal loans and grants The Associated PressTrump freezes federal aid to Americans, triggering fury Yahoo! VoicesTrump’s spending pause creates chaos in Colorado AxiosFederal Spending Freeze Does Not Apply to Student Loans and Pell Grants The New York Times Source link #Legal #battle #looms #Trump #orders #funding #freeze #review #federal #loans #grants #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

One Feature Is “Permanently Disabled” One Feature Is “Permanently Disabled” Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been in a bit of hot water recently, with multiple allegations being brought against the developer/publisher duo in recent months. Despite the game being set in feudal Japan, a vocal section of the Japanese audience has not taken to the game too kindly – with many calling Ubisoft out for certain aspects of the game. In a recent statement made from the official Ubisoft Japan X account, it has been confirmed that certain elements of the game will be missing from the Japanese release, which has only served to infuriate the player base even further. Assassin’s Creed Shadows to censor certain elements in Japan Assassin’s Creed Shadows will miss a crucial feature in Japan | Image Credit: Ubisoft The Japanese Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO), is routinely tasked with assigning appropriate age ratings for video games in Japan, and Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows was recently reviewed by the board. CERO has rated the game with a ‘Z’, implying that it contains adult themes and heavy amounts of gore and/or body dismemberment – which is quite typical of Assassin’s Creed games, which follow quite mature undertones. A CERO Z rating also means that the game cannot be legally sold to anyone under the age of 18 – for both the PC and console versions. Despite this Z rating, the board has decided to extensively censor the game for no apparent reason, removing any instances of body dismemberment. Developer Ubisoft Quebec was reportedly forced to comply with the matter, removing the in-game toggle to switch enemy dismemberment on or off entirely. Shadows possesses some altered aspects in the Japanese release | Image Credit: Ubisoft Additionally, the depiction of severed body parts has also been drastically altered, as has some of the Japanese dialogue in the European and North American retail versions of the game code. The removal of this particular ‘feature’ is quite unfortunate, as is most kinds of censorship. Japanese players will most certainly be disappointed with this arbitrary removal. Japan’s CERO board has been quite inconsistent with ratings CERO has been the subject of controversy before | Image Credit: Ubisoft This isn’t the first time that the CERO board has come under scrutiny for its inconsistent ratings though, with a prominent example being with regards to Stellar Blade. The game depicts a ton of gore and dismemberment, despite which the game was awarded a CERO D rating – which allows it to be legally sold to non-adults with parental consent. The CERO D rating also came without any removal of the said violent sections, which caused a strong response from EA Japan. For the uninitiated, the Dead Space remake was also heavily censored in Japan, and the ‘double standards’ expressed here do seem to be quite disingenuous. The whole situation appears to be quite unfortunate, and it is hoped that CERO sorts things out soon. After all, meaningless and arbitrary ratings only serve to alienate potential players – in addition to painting a very skewed picture of the video game industry’s administration in general. Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a lot more issues going on Assassin’s Creed Shadows has a lot of issues | Image Credit: Ubisoft The recent censorship drama is just one of the several issues plaguing the game. In particular, the game has stirred some controversy regarding its protagonist, Yasuke – which has not been taken to kindly by a vocal section of gamers, accusing the company of shoehorning the character into the game to promote certain ‘agendas’. A recent preview event also resulted in a rather lukewarm response from attendees, with many pointing out recurring issues and clunky gameplay elements which could be a potential problem in the full, retail version. This, coupled with Ubisoft’s recent slump into mediocrity and stagnation does not paint a positive look for the game. One does wonder whether Shadows will be able to bring the publisher back to its glory days, or remain as the final nail in the coffin. Source link #Feature #Permanently #Disabled Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough bypasses industry-standard CUDA, uses assembly-like PTX programming instead DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough bypasses industry-standard CUDA, uses assembly-like PTX programming instead DeepSeek made quite a splash in the AI industry by training its Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model with 671 billion parameters using a cluster featuring 2,048 Nvidia H800 GPUs in about two months, showing 10X higher efficiency than AI industry leaders like Meta. The breakthrough was achieved by implementing tons of fine-grained optimizations and usage of assembly-like PTX (Parallel Thread Execution) programming instead of Nvidia’s CUDA, according to an analysis from Mirae Asset Securities Korea cited by @Jukanlosreve. Nvidia’s PTX (Parallel Thread Execution) is an intermediate instruction set architecture designed by Nvidia for its GPUs. PTX sits between higher-level GPU programming languages (like CUDA C/C++ or other language frontends) and the low-level machine code (streaming assembly, or SASS). PTX is a close-to-metal ISA that exposes the GPU as a data-parallel computing device and, therefore, allows fine-grained optimizations, such as register allocation and thread/warp-level adjustments, something that CUDA C/C++ and other languages cannot enable. Once PTX is into SASS, it is optimized for a specific generation of Nvidia GPUs. For example, when training its V3 model, DeepSeek reconfigured Nvidia’s H800 GPUs: out of 132 streaming multiprocessors, it allocated 20 for server-to-server communication, possibly for compressing and decompressing data to overcome connectivity limitations of the processor and speed up transactions. To maximize performance, DeepSeek also implemented advanced pipeline algorithms, possibly by making extra fine thread/warp-level adjustments. These modifications go far beyond standard CUDA-level development, but they are notoriously difficult to maintain. Therefore, this level of optimization reflects the exceptional skill of DeepSeek’s engineers. The global GPU shortage, amplified by U.S. restrictions, has compelled companies like DeepSeek to adopt innovative solutions, and DeepSeek has made a breakthrough. However, it is unclear how much money DeepSeek had to invest in development to achieve its results. The breakthrough disrupted the market as some investors believed that the need for high-performance hardware for new AI models would get lower, hurting the sales of companies like Nvidia. Industry veterans, such as Intel Pat Gelsinger, ex-chief executive of Intel, believe that applications like AI can take advantage of all computing power they can access. As for DeepSeek’s breakthrough, Gelsinger sees it as a way to add AI to a broad set of inexpensive devices in the mass market. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #DeepSeeks #breakthrough #bypasses #industrystandard #CUDA #assemblylike #PTX #programming Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Astronauts’ Vision Problems Linked to Prolonged Space Exposure, Posing Risks for Mars Missions Astronauts’ Vision Problems Linked to Prolonged Space Exposure, Posing Risks for Mars Missions Astronauts returning from extended space missions are reported to experience significant changes in eye health, linked to prolonged exposure to microgravity. Researchers have identified that the altered blood flow and pressure conditions in space can lead to vision problems. These changes are primarily associated with a condition termed spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), affecting around 70 percent of astronauts during six- to twelve-month stays on the International Space Station (ISS). This raises potential challenges for longer missions, such as a journey to Mars. Study Identifies Key Ocular Changes According to a study published in the IEEE Open Journal of Engineering in Medicine and Biology, three critical ocular parameters were analysed: ocular rigidity, intraocular pressure, and ocular pulse amplitude. Measurements were conducted on data from 13 astronauts, whose missions spanned 157 to 186 days. The researchers observed a 33 percent reduction in ocular rigidity, an 11 percent decrease in intraocular pressure, and a 25 percent decline in ocular pulse amplitude. These findings indicate biomechanical changes in the eye, accompanied by symptoms such as reduced eye size, optic nerve swelling, and retinal folds. Potential Long-Term Effects Dr Santiago Costantino, an ophthalmologist at Université de Montréal, highlighted to phys.org that microgravity alters blood flow and venous circulation in the eye, potentially leading to structural changes in the sclera and choroid. The observed changes could persist, raising concerns about the impact on missions exceeding one year. While most astronauts studied returned to normal vision after their missions, corrective lenses were sometimes necessary during recovery. Mars Missions Pose New Risks Experts remain cautious about the unknown implications of prolonged exposure to microgravity during extended missions like those to Mars. The research team emphasised that additional studies and preventive strategies are essential to address these risks. The findings serve as early indicators to identify astronauts at risk, paving the way for more targeted solutions to ensure the safety of space exploration’s next frontier. Source link #Astronauts #Vision #Problems #Linked #Prolonged #Space #Exposure #Posing #Risks #Mars #Missions Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

India vs England: Tourists win third T20 by 26 runs to keep series alive India vs England: Tourists win third T20 by 26 runs to keep series alive England will take heart from their victory but there were still familiar failings for Brendon McCullum’s side as they continued to struggle against India’s battery of spinners. They have now lost 18 wickets to turning deliveries in this series, a record for England in T20 series, beating the 14 they twice lost to New Zealand in 2019 and 2023. Harry Brook has rarely hit a speedbump in his international career, but was bowled cheaply by a spinner for a third match in a row, under-edging onto his stumps for eight off Ravi Bishnoi. The Yorkshire batter, who is averaging 12.66 in the series, was one of six England batters in their top nine who was dismissed for single figures. Jamie Smith, who impressed on debut in Chennai, became the first of four successive Chakravarthy wickets, caught by Dhruv Jurel at mid-wicket. Overton was bowled around his legs from the following delivery before Carse found Varma at square leg and Archer had his stumps uprooted by a ball that spun hard. Two wickets from seamer Pandya book-ended the seven lost to spin, with the right-armer taking the opening wicket when Phil Salt drove straight to Abhishek Sharma. The England opener’s score of five was his best of the series, and he has not made it past the second over of an innings. Pandya removed Livingstone, but not before the all-rounder had got stuck in with customary gusto, including three sixes from one Bishnoi over, scoring the runs that ultimately took England to victory, while Rashid and Wood also shared a vital stand of 24. Source link #India #England #Tourists #win #T20 #runs #series #alive Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

South of Midnight Receives M17+ Rating by ESRB Ahead of April 2025 Launch South of Midnight Receives M17+ Rating by ESRB Ahead of April 2025 Launch South of Midnight, developed by Compulsion Games and published by Xbox Game Studios, has been rated M17+ by the ESRB. Source link #South #Midnight #Receives #M17 #Rating #ESRB #Ahead #April #Launch Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ooni’s first departure from pizza ovens is a $799 spiral mixer Ooni’s first departure from pizza ovens is a $799 spiral mixer Ooni, the Scottish company known for its innovative outdoor pizza ovens, is expanding into a new product category — without sacrificing the brand’s pizza theme. The Halo Pro is a $799 mixer that tries to do the same for pizza dough as the company did for pizza ovens: bring restaurant-quality baking to the home kitchen. The Ooni Halo Pro uses spiral mixing technology, which is better for dough (including thicker ones, like for pizza). Their gentle, more efficient approach minimizes temperature increases and optimizes hydration, combining to create stronger gluten strands. Although you can buy commercial-grade spiral mixers for the home, they tend to have industrial-chic designs (so, not chic at all). And those from trusted brands like Häussler and Famag cost thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, Ooni’s model has a sleek design — more eye-catching than an eyesore — that would look right at home in the modern kitchen. It will be available in two colors: polar white and charcoal gray. Ooni The Halo Pro has a removable 7.3-quart bowl and a digital interface. Twisting a dial lets you cycle through its 58 mixing speeds. Ooni says its bowl can mix 11 pounds of dough at once — enough for 20 pizzas or six loaves of bread. The mixer specializes in dough but is hardly limited to it. It ships with a spiral hook, removable breaker bar, geared whisk and flexible beater. That toolset opens the door to things like whipped cream, egg whites or batters. The Ooni Halo Pro will cost a lot of dough compared to traditional planetary mixers. (But not compared to many industrial spiral mixers.) It launches for $799 on April 8. You can sign up on Ooni’s website to be alerted when it’s available. Source link #Oonis #departure #pizza #ovens #spiral #mixer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]