Nvidia earnings: AI chip leader shows no signs of stopping mammoth growth | Nvidia
Nvidia earnings: AI chip leader shows no signs of stopping mammoth growth | Nvidia
The AI chipmaker Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company and the engine of the artificial-intelligence *****, rolled out another set of quarterly results on Wednesday to investors’ delight.
The company, whose value has soared by $2.2tn this year to $3.6tn on the back of near-doubling of chip sales, said it had revenue of $35.08bn, against expectations of $33.15bn. Its profits more than doubled year-over-year. Revenue surged 94% from the same quarter last year. The company projected that revenue would increase by 70% in the coming quarter.
Analysts anticipated Nvidia to report earnings of $0.75 per share; the company reported $0.81. Shares of Nvidia fell about 5% in extended trading following the announcement but soon recouped the losses to remain at a similar price; they previously closed at $145.89 in New York.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, who last week said he expected the computing power driving advances in generative AI to increase by “a millionfold” over the next decade, said in a press release.
In an earnings call, Huang said that global adoption of Nvidia technology was creating a platform shift from coding to machine learning, with traditional data centers being rebuilt for machine learning to produce AI.
“Generative AI is not just a new software capability but a new industry with AI factories manufacturing digital intelligence – a new industrial revolution that can create a multi-trillion-dollar AI industry,” he said.
“AI is transforming every industry, company and country,” Huang added. “Creating an omniverse of synthetically generated data … the age of robotics is coming.”
Soaring demand for Nvidia’s Blackwell GPU chips appears to have quelled anxiety that the company could be hit by pullback in demand from tech giants sinking billions into AI processing and data centers.
Nvidia’s value has bounced back after a summer slump, rising 45% from an August low. The chip stock – up nearly 200% this year and up over 1,100% in the last two years – hit record highs following the election.
But many of Nvidia’s chip-making peers have become a net drag on the industry as they struggle to compete with its AI dominance.
Before the results were announced, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he expected another “drop-the-mic performance” from Nvidia, saying it was “the only game in town with $1tn+ of AI cap-ex on the way for the next few years with Nvidia’s GPUs the new oil and gold in this world”.
The world’s biggest tech companies have increased the amount they invest in AI by billions in recent quarters, positioning Nvidia as a major beneficiary.
Nvidia, which many see as a bellwether of the tech sector and artificial-intelligence demand that has helped power Wall Street to multiple record-highs this year.
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But an escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war, the threat of global tariff hikes from Donald Trump’s incoming administration, and the likelihood that US interest rates will not be cut by the Federal Reserve have also put markets on edge.
Other analysts agreed with Ives’ assessment that demand for Nvidia’s new Blackwell chip could push Nvidia sales and market capitalization to new heights. Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana wrote that signs of “extraordinary demand” for the new chip, including forecasts of record sales and reports of sold-out inventories for the next year, are strong indicators of Nvidia’s continued high performance.
But Chanana warned that “any signs of production delays or demand falling short could pressure the stock given its stretched valuation”.
Earlier this week, a report said that the chipmaker is having overheating issues with servers for its newest graphics chip, B200 & GB200 NVL72, both named for David Harold Blackwell, a prominent ********* mathematician and statistician.
A spokesperson for Nvidia did not ******* the report directly but said “the engineering iterations are normal and expected”.
Computer billionaire Michael Dell posted that “minutiae can shake you out of tremendous investments every time”.
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Pelican News
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Alistair Brownlee: Double Olympic triathlon champion retires aged 36
Alistair Brownlee: Double Olympic triathlon champion retires aged 36
Double Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 36.
Brownlee won gold at London 2012 before defending his title in Rio four years later.
A world champion in 2009 and 2011, Brownlee is the only triathlete ever to be crowned junior world champion, U23 world champion, ********* champion and Olympic champion.
“Triathlon has profoundly shaped my life. I have dedicated nearly half of it to being a professional athlete, fulfilling my childhood dream and achieving far more than I ever dared to imagine,” Brownlee wrote on X.
“I look forward to embracing a slightly slower pace of life, yet not too slow.
“There’s an exciting array of events, challenges and adventures awaiting me — things I’ve always wanted to have a ****** at but haven’t had the chance to pursue.”
Brownlee captured a legion of fans by winning gold on home soil in London 2012.
His brother Jonny took bronze and the pair have competed against one another on the biggest stages ever since.
Shortly after London 2012, the pair launched the Brownlee Foundation, a charity aiming to inspire children from all backgrounds to take up the sport.
In 2016, Alistair helped his brother over the finish line at the Triathlon World Series event in Mexico when Jonny started to wobble on the home straight.
Jonny, two years younger than Alistair, was leading the race when his legs started to give way in the ******** heat.
Alistair, who was in third position at the time, propped his brother up for the final 700m and helped him over the line to finish ahead of him in second place.
Earlier that summer, Alistair became the only triathlete in Olympic history to successfully defend his crown by winning gold at Rio 2016.
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The best Apple AirTag accessories for 2024
The best Apple AirTag accessories for 2024
The Apple AirTag is a tiny, handy gadget that helps you keep track of the items you care about most, whether it’s your keys, wallet, backpack or even a bike. Once you’ve paired an AirTag with your iPhone, it integrates seamlessly with the Find My app, allowing you to view its location on a map, play a sound to help you locate it nearby or even get guided directions when it’s within close range. This little tracker is incredibly useful for keeping tabs on things that tend to get misplaced, and with Apple’s impressive build quality and a replaceable battery, it’s made to last.
Accessories can make your AirTag even more useful, helping you attach it securely to nearly anything. From keychains and cases to mounts for your luggage or bike, there’s an accessory for every situation. These accessories give you more options to carry or conceal your AirTag depending on your needs. We’ve tested dozens of AirTag holders, cases and more since the Bluetooth trackers came out in 2021, and these are the best AirTag accessories we’ve tried. And if you’re an Android user, don’t fret — there are other Bluetooth trackers out there that give you similar features to AirTags and can help you keep track of your things.
Best AirTag holders
Elevation Lab
It’s easy to throw an AirTag into your coat pocket or in the bottom of your backpack, but it’s also easy for the tracking device to fall out of those things. Enter Elevation Lab’s TagVault Fabric mount, which adheres to a number of different types of fabric to discreetly track your stuff. The exterior ring of the Vault is super flexible, so once you stick it to the lining of your jacket or bag, it’ll move and adjust as you do the same with your stuff. The adhesive is quite strong, but it’s still easy to insert or remove the AirTag as much as you need. The plastic enclosure’s cap comes off with a bit of force, so you can take out your AirTag whenever you need to replace its battery. If you want something similar with an even more durable, water-resistant design, Elevation Lab makes these surface adhesive mounts that fit the bill, too.
$14 at Amazon
Belkin
If you’d prefer to attach your AirTag to the outside of your backpack or carry on, consider doing so with Belkin’s Secure Holder with Wire Cable. Whereas other holders use a simple keyring to attach the tracker to your stuff, this case uses a braided wire cable that’s extra tough. The case itself unlocks via a small Allen key to let you insert the AirTag, and then you can lock it back up again before putting the tag to use. Not only is it highly unlikely for your AirTag to get knocked out of this thing, it’s also just as unlikely for the wire strap to get caught on something and break. Overall, it’s a thoughtfully designed holder than would make a great luggage tag.
$15 at Amazon
Spigen
Spigen’s Valentinus AirTag cover is one of the best alternatives I’ve found to Apple’s own leather key rings. It has a very similar design to the first-party accessory (albeit made with pleather) , but it comes in much cheaper at only $8. Your tracking device nestles into the perfectly-shaped leather AirTag loop and snaps shut, and since the leather extends slightly over both sides of the tracker, there’s very little chance it will pop out unexpectedly. I also appreciate that it comes with a carabiner-style key ring, which makes it easier to secure to your belongings.
$16 at Amazon
Caseology
Caseology’s Vault has a more utilitarian design, made with tough, textured TPU. The oval-shaped holder has an opening on one side into which you pop your AirTag. The other side has a smaller opening that attaches to the included carabiner, which is one of the best clips I came across in my testing. It’s pretty basic as far as carabiners go, but it’s better than a standard key ring — especially if you want to easily attach your AirTag to something other than your keys like straps on a backpack, or even a **** collar. Overall, the Caseology Vault is one of the most attractive holders I tested and it will be a solid choice for anyone who doesn’t need stainless steel or leather.
$6 at Amazon
Orbitkey
Orbitkey’s Leather Holder for AirTag is a more elegant version of Apple’s accessory. It’s a genuine leather sleeve that opens just wide enough for you to slide your AirTag into its pocket. Attached to it is a quick-release ring that takes some getting used to, but once you know how to open it up, it’s easy to secure onto your keys. You essentially just have to push in one direction on the holder’s ring to unlock it, which then allows you to secure the AirTag to a lanyard, your car keys and the like. It’s a good option if you prefer that your accessories have a more polished look.
$40 at Amazon
Belkin
AirTags can also help you keep track of larger bags and luggage, and you could easily slip one into an interior pocket and call it a day. But if you’d rather ***** the tracker to the outside, you’ll need something a bit larger and more flexible than a standard key ring. Belkin’s Secure Holder with Strap is a good option: it comes in different colors and it’s budget friendly at only $13. The case opens up into two pieces, allowing you to sit the AirTag inside the circle and twist and snap the two halves together to lock it in. You can then attach the AirTag to your luggage handle, dog collar, water bottle or other item with the strap, which feels quite strong.
I appreciate the unique design of Belkin’s Secure Holder, although it was hard to twist open when the AirTag was inside of it. But that’s a good thing for daily use; your AirTag isn’t going anywhere when in the Secure Holder. I also liked its slightly raised edges, which provide extra protection against impacts and bumps.
$10 at Amazon
Incase
Incase’s Woolenex AirTag holder is one that is just as attractive as it is durable. The company’s Woolenex fabric is made of a woven blend of polyester fibers that make the accessory lightweight, water repellant and fade- and tear-resistant. Incase makes a bunch of gadgets and accessories out of this material, and those who like premium fabrics that can also handle a bit of wear-and-tear will gravitate to it. The holder has a TPU snap closure and circular cutout so it won’t interrupt the AirTag’s signal — plus, it lets you see any cute engraving you may have on your tracking device.
$20 at Incase
elago
Whether you’re attaching an AirTag to your house keys or clipping one to your ****’s backpack, you don’t need to settle for a boring holder. There are a number of fun AirTag cases available now and some of our favorites come from Elago. The accessory company makes a bunch of minimalist AirTag holders – which are good options if you’re looking for something simple and cheap – but it also has silicone cases in the shapes of avocados, ice cream bars, floppy disks and even retro game controllers. The best part is that, unlike other brands that can quickly raise prices when you want a fancily-shaped case or a holder with your favorite character on it, Elago’s playful cases will run you no more than $15 apiece.
$12 at Amazon
Pelican
Keyrings and straps aren’t the best way to attach an AirTag to anything and everything. Things like bikes, coolers, luggage and other items would be better served by an adhesive mount. Pelican makes one of the most protective ones available at the moment – the Protector Sticker Mount case has a two-piece design that you pop open to insert your AirTag inside. It basically acts as a little box in which your AirTag lives while it’s tracking your stuff. You can stick it to your items using the strong adhesive panel on the back of the case, and Pelican even includes an extra adhesive pad in the package as well, just in case you need another one. While the case itself is a bit tough to get open at first, that just shows how hard it would be for your AirTag to accidentally pop out of it.
$15 at Amazon
AirTag holder FAQs
Why do AirTags need a holder?
AirTags need a holder because they do not have built-in keyring holes like Tile, Chipolo and other Bluetooth trackers do.
How do you attach an AirTag to things?
You’ll need a holder or case to attach an AirTag to your stuff. If you’re comfortable slipping an AirTag into an interior pocket of a bag or coat, you can do so without an extra accessory. But if you want to use one to keep track of your keys, wallet, backpack or even your **** on their collar, you’ll need an accessory that can accommodate that use case.
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Nvidia (NVDA) stock slumps despite Q3 earnings beat
Nvidia (NVDA) stock slumps despite Q3 earnings beat
POLAND – 2024/11/13: In this photo illustration, the NVIDIA company logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo Illustration by Piotr Swat/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Nvidia shares dropped in U.S. premarket trading Thursday after the tech giant’s third-quarter earnings ******* to impress investors.
Shares of the chipmaker slumped 3.21% at around 5:03 a.m. ET, following the Wednesday release of Nvidia’s quarterly results, which beat on both the top and bottom lines.
Revenue came in at $35.08 billion, up 94% year-on-year and exceeding the $33.16 billion forecast by LSEG analysts. Earnings per share was 81 cents adjusted, also above analyst expectations.
Other chipmakers fell on the back of the market reaction to Nvidia’s third-quarter results. Shares of Intel, Qualcomm and Micron Technology all lost 1% or more in value, while AMD declined 0.6%.
The slump in Nvidia also had a knock-on effect on ********* semiconductor firms. ASML, a key chip equipment supplier, dropped 0.9%, while compatriot Dutch chip firm ASMI fell 0.5%. Chipmakers BE Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics and Infineon slipped 0.8%, 0.7 and 0.6%, respectively.
Several notable chip names were also in negative territory in Asia. TSMC, which makes Nvidia’s high-performance graphics processing units, eased as much as 1.5%. Contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn dropped 1.9%.
Why are Nvidia shares falling?
Nvidia has largely cornered the market for the high-powered chips powering the world’s most advanced artificial intelligence models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Despite nearly doubling sales year-on-year, Nvidia’s third-quarter results showed a slowdown from previous quarters. Nvidia previously reported growth of 122% in the second quarter, 262% in the first quarter, and 265% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in emailed comments Wednesday that the dip in Nvidia’s share price “suggests even outstanding isn’t enough for some investors,” adding that he expects the stock to bounce back once markets open.
“NVIDIA’s generated stellar gains for shareholders over many years now, and right now it’s pretty hard to see any major holes in the investment case,” Nathan added.
Analysts are looking ahead to the much-anticipated launch of Nvidia’s next-generation chip called Blackwell. On the firm’s earnings call, CEO Jensen Huang said that demand for the chip is exceeding supply.
– CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report
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Exclusive: ‘Battlefield evidence’ from Syria is coming to Canada’s courts
Exclusive: ‘Battlefield evidence’ from Syria is coming to Canada’s courts
“Battlefield evidence” collected in Syria has begun appearing in ********* courts in cases against suspected ISIS members, a Global News investigation has found.
Seized from captured combatants, ISIS documents and electronic files are being used for the first time in Canada to overcome the challenges of holding so-called foreign fighters to account.
The materials, which have now surfaced in courts in two provinces, are the product of Operation Gallant Phoenix, a U.S.-led effort to share what is known as collected exploitable material (CEM).
CEM is evidence found on the battlefield, and can include paperwork and data harvested from the pockets, phones and laptops of fighters taken prisoner during combat.
It is part of an attempt to address a major national security problem for Canada: How to bring to justice those who participated in ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
Such evidence has already been used to convict ISIS members in the ******* States, but experts and officials said it faces hurdles before it is treated as reliable in Canada’s courts.
A Global News investigation found the RCMP has already put CEM before the courts in British Columbia and Alberta, against suspected ISIS members who have returned from Syria.
In two of the cases, police asked the courts for terrorism peace bonds to restrict the movements of ISIS women in the name of public safety. Both cases were successful.
But Crown prosecutors have not yet tested CEM in a ********* trial, and a senior RCMP officer said work was underway to use it to bring charges against Canadians who participated in ISIS.
In an exclusive interview with Global News, RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brigitte Gauvin said police had “been utilizing CEM, which is collected exploitable material.”
“We’ve made a lot of progress in obtaining that evidence, and we are working on a framework to be able to utilize it as evidence in court,” said Gauvin, the head of national security investigations.
She said it was being used to identify the ******* of those the government calls ********* extremist travellers (CETs), who left the country to take part in ******* groups like ISIS.
“CEM is very important as it kind of paints a picture, or gives us the knowledge of the role and activities CETs would have perpetrated while in the conflict zone.”
“We are continuously requesting that type of evidence along with other information or intelligence that we can use to advance our investigations,” Gauvin said.
“It hasn’t been used in prosecutions or tested in court yet, but we’re definitely prepared to do so.”
A U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighter frisks a man evacuated from the last ISIS territory, Baghouz, Syria, on Feb. 22, 2019 (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File).
Although Canada has been putting terrorists on trial for the past two decades, in some cases for what they did in war zones, prosecutors have not yet relied on battlefield evidence.
“This is the sort of evidence we haven’t seen yet,” said Michael Nesbitt, a leading national security scholar and associate dean at the University of Calgary law school.
He said it could be a boon to prosecutors, but they will have to establish how it was collected and got into the RCMP’s hands.
“The question, as always, will be the authenticity of the evidence.”
Prosecutors may have to file affidavits attesting to the origin of the papers and their continuity, meaning where they were found and how they were passed from agency to agency.
In the two cases in which CEM has already been filed in ********* courts, the RCMP provided a description of the “capture circumstances” for each document.
The use of CEM may be particularly effective against ISIS members since the ******* group kept voluminous bureaucratic records, partly because it had to govern the areas it occupied.
A logbook found in Raqqah, Syria, was used as ‘battlefield evidence’ against U.S. ISIS member Emraan Ali.
U.S. District Court
Foreign ********** fighters leave “trails of evidence” that can be “a goldmine for prosecutors and investigators, said Matt Blue, the chief of the U.S. Justice Department’s counter-terrorism section.
Materials picked up on battlefields are being analyzed, catalogued and shared, he said in a speech in April. “Knowing how much evidence we’ve collected over the years, I know we can bring many more individuals to justice for their ********* activity.”
Last year, such evidence was used to convict Emraan Ali, an ********* who served in ISIS.
“Foundational to the ********* charges against Ali was evidence in two logbooks and two hard drives collected by U.S. authorities,” Blue said.
The government’s push to use it in ********* courtrooms comes amid a series of arrests in Ontario and Quebec over the summer that served as a reminder that ISIS ******** a threat.
On Sept. 4, the RCMP arrested Muhammad Shahzeb Khan in Ormstown, Que. A Pakistani in Canada on a student visa, he was allegedly on his way to New York to conduct a mass ********* for ISIS at a Brooklyn ******* centre.
A Toronto minor was charged in August with terrorism offences allegedly related to ISIS, and a father and son originally from Egypt, Ahmed and Mostafa Eldidi, were arrested in July as they were allegedly preparing to carry out a mass stabbing for ISIS in Toronto.
The evidence against the father includes a video in which he is allegedly seen in Iraq, using a sword to hack the feet and hands off a prisoner suspended from a crucifix.
In addition, in July a British court convicted Edmonton resident Khaled Hussein of belonging to Al-Muhajiroun, a ********** group headed by pro-ISIS preacher Anjem Choudary.
A Montreal woman who joined ISIS speaks to Global News in Syria in 2018. She has now returned to Montreal.
Global News
But of the nine women who were allegedly part of ISIS and have returned from Syria to B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, just three have been charged.
Several other ********* ISIS women have not yet come home, and Kurdish fighters are still holding at least four ********* men who were captured during fighting in Syria.
In the absence of charges, the RCMP has been using terrorism peace bonds, which have a lower burden of proof, to limit the threat posed by the returning women.
In one such case, the RCMP evidence filed in court includes “Collected Exploitable Material” about Edmonton resident Aimee Vasconez. The RCMP said it was provided by the FBI.
The CEM includes Islamic State documents recovered by Kurdish fighters in Tabqah, Syria, that name ISIS women, their aliases, husbands, countries of origin and dates of birth.
Within those documents was a ledger that recorded the names of foreigners who entered ISIS-controlled territory in March 2015. Vasconez and her late husband Ali Abdel-Jabbar were allegedly listed.
The battlefield evidence against Edmonton’s Aimee Vasconez included her alleged application for weapons training.
Alberta Court
The FBI also gave the RCMP materials taken from ISIS members fleeing the Euphrates River Valley in February 2019, including Vasconez’s application for military training.
The evidence was used by the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team in Alberta to obtain a warrant to arrest Vasconez when she returned from Syria last year.
The court records show the materials were part of Operation Gallant Phoenix, which the RCMP said was launched “to consolidate and disseminate evidence gathered from the conflict zone in Syria and Iraq.”
Canada has never acknowledged being part of Operation Gallant Phoenix, and Gauvin declined to discuss specifics about the sharing of CEM, saying “there are some sensitivities surrounding that.”
“But definitely, the ongoing collaboration and increased collaboration with our foreign partners, especially the Five Eyes, in this area, and the sharing and the use of CEM has definitely been an important tool for us to be able to advance those investigations.”
Operation Gallant Phoenix began in 2013 as a way to “track the flow of foreign ********** fighters in and out of Iraq and Syria,” according to the website of the New Zealand Defence Force.
“It has since evolved into a platform where partners collect and share information about potential and existing ********** threats, regardless of the ideology behind those threats.”
An entry form for a ********* arriving in ISIS territory, with Edmonton phone numbers.
A second ISIS suspect, Kimberly Polman of Squamish, B.C., was arrested upon returning to Canada in a case based partly on CEM, according to court records.
The evidence against her included an Arabic notebook that listed women inhabiting an ISIS guesthouse in Syria in 2015. The RCMP obtained the notebook from the FBI, which got it from the U.S. Defense Department, according to the court records.
The U.S. has collected 300 terabytes of CEM, ranging from fingerprints and diaries to letters and data on fighters, according to the West Point Combating Terrorism Center.
“CEM holds great potential and has been used in important ways to investigate and prosecute foreign ********** fighters, screen and watchlist ********** suspects, or deny travel,” it said.
The U.S. Justice Department counter-terrorism chief, Blue, said the U.S. had amassed “an extraordinary volume of collected exploitable material and battlefield evidence.”
“And every day, highly trained analysts and investigators sift through that evidence — carefully analyzing it and cataloguing it for retrieval and sharing.”
*****@*****.tld
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Pelican News
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Pick Up Dragon’s Dogma 2 For Just $50 On PS5 And Xbox Series X During Amazon’s ****** Friday *****
Pick Up Dragon’s Dogma 2 For Just $50 On PS5 And Xbox Series X During Amazon’s ****** Friday *****
One of the most interesting RPGs 2024, Dragon’s Dogma 2, is down to its lowest price yet during Amazon’s ****** Friday ***** that just went live. You can pick up the open-world fantasy epic for just $40 on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 ****** Friday Deal at Amazon
Like its predecessor, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is an open-world action RPG that harkens back to the challenge and friction of the genre’s more ********* roots. It’s not necessarily for everyone, but anyone looking for a deep action RPG will find a lot to like about Dragon’s Dogma 2–especially if you were a fan of the first game. GameSpot reviewer Richard Wakeling scored the game a 9/10, calling it “an enchanting open-world RPG with varied, exciting combat and a player-created companion system that’s still unlike anything else. It doesn’t do much beyond what the original did, but advancements in technology have enhanced its anomalous strengths, breathing new life into its massive open world and the ways in which you and everything around you can interact with it.”
Several of the biggest games of 2024 are also on ***** right now, if you’re looking to prepare yourself for a festive season gaming binge. There’s the blistering action of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, polished frights in the Silent Hill 2 remake, and the fantasy epic Metaphor ReFantazio to consider. Each one of these games normally retail for $70, but they’re currently available for $50 each as part of Amazon’s ****** Friday *****. Check out the full ***** to see all the discounts, and keep tabs on GameSpot’s deals coverage for more of the best ****** Friday price cuts available.
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Google must sell Chrome to end search monopoly, justice department argues in court filing | Google
Google must sell Chrome to end search monopoly, justice department argues in court filing | Google
Alphabet’s Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with competitors and take a range of other measures to end its monopoly on searching the internet, US prosecutors have argued to a judge.
Such changes would essentially result in Google being highly regulated for 10 years, subjecting it to oversight by the same Washington federal court that ruled the company maintained an ******** monopoly in online search and related advertising.
Google controls about 90% of the online search market.
“Google’s unlawful behaviour has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways,” the US Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a court filing.
The court papers filed on Wednesday night expand on an earlier outline on how the US wants to end Google’s monopoly. Google called the proposals ******** at the time, saying they would harm US consumers and businesses and shake ********* competitiveness in artificial intelligence.
The company has said it will appeal.
The DoJ demands are wide-ranging, including barring Google from re-entering the browser market for five years and insisting Google sell its Android mobile operating system if other remedies fail to restore competition.
The department has also requested a prohibition on Google buying or investing in any search rivals, query-based artificial intelligence products or advertising technology.
The DoJ and a coalition of states want US district judge Amit Mehta to end exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to Apple and other device vendors to make its search engine the default on their tablets and smartphones.
Google will have a chance to present its own proposals in December.
Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April, though president-elect Donald Trump and the DoJ’s next antitrust head could step in and change course in the case.
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Donna Nelson: Perth woman on ***** smuggling charges claims she was tricked by man while seeking love
Donna Nelson: Perth woman on ***** smuggling charges claims she was tricked by man while seeking love
A Perth woman on trial for smuggling ***** into Japan claims she was duped by a man she met while seeking love.
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Star Wars Outlaws removing stealth from ‘almost all quest objectives’
Star Wars Outlaws removing stealth from ‘almost all quest objectives’
Star Wars Outlaws will remove most of the game’s instant-fail stealth objectives in a forthcoming update.
The game, which was released earlier this year, initially featured several sections where players would receive a game over screen if they were spotted by an ******, even if they had a chance to escape without an alarm being raised.
This was met with backlash from players, and critics, however now the game’s creative director has said that these objectives are being changed.
Drew Rechner, the game’s new creative director, said “Player choice has always been a core focus of Star Wars Outlaws, but after listening to your feedback, we’ve realized there’s more we can do to give you even greater freedom.
“Restrictions like “Do not raise the alarm” or “Do not get caught” in quests were forcing players into stealthy playstyles, limiting the ability to choose whether to use combat or not. As a result, some quests could feel frustrating or unfair. We also found that detection mechanics could be unpredictable and inconsistent as well.
“Our first step in expanding player choice is removing forced stealth from almost all quest objectives. This doesn’t mean that sneaking is no longer a viable or even preferable option in some cases. Rather, if you’re caught while sneaking, the objective won’t fail and reset you to the last checkpoint. Instead, you’ll seamlessly transition into combat. We know many of you enjoy the stealth approach, so it was important to us to preserve that playstyle while also giving you the freedom to decide how to tackle each mission.”
Ubisoft announced in September that it was working on a series of updates designed to get the game into better shape in time for the holiday season.
It also said its decision to delay *********’s Creed Shadows from this November to February 2025 was influenced by the poor reception to Star Wars Outlaws, which wasn’t as polished as it should have been and has underperformed commercially.
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Pelican News
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Here Are the GOP Senators Who Could Take Down Trump's Cabinet Picks
Here Are the GOP Senators Who Could Take Down Trump's Cabinet Picks
President-elect Donald Trump’s rapid-***** cabinet appointments have made clear what he values: loyalty to Donald Trump and a demonstrated ability to articulate that loyalty on television.
The response to The Trump Show’s casting call will be even more clarifying. In short: Will the Senate remain the Senate?
While much of the GOP has become a Trump subsidiary, there are still some Senate Republicans who consider themselves members of a co-equal branch of government and take their Advise and Consent duty seriously.
Not that this is the Hollywood version of the Senate. Most of the 53 *********** lawmakers in the incoming Senate want to support their party’s president, who just won a decisive victory and enjoys diehard support from the bulk of their voters. They’d much rather air their concerns about Trump’s picks privately and avoid having to cast a vote in opposition to any of them. No need to do any “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” impressions on the Senate floor when the oppo research can work its will.
Yet it’s that lack of appetite for a public showdown with Trump that will make the first months of the new Congress so telling. The fates of the fringe appointees who come up for a confirmation vote will reveal one of the most important new power centers in Washington, and perhaps one of the few checks on Trump II: the lame duck caucus.
Yes, it’s those senators who may never have to face *********** primary voters again and are therefore immune from Trump’s greatest power — his control of the GOP base.
These are the lawmakers for which freedom — to borrow from the great and recently departed Kris Kristofferson — is just another word for nothing left to lose.
This is not to say that every *********** senator who opposes a Trump appointment is headed for the exits. Some are independent minded, and their political strength flows partly from that identity (looking at you, senior senators from Maine and Alaska).
However, to examine those GOP senators whose terms are up in 2026 and 2028 is to grasp how some of Trump’s most provocative picks could be blocked, provided the 47 Democrats and independents vote in unified opposition.
The challenge will not just be how willing they are to thwart Trump, but whether they will be willing to do so with more than one nominee. It’s one thing to rise up with safety in numbers and block, say, Matt Gaetz’s nomination as attorney general should it reach the floor. It’s quite another to torpedo Gaetz and then take down another, let alone two or three, more Trump appointees.
It’s worth watching, though, because this same bloc of *********** lawmakers would also be the most likely to reemerge later in Trump’s term to selectively challenge him on issues (tariffs or foreign policy come to mind) or an inevitable power grab.
So who’s in this latest Senate gang, one most would deny being part of?
Let’s begin with those senators who are up in 2026.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (***.): The longest-serving Senate leader in ********* history tops the list because he is the most likely retiree. McConnell is the consummate partisan — look no further than his return to Trump after prematurely consigning him to history’s ash heap. He’s also a team player who will not want to make life unduly difficult for his successor as leader, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).
However, McConnell has also made clear he wants to use the end of his 40-plus years in the Senate to steer his party away from isolationism. How committed he is to that task could be determined early next year should he have to consider Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary and Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief.
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas): Equally liberated could be the man who fell a few votes short of becoming McConnell’s successor. In the immediate wake of his defeat, Cornyn, who turns 73 in February, said he still planned to run for reelection. Yet after not realizing his years-long goal of becoming Senate GOP leader, does Cornyn really want to spend the next 16 months racing between Texas and Washington to fend off a right-wing primary so he can serve in the rank-and-file until he’s 80? If not, he’s free to act, and vote, like the Bush *********** he is.
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine): Finally poised to claim the Appropriations gavel she’s long coveted, Collins has also indicated she intends to run for reelection in two years. I don’t doubt it. But what sort of a primary and general election could loom in her bifurcated state? There’s a reason why the dexterous Collins is the last sitting GOP senator to carry a state that her party’s presidential nominee lost. Striking that balance of keeping core Republicans from her native rural Maine happy without angering moderate Mainers closer to Portland will be on her mind with every contentious vote.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.): Like Collins, Cassidy voted to convict Trump of impeachment charges nearly four years ago. Unlike Collins, Cassidy hails from a deeply pro-Trump state. Even more ominous for the Louisiana lawmaker, his state’s famous jungle primary — in which all candidates for office appear on a single ballot open to all voters — is no more for federal races. Now chairing the HELP Committee, Cassidy, a physician, may not want to walk away. But if he concludes he will lose a *********** primary, he’ll be free to vote as boldly as he did when he was one of only seven Senate Republicans to convict Trump.
Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.): Tillis’ most vexing potential primary opponent, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, is no more thanks to, well, you know what. But like Collins, Tillis is staring at the prospect of more ************* Republicans eager to pounce should he break from Trump. And Tillis could have one of the most hard-fought general elections in the country should outgoing Gov. Roy Cooper be tempted to run. (Expect Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to have memorized Cooper’s number by the first of the year.)
More than the hassle of an expensive primary and general election two years on may be the more immediate question of whether a dealmaker like Tillis can find satisfaction in the Senate during another time of Trump. Will he make his peace with MAGA, as he did under Trump I? Or will he follow the course of his neighbor to the west, former Senator Bob Corker, and decide after two terms he’s had quite enough of the “****** day care center” that is the Trump White House.
Sen. Joni Ernst (Iowa): Ernst has been sounding Trumpier lately. Perhaps she’ll be tapped for an administration post. Army Secretary or Defense Secretary, if Hegseth is derailed, could be alluring for a military veteran like Ernst. But, as with Cornyn, she lost a leadership race and is now something of a free agent. And like McConnell, she doesn’t hide her more hawkish national security views.
I’m tempted to include Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), a pre-Trump *********** if there ever was one. Capito turns 71 next week and may not want to spend most of her 70s in the Senate. Yet she’ll be mindful of voting in a way that, in a state where the primary is now tantamount to election, won’t undermine her son or nephew from becoming the third generation of Moores elected statewide.
Okay, onto those up in 2028.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Ark.): Murkowski is the other remaining GOP senator who voted to convict Trump of impeachment charges in the aftermath of the ******* on the Capitol. She has already won one primary as a write-in candidate. And she may prevail again should she run again in four years if Alaska’s ranked-choice system survives repeal efforts. But that Anchorage to D.C. commute doesn’t get any shorter. Regardless of her ultimate plans, there may be no more liberated *********** senator in the body next year.
Sen. Charles Grassley (Iowa): Grassley has been in elected office since the Eisenhower administration and I’m reluctant to ever assume he’s on the verge of retirement. But at 91, perhaps the Iowan will start considering his retirement years. Seriously, though, the Judiciary Committee chair has not shown much interest in challenging Trump previously. But if ever there was a GOP lawmaker without political considerations to weigh, it’s the hog farmer and Twitter maven from New Hartford, Iowa.
Sen. Todd Young (Ind.): It got remarkably little attention, but Young didn’t endorse Trump’s candidacy this year. Which puts him in league with Collins and Murkowski. That’s no small thing for a 52-year-old from deep-red (crimson?) Indiana with years ahead of him in elected office. If he wants as much. That may depend on the state of party.
Regardless, Young, a Naval Academy graduate and Marine, is in the internationalist tradition of his long-ago boss, Sen. Richard Lugar. And his deafening silence this year toward Trump’s candidacy suggests he’s not afraid to go his own way.
Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas): The low-key former House member — he and Thune arrived in the same class to that chamber — has avoided tangling with Trump. But Moran is a *********** traditionalist who could be in his last term. He’s 70 and, like Cornyn, may not want to remain in the Senate until he’s 80.
Sen. To Be Named Later (Ohio): The successor to Vice-President-elect JD Vance is a mystery but the person who will decide who fills the seat is not. It’s Gov. Mike DeWine, an old school *********** nearing, presumably, his final two years in elected office. Will DeWine pick a placeholder in his image, somebody who may defy Trump, or a more MAGA-friendly figure who can survive a primary?
That’s it for the 2028 class. I’ll resist the temptation to scout those GOP senators up in 2030 — except to note this may be Armed Services Chair and national security hawk Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-Miss.) last term.
Not that he or most any other GOP senator will want to break from Trump. But as the once and future president has proven for nearly a decade, and is proving anew since the election, the only thing more vexing than being a Trump critic is being a Trump ally.
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Cambodia’s flagship canal in hot water as China funding dries up
Cambodia’s flagship canal in hot water as China funding dries up
By Francesco Guarascio
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) – At a ceremony in August, Cambodia’s leader Hun Manet knelt to receive blessings from saffron-robed monks as fireworks and balloons heralded the breaking of ground for a canal he hopes will transform his country’s economic fortunes.
Addressing hundreds of people waving the Cambodian flag, Hun Manet said China would contribute 49% to the funding of the Funan Techo Canal that will link the Mekong River to the Gulf of Thailand and reduce Cambodia’s shipping reliance on its neighbour Vietnam.
Cambodia’s government estimates the strategic, if contentious, infrastructure project will cost $1.7 billion, nearly 4% of Cambodia’s annual ****** domestic product.
But months later, China’s financial contribution ******** in doubt.
Four people directly involved in the investment plans or briefed about them told Reuters Beijing has expressed misgivings about the project and has not made definitive commitments on its funding.
“It is normal business practice for ******** companies to assist Cambodia in exploring the construction of comprehensive water conservancy projects in accordance with market principles,” China’s foreign ministry said in an emailed statement to Reuters when asked about the canal.
The ******** ministry did not answer a direct question about the funding but said the two countries were “ironclad friends,” a comment echoed by Hun Manet in late October.
Cambodia’s government declined requests for interviews, and its press officers did not reply in recent weeks to requests for comments about the canal’s funding.
China’s lack of clear commitment could jeopardise the entire plan, given uncertainty over the project’s costs, its environmental impact and financial viability, experts, officials and diplomats say.
It also underscore how Beijing is drastically downsizing its overseas investments as its domestic economic struggles, even in countries it considers strategic partners, such as Cambodia.
Once a prime example for Western-backed “nation-building” after the long civil war that followed the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodia has in recent times been widely seen by diplomats and foreign policy experts as a ******** client state, owing to Beijing more than one-third of its total state debt.
But ******** investment in the Southeast ****** nation is now plunging, after a series of unsuccessful infrastructure projects, amid concerns over ********* gangs targeting ******** nationals, and dropping tourist numbers.
DIFFERING NARRATIVES
The 180km (112 mile) canal would greatly expand an existing waterway and divert water from the fragile rice-growing Mekong Delta to the Gulf of Thailand, cutting Cambodian shipping through Vietnamese ports.
In the months after the Cambodian government signed an “investment framework agreement” in October 2023 with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a state-owned construction company, Cambodian officials went public about China’s financial involvement. The text of the deal is not public.
In an interview with Reuters in May, the minister in charge of the project, Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, said CRBC would develop the canal and “totally” cover its costs, getting a multi-decade concession in return.
But at the August groundbreaking, the prime minister put CRBC’s share in the project at 49%, with the remainder covered by Cambodian companies.
The same day, his father and Cambodia’s decades-long leader Hun Sen posted a statement on Facebook calling on Japan to invest in the canal.
China’s official Xinhua News Agency did not mention any ******** involvement in its report about the groundbreaking.
A few days later, a communication officer for Sun Chanthol told Reuters that ownership for the canal’s section to be developed together with CRBC remained “to be determined”.
When asked about Cambodian assertions that CRBC would have a 49% stake, an official for the company told Reuters in mid-October the figures circulating publicly were not definitive. “It’s very complicated,” said the official, who did not elaborate.
CRBC and its parent company did not reply to requests for comment.
One person directly involved in the investment plans told Reuters in early November there was no ******** money on the table at that stage, confirming the account from another official.
A source from one of the Cambodian investors in the project said it would not be a surprise if China did not invest in the canal at all.
A fourth official briefed on the matter said China earlier this year had privately criticised Cambodian officials for announcing ******** funding for the project that had not been decided.
They all declined to be named because of the issue’s sensitivity.
More than three months after groundbreaking, the site of the ceremony on the bank of the Mekong ***** abandoned, a Reuters reporter observed.
CHINA INVESTMENT DOWN
Dithering over the canal comes as ******** official development assistance to Cambodia, including infrastructure funding, is falling.
China’s disbursements to Cambodia are projected to drop to $35 million in 2026 from more than $420 million in 2021. There have been no new ******** loans in the first half of this year, down from $567 million in 2022 and $302 million last year, according to Cambodian official data.
******** funding for overseas projects is also falling elsewhere, but in Cambodia the impact “could be very pronounced,” said Grace Stanhope of the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank.
China is still building roads and other infrastructure but has pulled out from the construction of the new Phnom Penh airport, where it had initially committed $1.1 billion.
That disengagement came as an expressway built by CRBC connecting Phnom Penh to the coastal city of Sihanoukville remained under-utilised by Cambodian motorists and truck drivers who to avoid tolls prefer the crowded but free old road, a Reuters reporter observed, confirming accounts from multiple Cambodia-based officials.
Another recently completed ********-backed airport at Siem Reap to serve the UNESCO world heritage site of Angkor Wat “is very quiet,” said Ou Virak, head of Cambodian think tank Future Forum, noting investors may face losses.
******** private investment ******** high, but multiple Phnom Penh-based diplomats and financial experts point to once large inflows of ******** informal funds destined to the gambling industry and real estate sector having dried up.
******** tourism, once a major source of income for Cambodia, has also struggled to recover from the COVID pandemic.
That has coincided with a prolonged ******** campaign warning tourists of risks linked to an online scams industry in Cambodia.
As relations between China and Cambodia evolve, the canal project’s fate and its sustainability remain uncertain.
“With so many unknowns, it’s no surprise to me that investors are getting cold feet on this project and have yet to show up with their money in hand,” said Brian Eyler, an expert on the Mekong region at U.S.-based think tank Stimson Center.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Phnom Penh; additional reporting by Liz Lee and Yukun Zhang in Beijing; editing by David Crawshaw and Lincoln Feast.)
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Genshin Impact Has a Secret Boss That Can One-Shot *****, Makes La Signora and The Golden Wolflord Look Easy
Genshin Impact Has a Secret Boss That Can One-Shot *****, Makes La Signora and The Golden Wolflord Look Easy
Just when you think there could not be any more surprises in Genshin Impact, we are faced with one. Up until very recently, it was believed that the most difficult bosses in the game were La Signora and The Golden Wolflord.
The most difficult boss in the game is also the smallest. Image Credit: miHoYo
However, the discovery of this one cute little ****** with 10 million HP changed the difficulty level of the game altogether. This little ****** is even one-shotting pro players, which is just extremely bizarre.
Genshin Impact Just Got Way More Exciting
The game keeps getting more and more exciting with each year. Image Credit: miHoYo
Genshin Impact has been out for a while now, and players are constantly exploring various regions and coming up with unique builds that make the experience of playing it special and unique.
It also has some of the most difficult boss fights, which will require you to be on your toes and alert at all times. It takes a unique and creative blend of skills and equipment to make a mark in the game. Some of the most difficult boss fights in the game have to be the ones with La Signora and The Golden Wolflord.
Both of these bosses have an integral part to play in the narrative of the game. There is one more secret boss that has recently been discovered. It seems like this boss even overpowers the most difficult enemies in the game. It has a total of 10 million HP and also can one-shot you. It became famous for one-shotting *****.
The cute little ****** is none other than a Capybara Archon in Natian. @thejonathon, a Twitch streamer, recently shared his experience while facing the twerking Capybara. When he faced the creature the first time, it one-tapped his level 90 Chongyun. He said:
We’ve fought gods, dragons, arlecchino, and you’re telling me the hardest ****** we have ever faced is a twerking capybara?
This twerking Capybara seems to be getting a lot of attention at the moment due to his unalarming look but also his ferocious technique and power.
These Are The Things That Make A Game Feel Fresh
The twerking Capybara is too difficult to beat. Image Credit: miHoYo
Genshin Impact is a game that does not fail to surprise you. It is being maintained and developed so well that players still have a great time exploring and trying out new things almost 4 years after its release.
It is a great feat for any game to be relevant in the market for as long as it can and keep pushing its boundaries. Up until very recently, it seemed like the toughest boss was behind us, but then a twerking Capybara showed up, and things began to feel fresh and exciting again.
This is one of the many benefits of having an extensive open world; it provides developers with space and time to develop new and exciting things. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
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How an IRA spy named ‘Stakeknife’ got away with playing both sides | Podcasts
How an IRA spy named ‘Stakeknife’ got away with playing both sides | Podcasts
It’s international ***** rings, trivia quizzes and an IRA double agent this week – at least two of which are genuinely thrilling listening (read on to find out which will set the adrenaline pumping).
Late-night podcast listeners should ***** not, though: far be it from this week’s newsletter to make your pulse race to the extent that it disturbs snoozy time. We’ve also got a rundown of the five best shows to listen to in order to switch off at the end of a hard day. You’re welcome. Sweet dreams!
Alexi Duggins Deputy TV editor
Picks of the week
Ever the optimist … Yara Shahidi on the red carper. Photograph: John Salangsang/REX/Shutterstock
The Optimist Project with Yara Shahidi Widely available, episodes weekly Yara Shahidi is the award-winning actor of comedies ******-ish and Grown-ish, but she reckons she could factor optimism into her life more – so she’s decided to make a podcast in which she learns how to do just that. Shahidi speaks to the likes of singer, actor and “professional self-affirmation writer” Janelle Monáe and Yale’s happiness expert Dr Laurie Santos for mood-boosting chats, and invites you to join in with her optimism project. Hollie Richardson
Stakeknife BBC Sounds, episodes weekly How was Freddie Scappaticci (codename: Stakeknife) allowed to lead a double life for so long? Mark Horgan investigates the complicated case of the man who tracked down IRA informers, but acted as a double agent – starting with his fury at the release of a story that named him, and his subsequent time in hiding. Hannah Verdier
Operation Seal Bay BBC Sounds, episodes weekly “This is the story of how a small Welsh community and a local police force came together to take on an international drugs ring.” The opening summary of this new series is certainly a compelling sell. It looks at a Danish millionaire’s attempt to run cannabis out of a Pembrokeshire fishing village in evocative and charming style. Alexi Duggins
SmartLess Presents ClueLess Widely available, episodes biweekly Excellent, ginormous show SmartLess presents a quizzing-based spin-off in which host Sean Hayes is joined by famous pals to answer trivia questions. It’s an odd listen – a bit like eavesdropping on a pub quiz team – which happens a bit too fast for playalong potential. But the banter, with SmartLess co-hosts Will Arnett and Jason Bateman for the first episode, is fun. AD
Lords of ****** Widely available, episodes weekly This true-****** podcast is billed as revisiting the ******* of Cindy Cozad, an Ohio **** worker, in the 1990s. But if you’re braced for grisly descriptions you can relax, because host Thrasher Banks unravels a personal, poignant story involving his own mother, who crossed paths with murderous gang the Lords of ******. HV
There’s a podcast for that
Chewing the **** … Jessie and Lennie Ware’s chatty cooking podcast is a perfect way to zone out. Photograph: Pål Hansen/The Observer
This week, Ammar Kalia chooses five of the best podcasts to switch off to, from a comedian’s sleepy show to Jessie and Lennie Ware’s peaceful podcast
Drifting Off with Joe Pera There is nothing as soothing as listening to a relaxing voice to help you switch off from your inner monologue and life’s stresses. While series like Sleep With Me use a calming baritone to tell bedtime stories that get progressively more uninteresting in an effort to help you into the land of nod, it’s comic Joe Pera’s podcast Drifting Off that harnesses his pacifying voice to create something more unique. Blending ASMR, comedy and a distinctly meandering form of storytelling, Pera softly mumbles through the mundane, telling anecdotes about the books he’s recently read or chatting to guests on the phone while composer Ryan Dann accompanies with immersive soundscapes. Perfect to tune in and tune out to.
Phoebe Reads a Mystery If you want to switch off but still stay awake, there are a number of niche shows perfectly designed to hold your attention and keep you listening, but loosely enough so that you don’t become fixated. The popular Nothing Much Happens is one such series, where host Kathryn Nicolai tells stories that walk the line between intrigue and uneventfulness, while Phoebe Judge’s Phoebe Reads a Mystery takes the premise in a more sedate but no less engaging direction. A beautifully simple show, each episode sees Judge read a chapter from a mystery novel, pacing out her own audiobook narration to relay charming tales.
Table Manners Sometimes the best setting to switch off to is being among the chatter of others. There is no shortage of talking heads in the podcast world, willing to chat away for hours about all manner of topics, but the real appeal of a soothing chatshow ***** in the talk being interesting enough that it avoids becoming obtrusive and frustrating. Singer Jessie Ware and her mother Lennie’s immensely popular series Table Manners does just that, inviting a new celeb guest home each episode and nattering away over a home cooked meal. An ideal listen for those who like to relax to the sound of laughter.
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Soul Music BBC Radio 4’s long-running audio montage series is a choice option for unwinding to the sounds of some of modern music’s most enduring songs. Taking a song with a formidable legacy as its focus for each episode, we hear clips of the track in question interspersed with expert commentary on its significance and the story of its making, ultimately producing 30-minute forays into musicology, songwriting and instrumental joy. Highlights include a deep ***** into Elton John’s Tiny Dancer, the jazz history of George Gershwin’s Someone to Watch Over Me and the poignant legacy of Sam Cooke’s A Change Is Gonna Come.
Untangle Unwinding doesn’t necessarily have to mean being unable to learn something new. Mental health series Untangle provides fascinating insights into meditation methods, ways to emotionally regulate and expert analysis on wellbeing trends, coupled with weekly guided meditation episodes, to produce a listening experience that artfully combines ways to relax with food for thought on your own developing process and practice. Start with a guided Meditation Monday episode before delving into expert discussions about new research on stress reduction, ways to add better focus into your life when you’re not unwinding, and the impact of different sounds on your mental state.
Why not try …
Writer-influencer trio Beth McColl, Ruchira Sharma and Oenone Forbat’s guide to the week in the “online zeitgeist”, Everything Is Content.
The Life of Bryony, a shame-free podcast that “dives headfirst into life’s messier bits” from confessional writer Bryony Gordon
How to Buy a Football Club, a BBC Sounds look into the rise and rise of Manchester City … and the potential fall.
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Baidu Q3 2024 earnings:
Baidu Q3 2024 earnings:
Baidu on Nov. 12, 2024, unveiled a pair of glasses with a built-in AI assistant, putting up a ******** rival to the Meta Ray-Bans that have proven a rare success in AI-powered hardware.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BEIJING — ******** tech giant Baidu on Thursday posted a 3% annual drop in third-quarter revenue, nevertheless beating market expectations amid AI cloud growth.
The revenue print came in at $4.78 billion for the quarter ending on Sept. 30. Net income for the ******* rose by 14% to $1.09 billion.
Baidu noted a 12% surge in its non-online marketing revenue to the equivalent of $1.1 billion, mainly driven by its artificial intelligence cloud business.
Here’s what analysts expected the company to report for the quarter, according to LSEG estimates:
Revenue: $4.63 billionNet income: $857.17 million
Baidu had reported revenue of 34.45 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) and net income of 6.68 billion yuan for the third quarter of 2023.
Beijing-based Baidu operates one of the major web browser search engines in China, along with a frequently used maps app. The company also sells cloud computing services. Online marketing drives a significant portion of the firm’s revenue.
The growth in the AI cloud business offset “ongoing weakness” in Baidu’s online marketing stream, CEO Robin Li said in the earnings release, also commenting on the performance of the company’s Ernie chatbot.
“Our strong AI capabilities are gaining broader market recognition, as evidenced by increasing adoption of Ernie,” he said.
Baidu has promoted its Ernie chatbot as a local alternative to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which isn’t available in China. Ernie **** now has 430 million users, and programs access its underlying AI model around 1.5 billion times a day, more than double the 600 million rate in August, Baidu said last week.
“Despite the near-term pressures, we remain steadfast in our AI-focused strategy and are confident in our long-term trajectory,” Li said Thursday. “As we further scale AI, we are emboldened to find how it can drive innovations and create value for consumers, enterprises and society at large.”
The company this month also announced that its Xiaodu AI Glasses will begin sales in the first half of next year. The wearable has at least one camera and uses Ernie’s AI capabilities and Baidu’s maps and search functions. While Baidu hasn’t revealed a price, the product is widely expected to be a ******** alternative to Meta’s popular Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Baidu announced a management rotation last month, with Junjie He, previously head of the mobile ecosystem group, becoming the company’s interim Chief Financial Officer, while former CFO Rong Luo assumed leadership of the mobile division.
“AI Cloud continued to show healthy and sustainable development in the third quarter,” he said in the earnings release. “Meanwhile, Apollo Go continued to make operational strides, underpinning our confidence in the validity of the fully autonomous ride hailing business model.”
Apollo Go, which operates Baidu’s robotaxi business, reported a 20% year-on-year surge in rides in the third quarter.
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STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Review | TheSixthAxis
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Review | TheSixthAxis
IGN : STALKER 2 is a massive game; as of this writing, I’m about 20 hours into my playthrough and still have so much left to do in The Zone in both the main story questline and in side missions that I’m having to squint to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
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Oppo Pad 3 Pro With Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version SoC, 9,510mAh Battery Launched
Oppo Pad 3 Pro With Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version SoC, 9,510mAh Battery Launched
Oppo Pad 3 Pro was launched in global markets outside China on Thursday alongside the Oppo Find X8 series. Oppo’s new Android tablet boasts a 12.1-inch display with 3K resolution and maximum 144Hz refresh rate. It runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading version SoC with 12GB RAM and carries a 9,510mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging. The Pad 3 Pro was launched in Oppo’s home market in October last week.
Oppo Pad 3 Pro Price
The Oppo Pad 3 Pro is priced at RM 3,299 (roughly Rs. 64,000) in Malaysia for the single 12GB RAM + 256GB storage model. It is offered in the Starlit Blue colour option. As a limited-time offer, Oppo is providing the Pencil 2 Pro and the Smart Keyboard with the tablet for free of cost.
Oppo Pad 3 Pro Specifications
The newly announced Oppo Pad 3 Pro runs on Android 14 with ColorOS 14.1 and sports a 12.1-inch 3K (2,120×3,000 pixels) display with 144Hz adaptive refresh rate, 303ppi pixel density, 900 nits peak brightness, and up to 540Hz touch sampling rate. The display is certified by TUV Rheinland for Intelligent Eye Care and Circadian Friendly and has Dolby Vision support.
Oppo Pad 3 Pro runs on Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version chipset with Adreno 750 GPU, along with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB UFS 4.0 storage. This Qualcomm chipset has up to 3.4GHz clock speed.
For optics, the Oppo Pad 3 Pro has a 13-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter. It has eight speakers with Hi-Res audio and Hi-Res wireless audio certification.
Connectivity options available on the Oppo Pad 3 Pro include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and USB Type-C port. Sensors onboard are an accelerometer, colour temperature sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, gravity sensor, gyroscope, and hall sensor. It supports facial recognition.
The Oppo Pad 3 Pro houses a 9,510mAh battery with support for 67W SuperVOOC fast charging. The battery is advertised to deliver up to 12 hours of uninterrupted video playback time on a single charge. It measures 268.66×195.06×6.49mm and weighs 586 grams. The tablet supports inputs via Oppo’s Pencil 2 Pro stylus and it can be paired with a smart keyboard for a PC-like experience (both are sold separately).
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Ferries saga ship Glen Sannox finally delivered to CalMac
Ferries saga ship Glen Sannox finally delivered to CalMac
Christopher Brindle
MV Glen Sannox, in the Clyde at Greenock, during its recent sea trials
The long-delayed ship at the centre of Scotland’s ferries saga has been handed over by the Ferguson shipyard, exactly seven years after it was launched.
MV Glen Sannox, destined for CalMac’s Arran route, is the first new large vessel for the west coast ferry fleet in nearly a decade.
The ferry operator will now conduct several weeks of crew familiarisation trials before the ship carries its first passengers in January.
Glen Sannox was originally due for delivery in 2018 but has faced major challenges in design and construction, sparking the longest-running political controversy of the devolution era.
Costs have risen from an initial contract price of £97m to more than £400m, including £45m of government loans that were never fully recovered.
The handover comes seven years to the day since the ship was famously launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon with painted-on windows and plywood funnels.
Since then the Port Glasgow shipyard has faced administration, nationalisation – and years of frustrating setbacks as it grappled with complex engineering challenges to complete the dual-fuel ship.
The delays also disrupted vessel replacement plans, with CalMac now under huge pressure to maintain services with an ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet.
Alex Logan, convener for the GMB union who has worked at the Inverclyde shipyard since he was 16, said it was a big day both for the yard – and Scotland’s island communities.
“It’s been a long hard struggle – everyone knows this, the troubles we’ve had with Glen Sannox – but we’ve finally got it over and we’re looking forward to the islanders getting a vessel,” he said.
“I can only apologise on behalf of the workforce – but it’s not any fault of the workforce. It was bad planning, bad design – but eventually we’re here and I’m glad.”
Stephen Lipton
Glen Sannox is expected to carry its first passengers in January
Glen Sannox is the second largest ship to join the CalMac fleet – and the first ferry ever built in the *** capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The 102.4m (336ft) vessel was formally handed over to CMAL, the publicly-owned company which owns Scotland’s west coast ferries and leases them to CalMac.
CalMac, which is also owned by the Scottish government, will now spend six-and-a-half weeks conducting crew familiarisation and harbour berthing trials.
The ship will also begin its annual maintenance cycle, with two weeks of inspections scheduled for early December, before carrying its first passengers from Troon to Brodick on Arran, probably in mid-January.
Construction of Glen Sannox’s sister ship, Glen Rosa, is proceeding more smoothly, and it is due to be delivered in September next year.
Procurement disaster
The order for the two ferries has become one of the biggest public procurement disasters since power was devolved to Holyrood.
Glen Sannox was originally due for delivery in May 2018, with Glen Rosa expected to follow two months later, but from the outset the build was plagued by design challenges and disputes over rising costs.
The contracts were awarded in 2015, a year after Ferguson Shipbuilders, the last commercial yard on the River Clyde, was rescued from administration by successful businessman Jim McColl, in a deal brokered by then first minister Alex Salmond.
PA Media
Former First Minister Alex Salmond, seen here with Ferguson workers in 2014, brokered a deal to rescue the shipyard
While the ships were ******* and more complicated than anything previously attempted by the small Port Glasgow shipyard, the new owners were promising new investment and were confident they could deliver them.
But relations with the yard’s new management and CMAL quickly soured with both sides blaming each other for problems that developed.
Jim McColl claimed a flawed concept design by CMAL, repeated change requests and interference led to unforeseen costs.
CMAL maintained McColl’s company had simply proved unable to design and build the ships, and there was no basis in the contracts to pay any more.
The stalemate saw the firm run out of money – and Ferguson’s fell back into administration in August 2019.
It was subsequently nationalised, saving 350 jobs, but the new management under “turnaround director” Tim Hair struggled to resolve the difficulties.
He left the firm in early 2022, having been paid nearly £2m for 18 months work, with the two ships far from complete.
His replacement David Tydeman described the challenges of fitting the LNG system into the tight machinery spaces as more complex than building a Type 26 frigate.
Mr Tydeman was himself subsequently sacked by the Ferguson board earlier this year after another delivery deadline was missed.
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The Echo Show 8 drops to a record low of $80 in this Amazon ****** Friday deal
The Echo Show 8 drops to a record low of $80 in this Amazon ****** Friday deal
****** Friday has arrived, which means Amazon’s smart displays are back on ***** and significantly discounted. To start, the Echo Show 8 is $70 off its regular $150 price. That’s the cheapest Amazon has sold the Show 8 for since the company’s Prime Day sales event in July when the device hit a record low price. Amazon has also discounted the more affordable Echo Show 5. Right now, it’s on ***** for $50, down from $90.
Both the Echo Show 8 and Show 5 have been on Engadget’s best smart displays list for years. Of the two, the former is the best pick for most people. The 8-inch screen is just large enough to make it easy to interact with the display, but not so big so as to make a device that hogs space on your bedside table. The fact the Show 8 will adapt the size of its user interface to how far away you are from it is icing on the cake.
Amazon
The Echo Show 8 is one of the best smart display you can buy, especially when it’s $80 off like it is for ****** Friday.
$80 at Amazon
The Show 8 is also a great choice if you want a smart display that’s great for video calling. Not only does its 13-megapixel camera offers great image quality, but Amazon has also included a feature that automatically frames your face and follows your movements. As you can imagine, it’s a useful feature to have if you want to move around while chatting with your friends and loved ones. When you’re not using the Show 8, there’s a physical camera cover to protect your privacy. I should also mention that the Show 8 is one of the better-sounding smart displays Engadget has tested, thanks to the inclusion of spatial audio and a room calibration feature.
As for the Echo Show 5, it’s a great option if space is limited on your desk or nightstand. It’s currently one of the smallest smart displays on the market. The inclusion of an ambient light sensor and tap-to-snooze features make for a great smart alarm clock. It can also work as a sunrise clock if you don’t want to be jarred from bed.
Either way, both the Show 8 and Show 5 are great smart display, especially when you can get them on ***** like they are now.
Check out all of the latest ****** Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.
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Vivo Y300 5G With Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, 50-Megapixel Camera Launched in India: Price, Specifications
Vivo Y300 5G With Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC, 50-Megapixel Camera Launched in India: Price, Specifications
Vivo Y300 5G was launched in India on Thursday. It comes with a 6.67-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display, an octa-core Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 chipset, and a 50-megapixel dual rear camera unit. The phone supports 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of onboard storage. It is equipped with dual stereo speakers, offers an IP64-rating, and an in-display fingerprint sensor. The smartphone joins the Vivo Y300 Plus handset, which was unveiled in the country in October, with a 6nm Snapdragon 695 SoC, a 6.78-inch full-HD screen, and 44W fast charging support.
Vivo Y300 5G Price in India, Availability
Vivo Y300 5G price in India starts at Rs. 21,999 for the 8GB + 128GB option, while the 8GB + 256GB variant is listed at Rs. 23,999. The phone is currently available for pre-booking in the country via the Vivo India e-store and will go on ***** starting November 26.
Select customers can get up to Rs. 1,000 instant discount and up to six months of no-cost EMI options upon the purchase of the Vivo Y300 5G. Buyers who pre-book the handset before the ***** date can get a flat Rs. 2,000 instant cashback during the transaction, or they can opt to buy it at an EMI rate of Rs. 43 per day.
Together with the Vivo Y300 5G, customers can choose to buy the Vivo TWS 3e at an additional cost of Rs. 1,499. This bundle allows people to get the earphones at a cheaper price than the usual rate of Rs. 1,899.
The Vivo Y300 5G is offered in three colour options — Emerald Green, Phantom Purple, and Titanium Silver.
Vivo Y300 5G Specifications, Features
The Vivo Y300 5G sports a 6.67-inch full-HD+ (1,080 x 2,400 pixels) AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1,800 nits of local peak brightness, and 394ppi pixel density. The phone is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 SoC paired with 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 onboard storage. The RAM can be expanded virtually up to an additional 8GB, while the storage can be extended up to 2TB via a microSD card. The handset ships with Android 14-based FuntouchOS 14 skin on top.
In the camera department, the Vivo Y300 5G is equipped with a dual rear camera unit including a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 primary and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. The front camera carries a 32-megapixel sensor for selfies and video chats. The cameras support AI-backed imaging and editing features. The smartphone has a dual stereo speaker unit as well.
The Vivo Y300 5G packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 80W wired fast charging, which is claimed to charge the phone from zero to 80 percent in about 30 minutes. Connectivity options include 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC, GNSS, and a USB Type-C port. For security, the phone gets an in-display optical fingerprint sensor. The handset comes with an IP64 rating for dust and splash resistance.
The Emerald Green and Phantom Purple variants of the Vivo Y300 5G measure 163.23 x 75.93 x 7.79mm in size and weighs 188g. The Titanium Silver option of the handset is slightly thicker and 7.95mm and weighs 190g.
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Hewitt backs Kokkinakis in surprise Davis Cup call
Hewitt backs Kokkinakis in surprise Davis Cup call
Lleyton Hewitt has sprung a selection surprise, opting for Thanasi Kokkinakis to lead Australia into battle in their Davis Cup quarter-final with the USA in Spain.
The *********** captain is backing the in-form Kokkinakis over the higher-ranked Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson, who have both enjoyed the best seasons of their careers.
Fresh off winning the NSW Open in Sydney, Kokkinakis is ranked No.77 in the world, more than 50 places below both Popyrin and Thompson.
But with victories in his past three Davis Cup ties, Kokkinakis earned Hewitt’s nod to take on world No.21 Ben Shelton in the opening singles rubber in Malaga on Thursday night.
Australia’s world No.9 Alex de Minaur will face the fifth-ranked Taylor ****** in the second singles match, with Thompson and Matt Ebden slated to play Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in the potentially decisive doubles.
Ebden teamed with John Peers to defeat Ram and Krajicek in the Olympics Games final in Paris in August.
Chasing a first Davis Cup title since 2003, Australia are bidding to make a third consecutive final after losing to Canada and Italy in the past two deciders.
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Tokyo Ghoul Blu-Rays Get Big Discount For ****** Friday
Tokyo Ghoul Blu-Rays Get Big Discount For ****** Friday
The Holiday Season is almost upon us, and there’s no better time to sit back, relax, and lose several days by binging on anime. For ****** Friday, you can save quite a few bucks on several Tokyo Ghoul Blu-rays, as these anime collections have gotten a nice discount. The first season is on ***** for $28.50 at Amazon, and both parts of the sequel series Tokyo Ghoul: re are available for under $40 each.
While the second season of the original Tokyo Ghoul anime hasn’t been discounted, we have included it in the list as well, just in case you want to plug any gaps in your collection. It’s worth pointing out that there’s also a Tokyo Ghoul Complete Series 10th Anniversary Box Set that includes every episode in one bundle. It won’t be out until December 17, and like the Season 2 Blu-ray, it’s not part of Amazon’s ****** Friday *****–but if you don’t mind waiting, this is a solid option to consider.
Tokyo Ghoul ****** Friday Blu-ray deals
Tokyo Ghoul follows the main character Ken Kaneki as he adjusts to his new life as a half-human and half-Ghoul hybrid. Powerful human-like creatures with a ******* to eat flesh, Ghouls are shunned and hunted by society due to the danger that they represent. As someone caught in the middle of this secret war, Kaneki has to struggle with keeping his cannibalistic hunger in check while dangerous forces pursue him for their own agendas. Based on the original manga written and illustrated by Sui Ishida, Tokyo Ghoul was a big hit in the 2010s for its grim storytelling and impressive action scenes. If you’re interested in the source material, you can also check out the manga box sets, which come in a stylish slipcase and with exclusive double-sided posters.
Tokyo Ghoul ****** Friday manga deals
For a few more anime recommendations, you can also get some ****** Friday discounts on a few classic shows, like Dragon Ball and My Hero Academia, and modern masterpieces like Mob Psycho 100. Also be sure to check out GameSpot’s ****** Friday deals hub for the latest holiday discounts on video games, movies, graphic novels, and more.
More ****** Friday Anime Deals
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Android 16 Will Reportedly Automatically Hide Sensitive Lock Screen Notifications
Android 16 Will Reportedly Automatically Hide Sensitive Lock Screen Notifications
Android 16 — the next operating system (OS) from Google — was released in developer preview on Wednesday. A ***** into the update has now revealed that it might bring a new feature which automatically hides sensitive notifications, such as OTPs and two-factor authentication codes, from the smartphone’s home screen, according to a report. With this step, it may reportedly become more difficult for malicious apps to extract said information, potentially improving privacy.
Hidden Notifications in Android 16
In a report, Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman detailed the feature discovered in the Android 16 Developer Preview 1. As per the publication, Android System Intelligence will be able to detect when notifications, which are considered “sensitive”, appear on the lock screen and automatically redact them without user intervention.
The sensitive notifications will still be hidden even if the sensitive notifications option is enabled in the device settings, as per the report. If disabled, only the app name, which has sent the notification, will appear on the lock screen. A separate setting for lock screen notifications is also reportedly added in the Android 16 Developer Preview 1. Here, users can control which apps and devices read notifications and the extent to which they are hidden.
The report suggests a similar option was previously discovered in Android 15. It is said to leverage the Android System Intelligence which processes information and checks for any sensitive content like two-factor authentication codes, before it is passed on to the Notification Listener API. Only apps which have been signed with the system certificate or perform select roles will be granted access to read sensitive content in notifications.
Android 16 Release Date
According to a previous report, Android 16 will be moved to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) on June 3. Further, it will be made available as an over-the-air (OTA) update starting with the Google Pixel devices on the same day. Google has also confirmed that it will have a major Android release in Q2 2025, followed by a minor release in the fourth quarter.
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Russia says new US base in Poland raises overall nuclear danger
Russia says new US base in Poland raises overall nuclear danger
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a new U.S. ballistic missile defence base in northern Poland will lead to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger and was on a Russian targeting list for potential destruction if necessary.
The air defence base, situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, part of a broader NATO missile shield, was opened on Nov. 13.
“This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic Alliance in the strategic sphere,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
“This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger.”
The U.S. base at Redzikowo is part of a broader NATO missile shield, dubbed “Aegis Ashore”, which the alliance says can intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
“Given the nature and level of threats posed by such Western military facilities, the missile defense base in Poland has long been added to the list of priority targets for potential destruction, which, if necessary, can be ********* with a wide range of advanced weapons,” Zakharova said.
The NATO missile shield includes sites in Poland, Romania as well as U.S navy destroyers at a naval base in Spain and an early warning radar in Turkey, according to NATO.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
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STALKER 2 Receives Mixed Feedback, But The Entire Franchise Soars Regardless
STALKER 2 Receives Mixed Feedback, But The Entire Franchise Soars Regardless
STALKER 2 is finally here after more than a decade of on-and-off development, and it’s turning heads worldwide. In my review, I rated STALKER 2 with a 9 out of 10 score, and many other publications have echoed that sentiment. Others, not so much – STALKER 2 is proving to be an extremely divisive game within the wider community.
On social, streaming, and gaming platforms, the entire STALKER franchise is undergoing a boost in popularity thanks to the launch of STALKER 2, which has been met with mixed opinions.
They’re Not Bugs, They’re Anomalies
One of the most common pieces of feedback being levelled against STALKER 2 is that it’s riddled with bugs and performance issues. That’s not untrue, but it’s not as bad as people are making out. As someone who put 30 hours into a pre-release version of the game, I’ll say quite transparently that users have no idea the number of issues that GSC Game World patched out ahead of launch.
STALKER 2 will get better with time, and when modders step in to help GSC, the timescale for those improvements will be dramatically shortened.
On Twitch, STALKER 2 saw massive growth at launch, hitting a peak viewer count of 415,708 users. By comparison, Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield, which before it was released was one of the most anticipated games in many years, hit a peak viewer count of 552,000 little more than a year ago.
On Steam, every STALKER game has seen a player gain in the last 30 days.
For instance, STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl has racked up a 40% growth in players, while Call of Pripyat has soared by 37%.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl managed to pull in a peak player count of 113,587 on Steam alone, but it’s widely expected that the figure will be doubled or tripled on Xbox and PC (Game Pass). STALKER 2 is free on the popular subscription-based platform, and that’s where the bulk of the game’s players will likely come from.
Despite the mixed opinions on social media, STALKER 2 really isn’t doing so badly.
It has 80.5% positive reviews on Steam, and on Metacritic, it has secured a score of 74 overall. That’s below the predictions, but it’s not at all representative of what one critic wrote: ‘Sadly, Stalker 2 is, by far, the most unstable game we have reviewed in a long time.’
GSC Game World has already emerged on social media promising that the repair work to patch up the game as much as possible will be ongoing in earnest to smooth out the rough edges of the release version.
Have you played STALKER 2? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news about the $600,000 Off The Grid tournament
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