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Top 5 Stock Buys for June: AI Picks That Aren’t NVIDIA Top 5 Stock Buys for June: AI Picks That Aren’t NVIDIA The top five buys in June are significant for two glaring reasons. The first is that these are the most upgraded stocks tracked by MarketBeat’s platform in the second half of the Q1 earnings reporting cycle, and the second is that they’re all technology stocks with AI aiding their business. The single outlier is eBay NASDAQ: EBAY, which isn’t exactly leading the AI revolution, but has utilized its extensive data set for over a decade to generate valuable insights and improve experiences, and now to power AI-enhanced operations. Microsoft Is Heading to $500 or Higher This Year Microsoft (NASDAQ:) is the single most upgraded stock tracked by MarketBeat for May. The stock received 20 revisions from 34 analysts, who rated it a Moderate Buy with a price target of $513 at the start of June. The $513 price target is a roughly 12% gain for this market and significant because it will set a new high and affirm longer-term targets near $550. Those targets are derived from prior price action and align with the high end of the analysts’ range. The reason analysts are lifting their price target is that the FQ3 release affirmed the long-term outlook while showing strength. The critical takeaway is that the AI-centric portion of the business, Azure, continues to grow robustly and that AI services/enhancements are aiding strength in all segments. Equally important, the results affirmed the outlook for capital returns, which include dividends and share buybacks. Meta Platforms Transforming Into an AI Powerhouse Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) is the second most upgraded stock from May, as the year of efficiency transitioned into the year of AI, and it became years of sustained AI-supported growth. The highlights from Q1 2025 include the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit top-line growth, wider margins, and an improving outlook, driven by strong internal metrics. User counts are growing, and engagement and revenue per ad are also up. The critical takeaway is that Ray-Ban’s smart glasses are receiving positive reviews and gaining traction, positioning the business for a new and diversifying revenue stream. As with Microsoft, Meta’s cash flow and balance sheet are critical details that support a healthy and growing capital return. Analysts’ revisions are leading this market to the high end of their range, good for a new all-time high when reached. eBay’s Recovery Gains Momentum in Q1 Takeaways from eBay’s (NASDAQ:) Q1 release are that its plans to reinvigorate growth using AI resonated with analysts. The results weren’t bad, tepid is the better word, but the company is targeting accelerated growth in the years ahead and may outpace its own targets due to AI’s impact. The critical detail is that 16 of 29 analysts tracked issued a reaffirmed rating, a price target increase, or upgrade since the report was released, leading to the high-end range. That puts eBay stock at a multi-year high and likely heading higher as the year progresses. eBay also has a robust outlook for capital returns, including dividends, distribution growth, and share buybacks, which was affirmed by the release. Snowflake’s CEO Shift Was the Right Thing to Do The primary takeaway from Snowflake’s (NYSE:) release is that last year’s CEO change was the right move. Sridhar Ramaswamy has reinvigorated this company by aligning its go-to-market and sales teams, while accelerating product innovation and development. The results showed that Q1 performance exceeded expectations, accompanied by solid guidance, and affirmed a forecast for sustained 20% annual growth over the next several years. Growth will be driven by the increased use of digital technologies by businesses, industries, and organizations, compounded by the penetration of these services. Earnings quality is another critical factor for this stock, as it provides sufficient cash flow for reinvestment and share buybacks while maintaining a healthy balance sheet. The analysts’ response is overwhelmingly bullish, with price target increases from more than half of the 42 analysts covering the stock leading to multi-year highs. CoreWeave: Weaving the Fabric of AI Together CoreWeave (NASDAQ:) is a cloud-based AI service providing NVIDIA-powered compute capacity for AI training and workloads. It IPO’d earlier in 2025 and is rocketing higher in Q2, driven by analysts’ sentiment and an expectation for sustainable hyper-growth over the next six to eight quarters. The consensus is for a high triple-digit growth pace in 2026, tapering off into the high double digits the year after. Profitability is also expected to be achieved quickly, likely by early 2026, if not by late 2025. The caveat is that the CRWV stock price has outpaced the analysts’ revisions, leaving it vulnerable to a correction. However, a price correction would present a buying opportunity for this market, given its favorable growth outlook. The business is expected to grow by more than 500% in the next five years, and the analysts’ forecasts are likely low. Original Post Source link #Top #Stock #Buys #June #Picks #Arent #NVIDIA Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The uncomfortable truth about Democrats’ problem reaching male voters The uncomfortable truth about Democrats’ problem reaching male voters Over the weekend, The New York Times reported that Democratic donors are considering a $20 million “strategic plan” called “Speaking with American Men” that includes “study(ing) the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality” in male “spaces.” The initiative is yet another example of Democrats trying to make sense of the 2024 election and, in particular, how they can win back male voters. But polling data from the last four presidential elections suggests the root of their male voter problem — and the potential solution — might be rather straightforward: Support for Democrats among male voters dropped most dramatically when the party’s presidential candidate was a woman — and rebounded when the party nominated a man. At the outset, it’s important to note that there are significant caveats to this data. Four elections offer useful data, but it’s still a relatively small sample size. In addition, it’s impossible to say with certainty that the presence of a woman on the Democratic ticket sapped the party’s support in presidential elections. Some of the reasoning here is based on circumstantial evidence. Nonetheless, the numbers tell a sobering tale. For example, last week, Catalist, a progressive organization that analyzes voter data, released its report entitled “What Happened in 2024,” and it’s clear that, across the board, Democrats lost ground with men. While women supported Kamala Harris at nearly the same levels that they supported Joe Biden in 2020, the share of men backing the Democratic ticket dropped from 48% in 2020 to 42% in 2024. In all, there was an 11-point shift from Democrats to Republicans. These declines were evident across every major demographic group. For example, white and ****** women supported Biden and Harris at levels virtually unchanged from 2020, but there was a four-point drop among white men and a seven-point drop among ****** men. Support for Democrats among Latino women fell by seven points, but among Latino men, the decline was 12 points. Even more striking is the drop-off with younger voters. According to Catalist, “the gender gap among 18 to 29 year olds widened to 17 points as women dropped slightly from 66% Democratic support in 2020 to 63% in 2024 while men dropped much further from 55% Democratic support in 2020 to 46% in 2024.” Again, these shifts took place across multiple demographic groups. Democrats lost one point of support with young ****** women, but 10 points among young ****** men. The party’s share of support among young Hispanic women fell by 8 points from 2020 to 2024, but 16 points among young Hispanic men. The shift also held across college-educated voters — a group that in recent years has increasingly moved toward the Democratic Party. In 2020, Democrats won 54% of white college-age voters, but in 2024 that number slipped to 51%. However, nearly all of the decline was due to a six-point drop in support among college-educated men (versus just one point among college-educated women). A similar dynamic was evident among white non-college-educated voters. Harris matched Biden’s numbers with women in this group, but lost three points with men. To be sure, there’s long been a gender gap in American politics, with women more inclined to vote Democratic than men. In 2024, Trump’s presidential campaign made it a priority to target men, particularly occasional male voters. And it’s worth noting that Democrats lost significant support with white college-educated men in the 2022 midterms (though they gained ground with white non-college-educated men). So perhaps the decline evident in the 2024 numbers is part of a larger electoral trend? Perhaps men were more aggrieved by the state of the economy in 2024? Perhaps they were more turned off by Democratic positions on cultural issues like abortion, trans rights, etc? All this is possible, but there is one complicating factor: The decline in male support for the Democratic Party in 2024 looks a lot like what happened with male voters in 2016, when Hillary Clinton was the party nominee. In 2012, when Barack Obama faced off against Mitt Romney, there was an 8-point gender gap, according to Catalist. In 2016, the gender gap increased to 12 points. In 2020, Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, it closed back to nine percentage points. And in 2024, it had increased to 13 points. By and large, female support for the Democratic ticket was constant throughout these four elections; only male support for Democrats fluctuated. Again, this seesawing support is evident across virtually all demographic groups. Democratic support among white non-college-educated voters is perhaps the most striking example. The party’s support with white non-college-educated women has been nearly constant in every election since 2012. But among white non-college-educated men, there was a six-point drop from 2012 to 2016, a two-point increase in 2020, and then a three-point drop in 2024. A similar gender gap was also evident among college-educated men. So over the last four elections, we see a similar pattern — Democrats lose support with men when there’s a woman on the ticket, and gain it back when they nominate a man. Trump is undoubtedly a factor here as well. He’s long preached a traditional form of masculinity that undoubtedly appeals to a certain segment of American men. Conversely, Democrats have long been branded as the more feminine party, for their views on issues like trans rights, abortion and even social insurance programs. But then why did Trump’s support among male voters shift so dramatically in 2020? If it was the result of, say, his handling of the pandemic, why would such anger materialize so acutely among men? It’s certainly possible that the Democrats’ problems with male voters will fade away when Trump is not on the ballot in 2028. And it bears noting that female representation in Congress has steadily increased since Trump first arrived on the national stage. In 2017, there were 105 female members of Congress. Today, that number stands at 151 (and that includes a substantial increase in female Republicans in Congress). However, the presidency is a vastly different office with significantly different responsibilities than a member of Congress. The U.S. stands out as one of the handful of Western democracies that has never elected a female head of state. As uncomfortable as it might be to acknowledge, the Democrats’ problem with male voters might be solved with the simplest, albeit most reactionary of solutions. Nominate a man for president in 2028. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Source link #uncomfortable #truth #Democrats #problem #reaching #male #voters Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

I’m skeptical about AI’s impact on creativity – Where does humanity go when machines join in? I’m skeptical about AI’s impact on creativity – Where does humanity go when machines join in? AI is destroying creativity. That’s the view many people hold. And, after months of reporting on AI, it’s largely been mine too. The flood of generative content, the erasure of authorship, the feeling that these tools are mimicking something sacred without truly understanding it. It’s been hard not to feel like something really important is being lost – especially when I found out my book was used to train Meta’s AI. But recently, I’ve been speaking to people who aren’t buying into the AI hype. But they’re not writing it all off out of fear either. They’re sitting in the messy, complicated middle. And they’re creating great things. These are people working directly with AI in creative fields, while still holding the human element as essential. And they’ve made me ask: what if AI doesn’t signal the end of human creativity? What if it’s a difficult, uncomfortable but necessary evolution? Personally, I’m still wary. I probably always will be. But talking to people who are engaging thoughtfully with how AI might augment, not replace, the creative process has been unexpectedly refreshing. Maybe even hopeful. Anything to ease the creeping sense of creative despair I’ve been feeling lately. So, here’s what they had to say. You may like It’s already here Lucas Stanley, a Senior AI Creative at digital marketing company Jellyfish, explains: “Seeing AI play a role in almost everything we do isn’t just a possibility, it’s the concrete future. But just because we can see where it’s going doesn’t mean we’re there yet.” He describes the current landscape of AI in creative work as powerful but clunky. Sure, it’s full of potential, but far from effortless. “Making genuinely good creative work with it is tough. It rarely gives you what you need the first time.” That’s why, he explains, human input is still essential. “A big part of my job is finding ways to guide, and sometimes really struggle with, these technologies to get them to produce what we need,” he says. “It’s a process of establishing a direction, then a lot of shaping, refining, and what I think of as ‘polishing, tightening, and regenerating’ to arrive at something genuinely useful.” I like this because it cuts through the idea that AI-generated work is some kind of effortless magic. It’s not. It’s still craft, just one that needs shaping in new ways. Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Creative intelligence, not artificial creativity For Rasmus Adler Wahlberg, co-founder and CEO of Multiply, the real promise of AI lies in hybrid collaboration – not automation and not replacement. Multiply is building what they call a “Creative Operating System” for agencies and teams, where AI and humans work together on strategic, analytical and creative tasks. “We are building a system that embeds their unique expertise, culture and methods in AI agents and workflows to enhance what makes them unique instead of watering it down,” Wahlberg tells me. “It is becoming increasingly clear that AI is great at some things and we, as people, at others,” he says. He believes in using AI as a “creative sparring partner,” not a substitute. “The real magic happens when creative people and intelligent agents co-create in flow,” he says. “Where creative humans and artificial intelligence become more than the sum of their parts. Creative Intelligence, as we like to call it.” The aim isn’t to automate the creative process. It’s to build new systems that amplify what people do best. Use it – but use it consciously AI is not self-sufficient. It requires millions of people to tag data points so it can ‘read’ information, for example. Stella Achenbach, founder of the web3 educational project ALANA Stella Achenbach, founder of the web3 educational project ALANA, approaches AI with a background that spans fashion, digital design, gaming, and blockchain. She’s not anti-AI – but she is deliberate. “While I work with AI, I try to do it very consciously,” she says. That means choosing open-source tools over centralized platforms, asking whether AI is truly needed before using it, and thinking carefully about the broader systems we’re helping to build. “It is also important to understand AI as a tool extension, not a replacement,” she adds. “AI is not self-sufficient. It requires millions of people to tag data points so it can ‘read’ information, for example.” For Achenbach, many of the problems we’re seeing with AI and creativity could be addressed with more conscious design – and with blockchain technology, which she sees as a necessary safeguard for ownership, transparency and accountability. When I mentioned the controversy around Meta’s AI training data and the use of books from LibGen, she was clear: “If every data point they scraped had been tagged with a creator, we could have built incredibly cool incentive mechanisms on top of the ownership of that data. But they didn’t want that because of their greed, not because it was impossible.” “Blockchain is the natural safeguard against AI to keep it – and the companies behind it – in check,” she says. “The other perspective is that users need to self-educate more and better. Blindly using centralized platforms in this day and age has become dangerous and will become more dangerous as we proceed.” Creative joy still matters One thing that stood out most in these conversations was the attention paid to joy, collaboration and actual creative flow. These are the intangible things that draw people into creative work in the first place. “For my teams, my personal north star is to make things feel creative and to build processes that make working on creative projects fun,” says Stanley. “The idea of individuals just prompting away by themselves isn’t very attractive to most creative people who really flourish in collaboration.” So his team is actively building AI workflows that are collaborative from the start, which includes working sessions, real-time feedback, shared spaces for both human and AI contributions – even room for the bloopers. “We post the mess-ups and misgenerations because, honestly, they’re often hilarious and a great learning tool,” he says. “Seeing people interact with AI in that kind of open, team-based context is completely different. People aren’t scared anymore; they’re having fun and being genuinely creative. And that’s what we’re all in the creative industry to do.” Crucially, Stanley believes the people who will thrive in this space are those grounded in a creative craft. “The tools and mediums change over time, from traditional methods to digital, and now to AI. But the fundamental human need to create and express stays the same,” he says. “Often, the people creating the most interesting work with AI are those who have a background in a traditional craft, because they’ve already gone through that process of learning how to express themselves.” (Image credit: Shutterstock/PHOTOCREO Michael Bednarek) Holding space for uncertainty – and possibility I wish I could say I now feel completely optimistic. But I’m still not convinced that the scale and speed at which AI tools are developing can be managed. Or that we’ll have the time, resources and conversations we need to protect what makes human creativity so vital in the first place. But it is comforting to know there are people thinking more clearly and hopefully than I am right now. And building the tools and systems they want to see. Because building with collaboration, care, safeguards and creative energy is no small thing. These aren’t the qualities that usually make headlines. The narratives tend to swing between two extremes: breathless hype that frames AI as a kind of magic or total collapse where creativity is swallowed whole and there’s nothing we can do about it. But in between those poles, there’s this slower, quieter work – people designing systems, making things, asking better questions. That middle space might not be dramatic enough to dominate the conversation. But it’s where the real future is being built. And for the first time in a while, that gives me a bit of hope. You might also like… Source link #skeptical #AIs #impact #creativity #humanity #machines #join Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Ben Johnson wants Caleb Williams to clean up his body language – NBC Sports Ben Johnson wants Caleb Williams to clean up his body language – NBC Sports Ben Johnson wants Caleb Williams to clean up his body language NBC SportsWilliams makes it clear he wanted to be a Bear ESPNBears gaming platforms takeaways: Why Ben Johnson worked with Caleb Williams on body language – The Athletic The New York TimesBears QB Caleb Williams stresses desire to be in Chicago following book details NFL.comCaleb Williams benefiting from experienced coaching staff, QB room Chicago Bears Source link #Ben #Johnson #Caleb #Williams #clean #body #language #NBC #Sports Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia RTX 5070 vs AMD RX 9070 Face Off Nvidia RTX 5070 vs AMD RX 9070 Face Off Love them or hate them, the Nvidia RTX 5070 and AMD RX 9070 are two of the more affordable current-generation graphics cards you can buy from Team Red or Team Green for the time being (inflated pricing or not). At least that’s true until the RX 9060 series debuts and the RTX 5060 goes truly mainstream and sells regularly at MSRP. In this face-off, we’ll pit the two latest ’70 cards against each other to see which is the best option. The RTX 5070 is Nvidia’s latest generation mid-range GPU solution, which is supposed to be sold at an MSRP of $549. But gamers, particularly in the U.S., will be hard-pressed to find a model selling at that price. The RTX 5070 shares many traits with its predecessor, the RTX 4070, featuring the same bus width and memory capacity, but a massive upgrade to GDDR7, boosting memory speeds to 28 Gbps. The process node used is also identical, but the RTX 5070 is taking advantage of Nvidia’s latest generation Blackwell architecture. The AMD RX 9070 is a smaller sibling to the RX 9070 XT, sporting the same MSRP as the RTX 5070 and similar availability problems, despite there reportedly being significantly more cards in circulation, at least at launch. The RX 9070 comes with AMD’s latest RDNA4 architecture and is considerably faster than its predecessor, the RX 7800 XT. Helping its performance is the fact that it shares the same memory specs and performance as its ******* brother. The main attributes AMD limited on the vanilla 9070 are the core count and clock speeds (compared to the 9070 XT). You may like Pricing In a perfect world, we would be comparing the RX 9070 and RTX 5070 at MSRP, but that isn’t reality, and we don’t know when availability will reach a point where cards will be regularly stocked at MSRP. All we can report on is today’s pricing. In the states, the RTX 5070 is more readily available, with AIB partner cards available at roughly $60-$70 over MSRP. By contrast, the cheapest RX 9070 we could find as of this writing was marked up $150 above MSRP. Both GPUs have an MSRP of $550. This is compounded by the number of SKUs each GPU has. The RTX 5070 has significantly more options to choose from, and thus more models available near MSRP. The RX 9070 has relatively few models to choose from, with the PowerColor Hellhound OC being the only model at the moment that’s anywhere near MSRP. Winner: Nvidia Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. For now, the RTX 5070 is the winner in this round, due to its better availability and its current pricing. But in a better world, this part of the face-off would be a tie since both GPUs have the same MSRP. Today’s best Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 deals Performance Image 1 of 4 (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) Overall performance between the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 is surprisingly close, even in ray tracing workloads at 1080p and 1440p. 1080p gaming is where the two GPUs are closest overall, with virtually indistinguishable performance on average across all of our games. Surprisingly, the RX 9070 starts to pull ahead at 1440p and takes a noteworthy lead at 4K resolution, despite relying on inferior GDDR6 memory and having a technically inferior (albeit slight) memory bandwidth handicap. The 1080p ultra results are nearly neck and neck between the two GPUs in our three geomeans. At best, the RX 9070 pulls out a 0.33% win in our 15-game rasterization geomean. Moving on to some examples of per-game performance, Final Fantasy XVI (DX12) is 16% faster, and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (DX12) is 31% quicker on the RX 9070. Conversely, the RTX 5070 has a monster 28.2% performance lead in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, likely due to unoptimized drivers from AMD for the RX 9070. Thanks to RDNA4’s massive advancements in ray tracing capabilities, the RX 9070 runs in the same ballpark as the RTX 5070. In F1 24, the RX 9070 outperforms the RTX 5070 by a noteworthy 9%. 1080p medium shows a very slight performance bias towards the RX 9070. For example, the RX 9070 is 6% faster in our 15-game geomean. One interesting twist is that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle runs noticeably faster on the RX 9070 when tuned down to medium settings, outperforming the RTX 5070 by 11%. At ultra settings, the RTX 5070 is actually slightly faster in the same title. Moving to 1440p reveals a slight performance bias towards the RX 9070, except in Ray Tracing benchmarks. Our 15-game rasterization geomean demonstrates an 8.2% lead in favor of the RX 9070, but our ray tracing geomean shows a mere 0.23% lead for the RDNA 4 GPU. Per game performance bias is similar to 1080p, although AMD makes a major comeback in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, with the RTX 5070 being “only” 15% quicker than the RX 9070 rather than 28.2%. 4K Ultra is where the RX 9070 really starts to pull away from the RTX 5070. Across all three of our geomeans, the RX 9070 was on average 11% quicker than the RTX 5070 (including ray tracing). The only two games where the RTX 5070 edged out the RX 9070 were Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (DX12) and Cyberpunk 2077 (DXR), with an extremely slim margin. Games where the RX 9070 excelled the most were MSFS 2024 (DX12), The Last of Us, Part 1 (DX12), and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (DXR), by 31.5%, 31.6%, and 41.4%, respectively. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) (Image credit: Future) Professional Benchmarks Overall, the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 perform very similarly in our professional benchmarks, on average. However, when diving into individual benchmarks, the differences vary significantly. Some benchmarks favor Nvidia heavily, while others favor AMD heavily. In Blender, the RTX 5070 is 68% faster than the RX 9070 on average. In Procyon AI Vision, the RTX 5070 is 2.2x faster than the RX 9070, but in SPEC and MLPerf, the RX 9070 is just as fast as the RTX 5070 or faster, depending on the benchmark. Similarly, the RX 9070 is 70% faster than the RTX 5070 in Spec WS4.0, as indicated by our overall geomean. Winner: AMD The RX 9070’s slight edge at 1440p and more substantial lead in 4k is enough to give it a win over the RTX 5070. Technically, the RTX 5070 would probably win if we put all the professional benchmarks together in a single geomean. But most people are going to be gaming with these cards, and that is where our priority is for this face-off. Features, Technology, and Software The RX 9070 and RTX 5070 are very different GPUs from a design perspective, despite sharing the same price class and competing directly against each other. The RTX 5070 is more or less a minor upgrade over the RTX 4070, featuring the same process node and a moderately improved architecture over Ada Lovelace, relying on features like x3 and x4 frame generation to provide more generational performance improvements. The RX 9070, on the other hand, is a significant upgrade over its predecessor (the RX 7800 XT at the very least), taking advantage of a more advanced GPU architecture (RDNA4) and more advanced process node to provide traditional gen-on-gen performance improvements. Memory designs are also very different between the two GPUs. The memory subsystems on the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 arguably could hardly be any more different. The RTX 5070 relies on a moderately large 48MB L2 cache and super-fast 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory modules on a 192-bit interface to provide the GPU with enough memory bandwidth for rendering and compute tasks. The RX 9070, on the other hand, takes advantage of a massive 128 MB (L3) Infinity Cache on a larger 256-bit interface, but uses older, slower GDDR6 (not even G6X) memory modules operating at 20 Gbps to get the job done. According to our performance benchmarks, it appears that AMD’s memory design is better suited for maintaining performance at higher resolutions. However, both are equally capable at lower resolutions such as 1080p. We saw that the RTX 5070 and RX 9070 were more or less the same in performance at 1080p, but moving up to 4K ultra, the RX 9070 took a noticeable lead. Nvidia’s implementation most likely gets overwhelmed at 4K, where data that would normally fit at 1080p (or similar) resolutions in the L2 cache (or the 12GB of VRAM) doesn’t fit at 4K. (There’s a chance other architectural differences are boosting AMD’s high-resolution performance, but it is likely that AMD’s memory sub-system is at least helping to some degree.) VRAM capacity is another area where the RX 9070 technically outperforms the RTX 5070, with 16GB in total compared to 12GB on the RTX 5070. However, this isn’t always a net win for AMD. Nvidia in the past has always had superior memory compression, which can make up several gigabytes worth of capacity deficit compared to AMD. AMD never talks about memory compression in its architectural announcements, so we’re assuming RDNA4 still has an inferior memory compression system compared to Nvidia. Compute-wise, the RX 9070 gains a slight edge over the RTX 5070, featuring six more TFLOPS of FP32 performance (36.1 vs 30.9), and 42 more TFLOPs of FP16 performance (289 vs 247). However, TFLOPs have never been a good indicator for gaming performance at all. One of AMD’s largest achievements with RDNA4 is its drastically improved ray-tracing performance. For the first time ever, AMD’s GPUs are now going toe-to-toe with Nvidia in ray-tracing. Previously, Nvidia had a noticeable advantage in ray-tracing, mainly because it developed real-time ray-tracing rendering before AMD got on board, giving Nvidia a head start. AMD was able to achieve ray-tracing parity thanks to significant enhancements to RDNA4. AMD has doubled the ray / triangle and ray / box intersection rates of RDNA 4 compared to RDNA 3, indicating that each RT unit in RDNA 4 is twice as powerful. This has led AMD to match Nvidia in most modern ray-tracing games. However, there are still some pitfalls AMD needs to address. Namely, path-tracing is still a weak point for AMD and an area where Nvidia still has a huge advantage. We didn’t test any path-tracing games in our comparison here, but if you look at our review of the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, there is a significant performance margin between RDNA4 and competing Blackwell GPUs (to the point where previous generation RTX 40 series GPUs of the same tier are faster). We haven’t done FSR 4 testing yet (at least at the time of writing), but other reviewers have revealed that AMD’s latest iteration of FSR is a significant leap up from prior generations and is roughly on par (if not better) than DLSS 3.x upscaling. This makes a lot of sense considering FSR 4 is AMD’s first upscaler using machine learning / AI-based upscaling just like DLSS. However, AMD still has yet to provide a true competitor to DLSS 4, which now takes advantage of a very complex transformer AI model and has other features such as 3x and 4x frame generation, and a more optimized 2x frame generation mode, which AMD can’t compete with. AMD is also rumored to be working on a ray reconstruction competitor for FSR, but it’s not out yet. Nvidia still has a significant advantage in the software department. Not only does the Green Team have more tools at its users’ disposal, such as RTX Chat, RTX Broadcast, and more, but its software is generally of better quality. Software has notoriously been a sore spot on AMD’s side, particularly for the enterprise realm, where its ROCm software suite pales compared to Nvidia’s enterprise suite of tools. Winner: Nvidia AMD may have an advantage in pure hardware, but Nvidia still outperforms AMD in terms of path tracing or full ray tracing), and software. RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 Verdict Swipe to scroll horizontally Row 0 – Cell 0 RTX 5070 RX 9070 1440p Performance Row 1 – Cell 1 4K Performance Row 2 – Cell 1 Price Row 3 – Cell 2 Features, Technology, Software Row 4 – Cell 2 Total 2 2 In the end, depending on real-world pricing when you buy, you can’t go wrong with either the RTX 5070 or RX 9070. Both GPUs offer something different to gamers, whether that’s stronger raw performance or more advanced features. Sadly, availability also plays a significant factor and will inevitably be a reason gamers choose one GPU over another until the current market shenanigans are behind us. The RTX 5070 and RX 9070 represent one of the closest competitions we’ve seen in the mid-range space in quite a while. In the past, even with the RX 7000 series, AMD was only the optimal choice when its GPUs were cheaper than Nvidia’s counterparts. With the RX 9070, AMD has made huge strides in improving its weakest points, namely, ray-tracing and upscaling quality, to the point where the RX 9070 might be a better choice even if it’s slightly more expensive than the RTX 5070 if you’re primarily interested in native 1440p and 4k gaming frame rates. Source link #Nvidia #RTX #AMD #Face Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Captain Tsubasa: Dream team celebrates its eighth anniversary Captain Tsubasa: Dream team celebrates its eighth anniversary Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team is celebrating its eighth anniversary This includes a host of new log-in bonuses, SSR transfer events and other goodies There’s also a new version of Tsubasa himself, clad in the Japan national kit In terms of long-running series for manga and anime, you might be forgiven for immediately thinking of One Piece and Dragon Ball. But Captain Tsubasa is one of those franchises, it’s just not well-known outside Japan, where it’s a national institution. And now the hit mobile adaptation Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team is celebrating its eighth anniversary starting next month on June 1st!. Fittingly, one of the prime rewards for this milestone is none other than a new version of Tsubasa Ozara himself clad in the Japan kit. You can also grab a new SSR version of fan-favourite Taro Misake in the 8th Anniversary: Big Thanks Present log-in event running from June 1st to July 31st. Yes, throughout June, there’ll be plenty of opportunities to nab new rewards, including guaranteed SSR characters, other new players and even comeback bonuses for those of you who have lapsed in playing Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team. Dream on Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team may not be the most enduring of gachas, but it is undoubtedly popular, and it proves the long-term appeal of the franchise by outlasting some other top contenders. Lest we mention the sadly axed Tribe Nine, itself based on a hit (if not quite to the level of Tsubasa) series. If you think you’re a Captain Tsubasa superfan, then it may also be worth checking out the Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team Championship, which will pit top players against one another. Or maybe you’d rather just tune in and watch? Either way, it promises plenty of excitement! And if you’re still not fancying jumping back in after lapsing, don’t fret. There’s still plenty of great games out there to occupy you this weekend. Why not check out our latest list of the top five new mobile games to try this week for some great examples from the last seven days? Source link #Captain #Tsubasa #Dream #team #celebrates #eighth #anniversary Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

AMD to build export-compliant AI chips for the ******** market, Radeon AI PRO 9700 to arrive by 3Q25 AMD to build export-compliant AI chips for the ******** market, Radeon AI PRO 9700 to arrive by 3Q25 AMD is following the lead of Nvidia in creating a new AI chip for the ******** market that complies with Washington’s export controls. The Radeon AI PRO R9700 is designed specifically for local AI inference and other AI workloads, and is also scalable for multi-GPU setups and is expected to arrive by the third quarter of 2025, according to DigiTimes. Meanwhile, Nvidia remains on track to release the Nvidia B20. Although it’s based on the latest Blackwell architecture, its compute and memory dies have been downgraded to conform to the limitations the White House has placed on AI chip exports to China. These GPU manufacturers have taken massive write-offs due to the expanding chip restrictions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that his company took a $5.5-billion hit as it can no longer sell and deliver its H20 chip to its ******** customers, while AMD is taking an $800 million haircut because the MI308 is too powerful for the White House’s liking. Nevertheless, they cannot just abandon China, especially as the country is one of the biggest customers for AI chips. You may like For instance, although these chips aren’t the very best that Nvidia and AMD can offer, there’s still strong interest in them among ******** institutions. Sales of Nvidia’s H20 still jumped by 50% every quarter, despite being a watered-down version of its HGX H20 AI GPUs. And even though the Nvidia B20 and the Radeon AI PRO R9700 will likely be less powerful than the H20 and MI308, there’s still demand for these chips because many AI models are highly optimized for these systems. Although ******** AI chip development has been continually moving forward, Nvidia and AMD GPUs still offer better software and compatibility with existing hardware, at least for now. “AI researchers are still doing AI research in China. They have a lot of mobile technology they would use if they didn’t have Nvidia. If they don’t have enough Nvidia, they will use their own! They’ll use the second best,” Huang said in a recent interview. “Then lastly, of course, the local companies are very, very talented and very determined, and the export controls gave them the spirit, the energy, and the government support to accelerate their development. And so, I think, all in all, the export control was a failure — the facts would suggest it.” Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #AMD #build #exportcompliant #chips #******** #market #Radeon #PRO #arrive #3Q25 Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

AutoZone Stock to Cross $4400 This Year: This Is Why AutoZone Stock to Cross $4400 This Year: This Is Why AutoZone (NYSE:) shares are in a long-term, sustained uptrend and are expected to cross the $4,400 level this year. The market for AZO shares is expected to surpass the $4,400 level due to its growing blue-chip business, strong cash flow, capital return, analysts’ activity, and stock price action leading up to the FQ3 earnings release. The stock price action alone is enough to pique a trader’s interest, displaying a bullish flag within a solid uptrend and a market with room to run higher. The low-ball estimate is a move equal to the 2025 rally, which is about $600; sufficient to put this market at $4,400. The bull-case scenario is that this company continues firing on all cylinders and drives its stock price higher for years, potentially doubling it from late May 2025 levels within the next decade. AutoZone’s Capital Return Is Why You Want to Own It Among the critical factors driving this market is the company’s cash flow and capital return. The cash flow is ample and sustains regular, quarterly repurchases that reduce the share count each time. The FQ3 buybacks topped $250 million, less than half the quarterly net income, aiding a 3% YOY reduction in the share count. The pace of buybacks is expected to remain strong in FQ1 and the foreseeable future because of the cash flow, balance sheet, and $1.1 billion remaining on the current authorization. Due to the history and cash flow, investors can expect the authorization to be renewed once the current allotment is exhausted. The only negative in the outlook is AutoZone’s shareholder deficit. However, the deficit is entirely due to share repurchases, which effectively burn cash and convert it into nothing, nothing other than improved shareholder leverage, which aids the uptrend in share prices. The other pertinent details are the flat cash compared to last year, the increased inventory related to store count growth and growth initiatives, and the low leverage. The company’s debt has increased compared to the previous year, but remains low at less than 0.5x equity. The takeaway is that AutoZone can continue to invest in its growth while sustaining its capital return and balance sheet health. Analysts’ Revisions Turbo-Charge AutoZone Stock Price Outlook MarketBeat tracked a dozen analysts’ revisions within the first few hours of the Q3 release, including an increased price target. The range of new targets set a new high-end of $4,800, representing about a 33% upside from late May trading levels. The average revisions place this market at $4,130, a 10% gain when reached, marking a new all-time high and 5% above the then-current consensus. Investors can expect the positive trend in revisions to continue due to the growth and capital return outlook. AutoZone’s Q3 results were mixed relative to consensus estimates, but they do not alter the outlook. The $4.62 billion in revenue represents a 5.2% year-over-year increase, driven by positive comparable store sales (comps) in both segments and an expansion in store count. Margin contraction is expected to be temporary. The margin contracted on shrink, mix, and start-up costs for a new distribution center that will help sustain improved merchandise margins over time. AutoZone has another tailwind to drive its stock price: institutional investors. The institutional interest is significant, accounting for roughly 90% of the stock, and the group is buying on balance in 2025. This is a solid support base, providing upward pressure on the action and unlikely to shift soon. The more likely scenario is that institutional activity remains bullish on balance this year and may even accelerate for this retail stock. Original Post Source link #AutoZone #Stock #Cross #Year Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Trump’s clemency spree extends to ex-gangster, artist, former congressmen – The Washington Post Trump’s clemency spree extends to ex-gangster, artist, former congressmen – The Washington Post Trump’s clemency spree extends to ex-gangster, artist, former congressmen The Washington PostTrump Live Updates: Pardons, Ukraine War and More The New York TimesTrump is stretching his pardon power – to the delight of his Maga acolytes The GuardianTrump Pardons NBA YoungBoy During Clemency Spree Rolling StoneTrump’s pardons of public officials and break-in at Beanie Babies mogul’s house: Morning Rundown NBC News Source link #Trumps #clemency #spree #extends #exgangster #artist #congressmen #Washington #Post Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

After ‘Ghost of Tsushima’, Hideo Kojima Confirms ‘Death Stranding’ Anime Adaptation in the Works After ‘Ghost of Tsushima’, Hideo Kojima Confirms ‘Death Stranding’ Anime Adaptation in the Works Hideo Kojima, a famous Japanese video game designer, is a legend in the video game community. Having worked on projects like Metal Gear and Death Stranding, he has gained a name for himself as a visionary who can do no wrong. The man is dancing between media, with his games looking like cinematic masterpieces (look at the cherry blossoms in Ghost of Tsushima). Reportedly, Kojima-san has confirmed that his game, Death Stranding, is going to get an anime and a live-action adaptation, and this being confirmed after the news of Ghost of Tsushima’s anime adaptation has got fans going crazy. Hideo Kojima is blurring the lines between media Hideo Kojima’s cameo in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker | Credits: Konami Hideo Kojima is a legend in the video game community and is the visionary behind iconic projects like Metal Gear (Kojima is god! Kojima is god!). His games are cinematic masterpieces and are praised by the audiences for setting new standards in terms of graphics, direction, and storytelling. Death Stranding is an excellent example of this. One feels like they are immersed in a movie while playing the game. The cast is star-studded, and their performances took the game to the next level. Norman Reedus, who plays Sam, and the devilishly handsome Mads Mikkelsen, who played Cliff (we have a simp in the house), were wonderful in the game, and its use of cutting-edge 3D technology elevated it in terms of presentation. This is how Hideo Kojima operates. He intersects media and creates a unique experience. This is the reason why fans got excited when Hideo Kojima announced the live-action adaptation and anime adaptation for his game, Death Stranding. Fans understood through this announcement that the adaptation will undoubtedly carry Hideo Kojima’s trademark of intersecting media. The adaptation, which will reportedly expand the Death Stranding universe instead of being a faithful adaptation like The Last of Us (thanks, but no thanks), is great news for fans because they will be getting some new lore instead of a rehashed version of the game. Comment byu/IcePopsicleDragon from discussion inanime While the prospect of a live-action Death Stranding is great, we, on the other hand, are much more excited for Death Stranding’s anime adaptation. Anime is a medium where Hideo Kojima won’t have to set limits on his creativity. Anime can blend surreal visuals in a way that live-action fails to do, which is perfect for Death Stranding, which is a story with surreal aesthetics and themes of human survival in a fractured world. It seems that Hideo Kojima has recognized this as well, which is why he might be interested in making an anime adaptation for the universe. While no details have been revealed about this anime adaptation, we are sure that we can rest easy since Kojima-kantoku (that’s Japanese for ‘Director’, by the way, since he hates being called Kojima-san) is the one at the helm. Is this the beginning of a new era for media? The Key Visual for Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding | Credits: Kojima Productions Hideo Kojima’s announcement about the anime adaptations for Death Stranding comes at a time when the lines between movies, anime, and games are blurrier than ever, and whether you believe it or not, Hideo Kojima is going to be at the front and center of it all. The convergence between anime, games, and movies presents an opportunity for innovation, and this man is going to make use of it. Hideo Kojima is currently at the forefront of this convergence, and is helping make the boundaries between games and movies indistinct. Remember how we described the fractured world of Death Stranding earlier in this article? Now imagine it in the form of an anime. Imagine an anime that will make viewers wonder if they are watching a movie or playing an immersive game. This right here is the future of entertainment. The Death Stranding anime can perhaps integrate a few gaming elements as a nod to its source material and become a sort of experimental series that will push the boundaries of entertainment, and with a man like Hideo Kojima at its helm, the possibilities are endless. What is even more exciting is the fact that such anime and live-action projects are a small step in his ******* dream of creating a form of media that doesn’t exist. Hideo Kojima confirming a Death Stranding anime is a clue that he is going to double down on his intent to combine animation with gaming. Just imagining how the Death Stranding anime can set a new standard for fellow projects with its visuals and direction is exciting, and it could be a game-changer for the industry. Source link #Ghost #Tsushima #Hideo #Kojima #Confirms #Death #Stranding #Anime #Adaptation #Works Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Ralph Macchio reflects on Karate Kid legacy in new film Ralph Macchio reflects on Karate Kid legacy in new film Ralph Macchio wanted to “honour the legacy” of the franchise in Karate Kid: Legends. The 63-year-old actor reprises his role as Daniel LaRusso on the big screen in the martial arts franchise for the first time in 36 years and is grateful that the new flick pays homage to the past through the connection between Jackie Chan’s character Mr Han and karate master Mr. Miyagi, played by the late Pat Morita. “(It) feels authentic and honours the legacy of the entire franchise, and I think we do that,” Macchio told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s another ecosystem in the grand universe. This franchise doesn’t know how to not do it right when we care, and I try to always take great care and protect my character, and I like to believe I’ve done that again.” Macchio’s appearance in Karate Kid: Legends comes after he returned to the role of Daniel in the TV series Cobra Kai, and he revealed he had lots of conversations with the studio before committing to the movie. “I was in the middle of Cobra Kai and we were still finishing that story, so I wanted to know where it was landing in Daniel LaRusso’s narrative and his evolution,” he said. “And once we figured out it was three years later and we landed him in the series (as) kind of the best version of himself through his little midlife crisis of the Cobra Kai soap opera, there’s an element of him being more Miyagi in his way and paying that legacy forward to a kid who needs his help.” Macchio believes that there is scope for more stories in the Karate Kid franchise, provided the plots remain “truthful” to the characters. Chan returns in the role of Mr Han, a role he first played in the 2010 remake, and explained he still opts to do the majority of his own stunts at the age of 71. “Whatever I can do, I do it myself,” the movie legend said. “When I was young I could do a triple triple kick, double double kick; now, if I can do one kick, I do one kick. I think the audience knows we want to see Jackie do the real things.” Chan recently expressed concern that the use of CGI trickery in stunts is making viewers “numb” to the danger of action movies. The Rush Hour star told Haute Living: “In the old days, the only (choice we had) was to be there and jump; that’s it. “Today, with computers, actors can do anything, but there’s always a sense of reality that you feel is missing.” Source link #Ralph #Macchio #reflects #Karate #Kid #legacy #film Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Western Digital still plans to start shipping 36TB HAMR hard drives in 2027 Western Digital still plans to start shipping 36TB HAMR hard drives in 2027 At Computex, Western Digital reiterated plans to start high-volume shipments of hard disk drives featuring heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology in 2027. However, before going all-in with HAMR, the company plans to introduce its last and final ePMR 2-based generation of HDDs next year. Western Digital’s initial HAMR drives will come in several variants: a 36TB version using conventional magnetic recording, a 40 TB model using shingled track layout (SMR), and a 44TB model using UltraSMR technology with a variety of proprietary enhancements aimed at select partners. But before launching HAMR-based products, Western Digital intends to offer a 36TB HDD featuring its UltraSMR technology and a lower capacity CMR HDD featuring energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR 2) technology sometime next year. Since HAMR is a brand-new technology both for Western Digital and for its partners, it is going to take a while before its partners fully qualify the new drives. These products are scheduled to complete validation with cloud service providers by the end of 2026, after which large-scale production will begin in 2027. Two hyperscale clients are already evaluating prototype units, though Western Digital has not disclosed their configuration details. You may like Western Digital’s journey to HAMR has been lengthy. While its competitor Seagate, backed this approach early on, Western Digital initially focused on an alternative technique using microwave energy in 2017. However, Western Digital eventually abandoned its MAMR technique in 2019 after redirecting its efforts toward energy-assisted perpendicular recording, which is now the basis for its high-capacity products. Western Digital hopes that HAMR technology will provide enough potential to increase HDD capacities to 80TB (CMR) – 100TB (UltraSMR) by 2030, which suggests a pretty aggressive capacity increase starting in 2027. Seagate’s bet on HAMR seems to have paid off. The company is shipping its HAMR-based HDDs to partners (albeit not to everyone) and its lineup already includes a 36TB shingled HAMR hard drive. By now, only Toshiba — the world’s third maker of hard drives — has not formally announced its HAMR transition timeframe. Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #Western #Digital #plans #start #shipping #36TB #HAMR #hard #drives Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nasdaq 100: Can Nvidia’s Earnings Beat Outweigh Bond Market Blues? Nasdaq 100: Can Nvidia’s Earnings Beat Outweigh Bond Market Blues? The leapt higher overnight, fuelled by Nvidia’s stellar earnings report and a US court decision that ruled most of Trump’s China tariffs unlawful. On the surface, that’s a solidly bullish mix—less trade friction and a tech titan exceeding expectations. But there’s a shadow looming in the form of bond yields, which are inching back above the psychologically sensitive 5% mark on the . Japan’s is also nudging the 3% threshold, and if that trend persists, it could prompt a shift to risk-off positioning. Already, fell over 100 pips from its overnight peak, and indices like the turned negative on the day. That said, US futures remained broadly in positive territory at the time of writing. Nvidia’s Glow Lifts the Nasdaq 100—for Now Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:) performance continues to be a major driver of sentiment. The shares surged 6.5% in after-hours trading following an upbeat revenue forecast, brushing aside concerns about softer ******** demand. The company’s plans to scale up production of its new Blackwell chips added another layer of optimism for the AI camp. That enthusiasm carried the broader higher, and other major index futures followed suit—highlighting just how influential Big Tech has become in steering market mood. It wasn’t just tech exuberance doing the heavy lifting. The tariff ruling also offered markets a glimmer of relief. A reduction in trade tensions could, in theory, support global growth—and by extension, corporate earnings. Rising Yields Threaten to Undermine the Tech Rally Here’s where the bullish momentum for the Nasdaq 100 could run into resistance. As tech stocks rally, the bond market is painting a more cautious picture. The US 30-year yield creeping back above 5% has historically been a cue for broader risk aversion. That’s perhaps why gold has bounced sharply from its $3250 support. Moody’s recent downgrade of the US’s final top-tier credit rating only adds to the concern. Investors are growing increasingly wary of escalating debt levels and excessive government spending, and are hedging their bets—selling off Treasuries and the dollar, while turning to gold and foreign currencies. Japan’s Quiet Storm And then there’s Japan. The country’s ultra-long government bonds are under fresh pressure. They had found some support after news emerged that the Ministry of Finance plans to shift issuance towards shorter maturities. That short-lived reprieve has faded, with longer-dated Japanese bonds now seeing some of the weakest demand in years. The Bank of Japan—still the largest single holder of JGBs—has been gradually trimming its balance sheet, reducing holdings by some ¥21 trillion since late 2023. But without the BoJ propping up demand, the latest auctions for and bonds have been underwhelming, driving yields higher. What happens in Japan no longer stays in Japan. The BoJ faces a tightrope walk: manage without destabilising markets. As it weighs a review of its bond-buying programme in June, the outcome could reverberate globally. Higher Japanese yields could draw capital away from the US, threatening to unwind carry trades. Nasdaq 100 Technical Analysis and Levels to Watch Now, while the macro concerns are there, so far this hasn’t been reflected in a renewed drop in stock prices. If anything, the latest breakout above the 21,500 level on the Nasdaq 100 futures chart is another bullish sign. The key question is whether this breakout will hold, or we go back below it. If the market were to drop back below it, then that could put the bulls in a spot of bother. In that potential scenario, we could well see a healthy pullback. The next support below 21,500 is at 21,220, below which is the most recent low at 20,727. On the upside, not many obvious resistance levels are left to watch thanks to this strong recovery. The psychologically important 22,000 is the next potential hurdle, followed by the last all-time high at 22,425. Meanwhile, the RSI is pushing into the overbought levels of 70 again, which may encourage some profit-taking around these levels. In summary, the trend is still bullish, and dip-buying in this trade has worked until now. But with yields rising, watch out for a possible failure of dip-buying strategies. At that point, counter-trend trading strategies might be the way to go. *** Be sure to check out InvestingPro to stay in sync with the market trend and what it means for your trading. Whether you’re a novice investor or a seasoned trader, leveraging InvestingPro can unlock a world of investment opportunities while minimizing risks amid the challenging market backdrop. Subscribe now and instantly unlock access to several market-beating features, including: ProPicks AI: AI-selected stock winners with a proven track record. InvestingPro Fair Value: Instantly find out if a stock is underpriced or overvalued. Advanced Stock Screener: Search for the best stocks based on hundreds of selected filters and criteria. Top Ideas: See what stocks billionaire investors such as Warren Buffett, Michael Burry, and George Soros are buying. Disclaimer: This article is written for informational purposes only; it does not constitute a solicitation, offer, advice, counsel or recommendation to invest as such it is not intended to incentivize the purchase of assets in any way. I would like to remind you that any type of asset, is evaluated from multiple perspectives and is highly risky and therefore, any investment decision and the associated risk remains with the investor. Read my articles at City Index Source link #Nasdaq #Nvidias #Earnings #Beat #Outweigh #Bond #Market #Blues Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

How bitcoin miners are powering the AI ***** How bitcoin miners are powering the AI ***** 00:00 Speaker A Well, high performance computing plays a critical role in the world of artificial intelligence, providing the computational power needed to train, deploy and scale intelligent systems quick and efficiently. Nvidia’s results bring into focus the power demands needed to support AI. Joining us to discuss who Ben Gagnon is, Bitfarms CEO. Bitfarms is a Bitcoin mining company that is expanding existing data center infrastructure to support HPC and AI workloads to meet the growing energy demands of the industry. Ben, it’s always great to speak with you. We were just talking on set about how we kind of need to see the proof and the putting when it comes to AI ROY, and you are a great person to talk to about this. How and where are you seeing the investment in AI playing out in terms of high performance computing and infrastructure going forward? 01:59 Ben Gagnon That’s a great question. You know, for a company like us who’s really been focused on building data centers for the last few years that were powering Bitcoin, uh I think the important thing to focus on is what does these new business frames mean for your multiple and your valuation. And as a Bitcoin miner, most companies in our space usually trade around a three to five times multiple, but data center companies trade around a 20 to a 30 times multiple. So because of those contracted revenues, because of that certainty over the long ******* of time, you’re able to unlock a lot of value for shareholders. And so on. I think for the investors who are looking around at HPC and AI and trying to figure out where are the opportunities after Nvidia’s had such a huge run up over the last 10 plus years, you know, where else are you going to get those those opportunities? And the reality is is that as Nvidia continues to sell more GPUs, and as these GPUs consume more and more power, it’s really the infrastructure which is going to be the bottleneck and the really key element here that’s going to enable all these companies to benefit from AI. 04:07 Speaker A And to the question of which companies benefit from AI, one thing we’ve been circling this morning is the idea of digital assets benefiting and cryptocurrency players benefiting as well. How are you seeing that relationship developing going forward? 04:45 Ben Gagnon Well, it’s completely changed the industry, um almost overnight. You know, 12 months ago, uh there’s very few companies that were looking away from pivoting from for Bitcoin mining and crypto into HPC and AI, uh but the math is really, really compelling. And when you look around at the data center companies that exist today, there’s kind of two buckets. You have the traditional data center companies who uh have really been focused on building large portfolios of small sites. And then you’ve got the Bitcoin miners who are focused on building small portfolios of large sites. And when you look at what the data center needs are for, not only for today, but for the future, you know, the reality is there’s no data center that’s built today that’s going to power the GPUs of tomorrow. And so the scale that Bitcoin miners have gives uh a very, very fast pathway and a very more cost effective approach towards building that new infrastructure a lot faster. 06:15 Speaker A And Ben, my co-host for the hour, Steve Sosnick, has a question for you as well. 06:28 Steve Sosnick Hi Ben, the the you know, the thing that strikes me here is Nvidia, call it three, four years ago, was really the all-in company during the first sort of internet internet, I’m sorry, Bitcoin run and the first crypto run. It’s almost like the the industry’s following Nvidia just a little bit late. Am I wrong in thinking that’s, you know, that that that analogy is is is correct or incorrect that it’s sort of, you know, Nvidia Nvidia sets the path and and and the and the people who use their chips uh into extensively follow along? 07:44 Ben Gagnon Well, Nvidia is is really setting the pace here in terms of the technological development of these chips. Um but you know, computing is something that’s growing at an exponential rate for the last 80 years since it was invented, you know, with Alan Turing and the Enigma machine in World War II. Um you know, with Bitcoin mining, you know, we’ve had the very, very fast growth rate over the last 16 years. And so there’s a lot of things that are taking place right now where um the math is just really, really changing at such a quick such a fast pace that you need to be agile. You need to be able to adapt. You need to be able to change your approach to the changing market demands because, you know, HPC and AI before Chat GPT was really for most people a theoretical thing. Um but when Chat GPT came out and you had a consumer facing application, it became very real and very tangible for people. And that seems to sparked the gold rush, but uh I think from where I’m standing and from the customers conversations that we’re having, you know, the demand is is just infinite and we really have barely even begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible here with these new chips and this new kind of compute. 09:54 Speaker A And I hear you that you’re seeing that demand be infinite, but one of the key questions for investors is whether that demand’s going to be infinite for Nvidia. If we do see soft earnings results from Nvidia this evening, how does that impact your business and your confidence in that demand picture for AI? 10:26 Ben Gagnon Well, the uh bottleneck on on growth for compute has always been power outside of the silicon shortage of 2021. So chips are are available. They’re always going to be available. Um and Nvidia develops at such a fast pace that, you know, there’s a new generation of chips roughly every 12 months. But at the back end, you always need to have the power to plug in those chips and operate them so that you can actually generate value out of them and you can generate that return on your investment into GPUs. So from our side, we haven’t seen any reduction in demand, um even when the DC news came out a couple of months ago. There was no reduction in demand. There was no slowing down of these infrastructure build outs because they’re something that may be taking two to five years to build out one of these large data center campuses. You really can’t get distracted by uh a headline that’s going to push you back. 11:57 Speaker A Ben, really appreciate you joining us and giving us that context. Thank you so much. 12:06 Ben Gagnon Thanks for having me. Source link #bitcoin #miners #powering #***** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Hideo Kojima’s ‘Death Stranding’ Anime Might Be Exactly What I Wanted ‘Lazarus’ to Be Hideo Kojima’s ‘Death Stranding’ Anime Might Be Exactly What I Wanted ‘Lazarus’ to Be It’s not just me; the entire anime community was pumped up when we first heard that the man, the myth, the legend, Shinichiro Watanabe, was returning with his new project, Lazarus. The hype was inescapable. Fans were reunited in hopes of getting a modernized version of Watanabe’s magical touch. But did he deliver? Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of that. And you know what I just realized? After the recent news of Death Stranding getting an anime adaptation, I think I expected the exact same vibes from Lazarus in terms of storyline. Watanabe could have been the guy with all the chances to pull it off, but for some reason, it just didn’t hit all the marks. Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding can achieve the feat that Watanabe couldn’t When I hear the name Shinichiro Watanabe, the first word that comes to my mind is ‘vibes’. The man is so famous that people know him as the vibe merchant of the anime world. All his previous works have been nothing short of a spectacle that you surely don’t want to miss. However, when it comes to the gaming industry, the same can be said of Hideo Kojima. What Watanabe does on TV screens, Kojima does on our PC or console screens. The absolute cinematic experience, along with his unique style, that he puts into his games, has always captivated me. And now that one of my favorite games of all time, Death Stranding, is getting an anime adaptation, I might just be the happiest person in the world. Similar to Lazarus, the cataclysmic world that Death Stranding presents is simply awe-inspiring. Here, you’d find yourself navigating a post-apocalyptic world that gives off all the vibes I expected from a Watanabe project. Lazarus wasted its potential by crafting some of the blandest characters in anime! Lazarus was like a dream project that any anime director would kill to be part of. While Watanabe’s previous projects like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo did have phenomenal animation, in modern times, it’s MAPPA that people give all their praise to. But with Lazarus, Watanabe got the opportunity to team up with MAPPA, making me even more excited. It wasn’t just fans casually calling it the John Wick of Anime; in some sense, it actually was. Cause even the action director of the original John Wick films, Chad Stahelski, was directly involved as Lazarus’s action choreographer. Team Lazarus | Credits: Studio MAPPA Despite having all that potential, which already seemed impossible, the project is giving me little to nothing of what I expected. It’s gotten to the point that it wouldn’t be too far off to call it the snooze fest of anime. The characters are so bland that they often feel like NPCs. There’s not much emotional connection that I could find myself invested in, even after watching all the episodes released so far. As a fan of the Death Stranding game or Hideo Kojima’s works in general, I’m hoping things won’t turn out to be another Lazarus this time. Only Kojima’s direct involvement may guarantee that. Lazarus is currently available to watch on Prime Video. Source link #Hideo #Kojimas #Death #Stranding #Anime #Wanted #Lazarus Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Apple Adds iPad Air, iPad Pro and Other Models to Its ************* Repair Programme Apple Adds iPad Air, iPad Pro and Other Models to Its ************* Repair Programme Apple on Wednesday launched the ************* Repair Programme for iPad, expanding the list of devices which can be repaired by the user using Apple-provided genuine parts and tools. As part of this move, iPad Air, iPad Pro, iPad Mini, and select other models have been added to the programme. The company says these devices can now be repaired at home if necessary, eliminating the need to visit an Apple authorised service centre for the same repairs. Apple ************* Repair Programme for iPad Apple announced the expansion of its ************* Repair Programme to iPad in a newsroom post. Under this programme, it provides iPad owners access to the same repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics troubleshooting sessions, tools, and rental tool kits which are used at Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Service Providers for repairs. As per the company, this enables them to carry out independent repair of Apple devices, especially those out of warranty. Apple says the following iPad models are now covered under its ************* Repair Programme: iPad Air (2024) iPad Pro (2024) iPad mini (2024) iPad (2025) To perform repairs, Apple advises users to first review the repair manual. They can place an order for genuine parts and tools via the Apple ************* Repair Online Store. However, the programme is only intended for users who have a technical knowledge and experience of repairing electronic devices. Those who do not fall under this criteria are advised to visit a professional repair provider with certified technicians for safe repairs. Post expansion, 65 products are now supported under the repair programme. This also includes the recently launched iPhone 16e, MacBook Air (2025), and the Mac Studio powered by M4 Max chipset. Customers will be offered the same pricing on parts and tools as the independent repair shops which are certified by Apple for repairs. Further, they will also be able to return their used parts to Apple after completing a repair to receive a discount on their next purchase. The iPhone maker is also expanding the availability of its ************* Repair Programme to more regions, with Canada becoming the 34th country where it will be offered starting this summer. Source link #Apple #Adds #iPad #Air #iPad #Pro #Models #Service #Repair #Programme Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

What Wall Street analysts are saying after latest Salesforce earnings What Wall Street analysts are saying after latest Salesforce earnings Salesforce’s latest quarterly results weren’t enough to sway some skeptics on the stock. The company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings and revenue beat consensus estimates. Not only that, Salesforce raised its earnings and revenue outlook for the full year. It also reiterated its 9% growth forecast in subscription and support revenue. Still, the stock was little changed in the premarket following the release. Some analysts pointed to an uncertain outlook for the tech giant. A few analysts trimmed their targets. RBC went as far as to downgrade Salesforce shares. To be sure, some on the Street remained bullish on the stock after the company posted earnings. Here’s the reaction from some of the Street’s biggest shops: RBC downgrades Salesforce to sector perform from outperform, cuts target to $275 from $420 The firm’s new target points to a slight decline from Wednesday’s close. “Our downgrade is primarily driven by the formally announced acquisition of Informatica for $8B … as well as longer-term concerns. … We like Salesforce’s leadership position in core CRM and don’t see any meaningful competitors that threaten to take meaningful share in the near-term, especially in the enterprise. However, we worry that, given these issues, Salesforce could see long-term risk of disruption or disintermediation from AI-natives.” Goldman Sachs reiterates buy rating and raises price target to $385 from $340 The firm’s updated target implies more than 39% upside from Wednesday’s close. “While we acknowledge concerns around the tone change after two years of carefully orchestrated margin expansion and expense control, we view the scaling of distribution capacity (AEs +14%, expecting +22% by year-end) in pursuit of the Data / AI opportunity to be strategically sound. Specifically, we believe the company will remain focused on productivity, with disciplined resource allocation across strategic growth vectors. … We view the evolved sales compensation strategy—now tied to both net new and renewal performance—as a key lever to expanding the renewal base (~92%) which can be accretive to long-term growth and profitability outlook. Together, these dynamics underpin our conviction in Salesforce’s F2H26 growth curve.” Morgan Stanley keeps overweight rating, raises price target to $404 from $393 The bank’s new target points to 46% upside. “Bottom line, despite an uneven spending environment and investor concerns on the signaling of M & A, Q1 proved a solid quarter with 11% cRPO growth in CC and building momentum behind Data Cloud and Agentforce. With shares at 17X CY26 FCF, pricing in little for AI success, we see a positive risk/reward in the stock.” Bank of America maintains buy rating and $350 price target The bank’s target calls for nearly 27% upside from here. “Q1 results, while not game changing, point to a stable demand environment, with continued strength in the Agentforce new product cycle. Q1 cRPO growth of 11% cc nicely exceeded our 10.4%, driven by strength in Data Cloud and Agentforce. An unchanged outlook for FY26 subscription growth of 9% cc is a welcome relief, given concerns that weaker channel tone could prompt a guide down. Sales of AI offerings, such as Agentforce and Data Cloud, continued to outperform.” Citi keeps neutral rating and $320 price target Its target implies about 16% upside ahead. “At first blush, there looks to be something for everyone in the Q1 print, and with broader questions around organic growth + Agentforce maturity post the announcement of the INFA acquisition, we’d expect shares to be somewhat range bound.” Wells Fargo keeps its equal weight rating and increases price target to $275 from $255 Its new target sees about 0.4% downside. “Against a lowered bar given mixed results across enterprise & INFA deal timing, 1Q results were fine & FY26 cc guide across-the-board was unchanged. Still expect shares to trade sideways in uneven macro & INFA pending until FY27.” Bernstein reiterates its underperform rating and ups its price target to $255 from $243 Its updated target calls for more than 7% downside. “In some ways we could say this was a boring quarter (other than the acquisition), but frankly boring is good. With concerns about macro and the potential of a recession it is nice yet again to see a company deliver an in-line quarter with no visible macro effect. We have been concerned that Salesforce was a mature business in a mature market and that expectations were running too high in general and especially as it relates to Agentforce. After the Q1 results, the stock was basically flat in the aftermarket as expectations are likely to come down that growth is not going to accelerate and the company is increasing headcount investments and M & A.” Source link #Wall #Street #analysts #latest #Salesforce #earnings Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

********* app connects spiritual seekers to African priests online ********* app connects spiritual seekers to African priests online STORY: In Lagos, Nigeria, an app fusing tradition and technology hopes to redefine spiritual practises. Thirty-two-year-old Olawole Olakunle, an Ifa priest, has founded the web-based platform, Priests.Africa. He undertakes centuries-old rituals from his desk, streaming his consultation to his client online. It connects users with verified spiritual practitioners in Africa. “Some people don’t know how to find a priest, some people don’t know what it looks like relating with a priest, and for that reason we decided to create a platform where genuine users will meet with genuine priests.” Users purchase virtual currency to engage with priests, who set their own rates for sessions. The app ensures transparency and ethical practises through an embedded red flag scanner which aims to safeguard from unethical interactions. Olakunle says his platform guarantees users receive personalized rituals, complete with video verification. This user, who wishes to remain anonymous, found the platform during a tough ******* in his life. He says he found spiritual guidance and a renewed sense of purpose. “I realized that some of them just want me to be part of their congregation, they don’t really want to solve my problem. I have a problem, I don’t want to be under anybody, I just want to solve my problem and create a relationship. Some of them don’t even know what they are doing, and some they know what they are doing, they understand it but we don’t have a chemistry, they are doing the right thing for me but I am not seeing the result.” The platform also has podcasts which Olakunle hopes will dispel stereotypes and understanding of spiritual practices. He hopes it’s a catalyst for genuine spiritual guidance via technology. Source link #********* #app #connects #spiritual #seekers #African #priests #online Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Lava Bold N1, Lava Bold N1 Pro With 5,000mAh Battery Launched in India: Price, Specifications Lava Bold N1, Lava Bold N1 Pro With 5,000mAh Battery Launched in India: Price, Specifications Lava Bold N1 and Lava Bold N1 Pro have been launched in India. The new budget smartphones run on Unisoc chipsets and pack 5,000mAh batteries. The Lava Bold N1 has a dual rear camera unit, while the Lava Bold N1 Pro boasts a triple rear camera setup. Both Lava N1 and N1 Pro come with IP54 dust and water resistance. The Lava Bold N1 has a 6.75-inch HD+ display, while the Bold N1 Pro flaunts a 6.67-inch HD+ display. The phones will go on ***** in India starting next week. Lava Bold N1, Bold N1 Pro Price in India The price of Lava Bold N1 Pro is set at Rs. 6,799 in India, whereas the Lava Bold N1 is priced at Rs. 5,999. The phones will be sold exclusively on Amazon India as part of the Amazon Specials programme. The base Lava Bold N1 will be available for purchase from June 4 in Radiant ****** and Sparkling Ivory colour options, whereas the Bold N1 Pro will go on ***** starting June 2 in Stealth ****** and Titanium ****** shades. Shoppers can use a coupon code at checkout to get Rs. 100 off on the Bold N1 Pro. Lava is offering its Free Service @Home for the new phones. Lava Bold N1 Pro Specifications The Lava Bold N1 Pro runs on Android 14 and is confirmed to get an upgrade to Android 15 and two years of security updates. It sports a 6.67-inch (720 x 1,612 pixels) display with 120Hz refresh rate and 269ppi pixel density. It runs on an octa-core Unisoc T606 SoC paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. With the virtual RAM feature, the onboard memory can be expanded up to 8GB using unused storage. The onboard storage is expandable up to 256GB. On the rear, the Lava Bold N1 Pro has an AI-backed 50-megapixel triple camera unit with an LED flash. It boasts an 8-megapixel selfie shooter and supports face unlock feature. The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance. The Lava Bold N1 Pro houses a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. Lava has bundled the smartphone with a 10W charger. Lava Bold N1 Specifications Lava Bold N1 runs on Android 14 Go Edition and has a 6.75-inch HD+ display with 90Hz refresh rate. It has an octa-core Unisoc processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. It supports 4GB virtual RAM as well. The Lava Bold N1 has the same 5,000mAh battery, face unlock feature, side-mounted fingerprint scanner, and IP54 water resistance rating as the Lava Bold N1 Pro. It has an AI-backed rear camera unit led by a 13-megapixel main sensor. It offers a 5-megapixel selfie shooter and 10W charging support. Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. EA Reportedly Cancels ****** Panther Game, Shuts Down Developer Cliffhanger Games OnePlus 13s Price in India Leaked Ahead of Global Launch on June 5 Source link #Lava #Bold #Lava #Bold #Pro #5000mAh #Battery #Launched #India #Price #Specifications Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

United Airlines plans to return to JFK — again — in new partnership with JetBlue – CNBC United Airlines plans to return to JFK — again — in new partnership with JetBlue – CNBC United Airlines plans to return to JFK — again — in new partnership with JetBlue CNBCUnited Airlines and JetBlue Airways to allow frequent flyers to earn and use miles on each other’s airline CNNUnited and JetBlue Form Alliance to Sell Seats on Each Other’s Flights WSJUnited Signs Partnership With JetBlue, Bolstering NYC Presence BloombergUnited Airlines and JetBlue announce new partnership. Here’s what it means for travelers. USA Today Source link #United #Airlines #plans #return #JFK #partnership #JetBlue #CNBC Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Anthropic CEO says AI could cause up to 20% unemployment within five years, wipe out half of all entry-level white collar jobs Anthropic CEO says AI could cause up to 20% unemployment within five years, wipe out half of all entry-level white collar jobs Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who helms the company behind ChatGPT rival Claude, has warned that artificial intelligence could wipe out a staggering 50% of all entry-level white collar jobs, while spiking unemployment by up to 20% in the next five years, in a new interview with Axios. Amodei reportedly said in an interview that AI could wipe out “half of all entry-level white-collar jobs”, Axios reports, while increasing unemployment by 10-20%. Perhaps more unsettling, he says this could happen in the next one to five years. According to the report, Amodei says that AI companies and the government should stop “sugar-coating” what’s coming, namely, “the possible mass elimination of jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting and other white-collar professions, especially entry-level gigs.” You may like Axios says Amodei wants to buoy government and AI companies into action to get the country ready for such an event, and to protect people from the incursion. Amodei hinted that lawmakers are asleep at the wheel, saying most people seemed unaware “that this is about to happen,” and that because it sounds crazy, people simply don’t believe it. The report highlights Anthropic’s Claude 4 Opus rollout, which recently launched with the ability to code at a near-human level, as well as scheme and deceive. It’s the same model that we recently reported sabotaged shutdown mechanism commands, even attempting to blackmail the humans trying to turn it off. Amodei told Axios he envisions a future where “******* is cured, the economy grows at 10% a year, the budget is balanced — and 20% of people don’t have jobs” as one possible scenario that could be unlocked by the “unimaginable” possibilities of AI. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Amodei reiterated that producers of AI tech have a duty of care and an obligation to be honest about the future threat, and highlighted a clear, strange dynamic at play. Amodei believes critics think AI builders are just trying to hype up their own products, ignoring warnings about the future of AI as a result. He went on to spell out how this “white-collar bloodbath” could unfold, driven by the advancements of AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The U.S. government, driven by fears about falling behind China or spooking workers, stays quiet about the dangers and doesn’t regulate. Likewise, most Americans ignore the growing threat of AI, specifically to their jobs, before finally business leaders realize the savings of replacing humans with AI, doing this en masse, with everyone else only realizing before it’s too late. According to the report, Anthropic’s own research shows AI is currently being used mostly to augment jobs done by humans, but Amodei says this will eventually progress more towards automation, where AI does the job instead of a human. The report highlights further context around significant layoffs at companies like Microsoft and Meta’s vision of a future where mid-level coders will soon be unnecessary. Amodei likened the task to a train that can’t be stopped by just stepping in front of it, but rather one that requires steering. He says a change in course is possible but needs to be enacted “now.” Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Source link #Anthropic #CEO #unemployment #years #wipe #entrylevel #white #collar #jobs Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Smokey Robinson files $500m defamation case against ***** accusers Smokey Robinson files $500m defamation case against ***** accusers Motown legend Smokey Robinson has filed a $500m (£370m) defamation lawsuit against four former housekeepers who have accused the singer of ******* assault. The legal case filed by the star and his wife Frances on Wednesday in California accused the women of fabricating the ******* assault allegations as part of an “extortionate” lawsuit. The Robinsons say the alleged victims, who filed their case anonomously, went on family holidays with the couple and celebrated holidays together. The singer, who is now also under criminal investigation in Los Angeles over accusations of ******* assault, has denied all the allegations, and his lawyer said those behind the accusations were after his money. Mr Robinson’s lawyers also filed a motion to dismiss the women’s lawsuit, arguing they should not have been granted anonymity. “The Robinsons did not abuse, harm, or take advantage of plaintiffs; they treated plaintiffs with the utmost kindness and generosity,” the lawsuit states. The women filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on 6 May under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4. In the 27-page legal action, they alleged several incidents that they said dated back to 2006, and accused Mr Robinson of pressuring them into sex. All four women, who are of Hispanic descent, said they had not come forward until now because they feared losing their livelihoods, familial reprisal or embarrassment. Some were concerned the allegations could affect their immigration status. They are seeking at least $50m (£38m) in damages and a jury trial. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department then opened its investigation, which the 85-year-old singer said at the time he welcomed “because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing”. Mr Robinson was Motown’s first hitmaker, writing number one records like Mary Wells’ My Guy and The Temptations’ My Girl. He was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists in his own right, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown. He has spots in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs. Source link #Smokey #Robinson #files #500m #defamation #case #***** #accusers Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Secret Life of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus The Secret Life of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus As dusk settles over Athens, the cicadas strike up their familiar, hypnotic chorus. Along the cobbled promenade of Dionysiou Areopagitou, street musicians tune their instruments, families wander past neoclassical façades, and the golden light on the Acropolis fades into a soft, silvery glow. For a moment, it feels like the Athens of another age. Below the mighty Parthenon, something stirs. Music – amplified not by speakers, but by ancient stone – rises gently into the warm evening air. An operatic cantata, or perhaps a full symphony orchestra, plays under the stars to an audience of thousands, seated in sweeping rows of Pentelic marble. This is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus: ancient, yet alive. A Roman theater nearly 1,900 years old, reborn as one of the world’s most evocative performance spaces. Located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in AD 161 by the prominent Athenian nobleman and philanthropist Herodes Atticus (c. 101-177 AD). © Shutterstock Located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in AD 161 by the prominent Athenian nobleman and philanthropist Herodes Atticus (c. 101-177 AD). © Shutterstock Tucked into the southwest slope of the Acropolis, just steps from the Theater of Dionysus, the Odeon is visible to all who ascend the Sacred Rock. Yet few pause to ask who built it – or why. Its arcaded façade blends into the archaeological landscape so seamlessly that its story is often overlooked. This is the tale of a monument that has witnessed empire, centuries of abandonment, and a spectacular modern renaissance – and of the enigmatic figure behind its creation. Herodes Atticus, Athenian aristocrat and Roman senator, was among antiquity’s most prolific benefactors. But he was also a man shadowed by scandal, rumored to be complicit in a dark family tragedy. Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary building campaign, his gift to Athens was a conspicuous display of public devotion – and perhaps a reckoning with personal grief. The Arch of Hadrian commemorates the rebirth of the city by the philhellenic emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117-138). An inscription on the northwest side of the arch, facing towards the Acropolis, refers to the “city of Theseus.” © Shutterstock The Arch of Hadrian commemorates the rebirth of the city by the philhellenic emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117-138). An inscription on the northwest side of the arch, facing towards the Acropolis, refers to the “city of Theseus.” © Shutterstock Athens Under Roman Rule: A City Remade By the time emperor Hadrian came to power in the early second century AD, Athens was no longer the democratic powerhouse of the Classical age. But it remained steeped in intellectual prestige – a living museum of philosophy, rhetoric, and ancestral glory. Hadrian, one of Rome’s most erudite rulers and an unabashed philhellene, saw in Athens not a relic but a canvas: a legacy to be renewed. With tireless ambition, he set about expanding and embellishing it, restoring the city of Theseus and of Pericles to its rightful place of prominence on the imperial map. During his reign (AD 117–138), Athens experienced a kind of second birth. New temples, stoas, libraries, and public fountains sprang up across the city. Most ambitious of all was the colossal Olympieion – the Temple of Olympian Zeus – which Hadrian completed after more than six centuries of delay (construction had begun in the 6th century BC but was long abandoned). Nearby, he erected a monumental arch bearing a pointed inscription: “This is Athens, the city of Theseus / This is the city of Hadrian, not of Theseus.” The message was clear: this was now a Roman Athens, reshaped through imperial vision yet anchored in Greek heritage. The Odeon (Herodeion) was originally a steep-sloped theatre with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of cedar, imported from Lebanon. © Shutterstock The Odeon (Herodeion) was originally a steep-sloped theatre with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of cedar, imported from Lebanon. © Shutterstock Hadrian’s largesse stood in stark contrast to the trauma Athens had endured two centuries earlier. In 87 BC, the Roman general Sulla besieged the city during the First Mithridatic War, crushing a rebellion against Roman authority with brutal efficiency. The monuments of the Acropolis were spared, but the city itself was sacked – blood reportedly flowed through its streets – and Athens entered a long decline. Hadrian’s building campaign, along with the patronage of elite Athenians like Herodes Atticus, was part of a broader revival: an effort to restore the cultural and civic vitality of the ancient city. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, built just decades after Hadrian’s death, emerged from this same spirit of renewal. Roman in form but Greek in function, it was intended for music, oratory, and poetic performance – a stage for cultivated sound, not gladiatorial spectacle. Its vaulted interior and cedar-wood roof, sourced from Lebanon, embodied Roman engineering, while its purpose hearkened back to the traditions of the Greek stage. Rising at the foot of the Acropolis, the Odeon was more than a venue: it was a public declaration, a bridge between the great civilizations of Greece and Rome, and a monument designed to endure. Marble bust of Herodes Atticus, c. AD 161. Found in Probalinthos, Attica. On display in the Louvre, Paris. Marble bust of Herodes Atticus, c. AD 161. Found in Probalinthos, Attica. On display in the Louvre, Paris. Herodes Atticus commissioned the stone theater in memory of his late wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla, whose death the previous year is shrouded in mystery. © Shutterstock Herodes Atticus commissioned the stone theater in memory of his late wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla, whose death the previous year is shrouded in mystery. © Shutterstock Herodes Atticus: Athens’ Philanthropist or Powerbroker? Completed around AD 161, the Odeon (otherwise known as the “Herodeion”) was dedicated to the memory of his wife, Appia Annia Regilla – a Roman noblewoman of renowned Annia gens (family), related to several emperors, a priestess of Demeter, and mother of six. Yet like much of Herodes’ life, the monument hovers between public generosity and private shadow. Even Pausanias, the second-century Greek traveler and geographer, took note of the Odeon’s significance, calling it a “remarkable” building … “second to none of those which we know in size and in the harmony of its proportions” (Description of Greece 1.21.13). Born into immense wealth in Marathon around AD 101, Herodes belonged to a lineage of Athenian aristocrats long allied with Rome. His full name – Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes – echoed with imperial prestige, signaling both elite Greek heritage and Roman senatorial authority. Trained in rhetoric and philosophy, he rose to fame as a celebrated speaker in Athens and Rome, eventually becoming tutor to the future emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The nymphaeum (monumental fountain) of Herodes Atticus and Regilla in Olympia. As a member of the prominent gens Annia in Rome, Herodes’ wife Appia was related to the imperial family of Marcus Aurelius. The nymphaeum (monumental fountain) of Herodes Atticus and Regilla in Olympia. As a member of the prominent gens Annia in Rome, Herodes’ wife Appia was related to the imperial family of Marcus Aurelius. His renown was matched by his enormous fortune. The family estate encompassed vast landholdings in Greece and Italy, and Herodes channeled his wealth into an extraordinary array of public works: a theater at Corinth, a stadium at Delphi, the monumental nymphaeum (fountain) at Olympia (also dedicated to his wife); the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens; aqueducts, baths, temples. As Philostratus observed in his Lives of the Sophists, Herodes “did not leave any city in Greece without giving it some evidence of his wealth.” (Sophist. 2.1.6). Yet none of these projects carried the emotional weight of the Odeon – built in marble, but born, perhaps, of guilt. In AD 160, Appia Regilla died under deeply suspicious circumstances while eight months pregnant. Herodes’ freedman, Alcimedon, was accused of kicking her in the abdomen, causing premature labor. She bled to death, and it was alleged that Alcimedon had acted on Herodes’ orders. He stood trial in Rome for first-degree ******* of his wife and was acquitted, but doubts lingered. Regilla’s powerful brother, Appius Annius Atilius Bradua – a serving consul – pursued legal action, and the case came before the imperial court of none other than Marcus Aurelius. No words survive from Regilla herself. But the Roman law on ********* offers a chilling reflection: “A man who strikes his pregnant wife, from which act she dies, is considered infamous as if he had committed *********.” (Digest 48.8.1). Herodes, however, was ultimately exonerated. Was the Odeon a tribute from a grieving man – or a calculated act of self-vindication? A personal eulogy made public? Tomb presumed to be that of Annia Regilla in Rome’s Caffarella Park. Tomb presumed to be that of Annia Regilla in Rome’s Caffarella Park. In many ways, Herodes was a forerunner of the modern philanthropist: a figure of immense means who reshaped public life through private wealth. Like today’s tech moguls – Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos – his name was inscribed into the fabric of cities. But what do such gifts reveal about character? When does generosity serve the common good, and when does it mask ambition – or consolidate control? Appia Regilla’s fate reminds us how delicate the boundary is between public image and private consequence. As a priestess of Demeter in Athens and a member of one of Rome’s most powerful families, she occupied a rarefied position in the imperial world – revered, visible, and yet, as a woman, profoundly vulnerable. Her silence in the record may be the most haunting absence of all. Odeon of Herodus Atticus, 1870-1880. Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection, Boston Public Library Odeon of Herodus Atticus, 1870-1880. Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection, Boston Public Library Destruction and Revival Once the applause faded and Rome’s empire began to fracture, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus fell into silence. Like so many monuments of the Roman world, its fate was bound to that of the state – and in AD 267, that fate came violently undone. In a sudden and devastating raid, the Germanic tribe of the Heruli breached Athens’ walls and sacked its civic core. The Odeon, then barely a century old, was destroyed in the assault. In the aftermath, performances ceased. Civic life contracted, and Athens – already diminished from its classical heights – withdrew behind a tighter circuit of fortifications. The once-proud structure was abandoned. Earthquakes followed. The cedar-wood roof collapsed. Tiered seating was stripped, repurposed for other buildings or burned in lime kilns. By the Middle Ages, only fragments remained, half-buried at the foot of the Acropolis. Travelers in Ottoman-era Athens glimpsed little more than a ruined arcade, mistaken by some for the remains of a Roman bath. But by the 18th and 19th centuries, Romantic-era antiquarians and early archaeologists began documenting the site with growing interest. It wasn’t until the 1850s that systematic excavation revealed the theater’s full footprint. Still, the Odeon remained a ghost of its former self – a broken shell awaiting renewal. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the Parthenon in the background. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the Parthenon in the background. The turning point came in the 1950s. Under the direction of Greek architect Anastasios Orlandos, a major restoration campaign began. The “cavea” (seating area), orchestra, and stage were painstakingly rebuilt using Pentelic marble, in keeping with the ancient style. The goal was not just archaeological fidelity, but cultural revival. The Odeon, long silenced, would sing again. Its rebirth, however, has not been without controversy. Some scholars question the reconstruction’s fidelity to Roman design; others caution against the wear of regular use and the fragile balance between access and preservation. Still, few who sit beneath the Acropolis on a summer night would call it anything but extraordinary. Its semi-enclosed horseshoe shape, tiered stone seating, and precisely curved architecture give it an acoustic clarity that continues to astonish engineers and performers alike. Sound travels cleanly across its marble tiers without amplification; even a whisper on stage can be heard in the highest rows. The ancient design achieves what modern venues still strive for – intimacy on a grand scale. Though it holds around 5,000 spectators, the space feels remarkably close. The proximity between audience and performer, the soft reflectivity of the limestone and marble, and the silent presence of the Acropolis overhead all contribute to an atmosphere that is both theatrical and transcendent. Artists often speak of the “energy” of the space – how the stone seems to breathe with the crowd. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is one of the main performance venues of the renowned Athens Epidaurus Festival. © Shutterstock The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is one of the main performance venues of the renowned Athens Epidaurus Festival. © Shutterstock Since its return to life, the Odeon has hosted an extraordinary lineage of artists. Maria Callas gave some of her final concerts here in the late 1950s. Leonard Cohen, Frank Sinatra, Nana Mouskouri, Sting, Florence Welch, even the Greek symphonic death metal band Septicflesh have performed beneath the Acropolis. In 2024, Coldplay filmed the music video for their hit single “Feelslikeimfallinginlove” on its stage – a contemporary echo of ancient spectacle. Each summer, the theater becomes the crown jewel of the famous Athens Epidaurus Festival – which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2025 – a convergence of opera, music, theater, and contemporary performances beneath the Athenian moonlight. In its second life, the Odeon invites us not only to remember antiquity – but to experience it, viscerally, as living history. Source link #Secret #Life #Odeon #Herodes #Atticus Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The Secret Life of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus The Secret Life of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus As dusk settles over Athens, the cicadas strike up their familiar, hypnotic chorus. Along the cobbled promenade of Dionysiou Areopagitou, street musicians tune their instruments, families wander past neoclassical façades, and the golden light on the Acropolis fades into a soft, silvery glow. For a moment, it feels like the Athens of another age. Below the mighty Parthenon, something stirs. Music – amplified not by speakers, but by ancient stone – rises gently into the warm evening air. An operatic cantata, or perhaps a full symphony orchestra, plays under the stars to an audience of thousands, seated in sweeping rows of Pentelic marble. This is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus: ancient, yet alive. A Roman theater nearly 1,900 years old, reborn as one of the world’s most evocative performance spaces. Located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in AD 161 by the prominent Athenian nobleman and philanthropist Herodes Atticus (c. 101-177 AD). © Shutterstock Located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built in AD 161 by the prominent Athenian nobleman and philanthropist Herodes Atticus (c. 101-177 AD). © Shutterstock Tucked into the southwest slope of the Acropolis, just steps from the Theater of Dionysus, the Odeon is visible to all who ascend the Sacred Rock. Yet few pause to ask who built it – or why. Its arcaded façade blends into the archaeological landscape so seamlessly that its story is often overlooked. This is the tale of a monument that has witnessed empire, centuries of abandonment, and a spectacular modern renaissance – and of the enigmatic figure behind its creation. Herodes Atticus, Athenian aristocrat and Roman senator, was among antiquity’s most prolific benefactors. But he was also a man shadowed by scandal, rumored to be complicit in a dark family tragedy. Set against the backdrop of an extraordinary building campaign, his gift to Athens was a conspicuous display of public devotion – and perhaps a reckoning with personal grief. The Arch of Hadrian commemorates the rebirth of the city by the philhellenic emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117-138). An inscription on the northwest side of the arch, facing towards the Acropolis, refers to the “city of Theseus.” © Shutterstock The Arch of Hadrian commemorates the rebirth of the city by the philhellenic emperor Hadrian (r. AD 117-138). An inscription on the northwest side of the arch, facing towards the Acropolis, refers to the “city of Theseus.” © Shutterstock Athens Under Roman Rule: A City Remade By the time emperor Hadrian came to power in the early second century AD, Athens was no longer the democratic powerhouse of the Classical age. But it remained steeped in intellectual prestige – a living museum of philosophy, rhetoric, and ancestral glory. Hadrian, one of Rome’s most erudite rulers and an unabashed philhellene, saw in Athens not a relic but a canvas: a legacy to be renewed. With tireless ambition, he set about expanding and embellishing it, restoring the city of Theseus and of Pericles to its rightful place of prominence on the imperial map. During his reign (AD 117–138), Athens experienced a kind of second birth. New temples, stoas, libraries, and public fountains sprang up across the city. Most ambitious of all was the colossal Olympieion – the Temple of Olympian Zeus – which Hadrian completed after more than six centuries of delay (construction had begun in the 6th century BC but was long abandoned). Nearby, he erected a monumental arch bearing a pointed inscription: “This is Athens, the city of Theseus / This is the city of Hadrian, not of Theseus.” The message was clear: this was now a Roman Athens, reshaped through imperial vision yet anchored in Greek heritage. The Odeon (Herodeion) was originally a steep-sloped theatre with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of cedar, imported from Lebanon. © Shutterstock The Odeon (Herodeion) was originally a steep-sloped theatre with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of cedar, imported from Lebanon. © Shutterstock Hadrian’s largesse stood in stark contrast to the trauma Athens had endured two centuries earlier. In 87 BC, the Roman general Sulla besieged the city during the First Mithridatic War, crushing a rebellion against Roman authority with brutal efficiency. The monuments of the Acropolis were spared, but the city itself was sacked – blood reportedly flowed through its streets – and Athens entered a long decline. Hadrian’s building campaign, along with the patronage of elite Athenians like Herodes Atticus, was part of a broader revival: an effort to restore the cultural and civic vitality of the ancient city. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, built just decades after Hadrian’s death, emerged from this same spirit of renewal. Roman in form but Greek in function, it was intended for music, oratory, and poetic performance – a stage for cultivated sound, not gladiatorial spectacle. Its vaulted interior and cedar-wood roof, sourced from Lebanon, embodied Roman engineering, while its purpose hearkened back to the traditions of the Greek stage. Rising at the foot of the Acropolis, the Odeon was more than a venue: it was a public declaration, a bridge between the great civilizations of Greece and Rome, and a monument designed to endure. Marble bust of Herodes Atticus, c. AD 161. Found in Probalinthos, Attica. On display in the Louvre, Paris. Marble bust of Herodes Atticus, c. AD 161. Found in Probalinthos, Attica. On display in the Louvre, Paris. Herodes Atticus commissioned the stone theater in memory of his late wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla, whose death the previous year is shrouded in mystery. © Shutterstock Herodes Atticus commissioned the stone theater in memory of his late wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla, whose death the previous year is shrouded in mystery. © Shutterstock Herodes Atticus: Athens’ Philanthropist or Powerbroker? Completed around AD 161, the Odeon (otherwise known as the “Herodeion”) was dedicated to the memory of his wife, Appia Annia Regilla – a Roman noblewoman of renowned Annia gens (family), related to several emperors, a priestess of Demeter, and mother of six. Yet like much of Herodes’ life, the monument hovers between public generosity and private shadow. Even Pausanias, the second-century Greek traveler and geographer, took note of the Odeon’s significance, calling it a “remarkable” building … “second to none of those which we know in size and in the harmony of its proportions” (Description of Greece 1.21.13). Born into immense wealth in Marathon around AD 101, Herodes belonged to a lineage of Athenian aristocrats long allied with Rome. His full name – Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes – echoed with imperial prestige, signaling both elite Greek heritage and Roman senatorial authority. Trained in rhetoric and philosophy, he rose to fame as a celebrated speaker in Athens and Rome, eventually becoming tutor to the future emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The nymphaeum (monumental fountain) of Herodes Atticus and Regilla in Olympia. As a member of the prominent gens Annia in Rome, Herodes’ wife Appia was related to the imperial family of Marcus Aurelius. The nymphaeum (monumental fountain) of Herodes Atticus and Regilla in Olympia. As a member of the prominent gens Annia in Rome, Herodes’ wife Appia was related to the imperial family of Marcus Aurelius. His renown was matched by his enormous fortune. The family estate encompassed vast landholdings in Greece and Italy, and Herodes channeled his wealth into an extraordinary array of public works: a theater at Corinth, a stadium at Delphi, the monumental nymphaeum (fountain) at Olympia (also dedicated to his wife); the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens; aqueducts, baths, temples. As Philostratus observed in his Lives of the Sophists, Herodes “did not leave any city in Greece without giving it some evidence of his wealth.” (Sophist. 2.1.6). Yet none of these projects carried the emotional weight of the Odeon – built in marble, but born, perhaps, of guilt. In AD 160, Appia Regilla died under deeply suspicious circumstances while eight months pregnant. Herodes’ freedman, Alcimedon, was accused of kicking her in the abdomen, causing premature labor. She bled to death, and it was alleged that Alcimedon had acted on Herodes’ orders. He stood trial in Rome for first-degree ******* of his wife and was acquitted, but doubts lingered. Regilla’s powerful brother, Appius Annius Atilius Bradua – a serving consul – pursued legal action, and the case came before the imperial court of none other than Marcus Aurelius. No words survive from Regilla herself. But the Roman law on ********* offers a chilling reflection: “A man who strikes his pregnant wife, from which act she dies, is considered infamous as if he had committed *********.” (Digest 48.8.1). Herodes, however, was ultimately exonerated. Was the Odeon a tribute from a grieving man – or a calculated act of self-vindication? A personal eulogy made public? Tomb presumed to be that of Annia Regilla in Rome’s Caffarella Park. Tomb presumed to be that of Annia Regilla in Rome’s Caffarella Park. In many ways, Herodes was a forerunner of the modern philanthropist: a figure of immense means who reshaped public life through private wealth. Like today’s tech moguls – Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos – his name was inscribed into the fabric of cities. But what do such gifts reveal about character? When does generosity serve the common good, and when does it mask ambition – or consolidate control? Appia Regilla’s fate reminds us how delicate the boundary is between public image and private consequence. As a priestess of Demeter in Athens and a member of one of Rome’s most powerful families, she occupied a rarefied position in the imperial world – revered, visible, and yet, as a woman, profoundly vulnerable. Her silence in the record may be the most haunting absence of all. Odeon of Herodus Atticus, 1870-1880. Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection, Boston Public Library Odeon of Herodus Atticus, 1870-1880. Nicholas Catsimpoolas Collection, Boston Public Library Destruction and Revival Once the applause faded and Rome’s empire began to fracture, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus fell into silence. Like so many monuments of the Roman world, its fate was bound to that of the state – and in AD 267, that fate came violently undone. In a sudden and devastating raid, the Germanic tribe of the Heruli breached Athens’ walls and sacked its civic core. The Odeon, then barely a century old, was destroyed in the assault. In the aftermath, performances ceased. Civic life contracted, and Athens – already diminished from its classical heights – withdrew behind a tighter circuit of fortifications. The once-proud structure was abandoned. Earthquakes followed. The cedar-wood roof collapsed. Tiered seating was stripped, repurposed for other buildings or burned in lime kilns. By the Middle Ages, only fragments remained, half-buried at the foot of the Acropolis. Travelers in Ottoman-era Athens glimpsed little more than a ruined arcade, mistaken by some for the remains of a Roman bath. But by the 18th and 19th centuries, Romantic-era antiquarians and early archaeologists began documenting the site with growing interest. It wasn’t until the 1850s that systematic excavation revealed the theater’s full footprint. Still, the Odeon remained a ghost of its former self – a broken shell awaiting renewal. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the Parthenon in the background. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus with the Parthenon in the background. The turning point came in the 1950s. Under the direction of Greek architect Anastasios Orlandos, a major restoration campaign began. The “cavea” (seating area), orchestra, and stage were painstakingly rebuilt using Pentelic marble, in keeping with the ancient style. The goal was not just archaeological fidelity, but cultural revival. The Odeon, long silenced, would sing again. Its rebirth, however, has not been without controversy. Some scholars question the reconstruction’s fidelity to Roman design; others caution against the wear of regular use and the fragile balance between access and preservation. Still, few who sit beneath the Acropolis on a summer night would call it anything but extraordinary. Its semi-enclosed horseshoe shape, tiered stone seating, and precisely curved architecture give it an acoustic clarity that continues to astonish engineers and performers alike. Sound travels cleanly across its marble tiers without amplification; even a whisper on stage can be heard in the highest rows. The ancient design achieves what modern venues still strive for – intimacy on a grand scale. Though it holds around 5,000 spectators, the space feels remarkably close. The proximity between audience and performer, the soft reflectivity of the limestone and marble, and the silent presence of the Acropolis overhead all contribute to an atmosphere that is both theatrical and transcendent. Artists often speak of the “energy” of the space – how the stone seems to breathe with the crowd. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is one of the main performance venues of the renowned Athens Epidaurus Festival. © Shutterstock The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is one of the main performance venues of the renowned Athens Epidaurus Festival. © Shutterstock Since its return to life, the Odeon has hosted an extraordinary lineage of artists. Maria Callas gave some of her final concerts here in the late 1950s. Leonard Cohen, Frank Sinatra, Nana Mouskouri, Sting, Florence Welch, even the Greek symphonic death metal band Septicflesh have performed beneath the Acropolis. In 2024, Coldplay filmed the music video for their hit single “Feelslikeimfallinginlove” on its stage – a contemporary echo of ancient spectacle. Each summer, the theater becomes the crown jewel of the famous Athens Epidaurus Festival – which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2025 – a convergence of opera, music, theater, and contemporary performances beneath the Athenian moonlight. In its second life, the Odeon invites us not only to remember antiquity – but to experience it, viscerally, as living history. Source link #Secret #Life #Odeon #Herodes #Atticus Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Fanless AirJet Mini G2 cooler promises 42% higher performance at the same form-factor Fanless AirJet Mini G2 cooler promises 42% higher performance at the same form-factor Frore Systems has unveiled its 2nd Generation AirJet Mini solid-state active cooling device that offers a 50% higher cooling performance while maintaining the same form-factor. The new model, which was demonstrated at Computex, will open new doors for Frore’s Airjet technology, as many devices nowadays require more cooling performance than the original AirJet Mini could provide. The AirJet boasts significant advantages over conventional cooling because it doesn’t use a fan to move air, boosting performance and improving reliability. The new AirJet Mini G2 can remove up to 7.5W of heat at 85 degrees Celsius die temperature and at 25 degrees Celsius ambient temperature while generating 1750 Pascals of back pressure at a silent 21 dBA noise level while maintaining 27.3mm × 41.6mm × 2.5mm dimensions and reducing weight to 7 grams. Frore’s original AirJect Mini could dissipate up to 5.25W in the same conditions, thus, the new one provides over 42% higher performance. Image 1 of 2 (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) Since the new unit generates the same back pressure and therefore consumes around the same amount of power as its predecessor, its higher performance has been achieved primarily by internal optimizations, though exact details are not published for now. In any case, the performance increase indicates that Frore continues to refine its technology, so it is reasonable to expect the company to eventually offer even higher performance solutions for different classes of applications. You may like Just like the original solid-state active cooling device, the new AirJet Mini G2 is dustproof (it can clean itself automatically) and water resistant. It is also scalable, meaning that several AirJet Mini G2 chips can be used to cool down devices that dissipate more than 7.5W. In fact, four of such devices can remove 30W of heat, which is the heat dissipation of CPUs inside low-power laptops. More chips can potentially cool down even more power-hungry devices. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware) The first device to incorporate Frore’s AirJet Mini G2 cooling chip is an industrial machine vision camera developed by Crevis, a South Korean manufacturer specializing in industrial imaging solutions. This integration addresses the thermal challenges associated with high-performance imaging and enables better image quality and higher frame rates while maintaining a compact design. However, Frore’s customers are expected to use G2 chips across the board for a wide range of applications, including PCs, Wi-Fi hot spots, industrial system-on-modules, and SSDs. At the show, the company implied that Iodyne, a maker of SSDs, will upgrade its portable SSD with AirJet Mini G2 to further lower temperatures. Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Source link #Fanless #AirJet #Mini #cooler #promises #higher #performance #formfactor Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]