Pelican Press

Your Fortnite Skins Can Finally Wear Jordans Starting Thursday Your Fortnite Skins Can Finally Wear Jordans Starting Thursday After a brief delay that prevented Fortnite’s newest cosmetic type from launching last week, Fortnite Kicks are arriving on Thursday, November 21, finally giving you the chance to make any of your skins wear a pair of ***** Jordans. Everybody who owns the Remix Pass will have their first pair, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG ‘****** Toe Reimagined’ sneakers from the bonus rewards, which has already been given automatically to everyone with the pass. And to mark the occasion, Epic is dropping a free emote in the shop, Show ‘Em Off, that will showcase your kicks. Aside from that pair, there will be a launch wave of kicks in the shop for the first week or so, coming in two drops. On the 21st, you’ll have three pairs of Nikes available: Nike Cortez OG (800 V-Bucks) Nike Air Foamposite (1000 V-Bucks) Nike Shox R4s (1000 V-Bucks) Chomp Stomper slippers (600 V-Bucks) The second drop hits a day later on the 22nd, with four pairs of Jordans: Air Jordan 3s (1000 V-Bucks) Air Jordan 3 Retros (800 V-Bucks), Air Jordan 4 Retros (1000 V-Bucks) ******/red Air Jordan 11s (1000 V-Bucks) All of these will leave the item shop at reset on Nov. 26. Gallery These are the first of four initial planned drops of Kicks that will include Nikes, Jordans, and Fortnite original shoes, so it’s safe to assume more new kicks will rotate into the shop once these first drops leave. As of launch, the new kicks cosmetics will work with about a quarter of all Fortnite skins, including some collaboration and IP skins. Epic ambitiously anticipates that kicks will work with 95% of all skins by the spring of next year. Though that last 5% might be out of luck–Patrick Mahomes, for example, wears Adidas because he’s sponsored by that company, and so his skins may never be able to support a cosmetic type that would make him wear Nikes. But that will be an outlier case. Fortnite’s 32.11 patch marks the final update for Remix season and will also add files related to the end-of-season live event featuring the late Juice WRLD, as well as two Juice WRLD skins–including a cel shaded one that will be free to everyone who logs in on the final day of the season on November 30. Source link #Fortnite #Skins #Finally #Wear #Jordans #Starting #Thursday Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Fortnite Crew will soon include OG, Lego and Music passes too Fortnite Crew will soon include OG, Lego and Music passes too Epic has announced that its Fortnite Crew subscription will soon include all battle passes for the game. Launched in December 2020 and priced at $11.99 per month, Fortnite Crew currently offers subscribers the Battle Royale battle pass, 1,000 V-bucks, exclusive outfits, and Rocket League’s Rocket Pass Premium. Starting on December 1 it will also include the new Music Pass, which will replace the Festival Pass, and the Lego Pass too, at no additional cost. On the same date, Epic will also be increasing the price of the Battle Royale battle pass by 50 V-Bucks, from 950 to 1,000. “The real money price of V-Bucks will remain the same, and you’ll still be able to earn V-Bucks through leveling the Battle Pass,” it said. The company recently announced plans to simplify Fortnite’s pass progression systems. By December 1, all passes in Fortnite will progress simultaneously by earning XP from playing any experience (Battle Royale, Lego Fortnite, Rocket Racing, Fortnite Festival). Popular throwback mode Fortnite OG is returning to the battle royale game permanently next month. “OG is coming BACK and is here to stay,” Epic said last week. “Relive Battle Royale from the start and explore the OG map, collect OG loot, and relive OG seasons. Drop back in on December 6.” Fortnite’s current Season, Chapter 2 Remix, runs until November 30. Source link #Fortnite #Crew #include #Lego #Music #passes Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia (NVDA) earnings report Q3 2025 Nvidia (NVDA) earnings report Q3 2025 Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrives at the launch of the supercomputer Gefion, at the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal in Kastrup, Denmark, Oct. 23, 2024. Ritzau Scanpix | Mads Claus Rasmussen | Via Reuters Nvidia reports fiscal third-quarter earnings Wednesday after the market closes. Here’s what Wall Street is looking for, per LSEG consensus estimates: Revenue: $33.16 billion Earnings per share: 75 cents, adjusted How Nvidia sees the current quarter shaping up is even more important than the results. Investors want to see if the chipmaker can continue to grow at a fierce rate, even as the artificial intelligence ***** enters its third year. Wall Street expects Nvidia to forecast 82 cents per share on $37.08 billion in sales. Much of that future growth will have to come from Blackwell, its next-generation AI chip for data centers currently shipping to customers Microsoft, Google and Oracle. Analysts will listen carefully to comments from CEO Jensen Huang to hear what he says about the demand for Blackwell. The company could also address reports that some of the systems based on Blackwell chips are experiencing overheating issues. In August, Nvidia said it expected about “several billion” in Blackwell sales during the January quarter. Nvidia stock has nearly tripled since the start of 2024. The company reported a 122% growth in sales in the most recent quarter, but that was a slowdown from the 262% year-over-year growth it reported in the April quarter and the 265% growth in the January quarter. Source link #Nvidia #NVDA #earnings #report Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Former UTV political editor ***** Former UTV political editor ***** PA Media Ken Reid retired from UTV in 2021 after almost three decades on screen The former UTV political editor Ken Reid has *****. Mr Reid, 69, reported on key moments in the peace process during almost three decades on screen. In 2017, he revealed he had been diagnosed with a form of leukaemia. He was also diabetic but continued to work until his retirement from UTV in 2021. A well-known figure in Northern Ireland, he was honoured by Queen’s University earlier this year for his contribution to journalism. He regularly interviewed Prime Minister Tony Blair before and after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Among his political scoops was breaking the news in 2008 that the then DUP leader Ian Paisley was to step down as first minister and party leader. ‘Colossus is his field’ First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that Mr Reid was “a true giant in local journalism, and an all-round gentleman”. The Sinn Féin deputy leader added that his “strength and courage in the face of illness served as an inspiration to many, as he became a powerful advocate for raising awareness of *******”. “We mourn the loss of a dear friend, and a remarkable man,” she said. Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson described Mr Reid as a “colossus is his field”. “Ken was a special journalist in Northern Ireland as someone who managed to get to the heart of all the major political stories and cover the difficult issues whilst remaining the respect, admiration and affection of representatives from all political opinions”, Robinson said. ‘A towering figure’ ITV’s news director Michael Jermey described him as “a towering figure in broadcasting in Northern Ireland”. “He will be enormously missed by colleagues in UTV and right across the wider ITV,” Mr Jeremy said. He added: “Ken was a wonderful journalist. Well informed, intelligent and always utterly impartial in his approach to reporting. “He had a ringside seat at some of the most significant moments of modern history – perhaps most notably the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.” Mr Reid’s coverage of politics for UTV began in 1994, the year of the IRA and loyalist ceasefires. After the 1998 agreement, he reported on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to David Trimble and John Hume. He then reported on the start of power-sharing at Stormont. As devolution rose and fell, he was a permanent fixture on the UTV evening news programme. He reported every year from the St Patrick’s Day receptions at the White House in Washington, and was a frequent visitor to Brussels, especially before and after the Brexit vote in 2016. His long career in journalism began in newspapers, at the News Letter in the late 1970s and then as sports editor of the now-defunct Sunday News in the mid-1980s. He later became the overall editor of the paper. He was an avid supporter of Everton, his local football club Cliftonville and Ballymena rugby club. Despite his early stint in sports journalism, he once said: “Sport is my hobby and keeps me sane. I didn’t want it to be my job. I always wanted sport to just be sport.” In 1987, Mr Reid moved south of the border to the Cork Examiner, where he built up good contacts with Irish politicians. This stood him in good stead when he moved to UTV to front its political coverage at a crucial stage in the peace process in the mid-1990s. Mr Reid was born in 1955 and was brought up in north Belfast. He went to school at Methodist College, and then studied at the University of Hull. ‘Warm, life-enhancing man’ UTV presenter Paul Clark said he was “deeply saddened” by the news of Mr Reid’s ******. “He was an outstanding journalist and always at the top of his craft,” Mr Clark said, “I learnt so much from him.” SDLP MLA and leader of the opposition at Stormont Matthew O’Toole said Mr Reid was a “huge figure in political journalism but also such a warm, life-enhancing man to chat to”. TUV leader Jim Allister said that Mr Reid was “part of the political lives of so many for so long” and was “respected by all sides”. Baroness Foster, the former first minister, said Mr Reid’s ****** was “incredibly sad news”. She told the BBC’s Evening Extra programme that he was “one of the last great interviewers of the Belfast Agreement time”. “He was a great character… he was incredibly down to earth,” she said. The former BBC NI Political Editor, Mark Devenport said that Mr Reid was “a very astute journalist”. Mr Davenport added that he was “occasionally a rival who did me professional damage, but on a personal level we were always very good friends”. Surrounded by news Even as he lay gravely ill in hospital in recent days, Ken Reid was listening to the news on the radio. He once described himself as a “politics junkie” and even in retirement he kept a close eye on Stormont, Westminster and the Dáil. When I last visited Ken in hospital, he had just tuned into a political debate on BBC Radio Five Live – he kept it on in the background as we chatted. Political discussions were, in a sense, the soundtrack to his career. Standing at more than 6ft tall, many people referred to him as ‘Big Ken’ but he did not speak down the audience, he spoke in their language and was respected for that. He faced his illnesses with formidable courage. He was extremely thankful for the support and love he received from his wife, children and grandchildren. Ken Reid will be remembered as a towering figure in broadcasting. Right to the end, he was surrounded by news. Ken loved the airwaves and the airwaves loved Ken. Source link #UTV #political #editor #***** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

A Game Featuring a Host of ******** Activities Could become a Potential Savior in the Nintendo vs Palworld Legal Battle A Game Featuring a Host of ******** Activities Could become a Potential Savior in the Nintendo vs Palworld Legal Battle Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, is being sued by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company for “infringement of patent rights.” Many people compared Palworld to Pokemon heavily before it was released. Palworld was released on January 19, 2024. | Credit: Pocketpair. For those who haven’t played this immensely popular game, Palworld‘s basic idea is that it incorporates elements of the Pokemon franchise, such as the use of ****** to capture monsters of different elemental types for use in exploration and combat, with survival game mechanics. However, as things stand, Pocketpair may have an unexpected ally in an 8-year-old mod of a popular title as it fights Nintendo’s lawsuit. An 8-year-old GTA 5 Mod Might be Palworld‘s Best Defense Against Nintendo You can catch Pokemons in GTA 5. | Credit: Rockstar Games. As Palworld fights Nintendo’s lawsuit, it might find an unlikely ally in an 8-year-old GTA 5 mod. According to an expert from Japan-based Patent Attorney Corporation Siarasia, the mod might provide a strong defense against one of the three patents Nintendo has dragged Palworld developer Pocketpair up on, according to the Nikkei Business Online Edition (as translated by Automaton). Earlier this month, Pocketpair made public the amount of money Nintendo was requesting as well as the patents it claims were specifically violated. Some legal experts predicted that these patents would be the ones that were violated. According to reports, after Palworld‘s Early Access release, Nintendo and the Pokemon Company strengthened their legal claim by filing three new divisional patents, which are smaller versions of larger and pre-existing patents. GTA 5 is relevant to one of those patents, which deals with throwing a ball to capture animals. A fan-made GTA 5 mod that brings Pokemon to Los Santos is mentioned by the representative patent attorney. Throwing a Poke Ball-like object at a character in an attempt to capture them is a tried-and-true mechanic in this 2016 mod. Although Automaton says it’s probably this Pokemon GO-inspired mod, the mod itself has no name. What makes that relevant, then? The disputed GTA 5 mod not only predates the parent patent filed in December 2021 but also has a Pokemon-like capturing sequence that is comparable to the one detailed in one of the divisional patents mentioned earlier. Therefore, there is a possibility that the GTA 5 Pokémon mod will be recognized as a precedent by the court. Nintendo will lose one of the patents it is relying on in the lawsuit if that occurs. Palworld vs Nintendo – What’s All the Fuss About? Palworld has uncanny similarities with Pokemon. | Credit: Pocketpair. When Palworld first gained popularity, some people were worried that some of the game’s features might be too similar to those established by Nintendo’s franchise and that the Pals in the game looked too much like real Pokemon. Approximately eight months after Pocketpair’s survival game was made available in early access, some people voiced their belief that Nintendo might sue the Palworld developer for the IP similarities, and that is exactly what happened. Nintendo and The Pokemon Company sued Pocketpair for patent infringement in the Tokyo District Court on September 18. The complaint “seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld […] infringes multiple patent rights.” Nintendo claims that it will “continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights” in order to defend the Nintendo name and the numerous franchises that “it has worked hard to establish over the years.” This is the reason behind the lawsuit. Meanwhile, this particular lawsuit and its possible impact on the game are currently restricted to Japan because patent rights are only enforceable in the nation in which they were granted. Analysts, however, think it’s reasonable to assume that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are getting ready to raise a similar issue in the US as well, given the patents that are presently awaiting approval abroad. Given that the game has a far larger player base in the US than in Japan, this might have a greater effect on Pocketpair. However, because the US system is so much stricter when it comes to approving software-related inventions, Nintendo may find it more difficult to make a case there. Source link #Game #Featuring #Host #******** #Activities #Potential #Savior #Nintendo #Palworld #Legal #Battle Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Amazon’s ****** Friday ***** is only just getting started, with this Acer Predator RTX 4060 gaming laptop finally under $1000 Amazon’s ****** Friday ***** is only just getting started, with this Acer Predator RTX 4060 gaming laptop finally under $1000 Gaming laptops that use Nvidia’s RTX 4000 series GPUs are often expensive options for potential customers (especially for high-end RTX 4080 or 4090 models) – ****** Friday is finally changing this, starting with the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 gaming laptop. It’s now available on Amazon for just $999 (was $1,149.99). The Helios Neo 16 features Nvidia’s RTX 4060 GPU which has 8GB of VRAM, along with Intel’s Core i7-13650HX processor that uses 14 cores and 20 threads – this is a great configuration for the Neo 16’s 1920×1200 165Hz display, especially with the advantage of Team Green’s DLSS 3 and Frame Generation software for great image quality and performance. Whilst the M.2 512GB SSD isn’t ideal for serious gamers who want to keep multiple games installed (since games are constantly growing in size), there is always the option to upgrade for additional storage – there’s another M.2 slot available, allowing you to store multiple games on your laptop simultaneously with a secondary SSD. Games like Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6, Red ***** Redemption 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3 are enough to take up the entire 512GB, so this is important to note. Not in the US? Scroll down to see the best Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 deals in your region! Today’s best Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 deal Most laptops utilizing Nvidia’s RTX 4000 cards come at absurdly high prices – the ***** price of the Helios Neo 16 is far more reasonable at only $999. Finding a good-quality RTX 4060 laptop for a thousand bucks or less is a serious challenge even during the ****** Friday sales, making this a very attractive deal. This is what you’d expect to spend when looking at top-of-the-line discrete GPUs purposed for desktop PCs, and the RTX 4060 mobile GPU will do more than enough to give you high performance in games. It doesn’t stop there, as the i7-13650HX processor is great for content creators – 14 cores and 20 threads work perfectly for video editors rendering in applications like Premiere Pro. If you want the best out of your processor, you’ll be glad to know that its max clock speed is 4.9GHz, and the eight efficiency cores make it adept at running software in the background – ideal for streamers who want Twitch or OBS running while they game. This is one of the best gaming laptop deals available right now, but it’s very much a ‘while stocks last’ kind of situation: so while ****** Friday sales continue, now may be your best bet at acquiring it… More of today’s ****** Friday sales in the US Amazon: TVs, smart home & air fryers from $12.99 Apple: AirPods, iPads, MacBooks from $89.99 Best Buy: $1,000 off 4K TVs, laptops & headphones Cheap TVs: smart TVs at Best Buy from $69.99 Christmas trees: top-rated trees from $54.99 Dell: best-selling Inspiron & XPS laptops from $279.99 Dreamcloud: mattress deals from $349 + free shipping Holiday: decor, lights, Christmas trees & PJs from $10.99 Home Depot: 40% off tools, appliances & furniture Lowe’s: holiday decor, appliances & tools from $17.31 Nectar: up to 50% off all mattresses Nordstrom: 46% off boots, coats, jeans & jewelry Samsung: $1,500+ off TVs, phones, watches & appliances Target: save on furniture, tech & clothing Walmart: cheap TVs, ****** vacs, furniture & appliances Source link #Amazons #****** #Friday #***** #started #Acer #Predator #RTX #gaming #laptop #finally Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

******** Immigrant from Venezuela Convicted of Murdering Georgia Nursing Student Laken Riley ******** Immigrant from Venezuela Convicted of Murdering Georgia Nursing Student Laken Riley ATHENS, Ga. (AP) – A Venezuelan man has been convicted of ******* in the ******** of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, a case that fueled the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race. Jose Ibarra was charged with ******* and other ******* in Riley’s February ******, and the guilty verdict was reached Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Haggard alone heard and decided the case. The ******** added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case. The trial began Friday, and prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley’s roommates and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra. Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarra’s neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case Wednesday morning. Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and ******* her during a struggle. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta. Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening that Riley’s ****** was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he said there was not sufficient evidence to prove that his client ******* Riley. Riley’s parents, roommates and other friends and family members packed the courtroom each day, many of them getting emotional as they listened to witness testimony. Ibarra, dressed each day in a collared shirt and dark slacks with his feet chained, appeared attentive throughout the trial. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Source link #******** #Immigrant #Venezuela #Convicted #Murdering #Georgia #Nursing #Student #Laken #Riley Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Indie Live Expo Winter 2024 Reveals Glimpse of Lineup and Awards Nominees Indie Live Expo Winter 2024 Reveals Glimpse of Lineup and Awards Nominees Korea Game Awards 2024 ended just a few days ago, on November 13. During the event, various games were competing for prizes in this prestigious event, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Game Industry Association. Source link #Indie #Live #Expo #Winter #Reveals #Glimpse #Lineup #Awards #Nominees Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Early ****** Friday printer deals 2024: Grab a printer for just $40 Early ****** Friday printer deals 2024: Grab a printer for just $40 There are some fantastic early ****** Friday deals happening already, even though the big day is still a week away. Below, we’ve picked out our favorite early ****** Friday printer deals so you can print those all-important documents better than before. It’s maybe not the most exciting of purchases, but it’s certainly an important one. If you’ve just snagged an early ****** Friday laptop deal or all-in-one PC deal, you’re all set in your home office with this combo. Besides regularly updating this page with the latest printer deals, we also have some key buying advice to help you end up with the right option for your situation. Read on while we take you through everything from great deals to important buying tips. HP DeskJet 2734e All-in-One Printer — $40 $85 47% off HP The HP DeskJet 2734e All-in-One Printer is simple yet effective. It only has print speeds of up to 7.5 pages per minute in ****** or 5.5 pages per minute in ******, but it’s inexpensive and comes with six months of HP Instant Ink. HP Envy 6065e All-in-One Printer — $60 $130 54% off HP With speeds of up to 10 pages per minute in ****** and white or 7.5 pages per minute in ******, the HP Envy 6065e All-in-One Printer is fairly fast. It has automatic two-sided printing and simple setup. It comes with six months of HP Instant Ink too. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 All-in-One Printer — $130 $200 35% off Epson Built for speed, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 All-in-One Printer boasts 21 pages per minute in ****** or 11 pages per minute in ******. Designed with high volume in mind, there’s auto two-sided printing and 1-sided 35-page ADF streamline workflow, as well as a large 250 sheet capacity. Canon Pixma MegaTank G3270 All-in-One Printer — $150 $230 35% off Canon’s MegaTank Pixma G3270 is easy to setup and use. Photo by Tracey Truly / Digital Trends With a backlit 1.35-inch LCD screen, the Canon Pixma MegaTank G3270 All-in-One Printer is super easy to figure out. It has a high page yield via one set of inks, and the ink bottles mean you never miss a drop. Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi ****** resolution ensures the Canon Pixma MegaTank G3270 All-in-One Printer produces great results. Canon ImageCLASS MF654Cdw Laser Printer — $300 $400 25% off Canon’s ****** balance sheet fine-tunes the imageClass MF654cdw’s print quality. Photo by Tracey Truly / Digital Trends Many people swear by laser printers, especially when dealing with a lot of printing. The Canon ImageCLASS MF654Cdw Laser Printer offers sharp print quality and up to 22 pages per minute with a quick first print in just 10.3 seconds. It’s perfect for your home office. How to choose a printer on ****** Friday In an ideal world, head to our look at the best printers and simply buy one of those. In reality, there’s more to it than that. For one thing, you need to think about what your budget is before you learn how to choose a printer or study the best printer brands. From there, think about how you plan on using your printer. Do you need it to also scan documents, or are you good with a basic printer? A scanner is useful but not everyone needs it. Similarly, fast speeds are nice but may not be essential if you’re just printing a couple of documents. To simplify things, if you’re a student or someone occasionally printing files, keep costs down and don’t worry about speed. However, if you print a lot of documents for work from your home office, check for higher page print speeds and quality if the file is important. Don’t forget about connectivity options as well. Printing via network can be very useful. How we chose these printer ****** Friday deals We pick out these printer ****** Friday deals the same way as we pick other deals: We scour the internet, checking all the best retailers, and narrowing things down to the very best deals. That means these printer deals are the best you can find, both in terms of quality and price. We don’t just pick out the deepest discounts; we check that the product is actually worth owning. After all, a good deal is only good if it’s something you actually want to own. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your money. We know our way around printer technology, so we know what’s worth owning. These printer deals are all offers we would recommend to friends and family, as well as the printers we would use ourselves. Source link #Early #****** #Friday #printer #deals #Grab #printer Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Liam Payne ********: One Direction bandmates, family, friends gather in London – National Liam Payne ********: One Direction bandmates, family, friends gather in London – National Descrease article font size Increase article font size The former members of boy band One Direction were among the mourners at the ******** of their band mate Liam Payne on Wednesday, just over a month after he ***** aged 31. Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson joined Payne’s family and friends for the private ******* service in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, northwest of London. One Direction band member Harry Styles leaves following the ******** of singer Liam Payne, former member of One Direction, on November 20, 2024 in Amersham, ******* Kingdom. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images The father of one was found ***** after he fell from his hotel balcony in Buenos Aires in mid-October of this year, triggering an outpouring of grief from fans around the world. Story continues below advertisement The singer’s coffin arrived at the ******* in a white carriage drawn by two white horses and adorned with floral tributes spelling the words “Son” and “Daddy.” Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Payne and his former bandmates were catapulted to global fame in the 2010s after Simon Cowell brought them together on Britain’s X Factor talent show. The group went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. Zayn Malik after the ******** service for One Direction singer Liam Payne at St Mary’s ******* in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images Cowell was photographed arriving at the ********. Simon Cowell (R) and Lauren Silverman leave after attending the ******** service of the late One Direction singer Liam Payne, at a St Mary’s ******* in Amersham, west of London on November 20, 2024. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images Trending Now Taylor Swift in Toronto: $70K in losses from ‘undelivered tickets’ under investigation Trump taps Dr. Oz to lead U.S. health insurance programs in next cabinet With their tousled hair and youthful charm, the band members became teen idols through hit singles like What Makes You Beautiful, Live While We’re Young, Best Song Ever and Story of My Life. Story continues below advertisement 0:26 3 charged in connection with ****** of Liam Payne, former One Direction singer Previous Video Next Video Payne’s former partner, singer Cheryl Cole, with whom he had a son now aged seven, also attended the service. Argentine authorities have charged three people in connection with Payne’s ****** after an autopsy revealed traces of alcohol, ******** and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he *****. More on Entertainment More videos Source link #Liam #Payne #******** #Direction #bandmates #family #friends #gather #London #National Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Just Shapes & Beats is a whole lot more than it sounds in this chaotic co-op bullet *****, now on iOS Just Shapes & Beats is a whole lot more than it sounds in this chaotic co-op bullet *****, now on iOS Just Shapes & Beats is out now on iOS The hit indie bullet ***** comes to the palm of your hand Experience dozens of stages and an original soundtrack to dodge and **** to While the new hotness may be bullet heaven, I’m sure there are more than a few of you who prefer the hellish. If so, and you’re a veteran of the genre, you’ll more than likely be excited to find out that longtime hit Just Shapes & Beats is finally making its way to mobile more than half a decade after release. Out now on iOS, Just Shapes & Beats bills itself as a chaotic musical co-op bullet *****. Join up to four other players in navigating a musically-scored obstacle course as you dodge, ***** and weave. Boasting 48 stages and 20 tracks from chiptune and EDM artists, it’s not hard to see why JSB sits at an overwhelmingly positive rating on Steam. Yes, it’s not hard to see why it’s so popular. But this is also a release that needs to be experienced for itself, especially given how tight-lipped the devs are. It seems Berzerk Studio are not the kind to toot their own *****, but the bevvy of accolades Just Shapes & Beats has received speaks for themselves. Live, ****, remix Doing a bit of research on Just Shapes & Beats (I knew the name of course, but a little background never hurt) one thing that stood out to me was how many fans seem to believe that it’s since been abandoned. However, while a lack of updates may be evidence for that, I’d wager that Berzerk Studio might have more in store for Just Shapes & Beats with this mobile release, if not some more content too. But even if it solely comes as is, I reckon this is a release many of you will be excited by, for good reason. If you’re looking to dig into other releases in the bullet ***** genre, why not check in on some of our lists? We’ve ranked the best bullet ***** games for Android to give you plenty to dodge in these high-octane picks. Source link #Shapes #Beats #lot #sounds #chaotic #coop #bullet #***** #iOS Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Rebootless updates come to Windows 11 Enterprise and 365 for security updates — Microsoft releases hotpatching for Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 and Windows 365 Preview Editions Rebootless updates come to Windows 11 Enterprise and 365 for security updates — Microsoft releases hotpatching for Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 and Windows 365 Preview Editions Microsoft began rolling out the much-anticipated hot patch update for security updates in Windows 11 Enterprise 24H2 and Microsoft 365 Preview Builds. Once installed, users can download and install the security patches via Windows Updates without requiring a reboot for the patch to be activated. “Hotpatch updates are scoped and provide a complete set of OS security patches. No additional features are included,” Microsoft explains. “They are unique in that they take effect immediately upon installation without requiring you to restart your device, helping to ensure focused, rapid protection.” Hotpatch updates have been available in the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition since February 2022 and now in Windows Server 2025. They are proving to be more than a quality-of-life update as they reduce the system downtime for every restart needed for the security patch. Hotpatching updates the in-memory code with the update, thus not requiring a system restart. Hotpatching also has other benefits, as mentioned by Microsoft: Fewer binaries mean updates install faster and consume less disk and CPU resources. Lower workload impact with less need to restart your machine. Better protection, as the Hotpatch update packages are scoped to Windows security updates that install faster without requiring you to restart your machine. Reduces the time exposed to security risks and change windows, and easier patch orchestration with Azure Update Manager. Hotpatching is also incredibly useful for commercial workloads, given that security patches are regularly required, some more seriously than usual. This way, users no longer need to schedule an update for a critical patch and schedule a restart for servers and complex clusters using these operating systems. Microsoft also uses hotpatching for its clusters, such as the Xbox network. We reported about Microsoft testing hotpatching internally a few months ago, where Microsoft wishes to roll this for 22H2 versions and for Arm64-based devices, whose rollout will be delayed by a whole year. There are limitations to hotpatching as it works only for security patches. This means Cumulative Updates, which roll out during the first month of every quarter, will need a restart. It should be noted that for Windows Server 2022 and 2025, hotpatching does not include non-security updates for Windows, .NET updates, and non-windows patches such as firmware, drivers, and software updates.- and likely to be the case with Windows 11 Enterprise and Windows 365. Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Windows 11 Enterprise editions are part of the Windows Enterprise subscription, which comes in Enterprise E3, Enterprise E5, and Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans. Those who have subscribed to this plan will need a Windows 11 Pro license. Windows 11 Enterprise includes more features, such as Azure Virtual Desktop, Credential Guard, Direct Access, Universal Print, and others. Pro and Enterprise versions are made for business users but with specific purposes. One might expect hotpatching to inevitably arrive for Windows Home and Pro editions, though hotpatching is more beneficial for systems with a more complex deployment. Restarting every system after an update is impractical for many situations, as it involves downtime. Source link #Rebootless #updates #Windows #Enterprise #security #updates #Microsoft #releases #hotpatching #Windows #Enterprise #24H2 #Windows #Preview #Editions Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Housing a growing home for Future Fund investment Housing a growing home for Future Fund investment Investments that help boost housing supply and accelerate the clean energy transition will be prioritised under a revamped mandate for Australia’s $230 billion sovereign wealth fund. However, consideration of “national priorities” will always play second fiddle to maximising returns. “This will mean more investment where we need it most but not at the expense of returns,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement. “The new investment mandate will require the fund to consider Australia’s national priorities in its investment decisions, where possible, appropriate and consistent with strong returns.” The fund will stick with its existing benchmark return rate of the consumer price index plus four to five per cent per annum over the long term. There will be no change to the expected risk profile. As well as the energy transition and housing supply, locally-based infrastructure was similarly flagged as a priority. The sovereign wealth fund will also become an ongoing feature of Australia’s economy under the federal government’s revamp. Drawdowns from the fund will be deferred until at least 2032/33. Earlier in the year, former climate change minister and previous Net Zero Economy Agency boss Greg Combet was picked to replace former Future Fund chairman and founder Peter Costello. Mr Combet welcomed Thursday’s announcement. “The announcements by the government mean that the Future Fund will be in place for years to come,” he said. “This is a great outcome for all Australians.” Mr Combet said the decision to defer withdrawals would allow the fund to provide more focus and resources to the areas of national priority identified in the new investment mandate. The fund already invested in the priority areas, he said, such as new capacity delivered by Tilt Renewables, one of the largest operators and developers of green energy infrastructure in the country. The Future Fund oversees six other wealth funds, including a $22.3 billion medical research fund, a $4.4 billion disaster ready fund and a $16.9 billion disability care fund. It also oversees the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which was set up by the Labor government in 2023 to deal with housing supply. Its portfolio has grown steadily since its inception and is expected to hit $380 billion by the early 2030s. Source link #Housing #growing #home #Future #Fund #investment Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Wednesday, November 20 NYT Mini Crossword today: puzzle answers for Wednesday, November 20 The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle’s continued success — and it’s all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now. In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible. Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well. I solved today’s puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee. In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team’s process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it’s worth moving into a more active development phase “where the game is coded and the designs are finalized.” So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn’t get the response it is hoping for. Digits’ beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games’ website Source link #NYT #Mini #Crossword #today #puzzle #answers #Wednesday #November Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Post Office to harness technology to automate scandal financial redress payments Post Office to harness technology to automate scandal financial redress payments In-house teams at the Post Office are working with technology that could speed up the payment of compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal. Subpostmasters, who suffered hugely at the hands of the Post Office and its unreliable Horizon IT system, have waited years for their claims to be settled and pressure is mounting on the government and the Post Office to speed up payments. Straight-through processing technology like that used by banks could automate the payment of smaller sums – up to £75,000 – which make up the bulk of claims. Technology to speed up claims that require assessment is also being considered. This would free up resources to focus on larger, more complex claims. During a Parliamentary Business and Trade Select Committee hearing on the slow pace of Post Office scandal financial redress schemes, Nigel Railton, interim chairman at the Post Office, said the bulk of payments could be automated to speed up the process. He said changes need to be made to how financial redress is paid to scandal victims, but he doesn’t want to slow things down. “The Post Office should not be dealing with financial redress, but we have to be pragmatic.” Railton suggested the Post Office could retain the small, simple claims, which are many in number, while more complex claims should be with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). “In an ideal world, it would all be with DBT, but let’s be pragmatic and think about dividing the schemes. High volume, low complexity with the Post Office, and low volume, high complexity with DBT,” he said. Railton suggested automation technology could be applied to the £75,000 fixed sum payments for applicants to the Horizon Shortfalls Scheme who do not wish to have claims assessed further. “The £75,000 is quite straightforward. As I understand it, we have to find one shortfall, and based on that, we will generate a cheque,” he said. “That, to me, is a process we can automate – it doesn’t need a lot of judgement because the rules are very clear.” The Post Office is considering how it can do this using technology, such as straight-through processing. A company spokesperson said: “For the £75,000 fixed sum, the process enables postmasters to receive payments within 10 days, once valid acceptances of offers are received. We are working in-house to use technology for swift payments and to handle an expected higher volume of claims.” The technology could go further and speed up claims that are fully assessed, according to a Post Office spokesperson. “We are also, alongside government, considering how technology might be applied to accelerate redress for postmasters who opt for full assessment of their claim,” said the spokesperson. Computer Weekly first exposed the scandal in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to Horizon accounting software, which led to the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history (see below timeline of Computer Weekly articles about the scandal since 2009). Source link #Post #Office #harness #technology #automate #scandal #financial #redress #payments Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Delta leans into premium travel to attract millennials Delta leans into premium travel to attract millennials Delta Air Lines (DAL) shared new plans for premium passenger investments, including expectations that premium revenue will surpass main cabin revenue by 2027. The airline will introduce new aircraft, like the A350-1000 that has 50% premium seating, and expand its cabin segmentation. The strategy aims to attract millennial travelers, who are currently spending more on luxury travel than other generations. Morning Brief Co-hosts Brad Smith and Seana Smith share that despite these investments, Delta’s stock is lower pre-market as investors weigh the potential returns. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. This post was written by Cindy Mizaku. Source link #Delta #leans #premium #travel #attract #millennials Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Apple ****** Friday deals drop the M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM to $749 Apple ****** Friday deals drop the M2 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM to $749 Apple ****** Friday deals have arrived, at least on MacBooks. We’re seeing some decent discounts on M-series laptops right now, including the relatively budget-friendly M2 MacBook Air. That notebook with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage has dropped to $749 thanks to various discounts and clippable coupons at Amazon. The regular price is $1,000, so this is a discount of 25 percent. This model easily made our list of the best MacBooks, even with the presence of the newer M3 MacBook Air. Here are the takeaways. This laptop, obviously, includes Apple’s proprietary M2 8-core CPU, which is more than fast enough for basic tasks and fine for even many advanced tasks, like music-making. We called it “Apple’s near-perfect Mac” in our official review. Apple This is not the bare-bones standard model, as it comes with 16GB of RAM. Most versions ship with 8GB of RAM. The multitasking bona-fides are strong with this one. The M2 MacBook Air also ships with a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display with 500 nits of brightness and support for the P3 wide ****** gamut. It’s thin and light. It’s a MacBook Air. This thing weighs around 2.7 pounds. The battery life is solid, at around 18 hours of use per charge. The four-speaker sound system can get surprisingly loud, so headphones are not a requirement when watching random YouTube videos or listening to music. So what’s the downside? There isn’t one. Not really. This isn’t the M3 MacBook Air, so those looking for the latest and greatest model may be let down. The model does only ship with a 256GB solid state drive, but it’s easy enough to plug in an external. Check out all of the latest ****** Friday and Cyber Monday deals here. Source link #Apple #****** #Friday #deals #drop #MacBook #Air #16GB #RAM Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Telenor unveils analytics and insights service for IoT devices Telenor unveils analytics and insights service for IoT devices After opening a testing facility in Karlskrona, Sweden, earlier this year to offer customers what it said would be a unique way to help customers understand how their connected internet of things (IoT) products behave before deployment, Telenor is upping the ante in IoT with the launch of an analytics and insights service. The leading Nordic operator’s IoT division believes that with thorough IoT device testing before deployment, customers can reduce time to market, improve test coverage and find issues early, thereby preventing costly troubleshooting later when products have already reached the market. However, it emphasises that new features also add complexity, with more scenarios where profiling and tuning of settings are required to extract the optimum performance for a specific use case. Packaged as part of a new flexible service levels offering, the solution is designed to provide businesses with “valuable” insights into their users’ IoT deployments, offering a range of features to help optimise operations, mitigate risks and make better business decisions. Specifically, it is said to be able to allow users to identify areas for optimisation and proactively address potential issues before they impact operations, using insights to inform strategic planning and decision-making. Among the suite of reports and analyses built into the analytics and insights tool is a deployment Insight feature that allows companies to track device locations, monitor global reach and identify coverage gaps or areas for potential expansion. The basic result is said to be the ability to gain insights on how network sunsetting might impact the business and services. Usage analytics offers the ability to understand how deployed devices are used, identify trends and take action based on them. This includes the ability to detect deviations from normal traffic behaviour and see where performance can be optimised. It can also identify deviations from best practice for performance optimisation, flagging device connectivity issues and configurational problems, identifying where they occur and what causes them. The analytics and insights service is going to be no less than a “game-changer” for businesses looking to make use of the full potential of their IoT fleet data, predicted Anders Bresell, head of data at Telenor IoT. “With the increasing amount of connectivity data generated by IoT products, finding ways to easily identify insights to act on is highly desirable. By providing actionable insights, our customers can make data-driven decisions that improve efficiency and drive innovation. Whether you’re managing a fleet, monitoring connected cars, or just trying to optimise operations, it gives you the insights you need.” Helén Schager, commercial product manager at Telenor IoT, said: “We are committed to serving our customers even better, adding analytics capabilities into the mix, in addition to the highly praised personal and professional support and high availability. This is just the first release of the tool, and we plan to enrich it with more complex reports and AI in the future.” Source link #Telenor #unveils #analytics #insights #service #IoT #devices Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison time for role in crypto ****** FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison time for role in crypto ****** Gary Wang, a former executive of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried, attends his sentencing on ****** charges at the ******* States District Court in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., November 20, 2024. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Gary Wang, co-founder and ex-technology chief of FTX, was sentenced Wednesday to time served and three years of supervised release on each of the four counts he pled guilty to, becoming the fifth and final ex-employee of the collapsed crypto exchange to be punished. Wang was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion, the same as the other co-defendants. Wang, who took the stand in the trial against his former boss Sam Bankman-Fried, faced a maximum sentence of 50 years for the four ********* counts he pleaded guilty to, including *********** to commit wire ******, wire ******, *********** to commit commodities ****** and *********** to commit securities ******. After FTX’s former engineering chief Nishad Singh successfully avoided prison time when he was sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan last month, Wang was seeking the same sentence citing his nearly immediate cooperation with the government. When given the opportunity to address the court, Wang said he was deeply sorry to all the customers and investors in FTX. “I took the easy path, the cowardly path, instead of doing the right thing,” Wang said in a short address to the court, as he clutched a single printed piece of paper that he never referenced from the podium. “I will spend the rest of my life trying to make amends,” he added. Wang’s parents, as well as his wife, who is expecting their first child, were in court to support him. Attorneys for Wang say he didn’t have full visibility on the *******, unlike the other cooperating witnesses, and didn’t know that FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research was taking customer money until after the scheme was underway. The government was also seeking leniency for Wang. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos described Wang as the easiest cooperating witness he had ever worked with, and he credited Wang for essentially deciphering half of the case for the Government by meticulously unpacking the complicated code used by FTX that allowed for the customer money to be taken off the exchange. In the sentencing submission, prosecutors added that since testifying against the former FTX CEO, Wang has “put his extraordinary computer programing skills to use in detecting potential ****** in the stock and cryptocurrency markets,” and has built an interface that the government has started using for detecting potential ****** by publicly traded companies. In addition, “Wang has also been working on a tool for detection of potential ******** activity in cryptocurrency markets, which in the event Wang is sentenced to a ******* of time served, the Government understands he will complete as part of his ongoing cooperation.” Roos also noted that Wang was the first FTX employee to walk through the government’s door but the last to be sentenced, as the FTX ********* proceedings come to a close. In March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 billion — the harshest punishment from Judge Kaplan. Alameda’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison, who was the star witness in Bankman-Fried’s prosecution and his ex-girlfriend, was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the ******. And Ryan Salame, another former top lieutenant of Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May — beyond the upper limit recommended by prosecutors. All FTX former executives have faced sentencing before Judge Kaplan. The no-nonsense 78-year-old judge is a veteran of the Southern District of New York and has presided over some of the biggest cases to roll through the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan. “I’ve never seen anything quite like what happened here,” Kaplan said of Wang’s cooperation. “You’re entitled to a lot of credit.” Source link #FTX #cofounder #Gary #Wang #avoids #prison #time #role #crypto #****** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Cost of living and inflation are not the same thing Cost of living and inflation are not the same thing The inflation rate increased to 2.3% in October, well below the level at which it peaked two years ago. But you would be wrong to think the cost of living crisis is over. At energy firm Utilita’s Hampshire call centre on a very cold day earlier this week, I witnessed the cost of living pressures on the frontline. At 10am, red lights flashed up on a map of Britain as prepayment meters ran out of money, and the firm extended “friendly credit” to avoid a middle-of-the-night cut off. A mum with kids requiring refrigerated medicines for ******* rang up with her voice cracking because she could not afford her £5 prepayment top-up and asked to be put onto a credit direct debit. An older customer refused to put on their heating or use hot water and cried down the line to the operator. These harrowing stories come as energy bills rise during what could be a cold winter for the first time since the peak of the energy crisis when Russia invaded Ukraine over two years ago. Britain and Europe have been very lucky with two mild winters since the energy crisis. But now it’s getting colder at a time when most extra government support has been rolled back. It is a clear example of why inflation is not quite the same as the cost of living. The energy inflation spike is behind us, even with today’s bump back up. The inflation rate is not going back up to double digits again. But the cost-of-living crisis might be about to hit ******* than ever. There was no surprise that the rate of inflation jumped again, reflecting the recent hike in the energy price cap. The new news today is that other underlying measures of inflation, for example services, and “core” inflation, both of which are watched closely by the Bank of England as an indication of domestic price pressures, both rose slightly and by more than expected. It comes as an increasing number of firms warn that the tax rises and the higher minimum wage announced in the Budget could lead them to increase prices for customers. In January, Donald Trump, comes into power as the US president, threating a blanket 20% tariff on all imports into the US. Putting this all together and inflation could be on the up into spring next year, not far off 3%. But the path of inflation going forward is unusually uncertain and Bank of England officials, who decide whether to raise or cut interest rates, are divided. Four of the nine-strong Monetary Policy committee on Tuesday said it was was not clear whether prices rises will accelerate or slow in the coming months. Much depends, as numerous members of the Bank of England have suggested, on the pass through of Budget measures into prices and wages. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey reiterated earlier in the week that future interest rate falls would be “gradual”. This is likely to mean a cut at every other Bank of England interest rate meeting – so nothing next month, but then a further cut in early February. If trends continue as expected, there will perhaps be a pause in March. By May, much more data will be available about what has happened with wages and prices since October’s Budget changes. To be clear, recent developments have not fundamentally altered the expectation of a series of rate cuts next year, but perhaps by the end of 2025 rates will be around 4% from their current 4.75%, rather than previous expectations of them being lower. Beyond this, there is a chance that if the geopolitical situation calms, that over the course of this year, gas prices fall significantly. That is a very big “if”, but it is weighing on the minds of energy suppliers. But whatever happens, it is going to be a very tough winter if my afternoon in that Hampshire call centre is anything to go by. Source link #Cost #living #inflation Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FromSoftware parent Kadokawa confirms Sony has sent it a ‘letter of intent’ to acquire it FromSoftware parent Kadokawa confirms Sony has sent it a ‘letter of intent’ to acquire it FromSoftware parent company Kadokawa has confirmed that it has received a letter of intent from Sony to acquire the company. Earlier this week it was reported by Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the situation, that talks between Sony and Kadokawa are ongoing. Now, a statement from Kadokawa reads, “There are some articles on the acquisition of Kadokawa Corporation (hereinafter “the Company”) by Sony Group Inc, “However, this information is not announced by the Company. The Company has received an initial letter of intent to acquire the Company’s shares, but no decision has been made at this time. If there are any facts that should be announced in the future, we will make an announcement in a timely and appropriate manner.” Kadokawa owns a majority share in FromSoftware, as well as several anime production houses. Kadokawa also owns Dwango, a ********* telecoms and media company that owns developer Spike Chunsoft (most recently responsible for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero). Earlier this year, it also bought Acquire, the Tokyo studio known in recent years for Octopath Traveler, Octopath Traveler II, and Mario & Luigi: Brothership. Kadokawa’s share price shot up earlier this week as a result of Sony acquisition reports, closing at an increase of 23% to reach their all-time highest value. Source link #FromSoftware #parent #Kadokawa #confirms #Sony #letter #intent #acquire Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Google AI-Powered Air View+ Announced With Real-Time Hyperlocal Air Quality Information Across India Google AI-Powered Air View+ Announced With Real-Time Hyperlocal Air Quality Information Across India Google announced Air View+, an ecosystem-based solution to address the gaps in air quality data across India, on Wednesday. The system uses the Mountain View-based tech giant’s artificial intelligence (AI) models to process a large volume of air quality data at the hyperlocal level and provide actionable insights to Indian government agencies. For this, the company has partnered with climate tech firms and researchers from various Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) to deploy specialised sensors to monitor air quality data across 150 Indian cities. Google Announces Air View+ to Help Source Air Quality Data in India The rise of particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5 in the air of Delhi NCR region to dangerous levels has highlighted the problem of lack of proactive measures in fixing India’s air quality issues. One of the reasons for this is believed to be the lack of consistent air quality data and the technology to convert such large volume of data into actionable insights. Google claims that its AI-powered Air View+ system can solve both of these bottlenecks to help government agencies combat air pollution proactively. The tech giant states that it is an ecosystem-based solution that both collects and processes air quality data from small localities and surroundings. To collect the data, Google partnered with climate tech firms Aurassure and Respirer Living Sciences and built air quality sensors that can measure various parameters including PM2.5, PM10, CO2, NO2, Ozone, and VOCs, as well as temperature and humidity. These sensors take measurements every minute for consistency. A network of these sensors have been deployed in more than 150 Indian cities in locations with high population footfall such as administrative establishments, commercial buildings, utility poles, and more. Google claimed that researchers from IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, state pollution boards and climate action groups have rigorously validated and calibrated these sensors. The idea behind setting up this sensor network is to get consistent hyperlocal data across the city and then using AI to process this information in real time. The company says its AI technology is used to power the Air View+ system. Once processed, Google will send the insights and key highlights from this massive data set to local municipal corporations and other government agencies. The company claims that this will enable them to better prepare action plans and proactive measures by observing patterns in air quality dips. This will also help fill in the data gaps by sourcing air quality information from previously unmonitored areas. This information will also be available publicly via Google Maps. Users of the platform can select the Air Quality layer from the Layer button on the home screen by picking any location. The same information can also be checked on the weather widget on the Explore tab on the home screen. Source link #Google #AIPowered #Air #View #Announced #RealTime #Hyperlocal #Air #Quality #Information #India Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

COP29 row breaks out with ******** over gender rights COP29 row breaks out with ******** over gender rights Alexander Nemenov/AFP/ Getty Images The ********’s Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has been the Pope’s representative at the UN COP29 climate conference The ******** has blocked discussions over women’s rights at the UN climate summit following a row over gay and transgender issues, sources have told BBC News. Pope Francis’ representatives have aligned with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and Egypt to obstruct a deal which would have provided more support, including financial help, for women at the forefront of climate change, Colombia’s environment minister told the BBC. Charities including ActionAid said it is crucial a deal is reached as the UN estimates women and ****** currently make up 80% of those displaced by climate change. Representatives from the ********, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt did not respond to requests for comment. Countries at this year’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan were due to update the ten-year old UN action plan to make sure that any work on climate change took account of the experiences of women and channelled more money to them. For a decade it has been called the Lima Work Programme on Gender. But the ********, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and Egypt now do not want any reference to “gender” – over concerns it could include transgender women, and want references to gay woman removed, the BBC has been told by charities observing the talks and negotiators from other countries. This has stalled the whole deal on progressing women’s access to support in the face of climate change, they say. “It is unacceptable,” Colombia’s environment minister and lead negotiator Susana Muhamad said of the stalling. She was one of the only country representatives willing to speak on the record. The others spoke to the BBC anonymously on the grounds that they were taking part in ongoing negotiations. “The ****** ********* countries are working very hard – we will not allow the gender programme to drop and allow human rights to be dropped,” she told BBC News. For more than a decade it has been acknowledged by countries globally that women face a disproportionate burden from climate change, often due to their caring roles and interruption of access to reproductive services during climate disasters. According to UN Women, by 2050 close to 240 million more women and ****** will face food insecurity caused by climate change compared to 131 million more men and boys. Whilst at the same time only 0.01% of funding globally goes to climate change projects that also take account of women. In the new plan ******** and EU countries wanted to also include a line that not all women’s experiences of climate change are the same – that they can differ depending on their “gender, ****, age and race”. The ********, along with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt and Iran, said they took issue with the use of the word “gender” which they think could include transgender women, country negotiators told the BBC. Charities observing this were surprised as over the course of a decade these countries had not taken issue with the use of the word. “I was shocked when the ******** raised their flag and opposed the human rights language,” said Sostina Takure, from ********** charity ACT Alliance. “My heart shattered into a million pieces.” Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images The majority of small scale farms – exposed to extreme weather like drought – are run by women Mwanahamisi Singano, the policy lead for the Women’s Environment and Development Organization, told the BBC the group of countries also opposed the text as they did not want to reference gay women. Ms Singano, who was in the negotiating room, said countries like Iran argued that homosexuality was ******** under their laws and therefore they would not allow those groups to be recognised in the text. Aid charities have said the deadlock has put the whole deal over support for women in jeopardy with just three days to go before the conference ends. “I think if things continue the way they are it is not looking good for women’s rights in the negotiations,” said Zahra Hdidou, senior climate adviser at ActionAid. Muhammad Amdad Hossain/Getty Images Women who are primary carers for their families are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change When asked why the ******** and others were making the intervention now, after nearly a decade, one country negotiator told the BBC: “It is part of a broader global backlash against women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights.” Pope Francis has allowed priests to bless same-**** couples under certain circumstances and last year he said transgender people could be baptised in the ********* ******* as long as doing so did not cause scandal or “confusion”. But the ******** said it continued to view marriage as between a man and a woman, and in April it said it remained staunchly opposed to **** changes, gender theory and surrogate parenthood in a text dubbed “Dignitas Infinita” (Infinite Dignity). The current UN programme on gender and climate is due to expire at the end of this year, meaning that if nothing is agreed at COP29 there will be no specific global plan for supporting women facing climate change. But Ms Hdidou told the BBC part of the problem was the scant representation of women at the talks. Last year only 36% of those negotiating at the conference were women, according to the UN. “Our voices are often shut out of the COP29 negotiating rooms. Which means we will get outcomes that don’t reflect the lived realities of women in climate-hit areas,” she said. At the start of the conference the EU published a letter – now supported by 17 countries – which says “our ability to address the climate crisis hinges upon our commitment to the empowerment of women and ******, in all their diversity.” Source link #COP29 #row #breaks #******** #gender #rights Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Overwatch 2’s Newest Tank Hero Looks So Bad That Players Have Rejected Him Even Before the Playtests Begin Overwatch 2’s Newest Tank Hero Looks So Bad That Players Have Rejected Him Even Before the Playtests Begin Overwatch 2 has included a new tank hero in the game, who seems to be getting a lot of hate these days, even before the playtests begin. The major reason for criticism is the hero’s unappealing character design. Hazard is the latest addition to Overwatch 2. Image Credit: Game Trailers YT The recently added hero’s character design is so weak that players confused it for a bad Rein skin at first. It seems to be an amalgamation of all the ideas of previous heroes clubbed together in desperation to just get done with it. Players Do Not Like The New Tank Hero In Overwatch 2 He seems to be getting a lot of hate at the moment. Image Credit: Game Trailers YT Hazard is the most recent addition to the pool of heroes in Overwatch 2 and he belongs to the Tank class. The design for the character seems to be too clean to be taken seriously by players, making him look like a cute neighbor next door rather than a warrior. Players will get a chance to play with Hazard for a limited ******* between November 22 and 25 before it officially arrives in the game with the upcoming Season 14. The trailer that reveals the character portrays him as a risk-taking maniac who is ready to do all it takes to get the job done. His go-to philosophy in life is that if you are in it for me, you are in it for life. All that seems to be adding a little to its appeal, if there’s any. However, largely the player base of the game seems underwhelmed by it. Comment byu/Much-Wrongdoer8005 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/Much-Wrongdoer8005 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/Much-Wrongdoer8005 from discussion inOverwatch Comment byu/Much-Wrongdoer8005 from discussion inOverwatch This should not be the way forward for Overwatch 2, since players expect more from the game. Currently, this new character is doing the game more harm than good. Maybe He Can Be Fixed By Releasing Better Skins There is still a chance to mold the character in many ways. Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment However, there is still a way to win fans back again. It might be true that the raw nature of the hero might not be as appealing to many, but there is a chance that he can be molded in the right direction by developing good skins for him. As a stand-alone hero, he seems to be a forced addition to the game at the moment. Having said that, it is also true that the hero might grow on players once they try him out in the game. It is still too early to give a detailed overview of him without having played with him. All people can express are their first impressions and nothing more. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below. Source link #Overwatch #Newest #Tank #Hero #Bad #Players #Rejected #Playtests Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison time for role in crypto ****** FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison time for role in crypto ****** Gary Wang, a former executive of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, who testified against founder Sam Bankman-Fried, attends his sentencing on ****** charges at the ******* States District Court in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., November 20, 2024. Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters Gary Wang, co-founder and ex-technology chief of FTX, was sentenced Wednesday to time served and three years of supervised release on each of the four counts he pled guilty to, becoming the fifth and final ex-employee of the collapsed crypto exchange to be punished. Wang was also ordered to forfeit $11 billion, the same as the other co-defendants. Wang, who took the stand in the trial against his former boss Sam Bankman-Fried, faced a maximum sentence of 50 years for the four ********* counts he pleaded guilty to, including *********** to commit wire ******, wire ******, *********** to commit commodities ****** and *********** to commit securities ******. After FTX’s former engineering chief Nishad Singh successfully avoided prison time when he was sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan last month, Wang was seeking the same sentence citing his nearly immediate cooperation with the government. When given the opportunity to address the court, Wang said he was deeply sorry to all the customers and investors in FTX. “I took the easy path, the cowardly path, instead of doing the right thing,” Wang said in a short address to the court, as he clutched a single printed piece of paper that he never referenced from the podium. “I will spend the rest of my life trying to make amends,” he added. Wang’s parents, as well as his wife, who is expecting their first child, were in court to support him. Attorneys for Wang say he didn’t have full visibility on the *******, unlike the other cooperating witnesses, and didn’t know that FTX’s sister hedge fund Alameda Research was taking customer money until after the scheme was underway. The government was also seeking leniency for Wang. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos described Wang as the easiest cooperating witness he had ever worked with, and he credited Wang for essentially deciphering half of the case for the Government by meticulously unpacking the complicated code used by FTX that allowed for the customer money to be taken off the exchange. In the sentencing submission, prosecutors added that since testifying against the former FTX CEO, Wang has “put his extraordinary computer programing skills to use in detecting potential ****** in the stock and cryptocurrency markets,” and has built an interface that the government has started using for detecting potential ****** by publicly traded companies. In addition, “Wang has also been working on a tool for detection of potential ******** activity in cryptocurrency markets, which in the event Wang is sentenced to a ******* of time served, the Government understands he will complete as part of his ongoing cooperation.” Roos also noted that Wang was the first FTX employee to walk through the government’s door but the last to be sentenced, as the FTX ********* proceedings come to a close. In March, Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay $11 billion — the harshest punishment from Judge Kaplan. Alameda’s ex-CEO Caroline Ellison, who was the star witness in Bankman-Fried’s prosecution and his ex-girlfriend, was sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the ******. And Ryan Salame, another former top lieutenant of Bankman-Fried, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison in May — beyond the upper limit recommended by prosecutors. All FTX former executives have faced sentencing before Judge Kaplan. The no-nonsense 78-year-old judge is a veteran of the Southern District of New York and has presided over some of the biggest cases to roll through the courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in downtown Manhattan. “I’ve never seen anything quite like what happened here,” Kaplan said of Wang’s cooperation. “You’re entitled to a lot of credit.” Source link #FTX #cofounder #Gary #Wang #avoids #prison #time #role #crypto #****** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]