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19.02.2025 20:00 World models — AI algorithms capable of generating simulated environments — represent one forefront of machine learning. Today, Microsoft published new research in the journal Nature detailing Muse, a model capable of generating game visuals and controller inputs. Unexpectedly, it was born out of a training set Microsoft built from Bleeding Edge. If, like me, you had completely erased that game from your memory , Bleeding Edge is a 4 vs. 4 brawler developed by Ninja Theory, the studio better known for its work on the Hellblade series. Ninja Theory stopped updating Bleeding Edge less than a year after release, but Microsoft included a clause in the game’s EULA that gave it permission to record games people played online. So if you were one of the few people who played Bleeding Edge, congratulations, I guess: you helped the company make something out of a commercial flop. So what's Muse good for anyway? Say a game designer at Blizzard wants to test an idea for a new hero in Overwatch 2. Rather than recruiting a team of programmers and artists to create code and assets that the studio may eventually scrap, they could instead use Muse to do the prototyping. Iteration is often the most time-consuming part of making a video game, so it’s easy to see why Microsoft would be interested in using AI to augment the process; it offers a way for the company to control runaway development costs. That’s because, according to Microsoft, Muse excels at a capability of world models the company calls persistency. "Persistency refers to a model’s ability to incorporate user modifications into generated gameplay sequences, such as a character that is copy-pasted into a game visual," says Katya Hofmann, senior principal research manager at Microsoft Research. Put another way, Muse can quickly adapt to new gameplay elements as they’re introduced in real-time. In one of the examples Microsoft shared, you can see the "player" character immediately react as two power-ups are introduced next to them. The model seemingly knows that the pickups are valuable and something players would go out of their way to obtain. So the simulation reflects that, in the process creating a convincing facsimile of a real Bleeding Edge match. According to Fatima Kardar, corporate vice president of gaming AI at Microsoft, the company is already using Muse to create a "real-time playable AI model trained on other first-party games," and exploring how the technology might help it bring old games stuck on aging hardware to new audiences. Microsoft says Muse is a "first-of-its-kind" generative AI model, but that’s not quite right. World models aren’t new; in fact, Muse isn’t even the first one trained on a Microsoft game. In October, the company Decart debuted Oasis, which is capable of generating Minecraft levels. What Muse does show is how quickly these models are evolving. That said, there's a long way for this technology to go, and Muse has some clear limitations. For one, the model generates visuals at a resolution of 300 x 180 pixels and about 10 frames per second. For now, the company is releasing Muse's weights and sample data, and a way for researchers to see what the system is capable of.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-trained-an-ai-model-on-a-game-no-one-played-160038242.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 20:00 Niantic, the company that developed the wildly popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go, is reportedly considering selling its video games — and according to a source speaking to Bloomberg, the deal could be worth just $3.5 billion. The company raised additional funding at a $9 billion valuation back in 2021. Many people still play Pokémon Go, but the game no longer enjoys the same popularity it had during its launch and the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are around 80 million monthly users as numbers reported midway through last year, but that's a steep decline from the game's peak of 232 million active players. During those same heady days, Pokémon Go was generating close to a billion dollars annually; now it's bringing in about half of that. Pokémon Go was also a breakthrough success Niantic was unable to replicate, despite its follow-ups being essentially reskins of the same AR experience. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite lasted around three years, while NBA All World survived only five months. Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now are still around, but have never been the cash cows of their older sibling. The company also raised funding in 2021 on the promise of creating a “real-world metaverse,” which has yet to materialize. Niantic also has not been immune to the broad layoffs affecting the games industry. It dumped eight percent of its workforce and canceled four projects back in 2022. The following year, it laid off another 230 employees and killed a Marvel-related project. The reported party Niantic is considering selling its games division to is Scopely, which is owned by Savvy Games Group. Savvy Games Group is part of Saudi Arabia’s government-linked Public Investment Fund, which has stakes in EA, Activision, Nintendo and more.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/pokemon-go-developer-niantic-may-sell-its-games-division-for-a-mere-35-billion-160027485.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 20:00 Eero has today announced Wi-Fi 7 equipped versions of its eponymous mesh routers, the Eero 7 and Eero 7 Pro. The Amazon-owned company is selling both products on the back of Wi-Fi 7’s promised improvements in speed compared to its existing fare. The advent of both products is hardly a surprise as, last year, Eero launched both the Max 7 and Outdoor 7. Max 7 is the company’s flagship standalone router / repeater duo equipped with beefy ethernet ports, while the latter is designed to push internet for distances up to 15,000 square feet. Eero First up, the Eero 7 is a dual-band system that promises a maximum wireless top speed of 1.8 Gbps and up to 2.3 Gbps through its pair of 2.5 Gb ethernet ports. All of that is crammed into the same small package Eero’s mesh units have become famous for, easily able to blend in to your home’s decor. Naturally, the Eero 7 Pro is the more eye-catching of the pair, since it’ll harness all three bands available for Wi-Fi 7. The company promises a theoretical top wireless speed of 3.9 Gbps and, when hooked up to one of its two 5 Gb ethernet ports, will get 4.7 Gbps when wired. Eero Previous Eero Pro units stood in the same chassis as its vanilla siblings, but the 7 Pro is getting the same body as found on its Max 7. Eero says that the bigger, cylindrical “passive thermal” design offers quieter operation and far less risk of dust build up compared to its predecessors. Both the Eero 7 and 7 Pro promise a range of 2,000 square feet per node, and will be sold in single, two or three-packs at retail. The company does remind users, however, that you can tie on additional nodes depending on your needs and the size of your home. A big part of Eero’s pitch has been to ensure setting up a mesh in your home is as easy and stress free as it possibly can. That incudes a suite of software technologies to keep everything running smoothly, getting your data routed to the most efficient node at all times. Users who pay for Eero Plus will also get additional online security features and parental controls, plus access to 1Password, Malwarebytes and Guardian VPN. All of the units will also connect to your smart home gear if it uses Matter, Thread or Zigbee, and will get the usual Amazon and Alexa integrations. If you’re familiar with our mesh Wi-Fi buyer’s guide, you’ll know Wi-Fi 7 is a less exciting upgrade than Wi-Fi 6E. The current standard offers a more robust experience and can take advantage of the 6GHz band to cut the volume of wireless clutter on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Wi-FI 7’s headline feature is its ability to combine those bands together for a vastly increased maximum speed and far more connections. Which is great if you’re in dire need of pushing an 8K movie from one device to another in a matter of seconds. Until now, Wi-Fi 7 gear was still prohibitively expensive, although the fact Eero is joining the fray suggests prices will start falling in the near future. Certainly, Eero can boast that it is selling the cheapest Wi-Fi 7 gear on the market in the US, with the Eero 7 available for $170, $280 or $350 . The 7 Pro, on the other hand, will set you back $300, $550 or $700 , which still makes it one of the cheapest tri-band Wi-Fi 7 products on the market. Both products are available to pre-order today, with the first deliveries beginning on February 26. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/eero-launches-its-wi-fi-7-mesh-routers-160018656.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 20:00 Microsoft has introduced Majorana 1, a chip for quantum computing, which it said will enable computers to solve incredibly difficult industrial-scale problems in mere years instead of the decades current machines need. The company explained that Majorana 1 is the first quantum computing chip that uses a Topological Core architecture. Specifically, it uses a new type of material called a topoconductor or a topological superconductor that can create Majoranas — a state of matter that's not a solid, a liquid or a gas. Majoranas were first predicted in the 1930s, but they do not exist in nature: They need to be brought into existence with the right materials under the right conditions. Microsoft's topoconductor wire, which the company built atom by atom for precision, combines indium arsenide with aluminum. When a topoconductor wire is cooled to near absolute zero and tuned with magnetic fields, it forms Majorana Zero Modes at its ends. Majorana qubits are more stable than current alternatives, Microsoft explained. They're fast, small and can be digitally controlled, and they have unique properties that can protect quantum information. Since the company's chip architecture joins topoconductor nanowires together to form an "H," each unit has four controllable Majoranas that make up one qubit, the basic unit in quantum computing. The H units can be connected, and Microsoft has already managed to put eight of them on a single chip. As you can see in the image above, the chip can fit in one's hand and can be easily deployed to data centers. Microsoft designed the chip to be able to fit one million qubits, because that's the threshold anybody developing quantum computers has to reach for their creation to be able to truly make a difference in the world. A million-qubit machine could lead to self-healing materials that can repair cracks in planes, Microsoft said, or to catalysts that can break down all types of plastic pollutants into valuable byproducts. It could also allow scientists to perform computations for the extraction of enzymes that can boost soil fertility or promote sustainable growth of food for the sake of ending world hunger. Microsoft's Majorana 1 requires more parts than just the topoconductor to work, and the company needs more years to get all the elements to work together at a bigger scale. Figuring out how to stack the topoconductor's materials just right was one of its biggest challenges, however, and Microsoft had already conquered that. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsofts-majorana-1-quantum-computing-chip-uses-a-new-kind-of-superconductor-160009056.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 20:00 Despite the obvious benefits of electric cars, Toyota spent the last decade insisting hydrogen would win out in the end. But, as the company announces its third generation fuel cell system, you can tell it’s finally ready to tacitly admit defeat: the new cell is designed for industrial applications, where hydrogen clearly always made more sense. The new cell is designed to meet the “particular needs of the commercial sector,” focusing on durability equal to a diesel engine. It’s a lot more fuel efficient, cheaper to make and outputs twice as much power while sitting in the same footprint as the second-generation model. Given Toyota’s love of shrinking its engine technology, that size wasn’t a factor here is enormously telling of where it envisions these cells being used. Toyota could never make the economic or technological argument for hydrogen cars as a better option than electricity . But for heavy duty vehicles, where battery weight and power are more pressing concerns, hydrogen’s flaws turn into assets. Trucks, construction vehicles, trains, ships and backup generators — less at risk from the lack of general-purpose hydrogen infrastructure — are welcome homes for fuel cells.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/toyota-kinda-sorta-gives-up-on-hydrogen-cars-151059624.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 20:00 It's honestly difficult to remember the simpler days of video card shopping, before crypto fanatics, supply chain issues and pandemic demand pushed GPUs far beyond rising manufacturer prices. Ideally, I'd like to tell you that NVIDIA's $549 RTX 5070 and $749 RTX 5070 Ti are more reasonable alternatives to the $2,000 RTX 5090 and $1,000 5080. But card makers and retailers have already pushed RTX 5070 prices far beyond those MSRPs. Our review unit, the ASUS 5070 Ti Prime, is currently selling for $900 at Best Buy and $750 at Newegg . And of course, it's out of stock at both stores. While I can't guarantee the actual cost for any RTX 5070 Ti card, I can say this: they'll definitely be solid 4K performers for far less than the RTX 5080 and 5090. But if you're not desperate for an upgrade, it's worth waiting a few months for inventory and prices to stabilize. Hardware Based on its specs and pricing, the RTX 5070 Ti currently offers the best balance between performance and value in NVIDIA's lineup. It features 8,960 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR7 VRAM, well below the 5080's 10,752 CUDA cores, but at least those cards have the same amount of memory. The cheaper 5070 comes with just 12GB of VRAM, which could be a problem when gaming in 4K. Our ASUS 5070 Ti card is fairly nondescript, with three fans, a plastic frame and a standard heatsink design. You can choose between performance and quiet BIOS modes, which only changes how aggressive the fans are. Its 2.5-slot design makes it tiny enough for small form-factor cases, though I noticed it was actually slightly larger than the RTX 5090 Founders card. RTX 5090 RTX 5080 RTX 5070 Ti RTX 5070 RTX 4090 Architecture Blackwell Blackwell Blackwell Blackwell Lovelace CUDA cores 21,760 10,752 8,960 6,144 16,384 AI TOPS 3,352 1,801 1,406 988 1,321 Tensor cores 5th Gen 5th Gen 5th Gen 5th Gen 4th Gen RT cores 4th Gen 4th Gen 4th Gen 4th Gen 3rd Gen VRAM 32 GB GDDR7 16 GB GDDR7 16 GB GDDR7 12 GB GDDR7 24 GB GDDR6X Memory bandwidth 1,792 GB/sec 960 GB/sec 896 GB/sec 672 GB/sec 1,008 GB/sec TGP 575W 360W 300W 250W 450W The 5070 Ti could also easily fit into more gaming rigs without requiring a power supply upgrade. It has a peak power draw of 300 watts, compared to the 5080's 360W and the 5090's whopping 575W. That means the 5070 Ti should be able to run comfortably with an 850W PSU, without needing to make the leap to a massive 1,000W unit. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget What really makes this GPU special, though, is that it fully supports multi-frame generation in DLSS 4, NVIDIA's AI upscaling technology. That allows the GPU to generate up to 3 frames with AI for every frame rendered in real-time. It also lets NVIDIA claim that the 5070 can match the speeds of the $1,599 RTX 4090. While you could argue those frames are just "fake" to make benchmarks look better, my time with the RTX 5070 Ti and 5090 has shown that they do lead to a smoother gameplay experience. On top of multi-frame generation, other DLSS 4 features are also trickling down to earlier NVIDIA cards. As I noted in my 5090 review, "RTX 40 cards will be more efficient with their single-frame generation, while RTX 30 and 20 cards will also see an upgrade from AI transformer models used for ray reconstruction , Super Resolution and Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing ." Devindra Hardawar for Engadget In use: A capable 4K gaming GPU First things first: The RTX 5070 Ti is only slightly faster than the 4070 and 4070 Ti in most benchmarks. The new card is 17 percent ahead of the 4070 Ti in the 3DMark Timespy Extreme test, and 21 percent faster than the 4070 Ti Super in Speedway bench. The difference is even smaller in raw computing and rendering tasks: The 5070 Ti scored a mere 8 percent more than the 4070 Ti in the Geekbench 6 GPU benchmark. None 3DMark TimeSpy Extreme Geekbench 6 GPU Cyberpunk Blender NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti 12,675 238,417 153fps 7,365 NVIDIA RTX 5090 19,525 358,253 246fps 14,903 NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti Super 11,366 220,722 75fps 7,342 NVIDIA RTX 4070 8,610 N/A 45fps 6,020 But, of course, actual gaming performance matters more than benchmarks. And if you're playing something with support for DLSS 4, you'll certainly notice some improvements. Dragon Age: The Veilguard held a steady 200fps in 4K with 4X multi-frame generation, ray tracing and graphics settings maxed out, On the 4070 Ti, I typically saw between 90fps and 100fps with those same graphics settings and DLSS 3.5's single frame generation. Now, I can't actually say the game looked twice as smooth on my Alienware 32-inch QD-OLED monitor, but it definitely looked silky over the hours I've tested. There weren't any weird upscaling artifacts, those frames felt real. It's also worth noting the RTX 5090 clocked 240fps in Dragon Age with the same graphics settings. Perhaps my CPU held it back a bit , but the 5070 Ti's performance was still remarkably close while being a much cheaper GPU. Cyberpunk 2077 also played like a dream in 4K in ray tracing overdrive mode with multi-frame gen, reaching 150fps on average. That's well below the 5090's stunning 250fps figure, but it's still impressive for a game that used to bring powerful rigs to their knees. Cyberpunk also hit 230fps in 1,440p with those same settings, which also upscales beautifully to 4K screens. For games without DLSS 4, like Halo Infinite, the 5070 Ti was still a solid performer, reaching an average of 140fps with maxed-out graphics and ray tracing. In comparison, the 5090 hit 180fps on average. Even if you're lucky enough to have a 240Hz 4K monitor, I'd bet even demanding gamers would be just fine with the 5070 Ti's speeds. But if you care more about framerates than resolution, it'll still have you covered. I saw 220fps in Halo Infinite in 1,440p, and 320fps in 1080p. The ASUS 5070 Ti typically idled between 30C and 35C, and it quickly reached up to 65C under load. Its fan array isn't as sophisticated as the 5090 Founder's card, but it still managed to cool down the card below 40C in around 15 seconds. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Should you buy the RTX 5070 Ti? Simply put, the RTX 5070 Ti handled just about everything I threw at it, and I didn't find myself missing the 5090 too much . Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to test the RTX 5080, but given its high cost, it's still something I'd have trouble recommending to anyone. The real question for gamers right now is: Do you need the RTX 5070 Ti's 16GB of VRAM and higher CUDA count? If you're aiming to play in 4K most of the time, it'll be worth having more than just the 5070's 12GB of RAM. Games are becoming more complex every year, so it likely won't be long before you'll actually need 16GB of VRAM to play 4K games comfortably. But if you're living the 1,440p life, then 12GB will likely be enough for years to come. DLSS 4's multi-frame gen is the biggest draw for NVIDIA's 50-series cards, and it's mostly useful for 4K gaming. So if you're happy with your 40-series GPU and don't need to push a 4K 240Hz monitor to its limit, there's not much reason to upgrade. For 30- and 20-series owners though, your patience will be rewarded. As I mentioned before, it's still worth waiting a few months to see how prices settle. If you're lucky enough to score the RTX 5070 Ti for $750, go for it. But it's far less compelling at $900 or above. At that point, you're just way too close to the 5090's $1,000 MSRP. We're still waiting to see how AMD's upcoming RDNA 4 Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs will perform, but they're being positioned as direct competitors to the 5070 and 5070 Ti. AMD finally has DLSS-like AI-powered upscaling coming this year, so the difference between its cards and NVIDIA's may be slimmer than usual. But NVIDIA also has a dramatic head start, and it'll likely take a while for AMD's Fluid Motion Frames technology to catch up on multi-frame generation. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Wrap-up: A great 4K card... if you can get it close to $750 The RTX 5070 Ti won me over in ways I didn't expect. I knew it would be a tad faster than the 4070 Ti Super, but with the addition of multi-frame generation, it's also a far more capable 4K card. And it's definitely more future-proof than the 5070, since it has 16GB of VRAM like the 5090. While I think the $549 5070 remains the most intriguing entry of NVIDIA's new family, it's nice to see that there's something for sensible enthusiasts between that and the $1,000 5090. And yes, it's still strange to call a $750 video card "sensible."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidia-geforce-5070-ti-review-a-sensible-4k-powerhouse-for-749-140023082.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 14:41 Chinese game publisher NetEase has laid off Marvel Rivals development team members including the game director, Kotaku reported. Some of those let go expressed surprise and dismay at the move considering that the team-based PVP shooter has consistently been in the top ten on Steam since its December debut. A large part of the Marvel Rivals development team is located in China, but only North American layoffs were reported. It's not clear yet how many people were let go. "This is such a weird industry," wrote game director Thaddeus Sasser on LinkedIn. "My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games... and were just laid off." “I don’t get it, man,” wrote game artist Del Walker on Bluesky. “You make one of the most successful LIVE service titles of the generation, despite the world telling you LIVE service is dead - and still get laid off? What are we even doing at this point." Marvel Rivals currently sits at number six on Steam's top seller list and just had its first big content update for Season 1 that happened at nearly the same time as the layoffs. The game has received solid reviews for its Marvel lore and straightforward gameplay and has reportedly been very successful in its first month. It has been one of the rare good stories in terms of live service games, following announcements from Sony that some of its titles in development had been scrapped. There are concerns that more layoffs may be coming from China-based studios in response to US tariffs. In a statement to VentureBeat, however, NetEase denied that it is eliminating its foreign investments and overseas gaming studios. "For 2025, we have an extensive pipeline of titles in development, feature a variety of genres, including FragPunk, Ananta and more," NetEase said in the statement. " as part of our investment strategy, we started scaling down two of our studios at the end of 2024. This decision was based purely on business evaluations and not influenced by other factors. And this represents only a small portion of our overseas studio portfolio." This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/marvel-rivals-team-hit-with-layoffs-despite-huge-success-of-game-133002120.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 14:41 The US government could impose hefty tariffs on automobile, chip and pharmaceutical imports. According to Reuters and CBS News, President Donald Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate that the tariffs on auto imports, specifically, will be "in the neighborhood of 25 percent" and that he'll reveal more details about them on April 2. That's the day he's bound to get reports from members of his cabinet outlining options on duties for different imports across industries. When the president was asked how he could ensure that the European Union wouldn't retaliate by imposing the same levies on US imports, the president reportedly reiterated that the bloc signaled it would lower tariffs on US cars. During the press briefing, the president also said that he's imposing similar tariffs on imported semiconductors and pharmaceutical goods. He said the government could collect 25 percent in taxes, or higher, for those imports and that they will "go very substantially higher over course of a year." It doesn't sound like the president will announce new taxes on chip and pharmaceutical imports in April, though. He said he wants to give companies in those industries "a little bit of chance" to build factories in the US so that they can avoid the new tariffs. To note, Reuters previously reported that the US government is looking to renegotiate the CHIPS and Science Act deals closed by the Biden administration. The program seeks to give semiconductor manufacturing a boost in the US by awarding grants to companies building foundries on US soil. But Trump previously criticized the initiative and argued that increasing tariffs would compel chip companies to build factories in the US without the government having to shell out any money. Trump admitted that prices could go up in the US due to the higher tariffs on foreign goods, but the president believes it'll only be a short-term problem and that they will benefit the country's economy in the future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/trump-plans-to-impose-25-percent-tariffs-on-automobile-and-semiconductor-imports-130044480.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 00:20 AI hardware startup Humane has given its users just ten days notice that their Pins will be disconnected. In a note to its customers, the company said AI Pins will “continue to function normally” until 12PM PT on February 28. On that date, users will lose access to essentially all of their device’s features, including but not limited to calling, messaging, AI queries and cloud access. The FAQ does note that you'll still be able to check on your battery life, though. Humane is encouraging its users to download any stored data before February 28, as it plans on permanently deleting “all remaining customer data” at the same time as switching its servers off. The company says it will refund customers who are still within the 90-day return window, so long as they submit by February 27. It also notes that users who opted to wait for a replacement for the device’s combo fire hazard and Charge Case will now be refunded “the portion of original purchase price that was allocated to the Charge Case.” In the original recall note, that amount was $149 if ordered separately or $129 if ordered as part of the “Complete System” bundle. Today’s discontinuation announcement was brought about by the acquisition of Humane by HP, which is buying the company’s intellectual property for $116 million but clearly has no interest in its current hardware business. The AI Pin was famously panned at launch by a broad section of reviewers, including our own Cherlynn Low, who called it “the solution to none of technology’s problems.” HP says the acquisition will bring Humane's "engineers, architects and product innovators" to a new team called HP IQ, which it describes as an "AI innovation lab focused on building an intelligent ecosystem across HP’s products and services for the future of work." Good luck with that! The New York Times reported last June that Humane was seeking a $1 billion buyout after only receiving 10,000 orders, and cited HP as an interested company. Another seven months of reality has apparently persuaded Humane’s founders to settle for a far lower figure.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/all-of-humanes-ai-pins-will-stop-working-in-10-days-225643798.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 00:20 Annapurna Interactive is holding a games showcase on February 24. It streams live at 12PM ET via the company’s YouTube page. The publisher has released a short teaser video to hold us over until Monday. This is the first event Annapurna Interactive has held since the entire staff, including the executives, resigned from the company last year. That mass walkout occurred after a failed attempt to spin off the games division from the remainder of the company. "All 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned," the team said in a joint statement. "This was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make and we did not take this action lightly." Annapurna hired new people to replace those who left, which was pretty much everyone. This is the first time we’ll get to see what the revamped publishing house has been working on. So what can we expect? The company says the showcase will be 30 minutes long and will focus on its 2025 lineup of releases. These include titles like Wanderstop, Skin Deep, Wheel World, Faraway, Lushfoil, To a T and Morsels, among others. We are especially excited for Wheel World, which was formerly called Ghost Bike. Faraway also looks pretty cool. Annapurna promises “a few more surprises” in addition to the aforementioned games. The publisher is primarily known for games like Stray, which recently launched for Nintendo Switch, and What Remains of Edith Finch. It also published Cocoon, Outer Wilds and the absolutely fantastic Lorelei and the Laser Eyes.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-annapurnas-publisher-showcase-on-february-24-193539718.html?src=rss

19.02.2025 00:20 Meta just announced its first-ever LlamaCon, a dev conference dedicated to generative AI. It’s scheduled for April 29. Why the llama-based naming convention? The company titled the event after its family of generative AI models. Meta promises to “share the latest on our open source AI developments to help developers do what they do best: build amazing apps and products.” Beyond that vague description, we don’t know much. There’s no information regarding speakers or potential products being shown. We know that the company’s working on Llama 4, with an early 2025 release window, so we’ll most likely get a sizzle reel of some kind. The company notes it’ll have more to share about LlamaCon “in the coming weeks.” Meta also says that “2025 is shaping up to be another banger” of a year. To that end, it has scheduled the next major Connect event for September 17. It promises plenty of reveals that should please “virtual and mixed reality developers, content creators, metaverse mavens and AI glasses enthusiasts.” Meta Connect 2024 gave us the Quest 3S and the fancy-pants Orion prototype AR glasses. According to TechCrunch, Meta has been scrambling to figure out how AI rival DeepSeek has managed to create tech that rivals its own at a fraction of the development cost. The report suggests that DeepSeek’s upcoming models could outperform the aforementioned Llama 4. The company’s also currently embroiled in a lawsuit that accuses it of training Llama models on copyrighted book materials without permission.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-just-scheduled-a-generative-ai-conference-called-llamacon-for-april-29-181351134.html?src=rss

18.02.2025 19:02 Acer laptops are getting a price hike in the US come March. In an interview with The Telegraph, Acer's chief executive and chairman Jason Chen announced a 10 percent increased cost for all products due to President Trump's tariffs on China. His straightforward statement is one of the first clear cause and effects of Trump's import taxes. "We will have to adjust the end user price to reflect the tariff," Chen stated. "We think 10 percent probably will be the default price increase because of the import tax. It’s very straightforward." Acer's most expensive laptop, the 17-inch Acer Predator Triton gaming laptop, could go up to $4,178 from $3,799. Trump introduced a ten percent tariff to China this month, the country responsible for about 80 percent of laptop imports to the US. While he had claimed tariffs wouldn't impact consumer prices, he changed his tune last week, admitting that, surprise, surprise, they could. Time will tell if all items increase in price next month or only recently imported devices. Chen also shared that the company is considering moving some of its manufacturing to other countries, including the US. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/acer-to-raise-prices-by-10-percent-following-president-trumps-tariffs-165351758.html?src=rss

18.02.2025 19:02 The Nokia Lumia 1020 is back, well, sort of. An enterprising tech enthusiast has stuffed the innards of an Apple iPhone SE 3 into a Lumia 1020 case to create something called the “NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE." This is a fully-functioning smartphone that, more importantly, looks really awesome. It's more than just an iPhone SE wrapped in a Lumia case. Redditor OceanDepth95028 kicked the project up a few notches by ensuring that the iPhone internals work with a fingerprint reader on the back of the device. They also added a custom SIM card slot and made the Lightning port look like a micro-USB port, as originally reported by 9to5Mac. Modder fits a 2022 iPhone into a 2013 Lumia 1020 body. Everything inside the device is from the 2022 iPhone SE 3, the last iPhone with rounded edges and a physical home button. "The only aspect from the 1020 is the outer shell and display glass." https://t.co/jdMcf7LjCK pic.twitter.com/9FfPixbmsz— Antonio Vieira Santos February 17, 2025 Not only does this phone function, it even supports 5G. It also receives OTA updates, which makes sense considering that it’s, essentially, a working iPhone SE 3. The maker had to move some buttons around to get everything to fit and they took liberties with the camera button, which can now act as a volume key switch or a shutter button. The iPhone SE 3 uses the A15 Bionic chip, so this frankenphone is capable of running modern apps. The gadget’s designer says, despite being a one-off project, this device could be used as an everyday smartphone. The only caveats? The Redditor couldn’t get Apple Pay or wireless charging to work. But still, look at this thing! It’s very pretty, thanks to the design of the original Lumia 1020. after all these years, the nokia lumia 1020 remains one of the most beautifully designed phones ever pic.twitter.com/mez6eXFDbM— keshav January 27, 2025 For the uninitiated, the Nokia Lumia 1020 came out in the latter half of 2013. It was one of the more popular phones that ran the now-defunct Windows Phone OS, thanks to its signature look and the fantastic camera system. The iPhone SE is Apple’s budget smartphone and, lo and behold, a new entry is reportedly headed our way in the near future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/someone-squeezed-an-iphone-se-3-into-a-nokia-lumia-1020-and-it-looks-amazing-162705983.html?src=rss

18.02.2025 19:02 In 2018, Nintendo introduced Gold Points, which were earned when you purchased Switch games, either physical cartridges or digitally from the Nintendo eShop. While you needed many purchases to redeem something substantial, you still saved a few dollars regardless if you get a cheaper title or something more expensive. Unfortunately, Nintendo announced that you won’t be able to earn Gold Points after 9:30 PM PDT on March 24 if you buy digital copies of games. All eShop purchases made after that time won’t earn Gold Points anymore, though pre-orders for content made before then will still earn Gold Points as long as the pre-order is put in before the deadline. The points will be awarded within the day after each processed transaction. It’s more tricky for physical releases. If you buy a game released on or before March 24, you still earn Gold Points even after that day, but only for games bought within a year of their release dates. Naturally, physical versions of games released after March 24, 2025, won’t let you earn any Gold Points. It’s also worth noting that Nintendo awards significantly fewer Gold points for physical purchases. Most people are likely unaware, but you can earn Gold Points by shopping at the Nintendo New York store. This will remain the case until March 24, and the rules for physical releases mentioned above apply after checkout. Nintendo’s decision to end the Gold Points loyalty program is possibly due to the Switch 2’s upcoming announcement and release. It’s unknown whether Nintendo will have a new loyalty program, but we’ll probably find out after the April 2 Nintendo Direct where we’ll finally get more details on the long-awaited console.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-killing-its-gold-points-loyalty-program-161123232.html?src=rss

18.02.2025 19:02 It appears X users can once again send Signal.me links, two days after the blog Disruptionist first reported a block. The platform wasn't allowing links of the URL used by encrypted messaging service Signal — it allows people to quickly contact others directly. It came as Elon Musk takes aim at federal workers and organizations, through the Department of Government Efficiency . Federal workers have used Signal to covertly report relevant and dangerous activities. Anyone who attempted to post a Signal.me link in a DM, public post or on their profile page received error messages such as, "This request looks like it might be automated. To protect our users from spam and other malicious activity, we can’t complete this action right now. Please try again later." Other responses included, "We can’t complete this request because this link has been identified by X or our partners as being potentially harmful." Engadget confirmed the block in a test. Users who tried to click existing Signal.me links got a message stating, "Warning: this link may be unsafe. The link you are trying to access has been identified by X or our partners as being potentially spammy or unsafe, in accordance with X's URL Policy." They could choose to ignore the warning and proceed to the link. Musk is working with President Trump to cut federal workers across the board. Over 9,500 employees were fired on Friday, February 14, alone. Update, February 18 2025, 11:07AM ET: This article was updated to note that the block went away Tuesday morning. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/x-temporarily-blocked-users-from-sharing-links-to-signal-170642960.html?src=rss