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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Ars Technica - All content</title> <atom:link href="https://arstechnica.com/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/> <link>https://arstechnica.com</link> <description>All Ars Technica stories</description> <lastBuildDate>Sat, 23 Nov 2024 17:08:52 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <image> <url>https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cropped-ars-logo-512_480-60x60.png</url> <title>Ars Technica</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Elizabeth Warren calls for crackdown on Internet “monopoly” you’ve never heard of</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-monopoly-youve-never-heard-of/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-monopoly-youve-never-heard-of/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Joel Khalili, WIRED.com]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 23 Nov 2024 18:00:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[anti monopoly]]></category> <category><![CDATA[elizabeth warren]]></category> <category><![CDATA[monopolies]]></category> <category><![CDATA[syndication]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-monopoly-youve-never-heard-of/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Senator wants to investigate whether VeriSign is ripping off customers and violating antitrust laws.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York have called on government bodies to investigate what they allege is the “predatory pricing” of .com web addresses, the Internet’s prime real estate. In a letter delivered today to the Department of Justice and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a branch of the Department of Commerce that advises the president, the two Democrats accuse VeriSign, the company that administers the .com top-level domain, of abusing its market dominance to overcharge customers. In 2018, under the Donald Trump administration, the NTIA <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-27/biden-administration-should-end-verisign-monopoly-over-com-domain-groups-say" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-offer-url="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-27/biden-administration-should-end-verisign-monopoly-over-com-domain-groups-say" data-event-click='{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-27/biden-administration-should-end-verisign-monopoly-over-com-domain-groups-say"}'>modified the terms on</a> how much VeriSign could charge for .com domains. The company has since hiked prices by 30 percent, the letter claims, though its service remains identical and could allegedly be provided far more cheaply by others.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-monopoly-youve-never-heard-of/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/elizabeth-warren-calls-for-crackdown-on-internet-monopoly-youve-never-heard-of/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>25</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/getty-elizabeth-warren-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/getty-elizabeth-warren-500x500-1732315790.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty Images | Bloomberg</media:credit><media:text>Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, May 18, 2023. </media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Tweaking non-neural brain cells can cause memories to fade</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/tweaking-non-neural-brain-cells-can-cause-memories-to-fade/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/tweaking-non-neural-brain-cells-can-cause-memories-to-fade/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jacek Krywko]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 23 Nov 2024 12:00:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[astrocytes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Biology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[memory]]></category> <category><![CDATA[neurobiology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[neurons]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Neuroscience]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/tweaking-non-neural-brain-cells-can-cause-memories-to-fade/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Neurons and a second cell type called an astrocyte collaborate to hold memories.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[“If we go back to the early 1900s, this is when the idea was first proposed that memories are physically stored in some location within the brain,” says Michael R. Williamson, a researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. For a long time, neuroscientists thought that the storage of memory in the brain was the job of engrams, ensembles of neurons that activate during a learning event. But it turned out this wasn’t the whole picture. Williamson’s research investigated the role astrocytes, non-neuron brain cells, play in the read-and-write operations that go on in our heads. “Over the last 20 years the role of astrocytes has been understood better. We’ve learned that they can activate neurons. The addition we have made to that is showing that there are subsets of astrocytes that are active and involved in storing specific memories,” Williamson says in describing a new study his lab has published. One consequence of this finding: Astrocytes could be artificially manipulated to suppress or enhance a specific memory, leaving all other memories intact.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/tweaking-non-neural-brain-cells-can-cause-memories-to-fade/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/tweaking-non-neural-brain-cells-can-cause-memories-to-fade/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>14</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-176228324-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-176228324-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Ed Reschke</media:credit><media:text>Astrocytes (labelled in black) sit within a field of neurons.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Spies hack Wi-Fi networks in far-off land to launch attack on target next door</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/spies-hack-wi-fi-networks-in-far-off-land-to-launch-attack-on-target-next-door/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/spies-hack-wi-fi-networks-in-far-off-land-to-launch-attack-on-target-next-door/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Dan Goodin]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Sat, 23 Nov 2024 02:03:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Biz & IT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advanced persistent threats]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hacking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[tradecraft]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/spies-hack-wi-fi-networks-in-far-off-land-to-launch-attack-on-target-next-door/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[“Nearest Neighbor Attack” finally lets Russia’s Fancy Bear into target’s Wi-Fi network.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[One of 2024's coolest hacking tales occurred two years ago, but it wasn't revealed to the public until Friday at the Cyberwarcon conference in Arlington, Virginia. Hackers with ties to Fancy Bear—the spy agency operated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GRU_(Russian_Federation)">Russia’s GRU</a>—broke into the network of a high-value target after first compromising a Wi-Fi-enabled device in a nearby building and using it to exploit compromised accounts on the target’s Wi-Fi network. The attack, from a group security firm Volexity calls GruesomeLarch, shows the boundless lengths well-resourced hackers will take to hack high-value targets, presumably only after earlier hack attempts haven’t worked. When the GruesomeLarch cabal couldn’t get into the target network using easier methods, they hacked a Wi-Fi-enabled device in a nearby building and used it to breach the target’s network next door. After the first neighbor’s network was disinfected, the hackers successfully performed the same attack on a device of a second neighbor. <h2>Too close for comfort</h2> “This is a fascinating attack where a foreign adversary essentially conducted a close access operation while being physically quite far away,” Steven Adair, a researcher and the president of Volexity, wrote in an email. “They were able to launch an attack that historically had required being in close proximity to the target but found a way to conduct it in a way which completely eliminated the risk of them being caught in the real world.”<a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/spies-hack-wi-fi-networks-in-far-off-land-to-launch-attack-on-target-next-door/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/spies-hack-wi-fi-networks-in-far-off-land-to-launch-attack-on-target-next-door/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>37</slash:comments> <media:content medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/russia-state-hacking.jpg"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/russia-state-hacking-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty Images</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>The good, the bad, and the ugly behind the push for more smart displays</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-behind-the-push-for-more-smart-displays/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-behind-the-push-for-more-smart-displays/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Scharon Harding]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:40:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[apple]]></category> <category><![CDATA[google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Monitors]]></category> <category><![CDATA[smart home]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-behind-the-push-for-more-smart-displays/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Opinion: Apple could really change the game here. ]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[After a couple of years without much happening, smart displays are in the news again. Aside from <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/08/tv-industrys-ads-tracking-obsession-is-turning-your-living-room-into-a-store/">smart TVs</a>, consumer screens that connect to the Internet have never reached a mainstream audience. However, there seems to be a resurgence to make smart displays more popular. The approaches that some companies are taking are better than those of others, revealing a good, bad, and ugly side behind the push. Note that for this article, we'll exclude smart TVs when discussing smart displays. Unlike the majority of smart displays, smart TVs are mainstream tech. So for this piece, we'll mostly focus on devices like the Google Next Hub Max or Amazon Echo Show (as pictured above). <h2>The good</h2> When it comes to emerging technology, a great gauge for whether innovation is happening is by measuring how much a product solves a real user problem. Products seeking a problem to solve or that are glorified <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/">vehicles for ads</a> and tracking don't qualify.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-behind-the-push-for-more-smart-displays/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-behind-the-push-for-more-smart-displays/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>100</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/echo-show-21-16-9-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/echo-show-21-16-9-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Amazon</media:credit><media:text>Amazon's Echo Show 21.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Ted Cruz wants to overhaul $42B broadband program, nix low-cost requirement</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/ted-cruz-wants-to-overhaul-42b-broadband-program-nix-low-cost-requirement/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/ted-cruz-wants-to-overhaul-42b-broadband-program-nix-low-cost-requirement/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jon Brodkin]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 21:31:12 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[access]]></category> <category><![CDATA[and Deployment program]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Broadband Equity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ted cruz]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/ted-cruz-wants-to-overhaul-42b-broadband-program-nix-low-cost-requirement/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Cruz claims grant program is "boondoggle," urges Biden admin to halt activities.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Emboldened by Donald Trump's election win, Republicans are seeking big changes to a $42.45 billion broadband deployment program. Their plan could delay distribution of government funding and remove or relax a requirement that ISPs accepting subsidies must offer low-cost Internet plans. US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today issued a <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2024/11/sen-cruz-warns-biden-harris-ntia-big-changes-ahead-for-multi-billion-dollar-broadband-boondoggle">press release</a> titled, "Sen. Cruz Warns Biden-Harris NTIA: Big Changes Ahead for Multi-Billion-Dollar Broadband Boondoggle." Cruz, who will soon be chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is angry about how the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has implemented the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created by Congress in November 2021. The NTIA <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/blog/2024/every-state-and-territory-ready-implement-internet-all">announced this week</a> that it has approved the funding plans submitted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five US territories, which are slated to receive federal money and dole it out to broadband providers for network expansions. Texas was the <a href="https://www.ntia.gov/press-release/2024/biden-harris-administration-approves-texas-internet-all-initial-proposal">last state to gain approval</a> in what the NTIA called "a major milestone on the road to connecting everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service."<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/ted-cruz-wants-to-overhaul-42b-broadband-program-nix-low-cost-requirement/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/ted-cruz-wants-to-overhaul-42b-broadband-program-nix-low-cost-requirement/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>125</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ted-cruz-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ted-cruz-500x500-1732309699.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty Images | Danielle Villasana</media:credit><media:text>After winning reelection, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks to a crowd at an election watch party on November 5, 2024 in Houston, Texas.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Amazon pours another $4B into Anthropic, OpenAI’s biggest rival</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/amazon-pours-another-4b-into-anthropic-openais-biggest-rival/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/amazon-pours-another-4b-into-anthropic-openais-biggest-rival/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Benj Edwards]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 19:32:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[AI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Biz & IT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Amazon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Anthropic]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ChatGPT]]></category> <category><![CDATA[chatgtp]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dario Amodei]]></category> <category><![CDATA[large language models]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LLMs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[machine learning]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/amazon-pours-another-4b-into-anthropic-openais-biggest-rival/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Amazon has now committed $8 billion to AI startup that makes a key ChatGPT competitor.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[On Friday, Anthropic <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/anthropic-amazon-trainium">announced</a> that Amazon has increased its investment in the AI startup by $4 billion, bringing its total stake to $8 billion while maintaining its minority investor position. Anthropic makes <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/06/anthropics-latest-best-ai-model-is-twice-as-fast-and-still-terrible-at-dad-jokes/">Claude</a>, an AI assistant rival to OpenAI's <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/11/chatgpt-was-the-spark-that-lit-the-fire-under-generative-ai-one-year-ago-today/">ChatGPT</a>. One reason behind the deal involves chips. The computing demands of training large AI models have made access to specialized processors a requirement for AI companies. While <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/08/nvidias-dominance-puts-ai-industry-in-dire-danger-groups-warn-doj/">Nvidia currently dominates</a> the AI chip market with customers that include most major tech companies, some cloud providers like Amazon have begun developing their own AI-specific processors. Under the agreement, Anthropic will train and deploy its foundation models using Amazon's custom-built <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/ai/machine-learning/trainium/">Trainium</a> (for training AI models) and its <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/ai/machine-learning/inferentia/">Inferentia</a> chips (for AI inference, the term for running trained models). The company will also work with Amazon's <a href="https://www.amazon.jobs/content/en/teams/amazon-web-services/annapurna-labs">Annapurna Labs</a> division to advance processor development for AI applications.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/amazon-pours-another-4b-into-anthropic-openais-biggest-rival/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/11/amazon-pours-another-4b-into-anthropic-openais-biggest-rival/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>35</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dario_amodei_header-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dario_amodei_header-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>Dario Amodei, co-founder and chief executive officer of Anthropic, during the Bloomberg Technology Summit in San Francisco, California, US, on Thursday, May 9, 2024.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Ancient fish-trapping network supported the rise of Maya civilization</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/ancient-fish-trapping-network-supported-the-rise-of-maya-civilization/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/ancient-fish-trapping-network-supported-the-rise-of-maya-civilization/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Kiona N. Smith]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:40:42 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[aerial archaeology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ancient people did stuff]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Archaeology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[fisheries]]></category> <category><![CDATA[indigenous americans]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Maya]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Pre-Columbian civilizations]]></category> <category><![CDATA[science]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/ancient-fish-trapping-network-supported-the-rise-of-maya-civilization/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[The Maya were landscape engineers on a grand scale, even when it came to fishing.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[On the eve of the rise of the Maya civilization, people living in what’s now Belize turned a whole wetland into a giant network of fish traps big enough to feed thousands of people. We already know that the Maya turned swamps into breadbaskets by draining and building raised blocks of land for maize fields. However, a recent survey of a wetland in what’s now Belize suggests that the rise of the Maya civilization was fueled not just by maize but by tons of fish every year. University of New Hampshire archaeologist Eleanor Harrison-Buck and her colleagues recently mapped a network of channels and ponds for trapping fish, built just before the Maya civilization rose to prominence. <h2>Fish in a barrel</h2> Harrison-Buck and her fellow archeologists used drones and Google Earth data to map 108 kilometers of ancient channels that zigzag across 42 square kilometers of wetland in Belize’s Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. The result is a network of channels and ponds that looks remarkably like the fish traps found farther south in Bolivia, built several centuries after the ones at Crooked Tree. Radiocarbon dating of material buried in the bottom of one channel suggests that the network has been around for at least 4,000 years.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/ancient-fish-trapping-network-supported-the-rise-of-maya-civilization/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/ancient-fish-trapping-network-supported-the-rise-of-maya-civilization/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>25</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1620px-Jabiru_-_Garzon_Soldado_Jabiru_mycteria_8576613973-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1620px-Jabiru_-_Garzon_Soldado_Jabiru_mycteria_8576613973-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Fernando Flores</media:credit><media:text>The Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary is a biodiverse wetland in what's now Belize—but the precursors of the Maya turned it into an industrial-scale fishing operation.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Our Universe is not fine-tuned for life, but it’s still kind of OK</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/our-universe-is-not-fine-tuned-for-life-but-its-still-kind-of-ok/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/our-universe-is-not-fine-tuned-for-life-but-its-still-kind-of-ok/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jacek Krywko]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:30:38 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[astronomy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cosmology]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dark energy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dark Matter]]></category> <category><![CDATA[drake equation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Star formation]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/our-universe-is-not-fine-tuned-for-life-but-its-still-kind-of-ok/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Inspired by the Drake equation, researchers optimize a model universe for life.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Physicists including Robert H. Dickle and Fred Hoyle have argued that we are living in a universe that is perfectly fine-tuned for life. Following the anthropic principle, they claimed that the only reason fundamental physical constants have the values we measure is because we wouldn’t exist if those values were any different. There would simply have been no one to measure them. But now a team of British and Swiss astrophysicists have put that idea to test. “The short answer is no, we are not in the most likely of the universes,” said Daniele Sorini, an astrophysicist at Durham University. “And we are not in the most life-friendly universe, either.” Sorini led a study aimed at establishing how different amounts of the dark energy present in a universe would affect its ability to produce stars. Stars, he assumed, are a necessary condition for intelligent life to appear. But worry not. While our Universe may not be the best for life, the team says it’s still pretty OK-ish.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/our-universe-is-not-fine-tuned-for-life-but-its-still-kind-of-ok/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/our-universe-is-not-fine-tuned-for-life-but-its-still-kind-of-ok/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>110</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-157639696-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-157639696-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Sololos</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Microsoft’s controversial Recall scraper is finally entering public preview</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsofts-controversial-recall-scraper-is-finally-entering-public-preview/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsofts-controversial-recall-scraper-is-finally-entering-public-preview/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Andrew Cunningham]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:00:52 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[copilot]]></category> <category><![CDATA[microsoft]]></category> <category><![CDATA[recall]]></category> <category><![CDATA[windows 11]]></category> <category><![CDATA[windows 11 24h2]]></category> <category><![CDATA[windows insider program]]></category> <category><![CDATA[windows recall]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsofts-controversial-recall-scraper-is-finally-entering-public-preview/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[First Recall iteration never released, was picked apart by security researchers.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Over five months after publicly scrapping the first version of the Windows Recall feature for its first wave of Copilot+ PCs, Microsoft <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2024/11/22/previewing-recall-with-click-to-do-on-copilot-pcs-with-windows-insiders-in-the-dev-channel/">announced today</a> that a newly rearchitected version of Recall is finally ready for public consumption. For now, the preview will be limited to a tiny subset of PCs: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus Copilot+ PCs enrolled in the Dev channel of the Windows Insider program (the build of Windows that includes Recall is 26120.2415). Intel and AMD Copilot+ PCs can’t access the Recall preview yet, and regular Windows 11 PCs won’t support the feature at all. If you haven’t been following along, Recall is one of Microsoft’s many AI-driven Windows features exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, which come with a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) capable of running AI and machine learning workloads locally on your device rather than in the cloud. When enabled, Recall runs in the background constantly, taking screenshots of all your activity and saving both the screenshots and OCR’d text to a searchable database so that users can retrace their steps later.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsofts-controversial-recall-scraper-is-finally-entering-public-preview/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/microsofts-controversial-recall-scraper-is-finally-entering-public-preview/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>93</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2153357587-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2153357587-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>Microsoft Vice President of Windows and Devices Pavan Davuluri speaks about Recall during the Microsoft May 20 Briefing event at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on May 20, 2024. </media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>A former Orion manager has surprisingly credible plans to fly European astronauts</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/how-real-is-this-european-space-startup-that-aims-to-launch-astronauts/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/how-real-is-this-european-space-startup-that-aims-to-launch-astronauts/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Eric Berger]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:41:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Space]]></category> <category><![CDATA[europe]]></category> <category><![CDATA[space]]></category> <category><![CDATA[the exploration company]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/how-real-is-this-european-space-startup-that-aims-to-launch-astronauts/</guid> <description> <![CDATA["I know it's super hard, and I know it was crazy."]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[It would be easy to be cynical about a German-French startup named The Exploration Company, which aims to build an increasingly sophisticated lineup of spaceships that could one day launch astronauts into orbit. After all, European space startups don't have the greatest track record, and even with billions of dollars, one of the world's leading aerospace companies, Boeing, has failed so far to deliver a fully space-worthy human vehicle. Space is hard; human spaceflight is harder. So when a European startup shows up with grandiose plans, one's natural inclination might be to dismiss them. That's more or less how I felt before I spoke with the founder of The Exploration Company, Hélène Huby, this week. She was surprisingly frank about the difficulties in pulling this off and shrewd about her political assessment of why now might just be the time for a new generation of European spacecraft.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/how-real-is-this-european-space-startup-that-aims-to-launch-astronauts/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/how-real-is-this-european-space-startup-that-aims-to-launch-astronauts/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>71</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2060391452-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2060391452-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit> Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>Helene Huby, chief executive officer of The Exploration Co., during an interview in London, UK, on Friday, March 8, 2024.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>DirecTV announces termination of deal to buy Dish satellite business</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/directv-plan-to-buy-dish-for-1-is-off-as-satellite-rivals-remain-separate/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/directv-plan-to-buy-dish-for-1-is-off-as-satellite-rivals-remain-separate/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jon Brodkin]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 16:44:26 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[direct]]></category> <category><![CDATA[DISH]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/directv-plan-to-buy-dish-for-1-is-off-as-satellite-rivals-remain-separate/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[DirecTV says it's ending deal after Dish debt holders refused to accept loss.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[DirecTV is pulling out of an agreement to buy its satellite rival Dish after bondholders objected to terms of the deal. DirecTV issued an <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/directv-announces-termination-of-agreement-to-acquire-echostars-video-distribution-business-302313823.html">announcement</a> last night saying "it has notified EchoStar of its election to terminate, effective as of 11:59 p.m., ET on Friday, November 22nd, 2024, the Equity Purchase Agreement (EPA) pursuant to which it had agreed to acquire EchoStar's video distribution business, Dish DBS." In the deal <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/09/directv-agrees-to-buy-satellite-rival-dish-and-its-debt-for-one-dollar/">announced on September 30</a>, DirecTV was going to buy the Dish satellite TV and Sling TV streaming business from EchoStar for a nominal fee of $1. DirecTV would have taken on $9.75 billion of Dish debt if the transaction moved ahead. The deal did not include the Dish Network cellular business. Dish bondholders <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/dish-creditors-revolt-over-directv-merger-try-to-block-loss-making-deal/">quickly objected</a> to terms requiring them to take a loss on the value of their debt. DirecTV had said Dish notes would be exchanged with "a reduced principal amount of DirecTV debt which will have terms and collateral that mirror DirecTV's existing secured debt." The principal amount would have been reduced by at least $1.568 billion.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/directv-plan-to-buy-dish-for-1-is-off-as-satellite-rivals-remain-separate/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/directv-plan-to-buy-dish-for-1-is-off-as-satellite-rivals-remain-separate/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>50</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/dish-satellite-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/dish-satellite-500x500-1727889408.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty Images | Bloomberg</media:credit><media:text>A Dish satellite TV dish on the roof of a home in Crockett, California on July 31, 2023.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Russian ballistic missile attack on Ukraine portends new era of warfare</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/russian-ballistic-missile-attack-on-ukraine-portends-new-era-of-warfare/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/russian-ballistic-missile-attack-on-ukraine-portends-new-era-of-warfare/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Stephen Clark]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 16:02:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Space]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ICBM]]></category> <category><![CDATA[IRBM]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Military]]></category> <category><![CDATA[missile]]></category> <category><![CDATA[russia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Ukraine]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/russian-ballistic-missile-attack-on-ukraine-portends-new-era-of-warfare/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[This is the first time an IRBM, once restricted by a Cold War arms treaty, has been used in combat.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Two days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change in the country's policy for employing nuclear weapons in conflict. Then, on Thursday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with a new type of ballistic missile capable of one day delivering multiple nuclear warheads to distant targets with little warning. Putin says his ballistic missile attack on Ukraine is a warning to the West. These events are just part of what has been a week of escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In recent days, Ukraine fired US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles and UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russian territory for the first time. This followed approval by President Joe Biden for Ukraine to use US-provided longer-range missiles against Russian targets. Previously, Ukraine was only permitted to use them on its own territory.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/russian-ballistic-missile-attack-on-ukraine-portends-new-era-of-warfare/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/russian-ballistic-missile-attack-on-ukraine-portends-new-era-of-warfare/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>604</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1232783815-scaled-1152x648-1732290066.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1232783815-scaled-500x500-1732290043.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images</media:credit><media:text>Mobile RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers move through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in Moscow on May 9, 2021. The Oreshnik missile is a derivative of the RS-26 missile, which itself is shorter version of the RS-24.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Microsoft president asks Trump to “push harder” against Russian hacks</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/microsoft-president-asks-trump-to-push-harder-against-russian-hacks/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/microsoft-president-asks-trump-to-push-harder-against-russian-hacks/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Tim Bradshaw, Financial Times]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 14:17:19 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Security]]></category> <category><![CDATA[china]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cybersecurity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Fancy Bear]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hacking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[microsoft]]></category> <category><![CDATA[russia]]></category> <category><![CDATA[syndication]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/microsoft-president-asks-trump-to-push-harder-against-russian-hacks/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Brad Smith wants US to take a tougher approach to state-sponsored cyberattacks.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Microsoft’s president has called on Donald Trump to “push harder” against cyber attacks from Russia, China, and Iran amid a wave of state-sponsored hacks targeting US government officials and election campaigns. Brad Smith, who is also the Big Tech company’s vice chair and top legal officer, told the Financial Times that cyber security “deserves to be a more prominent issue of international relations” and appealed to the US president-elect to send a “strong message.” “I hope that the Trump administration will push harder against nation-state cyber attacks, especially from Russia and China and Iran,” Smith said. “We should not tolerate the level of attacks that we are seeing today.”<a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/microsoft-president-asks-trump-to-push-harder-against-russian-hacks/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/11/microsoft-president-asks-trump-to-push-harder-against-russian-hacks/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>108</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2156786701-1024x648.jpg" width="1024"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2156786701-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>SAUL LOEB / Contributor | AFP</media:credit><media:text>Brad Smith, vice chairman and president of Microsoft, is sworn in before testifying about Microsoft's cybersecurity work during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 13, 2024. </media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Google seems to have called it quits on making its own Android tablets—again</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/google-seems-to-have-called-it-quits-on-making-its-own-android-tablets-again/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/google-seems-to-have-called-it-quits-on-making-its-own-android-tablets-again/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Kevin Purdy]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 13:38:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[android]]></category> <category><![CDATA[android tablets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ipad]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pixel slate]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pixel tablet]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pixel tablet 2]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pixel tablet 3]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/google-seems-to-have-called-it-quits-on-making-its-own-android-tablets-again/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Reports have the Pixel Tablet 2—or maybe 3?—being canceled over sales concerns.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Depending on which Android-focused site you believe, either a third <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/googles-pixel-tablet-looks-just-like-a-smart-display-so-why-isnt-it-one/">Pixel Tablet</a> was apparently in the works at Google and canceled, as <a href="https://www.androidheadlines.com/exclusive-google-cancels-pixel-tablet-3-development">Android Headlines reported</a>, or the second one, <a href="https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-tablet-2-canceled-3502094/">as Android Authority has it</a>. Either way, there was reportedly a team at Google working on the next flagship Pixel-branded tablet, and now, seemingly due to profitability concerns, that work is over. At least until, maybe, a third Pixel Tablet in the future. The Pixel Tablet, released last fall, was generally regarded as Google's second re-entry into the tablet market that the iPad all but owns, at least at the consumer level. As such, it sought to distinguish itself from Apple's slab by launching with a home-friendly dock and speaker cradle, taking on the appearance of a big smart home display when docked to it. While there are no public sales figures, the device has not kick-started a resurgence of interest in Android tablets beyond the baseline sales of Amazon's Kindle Fire devices (based on a Google-less fork of Android). Google will likely continue to support and promote Android tablets for other manufacturers and now has its own Pixel Fold devices occupying that middle space between phone and tablet forms.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/google-seems-to-have-called-it-quits-on-making-its-own-android-tablets-again/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/google-seems-to-have-called-it-quits-on-making-its-own-android-tablets-again/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>128</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pixel_tablet_adios-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/pixel_tablet_adios-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Google</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Rocket Report: Next Vulcan launch slips into 2025; Starship gets a green light</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/rocket-report-next-vulcan-launch-slips-into-2025-starship-gets-a-green-light/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/rocket-report-next-vulcan-launch-slips-into-2025-starship-gets-a-green-light/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Eric Berger]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 22 Nov 2024 12:00:24 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Space]]></category> <category><![CDATA[rocket report]]></category> <category><![CDATA[space]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/rocket-report-next-vulcan-launch-slips-into-2025-starship-gets-a-green-light/</guid> <description> <![CDATA["Constellation companies and government satellite operators are desperate."]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[Welcome to Edition 7.20 of the Rocket Report! This is a super-long version of the newsletter because we did not publish last week, and there is just a ton of launch news of late. Also, I want to note that next week's report will appear a day early, on Wednesday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Speaking of which, you all have our thanks for reading and sharing the Rocket Report with others. On a completely unrelated note, Rocket Lab has had some amazing mission names over the years. But this weekend's "Ice AIS Baby" launch is probably the best. I always appreciate their effort to find non-vanilla names and find a way to stop, collaborate, and listen. Please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/rocket-report-next-vulcan-launch-slips-into-2025-starship-gets-a-green-light/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/11/rocket-report-next-vulcan-launch-slips-into-2025-starship-gets-a-green-light/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>167</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/starship-from-space-1152x648-1732196090.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/starship-from-space-500x500-1732196062.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Don Pettit/NASA</media:credit><media:text>NASA Astronaut Don Pettit captured this photo of the sixth Starship launch from the International Space Station on Tuesday.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Surgeons remove 2.5-inch hairball from teen with rare Rapunzel syndrome</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Beth Mole]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 22:02:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[abdominal pain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hair]]></category> <category><![CDATA[NEJM]]></category> <category><![CDATA[rapunzel syndrome]]></category> <category><![CDATA[stomach]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[The teen didn't return for follow-up. Instead, she planned to see a hypnotherapist.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[After a month of unexplained bouts of stomach pain, an otherwise healthy 16-year-old girl arrived at the emergency department of Massachusetts General Hospital actively retching and in severe pain. A CT scan showed nothing unusual in her innards, and her urine and blood tests were normal. The same was found two weeks prior, when she had arrived at a different hospital complaining of stomach pain. She was discharged home with instructions to take painkillers, a medication for peptic ulcers, and another to prevent nausea and vomiting. The painkiller didn't help, and she didn't take the other two medications. Her pain worsened, and something was clearly wrong. When she arrived at Mass General, her stomach was tender, and her heart rate was elevated. When doctors tried to give her a combination of medications for common causes of abdominal pain, she immediately vomited them back up.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/surgeons-remove-2-5-inch-hairball-from-teen-with-rare-rapunzel-syndrome/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>125</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-653058010-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-653058010-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty | Ada Summer</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>We’re closer to re-creating the sounds of Parasaurolophus</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/one-scientists-quest-to-recreate-call-of-parasaurolophus/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/one-scientists-quest-to-recreate-call-of-parasaurolophus/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jennifer Ouellette]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:30:19 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[acoustics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dinosaurs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[paleontology]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/one-scientists-quest-to-recreate-call-of-parasaurolophus/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Preliminary model suggests the dinosaur bellowed like a large trumpet or saxophone, or perhaps a clarinet.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[The duck-billed dinosaur <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasaurolophus">Parasaurolophus</a> is distinctive for its prominent crest, which some scientists have suggested served as a kind of resonating chamber to produce low-frequency sounds. Nobody really knows what Parasaurolophus sounded like, however. Hongjun Lin of New York University is trying to change that by constructing his own model of the dinosaur's crest and its acoustical characteristics. Lin has not yet reproduced the call of Parasaurolophus, but he talked about his progress thus far at a <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/asa-virtual-fall-2024/">virtual meeting</a> of the Acoustical Society of America. Lin was inspired in part by the dinosaur sounds featured in the Jurassic Park film franchise, which were a combination of sounds from other animals like baby whales and crocodiles. “I’ve been fascinated by giant animals ever since I was a kid. I’d spend hours reading books, watching movies, and imagining what it would be like if dinosaurs were still around today,” <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1064589?">he said</a> during a press briefing. “It wasn’t until college that I realized the sounds we hear in movies and shows—while mesmerizing—are completely fabricated using sounds from modern animals. That’s when I decided to dive deeper and explore what dinosaurs might have actually sounded like.” A skull and partial skeleton of Parasaurolophus were first discovered in 1920 along the Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada, and another partial skull was discovered the following year in New Mexico. There are now three known species of Parasaurolophus; the name means "near crested lizard." While no complete skeleton has yet been found, paleontologists have concluded that the adult dinosaur likely stood about 16 feet tall and weighed between 6,000 to 8,000 pounds. Parasaurolophus was an herbivore that could walk on all four legs while foraging for food but may have run on two legs.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/one-scientists-quest-to-recreate-call-of-parasaurolophus/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/11/one-scientists-quest-to-recreate-call-of-parasaurolophus/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>35</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dino1-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/dino1-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Hongjun Lin</media:credit><media:text>A 3D-printed model of the Parasaurolophus skulls at a 1:3 scale to the original fossil. The white model is the nasal passages inside the skull.</media:text></media:content> </item> <item> <title>School did nothing wrong when it punished student for using AI, court rules</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Jon Brodkin]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:06:05 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[AI]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Policy]]></category> <category><![CDATA[artificial inteligence]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Student "indiscriminately copied and pasted text," including AI hallucinations.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[A federal court yesterday ruled against parents who sued a Massachusetts school district for punishing their son who used an artificial intelligence tool to complete an assignment. Dale and Jennifer Harris <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/student-was-punished-for-using-ai-then-his-parents-sued-teacher-and-administrators/">sued Hingham High School officials and the School Committee</a> and sought a preliminary injunction requiring the school to change their son's grade and expunge the incident from his disciplinary record before he needs to submit college applications. The parents argued that there was no rule against using AI in the student handbook, but school officials said the student violated multiple policies. The Harris' motion for an injunction was rejected in an <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.275605/gov.uscourts.mad.275605.30.0_3.pdf">order</a> issued yesterday from US District Court for the District of Massachusetts. US Magistrate Judge Paul Levenson found that school officials "have the better of the argument on both the facts and the law."<a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>206</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/robot-at-laptop-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/robot-at-laptop-500x500-1732222505.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty Images | Andriy Onufriyenko</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>An ad giant wants to run your next TV’s operating system</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Scharon Harding]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 18:57:09 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Tech]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ads]]></category> <category><![CDATA[software]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sonos]]></category> <category><![CDATA[TVs]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Sonos is rumored to be building a streaming box running The Trade Desk's OS.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[An ad company’s foray into TV operating systems (OSes) illustrates a significant shift for TV hardware toward products that are increasingly focused on <a class="c-link" href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/08/tv-industrys-ads-tracking-obsession-is-turning-your-living-room-into-a-store/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/08/tv-industrys-ads-tracking-obsession-is-turning-your-living-room-into-a-store/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">ad sales and tracking</a>. With more people using web-based streaming for TV, smart TV OSes have become the most lucrative part of the TV business. OS owners accumulate valuable data on how people use their smart TVs and streaming sticks, which is helpful for OS operators as well as third parties, like companies paying for ads distributed via TV OSes. Meanwhile, the smart TV ad business is growing rapidly, with GroupM, the world's biggest media investment firm, expecting ad revenue to reach $38.3 billion this year, a 20.1 percent year-over-year increase. That trend has pushed TV OS operators, from Vizio and Roku to Samsung and LG, to seek new ways to <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/10/streaming-industry-has-unprecedented-surveillance-manipulation-capabilities/">incorporate ads and tracking</a> into their TV software. Now, an ad tech giant is planning to become a TV OS provider itself.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/an-ad-giant-wants-to-control-your-next-tvs-operating-system/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>270</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/jpeg" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1301753219-1152x648.jpg" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1301753219-500x500.jpg" width="500"/> <media:credit>Getty</media:credit></media:content> </item> <item> <title>Obsidian’s Avowed is the cure for “Souls-like” action-RPG fatigue</title> <link>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/obsidians-avowed-is-the-cure-for-souls-like-action-rpg-fatigue/</link> <comments>https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/obsidians-avowed-is-the-cure-for-souls-like-action-rpg-fatigue/#comments</comments> <dc:creator> <![CDATA[Kyle Orland]]> </dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2024 18:11:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Gaming]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="true">https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/obsidians-avowed-is-the-cure-for-souls-like-action-rpg-fatigue/</guid> <description> <![CDATA[Preview build shows a rich, colorful world with satisfying, zippy combat.]]> </description> <content:encoded> <![CDATA[In the years since <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2011/10/heroes-die-our-first-hours-with-the-addictive-and-maddening-dark-souls/">Dark Souls first hit the scene</a>, the action RPG genre has been overrun with "Souls-like" games that emulate FromSoft's general vibe. That often applies not just to dark settings and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/03/is-elden-ring-really-that-hard-well-it-depends-what-you-mean-by-hard/">punishing difficulty</a> but also to the slow, deliberate management of every movement and attack to survive even simple encounters with your life and stamina intact. While that approach definitely has its place, sometimes you want an action-RPG with a little more color, a little faster pacing, and a little more, well, action. After spending a few hours with Obsidian's Avowed, it already feels like just the thing for action-RPG fans who want something a little less Souls-like. <h2>All politics is local</h2> From the start, Avowed is layered with all of the vaguely medieval high fantasy tropes you'd expect from a game spun off from the <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/06/pillars-of-eternity-2-deadfire-review-oh-the-places-youll-plunder/">Pillars of Eternity</a> universe. Your protagonist is a "god-like," touched in the womb by mysterious immortal beings that gave you mysterious powers but also a disfigured face that led you to be bullied as a child. Eventually, you grow up to be an envoy to the King of Aedrys and are sent over the sea to the lightly civilized Living Lands to investigate a mysterious fungal plague that is turning animals and soldiers alike into unruly, rage-filled beasts.<a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/obsidians-avowed-is-the-cure-for-souls-like-action-rpg-fatigue/">Read full article</a> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/obsidians-avowed-is-the-cure-for-souls-like-action-rpg-fatigue/#comments">Comments</a> ]]> </content:encoded> <slash:comments>80</slash:comments> <media:content height="648" medium="image" type="image/png" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Avowed_DAWNSHORE_ENVIRONS_BLUFFS_SUNSET-1152x648.png" width="1152"> <media:thumbnail height="500" url="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Avowed_DAWNSHORE_ENVIRONS_BLUFFS_SUNSET-500x500.png" width="500"/> <media:credit>Obsidian / Microsoft</media:credit><media:text>Not a bit of crumbling, gray masonry to be seen.</media:text></media:content> </item> </channel> </rss>