NASA is offering a £2.3 million prize to anyone who can help solve a persistent problem for astronauts: how to manage waste in space.

The LunaRecycle Challenge, now open for participation, aims to enhance the sustainability of long-term space missions by finding solutions for dealing with various types of waste, such as food packaging and worn-out clothing.

Amy Kaminski from NASA explained the importance of the challenge, saying, “Operating sustainably is a key consideration for NASA as we make discoveries and conduct research both in space and on Earth.

With this challenge, we’re looking for innovative approaches to waste management on the Moon and hope to apply the lessons learned back here on Earth for everyone’s benefit.”

The LunaRecycle Challenge consists of two competition tracks: the prototype build track and the digital twin track.

The prototype build track focuses on the design and development of hardware and systems that can recycle one or more types of solid waste on the lunar surface.

In contrast, the digital twin track involves creating a virtual replica of a complete recycling system for solid waste on the Moon, which can also be used to produce end products.

Participants can enter either or both tracks, with each offering its own share of the prize money.

Kim Krome, the challenge manager at NASA, expressed excitement about the initiative, saying, “NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge will contribute to addressing technological needs in advanced manufacturing and habitats.

We’re excited to see the innovative solutions our global competitors come up with, and we hope this challenge will serve as a positive step toward bringing humanity closer to worlds beyond our own.”

NASA reiterated its commitment to sustainability, stating that as future human space missions are prepared, waste management must be considered.

The agency emphasized the need to minimize waste, as well as to develop methods for storing, processing, and recycling it in space so that little or no waste would need to be brought back to Earth.

A study published on arXiv highlights Apple’s assessment of various leading language models, including those from OpenAI, Meta, and other major developers, focusing on their ability to perform mathematical reasoning tasks.

The results show that even minor changes in how questions are phrased can lead to significant variations in the models’ performance, raising concerns about their reliability in tasks requiring logical consistency.

Apple underscores a persistent issue with language models: their dependence on pattern matching rather than true logical reasoning.

In several tests, the researchers illustrated how adding irrelevant information to a question—details that should not impact the mathematical result—caused the models to produce drastically different answers.

One example from the study involved a basic math question asking how many kiwis a person gathered over a series of days.

When irrelevant details, such as the size of some of the kiwis, were introduced, models like OpenAI’s o1 and Meta’s Llama incorrectly modified the final total, despite these details having no relevance to the solution.

The researchers noted:

“We found no evidence of formal reasoning in language models. Their behavior is better explained by sophisticated pattern matching—so fragile, in fact, that changing names can alter results by ~10%.”

This fragility in reasoning led the researchers to conclude that language models do not use real logic to solve problems but instead rely on complex pattern recognition learned during their training.

They discovered that “simply changing names can alter results,” which raises concerns about the future of AI in applications requiring consistent and reliable reasoning in real-world situations.

According to the study, all tested models, ranging from smaller open-source models like Llama to proprietary ones like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, experienced significant performance drops when presented with seemingly insignificant variations in the input data.

Apple suggests that in order to achieve more accurate decision-making and problem-solving abilities, AI might need to combine neural networks with traditional, symbol-based reasoning, a concept known as neurosymbolic AI.

The popular social platform Discord was originally created so its founder could chat with friends while playing Final Fantasy XI.

Yes, we owe the creation of Discord to Square Enix’s first MMORPG. Today, it’s used worldwide for voice communication and building online communities.

In an interview with Famitsu (via Siliconera), Discord’s creator Stanislav Vishnevskiy explained how the platform came to be: he was “obsessed” with Final Fantasy XI and developed an early version of the software to enhance communication while playing.

Later, when Vishnevskiy moved to California and joined mobile game developer GREE, he met co-founder Jason Citron, and together they officially launched Discord.

But why did Discord succeed, especially when other voice chat apps like Skype were already available? Vishnevskiy attributes the success to Discord’s simplicity.

The goal was to create a virtual “living room where you can spend time with your friends,” rather than just another utility. He believes this vision is what made Discord unique.

Nowadays, Vishnevskiy is also a fan of Final Fantasy XIV. He took a week off to play the new Dawntrail expansion and has maxed out most jobs to level 100.

As for Final Fantasy XIV, its next patch, 7.1, is set to include the Final Fantasy XI-themed Alliance Raid series, Echoes of Vana’diel, launching in mid-November.

Recently, Discord introduced a feature that allows users to share their recent playtime with friends, though it can be turned off if desired.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has expanded Discord integration on the Xbox Series X/S, now allowing users to combine friends from both Xbox and Discord and even watch streams directly from the Xbox Friends list.

Last week, Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed that players in the U.S. will soon be able to “play and purchase Xbox games” directly through the Android Xbox app.

This could be the perfect opportunity for Microsoft to expand Xbox Cloud Gaming to include non-Game Pass titles.

It seems the company is indeed moving in that direction, as multiple reports suggest that some users will be able to stream their owned games via Xbox Cloud Gaming starting in November.

Reports from sources like The Verge and Windows Central indicate that Xbox Cloud Gaming will soon support players’ entire gaming libraries.

The project, which is reportedly codenamed Project Lapland, is expected to begin testing with Xbox Insiders in November.

“Once Microsoft completes the work to enable a full game library on Xbox Cloud Gaming, you’ll be able to purchase an Xbox game on Android and immediately stream it to your device.”

However, some games may not be included initially due to publisher-specific licensing agreements.

lt adds that while not all Xbox games will be available right away, Microsoft may gradually expand the library, similar to how Nvidia GeForce Now introduces games in batches.

Initially, this new Cloud Gaming feature will only be available through the Android Xbox app in the U.S., pending any developments with Google’s new court-imposed restrictions.

However, Microsoft is also working on making the feature accessible via the Xbox Cloud Gaming website.

Once fully rolled out, all regions where Xbox Cloud Gaming is supported will have access to the feature on a range of devices, including Samsung TVs, Amazon Fire Sticks, iOS devices, and more.

Earlier this year, Microsoft revamped its Xbox Game Pass tiers by introducing a new Game Pass Standard subscription.

Although there is currently no separate Cloud Gaming tier—subscribers must opt for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to access Cloud Gaming—this could change soon. Windows Central reports that Microsoft is developing a cloud-only Xbox subscription plan for future release.

Bungie’s Destiny franchise is expanding to a new platform with Destiny: Rising, a fresh entry designed specifically for mobile devices.

This free-to-play sci-fi RPG shooter will be a “brand-new adventure set in an alternate Destiny timeline,” according to a news release from developer and publisher NetEase, and will go through a narrative set in the franchise’s post-Dark Age era.

Unlike the blank-slate Hunters, Titans, and Warlocks of Destiny 2, Destiny: Rising will introduce playable heroes known as Lightbearers—“a diverse roster of characters, each with unique abilities and stories,” NetEase explained.

The mobile spinoff will feature a shared world similar to Bungie’s Destiny setting, offering single-player, cooperative, and competitive multiplayer experiences.

This includes six-player Strikes, as well as PvE and PvP modes inspired by past Destiny games.

NetEase also promises new game modes and innovative ways to play in Destiny: Rising.

The mobile adaptation will offer both first-person and third-person perspectives, and players can choose between touchscreen controls or dedicated controllers for gameplay.

The story of Destiny: Rising will take place in an “unseen era” following the collapse of civilization and the Dark Age.

“With the help of legendary Iron Lords, humanity has broken free from the shackles of tyranny and begun to rally together against alien forces intent on its extinction,” NetEase shared in a synopsis.

“Amidst the chaos of this early age for The City, a new generation of Lightbearers, resurrected by mysterious entities known as Ghosts, sets out to restore humanity’s prominence and secure its future.”

Each Lightbearer will have a distinct combat style, and players won’t be limited to the specific classes found in Destiny 2. They will also wield “countless powerful exotic weapons,” ranging from guns and swords to crossbows and more.

NetEase emphasized that Destiny: Rising is being licensed and overseen by Bungie.

“For over a decade, we have built this universe to contain many unique and wonderful stories, and we are excited to see mobile gamers be able to experience this new take on the Destiny universe from the creative team at NetEase,” said Terry Redfield, creative lead at Bungie, in a statement.

While no release date has been announced for Destiny: Rising, a “limited access closed alpha test” is scheduled for November. Interested players can sign up for the test on the Destiny: Rising website.

NetEase is known for developing and publishing a range of spinoffs of established franchises, including Diablo Immortal with Blizzard Entertainment, Eve Echoes with CCP, and Dead by Daylight Mobile with Behaviour Interactive.

The company also publishes original free-to-play hits like Naraka: Bladepoint and Once Human.

In 2018, NetEase invested more than $100 million in Bungie to “accelerate Bungie’s vision of becoming a global, multi-franchise entertainment company.”

Intel is finally tackling the heat and power consumption issues that have plagued its desktop CPUs in recent years.

The company’s new flagship Core Ultra 200S series processors, which will be released on October 24th, prioritize performance per watt, aiming to run cooler and more efficiently than their 14th-generation predecessors.

These processors, codenamed Arrow Lake S, are also Intel’s first enthusiast desktop CPUs to feature a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) for accelerating AI tasks.

“Arrow Lake will deliver Intel’s best performance for enthusiasts in desktop and mobile,” said Josh Newman, general manager and VP of product marketing for client computing at Intel.

“It will deliver that performance at significantly lower power levels than previous generations of Intel enthusiast products, and Arrow Lake is also delivering the first Intel AI PC for enthusiasts in both the desktop and mobile performance space.”

The Arrow Lake architecture represents a significant effort by Intel to reduce the power draw of its chips. Both the 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core CPUs were known for being power-hungry, often consuming more power than their AMD counterparts.

The new Core Ultra 200S series chips aim to cut power consumption in half during basic desktop tasks, and Intel also claims they will reduce power usage during gaming.

“You’ll see about half the power consumption at the desktop,” explained Robert Hallock, vice president of Intel’s client computing group.

“You’ll also see about half the power when you’re just using a single core. Gaming will vary, from 50 to 150 watts, depending on the title and its behavior.”

During a recent press briefing, Intel showcased Assassin’s Creed Mirage running on the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K, comparing its performance to the current Core i9-14900K.

The Ultra 9 285K delivered similar or better performance while using 80 watts less power.

Intel also claimed that power consumption would drop by up to 58 watts in games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, F1 24, and Total War: Pharaoh, with more extreme cases like Warhammer: Space Marines 2 showing reductions of up to 165 watts.

Intel also noted that the package temperatures of the Core Ultra 9 285K would decrease by around 13°C compared to the 14900K during 1080p gaming with a 360mm all-in-one cooler.

Though Intel is transitioning to a new LGA-1851 socket with these chips, existing all-in-one coolers should remain compatible.

Some cooler manufacturers may need to confirm whether additional standoffs are required, but Corsair confirmed that all of its coolers supporting LGA-1700 will also support LGA-1851.

Intel is employing its latest 3D packaging technology to construct the Core Ultra 200S series chips, reducing the package size by 33% compared to the 14th-generation chips. This redesign brings several notable changes.

The flagship Ultra 9 285K will feature 24 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.7 GHz.

This is a slower boost clock and includes eight fewer threads than the previous 14900K, as Intel has opted to remove hyperthreading in favor of improved power efficiency. “We knew we could save the wattage by not including hyperthreading,” explained Hallock.

The Ultra 9 285K will feature eight performance cores (P-cores) and 16 efficiency cores (E-cores). The E-cores have been upgraded for greater efficiency in processing instructions, and latency has been reduced.

The chip will also include 36MB of L3 shared smart cache, 3MB of L2 cache per P-core (up from 2MB in the 14th Gen), and 4MB of L2 cache per E-core.

Intel claims that the Ultra 9 285K will be about 8% faster in single-thread tasks and approximately 15% faster in multi-threaded workloads compared to the 14900K.

When pitted against AMD’s Ryzen 9 9950X and 7950X3D processors in gaming, the Ultra 9 285K is expected to hold its own, but Intel acknowledged that it would likely fall behind AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D in gaming performance.

“I think we’ll be about five percent behind X3D parts, which we feel really good about considering we have just the cache built into the CPU and the great IPC of the product,” Hallock stated.

Although this might be disappointing for gamers, Intel emphasized that the Ultra 9 285K will still lead in performance for most creator and AI tasks.

The chip includes an NPU capable of 13 TOPS, although this won’t be enough to qualify for Microsoft’s Copilot Plus features, which require a 40 TOPS NPU.

Intel hopes that as NPU adoption increases, developers will find ways to leverage this capability for offloading tasks and potentially for certain gaming features.

The new LGA-1851 socket also means new motherboards. The Core Ultra 200S desktop CPUs will require a Z890 motherboard. Intel’s 800-series chipset supports up to 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, up to eight SATA 3.0 ports, and up to 32 USB 3.2 ports.

The platform can handle a total of 48 PCIe lanes, with 20 of those being Gen 5 from the CPU. There’s also integrated Wi-Fi 6E, 1GbE, Bluetooth 5.3, and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while motherboard manufacturers can add discrete options for Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 5, 2.5GbE, and Bluetooth 5.4.

Intel is also improving memory support with the Core Ultra 200S series and Z890 motherboards, which will now support up to DDR5-6400 memory, with a capacity of up to 48GB per DIMM and a maximum of 192GB.

Support for DDR4 has been dropped in this chipset. Additionally, these chips are Secure Core compliant, featuring three built-in hardware engines for security.

However, Intel hasn’t confirmed how long the LGA-1851 socket will be supported. AMD has committed to supporting its AM5 socket until at least 2027, but Intel remains silent on its future plans.

Rumors suggest that an Arrow Lake S refresh might be scrapped in favor of a leap to Nova Lake, meaning the LGA-1851 socket might not have a long lifespan.

Intel’s history of quickly replacing sockets, such as the switch from LGA-1200 in 2020 to LGA-1700 a year later, raises concerns that the cycle could repeat.

This announcement of Arrow Lake comes shortly after Intel resolved the Raptor Lake instability issues caused by excessive voltage. The new Arrow Lake chips will not be affected by these voltage problems.

The Core Ultra 200S chips will launch on October 24th, with the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K priced at $589, the Core Ultra 7 265K at $394, and the Core Ultra 5 245K at $309.

Intel will also offer KF variants of the Ultra 7 and Ultra 5 without the built-in GPU, priced at $379 and $294, respectively.

In the ongoing debate between Google Maps and Apple Maps, Google’s navigation tool has just introduced a feature that brings it in line with Apple’s offering.

Google is partnering with SpotHero, a digital parking reservation service, to integrate SpotHero directly into Google Maps.

This new feature allows users to reserve parking spots within Google Maps and Google Search through a new “Book Online” button.

Although a soft launch occurred in April, the feature became widely available to all users as of October 8.

Apple Maps fans may find this familiar, as Apple integrated a similar SpotHero feature into its app back in early 2023.

To access SpotHero’s service on Google Maps, simply open the app and search for parking near your intended destination. If parking is available in the area, the “Book Online” button will appear.

When you tap the “Book Online” button, you’ll be directed to the SpotHero website to reserve a parking spot.

The process is seamless, as it’s all managed within Google Maps, eliminating the need to switch between the app and a web browser.

SpotHero allows users to reserve parking spaces in advance, with options to filter by date and time. The service also supports finding wheelchair-accessible parking.

The SpotHero integration fits well with Google Maps’ recent expansions over the summer, which included helping users find EV charging stations, even harder-to-locate ones.

Additionally, after your event, you can use Google Maps to remember where you parked.

SpotHero is currently available in 300 cities across the United States and Canada. However, availability may vary, particularly in smaller towns or cities.

SpotHero claims to serve over 10 million users across North America and takes a commission of 15% to 35%, depending on various factors and agreements with its “parking partners.”

Meta’s Threads app seems to be working on a new feature similar to community groups, possibly named “Loops.”

This feature has the potential to significantly improve the platform’s social interaction, allowing users to engage with others who share common interests.

Threads, initially launched as a text-based alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has been gradually incorporating features from its sister platform, Instagram.

However, “Loops” would stand out as a unique feature since Instagram currently does not offer a dedicated community group option.

The first signs of “Loops” were discovered by Chris Messina, an early Threads adopter, who found references in the app’s code about joining, leaving, and renaming communities.

Alessandro Paluzzi, a well-known tipster and reverse engineer, shared a preview of the possible user interface, which showed a “Loops” shortcut within the post composer and hinted at the use of tags for discoverability.

Although specific details about “Loops” are still scarce, it’s evident that Threads is looking for ways to create deeper connections and foster community building within the app. This could draw in new users and boost engagement on the platform.

The introduction of “Loops” might be a significant differentiator for Threads in the competitive social media environment.

As the feature moves through its development and testing stages, it will be interesting to observe how it influences user interaction and community creation on the platform.

For decades, the idea of generating gigawatts of affordable, clean energy from space has captured the imagination, envisioning satellites that harness solar power and transmit it anywhere on Earth, day or night.

Aetherflux, a new startup that emerged from stealth mode on Wednesday, claims to be pioneering a unique design for space-based solar energy to finally unlock this potential.

“What we’re doing at Aetherflux is a different approach of space solar power,” said Aetherflux founder Baiju Bhatt in a recent interview. “As we like to say, it is not your grandpa’s space solar power approach.”

Although the concept of space-based solar energy has been explored for years, Aetherflux distinguishes itself in significant ways: through the number of satellites, their orbit, and their size.

Previous methods have typically focused on deploying large, expensive spacecraft to geostationary orbit, where they could capture sunlight almost continuously and beam it to a specific location on Earth.

In contrast, Aetherflux aims to create a vast constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit, each equipped with a solar array, a battery, and a near-optical infrared laser for power transmission.

While these satellites won’t have constant sunlight due to their altitude, and each solar array may not generate substantial power independently, the startup envisions deploying thousands of these spacecraft to harness significant energy collectively.

Bhatt founded the startup late last year and shifted his full attention to it after stepping down from his leadership position at the financial trading platform Robinhood, which he co-founded.

Although a transition to the space sector might seem unexpected, Bhatt has long had an interest in space—his father worked for NASA at Langley Air Force Base—and he holds advanced degrees in physics and math from Stanford.

He noted that the commercialization of space in the past decade has opened up new opportunities. “The thing that’s always been my interest is, how do you bring more capitalism to space?”

Space-based solar energy is indeed one way to achieve that. If Aetherflux succeeds, it could tap into a vast market. However, the company first needs to demonstrate that its concept is viable.

Aetherflux is currently preparing for its inaugural mission, aiming to launch a demonstration spacecraft in the fourth quarter of 2025 or the first quarter of 2026.

This spacecraft, being developed by satellite bus manufacturer Apex, will test solar energy transmission using the infrared laser; if successful, it will establish a record for the distance over which power can be transmitted, according to Bhatt.

He acknowledges that space-based solar remains largely theoretical at this stage.

But he is optimistic, stating, “let’s give this technical solution a couple of industrialization revs, and I think the comparison [to terrestrial solar] will be a little bit more even-keeled.”

Aetherflux’s constellation must achieve high efficiency in converting solar energy to offset the power loss that occurs when transmitting energy to the solar panels and then down to Earth.

Bhatt stated that the “stretch goal” is for each satellite to eventually deliver enough energy back to Earth to power a small neighborhood.

In the lead-up to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, which takes place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 28-30, all six stage agendas will feature valuable insights on AI, fintech, builders, disrupt, SaaS, and space.

According to a spokesperson, Bhatt, whose net worth exceeds $1.7 billion as reported by Forbes, has invested “millions” of his own money into Aetherflux and is dedicated to funding the initial demonstration mission.

The Silent Hill 2 remake stands out as one of the most harrowing gaming experiences I’ve had in recent memory.

With an opening statement like that, you might anticipate a highly negative review of developer Bloober Team’s recreation of Konami and Team Silent’s survival horror masterpiece.

However, in this rare case, complete and unrelenting misery is actually a positive feature. The original Silent Hill 2 is widely considered one of the bleakest, most somber games ever made, and Bloober Team has effectively captured its oppressive atmosphere.

The remake is a chilling and uncomfortable descent into terror, retaining the original’s haunting magic.

This disturbing journey begins with the game’s atmospheric sound and visuals. The iconic thick fog that cloaks the town of Silent Hill is a crucial element of the story, and the remake uses modern volumetric effects to make the mist feel even denser and more isolating than before.

Escaping the monster-infested streets should bring relief, but instead, you find yourself taking shelter in depressingly squalid buildings.

Much of Silent Hill 2 revolves around a sense of descent, and this is reflected in the game’s visual design.

Early locations feel merely abandoned and neglected, with peeling wallpaper and empty cupboards. But as you push deeper, the environments grow increasingly oppressive.

Familiar textures give way to rough, decayed alternatives, until the setting becomes a rusted, rotting shell. What begins as eerie soon transforms into a full-fledged nightmare the further you go.

Adding to this horror is the game’s use of minimal lighting. You’re locked inside dark, claustrophobic spaces for most of the game’s 12 to 18-hour runtime, depending on how you play.

This becomes particularly stressful during exploration of Toluca Prison, where the lights can only stay on for a few seconds at a time, forcing you to frantically dash between breaker switches in a desperate attempt to stave off the encroaching darkness.

After being deprived of sunlight for so long, the sight of daylight becomes a powerful relief, akin to gasping for air after being submerged underwater. The effect is deeply unsettling.

The sound design, composed once again by Silent Hill 2’s original composer Akira Yamaoka, doesn’t rely on a traditional musical score. Instead, you’re assaulted by a relentless collection of oppressive noises.

This reaches its peak in the late game when the orchestration dynamically incorporates the sounds of approaching creatures, making you question every sound you hear.

Over time, this aural barrage begins to chip away at your sense of reality, simulating a descent into madness. It’s a masterful, uncomfortable auditory experience.

While the visual and auditory aspects are integral, it’s the deeper design that cements Silent Hill 2 as a truly terrifying game.

Many horror games use art and sound to unsettle players, but few have the same psychological depth as Silent Hill 2. Where games like Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space are essentially action games with horror elements, Silent Hill 2 is pure horror through and through.

Every environment feels like an elaborate puzzle, and you’re constantly retracing your steps to find keys or hidden paths.

This backtracking adds to the feeling of exhaustion, both mental and physical, as you navigate increasingly disturbing locations like the apartments, hospital, and hotel.

This sense of fatigue is particularly brutal in the final third of the game, where you’re forced to explore the prison and labyrinth back-to-back with no respite.

These areas are filled with nearly impenetrable darkness, twisted puzzles, and some of the most grotesque enemies in the game.

The psychological and emotional toll effectively mirrors the protagonist James Sunderland’s mental state, with Bloober Team and Team Silent’s biggest achievement being the ability to evoke empathy through gameplay.

The oppressive atmosphere is further maintained by various gameplay elements that reinforce the story’s themes of descent and despair.

For instance, you repeatedly need to jump into pitch-black holes, and each time, you must press the action button multiple times to reflect James’ reluctance and fear. As the atmosphere becomes more unbearable, the game provides no relief.

Unlike the Resident Evil series, which offers more powerful weapons and moments of explosive action as the game progresses, Silent Hill 2 gives you only a rusty pipe, a handgun, and perhaps a shotgun or rifle with limited ammo.

Even familiar enemies become more erratic and terrifying over time, ensuring that the game’s suffocating atmosphere never lets up.

Silent Hill 2 isn’t designed to be fun—it’s an exploration of the darker sides of the human experience, particularly grief and guilt, emotions that are typically avoided.

There’s a strange, uncomfortable thrill in actively confronting these feelings through a video game.

The original 2001 version’s technical limitations added to the tension, with its semi-fixed camera creating claustrophobia and awkward combat mechanics heightening the sense of desperation.

In Bloober Team’s remake, these thorns have been pruned, replaced with modern third-person controls that make the game a bit more accessible.

However, these updates are the only concessions made, and while combat may feel less frantic, the core of Silent Hill 2’s nightmarish vision remains intact.

The Silent Hill 2 remake is a powerful reminder of Konami’s mastery of survival horror, and it proves that the game’s relentless, oppressive tone can still deliver a deeply unsettling experience.

Traditionally, visitors to Kyoto in October come to witness momijigari, the changing colors of autumn leaves in the city’s scenic parks. This autumn, however, there is a new attraction: a Nintendo museum.

This new destination, opening on Wednesday, can best be described as a shrine to video game nostalgia. Upstairs, Nintendo’s various gaming consoles, from the 1983 Famicom to the 1996 Nintendo 64 and the 2017 Switch, are displayed with reverence alongside their iconic games.

On the back wall, visitors can also look at toys, playing cards, and other relics from the Japanese company’s pre-video-game era, dating back to its founding as a hanafuda playing card company in 1889.

Downstairs, the museum offers interactive exhibits featuring comically oversized controllers and floor-projected playing cards. A visitor interacts with a large motion-sensor screen in the museum.

Located on the grounds of Nintendo’s former manufacturing plant in Uji, a town just 20 minutes by train south of central Kyoto, the museum expects to welcome up to 2,000 visitors per day.

Tickets, priced at 3,300 yen (about £17) for adults, are sold via a lottery system and are booked out three months in advance.

The Uji Ogura plant, which opened in 1969, once produced toys and playing cards—Nintendo’s core business at the time. After the rise of video games in the 1970s, it functioned as a console repair center until 2016.

Though far from Kyoto’s main tourist spots, the surrounding suburban area has been preparing for a surge of visitors, with its train station being renovated in anticipation of the crowds of fans wearing Mario hats.

Nintendo’s creative mastermind, Shigeru Miyamoto—the creator of the Mario and Zelda franchises and a clear influence on the museum’s design—frequently visited this site when it was an operational factory in the 1970s and 80s.

“This is a place of memories,” he remarked at a press conference during the museum’s preview event last week.

“We were considering how to preserve it, and then the idea came up: why not turn it into a museum? Our original headquarters on Toba-kaido was considered as a potential site, but we felt [Uji] was better for transportation.

Plus, this area has become rather run-down. Since this was where our first factory was, we wanted to help revitalize the area. We hope to work with the local community to develop [the museum] so that it won’t be resented by the locals.”

During their visit, guests receive 10 virtual coins to spend on the museum’s interactive exhibits.

An adjacent workshop offers visitors a chance to make their own Japanese hanafuda playing cards, while a café serves custom burgers.

Despite Nintendo’s reputation for closely guarding its creative processes and corporate secrets, there is little insight into how the games or consoles were made, or the key figures involved in their development. Only a small collection of prototype controllers gives a rare glimpse behind the scenes.

This museum joins a growing list of video game-related tourist attractions in Japan. For decades, international fans have flocked to the “geek mecca” of Akihabara in Tokyo, with its jam-packed electronics shops, retro game stores, hidden arcade cabinet specialists, and a wide range of manga and anime-themed cafés.

Additionally, the Super Nintendo World theme park at Osaka’s Universal Studios—now the third-most-visited theme park globally—draws in massive crowds, as do game-themed restaurants across Japan, such as those dedicated to Kirby, Monster Hunter, and Final Fantasy.

A Pokémon theme park is also in the works in Inagi, Tokyo. Nintendo fans take selfies at the Super Nintendo World theme park in Osaka.

“Companies like Nintendo are incredibly important to Japan’s cultural exports,” said Gearoid Reidy.

“These cultural exports and tourism work hand-in-hand—people visit Japan partly due to their interest in things like Nintendo. Over time, they bring back trends they’ve experienced here—like the growing popularity of ramen over the past few decades.”

The Japanese government’s “Cool Japan” initiative, revealed in June, aims to quadruple the overseas market for video games, manga, anime, and other cultural exports over the next decade.

For Nintendo, though, this museum is more about honoring its own corporate legacy. “I hope people will understand what Nintendo is through all of these past products,” said Miyamoto. “It would be a shame to let all this gather dust in a warehouse.”

Whoa, this was definitely an unexpected surprise to wake up to! During a recent livestream from 343 Industries, the team officially announced that Halo Infinite will be getting a third-person mode this November!

That’s right—three years after the game’s original release, a major new feature like third-person gameplay is being added to Infinite, which is quite surprising, especially since many thought substantial updates were mostly behind us at this point.

Nevertheless, the team shared a work-in-progress clip of the new mode in action, which you can check out below.

Based on the nature of the clip and 343’s history of focusing on multiplayer updates for Halo Infinite, it’s likely this feature will be limited to multiplayer and won’t extend to the campaign.

This makes sense considering the immersive, first-person perspective is core to stepping into the shoes of Master Chief in the story mode.

Regardless, it’s an exciting addition to the multiplayer experience that no one saw coming!

Back in July, the team released the ‘Operation Fleetcom’ update, continuing to deliver new content for Halo Infinite even though the game no longer follows the traditional seasonal update model.

Third-person mode is set to arrive in November 2024, bringing a fresh new way to experience Halo’s multiplayer.

Just last month, a study revealed that ChatGPT, unsurprisingly, is the most popular AI tool, at least when it comes to app downloads.

What was surprising, however, was the absence of some big names in AI, such as Google’s Gemini, from that list.

Now, a new study from the creative subscription service Superside has also examined this area but with a different focus.

Instead of app downloads, this study looked at the number of searches people make for specific AI tools.

This method provides insight into the AIs that people are interested in, even if they aren’t necessarily using them.

Interestingly, despite using different metrics, OpenAI’s ChatGPT still dominates the AI space, receiving nearly 25 million searches from U.S. citizens every month.

In second place is Google’s Gemini, which racks up 1.5 million searches per month. That creates a massive gap of 23.5 million searches between ChatGPT and Gemini.

However, the substantial number of searches for Gemini could signal a growing interest, despite its earlier setbacks this year.

Notably, its image generator was shut down less than a month after its launch due to issues related to how the model rendered people’s race and failed basic coding tasks.

One possible explanation for this rising interest in Gemini could be its inclusion in Google’s highly anticipated, AI-focused Pixel 9 phone lineup.

However, the data in this study is current as of August 8, roughly a month before the Pixel 9 phones were officially launched.

The growing interest in Gemini also occurred before it was made available to all Android devices.

Had the study been conducted later, it’s likely that Gemini would have shown an even higher search volume.

While people are becoming more comfortable with AI tools and integrating them into their daily lives, the research indicates that users have clear preferences when it comes to specific models.

Familiar names in the AI space, such as Character.ai, Claude, and Suno, didn’t even make the top 15 most-searched-for AIs.

The total number of searches dropped significantly after the top two, with Microsoft’s Copilot coming in third place, seeing 368,000 searches per month.

Perplexity and Brave Search rounded out the top five. The remaining names in the top 10 were Phind, Algolia, You, YouChat, and KOMO.

Google has announced two new Chromebooks today: Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus and Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 11.

Alongside these devices, Google is introducing a brand-new feature: the Quick Insert button. This button is designed to provide instant access to some of Google’s latest AI-powered tools.

The Quick Insert button, which will replace the search/launcher button on certain Chromebooks, debuts with the Galaxy Chromebook Plus.

This feature is a gateway to a suite of new AI functionalities. By pressing the button, users can bring up a menu that offers tools like “Help me write,” which assists in drafting memos, emails, and will soon include AI image generation, as explained by John Maletis, VP of ChromeOS product, engineering, and UX.

In addition to writing help, the Quick Insert button offers faster access to information. It can quickly display a list of recently visited websites, allowing users to easily insert links.

The button also facilitates searching through photos, videos, documents, and spreadsheets stored in Google Drive, or pulling up favorite GIFs and emojis.

A similar move was made by Microsoft earlier this year, adding a dedicated Copilot key to some laptops for fast access to Windows’ AI features.

One of the exciting new features arriving with this button is Welcome Recap, which aims to catch you up when you log back into your device.

This feature, available on all Chromebooks, offers a summary of activities you were engaged in before logging out.

Welcome Recap works across devices, providing reminders such as your next video call, quick access to recently opened files, or clickable suggestions to resume an article you started on your Android or iOS phone. For those who tend to keep many tabs open, this feature could be especially useful.

In addition to Quick Insert, other AI-powered features are rolling out this month for the premium Chromebook Plus lineup.

These include “Help me read,” which summarizes the content you’re viewing, and Live Translate, offering real-time caption translations in over 100 languages.

The Recorder app is another new addition, capable of generating transcripts from lectures, interviews, or conversations. During a demonstration, the app accurately captured my words and recognized multiple speakers, showcasing its effectiveness.

Samsung’s Galaxy Chromebook Plus will be the first to showcase these features. With its sleek grayish-blue aluminum body, this device is visually striking.

Weighing only 2.58 pounds and measuring 0.46 inches in thickness, it stands out as the lightest and thinnest Chromebook from either company to date.

The Chromebook Plus features a 15.6-inch OLED display that looked impressive in person. The keyboard is also well-designed, complete with a full number pad.

However, this device isn’t aimed at users seeking high-end performance. It runs on an Intel Core i3 100U Raptor Lake Refresh processor, paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Battery life is estimated to be around 13 hours on a single charge.

Meanwhile, Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 11 doesn’t feature the Quick Insert button but still supports all the latest ChromeOS features.

This refreshed version of the popular detachable model from 2020 maintains its portability and versatility, with updated hardware.

The detachable magnetic keyboard allows the Duet 11 to function as either a tablet or a traditional laptop. The rear cover folds into a kickstand, letting you position the device vertically or horizontally.

Lenovo highlights the Duet 11’s 10.9-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen, which has advanced palm rejection technology. This makes it ideal for using the included USI Pen 2 stylus, which magnetically attaches to the back of the device.

Powered by a MediaTek Kompanio 838 processor with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the Duet 11 is well-suited for light productivity tasks and media consumption.

It features two webcams—an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. Lenovo estimates up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Additionally, there’s an education edition of the Duet 11, with a more durable case for the tablet portion to protect against accidental drops.

Both Chromebooks will be available later this month. The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11 will start at $340, while the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, being the more premium option, will start at $699.

Following the shutdown of Yuzu earlier this year, the development of the Switch emulator Ryujinx appears to have come to a halt after its creator was contacted by Nintendo.

The emulator, which began development in 2017 and launched in 2018, was the first Switch emulator capable of running commercial games.

Since its release, the open-source project had been maintained by creator gdkchan, who funded its development through Patreon.

However, it now seems Ryujinx is facing a similar fate to Yuzu.

Users attempting to access Ryujinx’s Github page reported receiving a 404 error earlier today, and concerns grew when the emulator’s download page also became inaccessible.

Word about Ryujinx’s status emerged through a message posted on the emulator’s Discord server.

Co-developer riperiperi explained that “yesterday, gdkchan was contacted by Nintendo and offered an agreement to stop working on the project, remove the organization, and take down all related assets he controls.”

He added, “While awaiting confirmation on whether he would accept this agreement, the organization has already been removed, so it seems safe to assume the outcome.

Rather than leave everyone in uncertainty, I wanted to provide this brief message for closure.”

A screenshot of riperiperi’s message was later shared on Ryujinx’s official social media accounts, further confirming the situation.

As of now, Ryujinx’s Patreon and official website remain online, but its download page and Github repository are still inaccessible.

The demise of Ryujinx comes just seven months after the developer of Yuzu, Tropical Haze, agreed to a $2.4 million settlement with Nintendo and ceased all operations following a lawsuit that accused the emulator of enabling large-scale piracy.

Given that context, it’s unsurprising that gdkchan may have chosen to take Ryujinx offline rather than risk a legal battle with Nintendo, which has a history of aggressively pursuing legal action against emulators and piracy.

For example, in 2022, hacker Gary Bowser was sentenced to 40 months in prison and ordered to pay $4.5 million for selling devices that facilitated game piracy.

In 2021, the owner of the ROM site RomUniverse faced a $2.1 million judgment for copyright and trademark infringement, and in 2018, an Arizona couple was ordered to pay Nintendo $12.2 million for running websites that distributed pirated ROMs.

Nintendo’s aggressive stance on intellectual property also extends to certain games, including its recent opposition to “Palworld.”

Many users may already know that Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, has operated its own app marketplace for some time—the Epic Games Store.

In December of last year, the company scored a major legal victory in an antitrust case against Google, where the court ruled that Google held an illegal monopoly over app distribution and in-app billing services for Android devices. However, despite this victory, Epic’s legal battles are far from over.

The company is now suing Google again, and this time it has also included Samsung as a defendant, focusing on Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature.

In this new lawsuit, Epic Games claims that Samsung’s Auto Blocker feature is hindering users from installing the Epic Games Store on the latest Samsung devices.

This is because the Auto Blocker, which is now enabled by default, only permits app installations from Google Play Store and Samsung Galaxy Store. To install third-party apps, users must first disable this function, creating an additional hurdle.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has suggested that Google and Samsung may be collaborating, although he acknowledges there’s no hard evidence to support this theory at present.

He found that there were no direct instructions on how to deactivate Auto Blocker. After searching “turn off auto blocker” within the settings, he was able to find the option, but it required going through several screens to fully disable it.

Aside from its victory against Google, Epic Games also successfully sued Apple in a separate case. The issue with Apple arose when the tech giant refused to allow Epic Games to launch its app store on iOS devices.

However, following intervention from the EU, Apple was forced to permit the store, though the company continues to resist and claims that its compliance is temporary.

As for how Google and Samsung will respond to these new allegations, that remains uncertain.

Both companies may argue that they are not deliberately making it difficult to install the Epic Games Store. For now, it seems that Epic’s legal struggle will continue, and we’ll be left waiting for the courts to resolve the matter.

Google’s upcoming Pixel 9a is set to introduce a fresh design, according to newly leaked renders, which show a notable departure from a key feature that has defined the brand’s smartphones.

Since the “Tensor reboot” that revamped Google’s phone lineup, the design has featured a distinctive “camera bar” or “visor” across the back of the devices, housing all camera components.

This feature has evolved over time to fit different models but quickly became the most recognizable design element of the Pixel series in recent years.

However, it seems the Pixel 9a will break away from this iconic look.

Leaked CAD-based renders of the Pixel 9a reveal a new design in which the camera module is flush with the back of the phone, doing away with the raised camera bar.

The design bears resemblance to certain LG phones that were released before the company exited the smartphone market.

On the Pixel 9a, the cameras are mostly level with the rest of the device, with the flash positioned to the right of the camera lenses.

This design change was first hinted at when a prototype surfaced in late August.

Although the leak, shared by Android Headlines and created by @OnLeaks, does not provide detailed dimensions or additional specs for the Pixel 9a, this omission is somewhat unusual given that such leaks typically include size details along with the design.

The Pixel 9a is anticipated to debut in mid-2025 and will be one of five new Pixel devices Google plans to release next year.

In response to security concerns, Microsoft has provided details on how it has revamped its controversial AI-powered Recall feature, which captures screenshots of nearly everything you do or see on a computer.

Originally slated to debut with Copilot Plus PCs in June, Microsoft has spent the last few months improving the security behind Recall, making it an opt-in feature that users can fully uninstall from Windows if desired.

“I’m actually really excited about how deeply we dived into the security architecture,” said David Weston, Microsoft’s vice president of enterprise and OS security, during an interview.

“I think the security community is going to appreciate how much effort we’ve put into enhancing Recall.”

One of the major changes Microsoft has made is that Recall will no longer be enabled by default.

“There is no more default on experience at all—you have to opt into this,” said Weston. “That’s crucial for people who don’t want the feature, and we fully understand that.”

Earlier this month, an uninstall option for Recall appeared on Copilot Plus PCs, which Microsoft initially referred to as a bug.

However, it turns out users will indeed be able to fully remove Recall. “If you choose to uninstall it, we remove everything from your machine,” Weston explained, including the AI models powering the feature.

Initially, security researchers found that Recall’s database, which stores screenshots taken every few seconds, was not encrypted, leaving it vulnerable to malware attacks.

Microsoft has since encrypted all sensitive elements of Recall, including its screenshot database, and is using Windows Hello to safeguard against tampering.

The encryption of Recall is now tied to the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is required for Windows 11. This means the encryption keys are stored in the TPM, and access to them is granted only through authentication via Windows Hello.

The only time Recall data is sent to the user interface is when the user activates the feature and authenticates via facial recognition, fingerprint, or PIN.

“To enable Recall, you need to be present as the user,” said Weston. This means users must use facial recognition or fingerprint authentication to set up the feature, which will then allow PIN-based access.

This setup is intended to prevent malware from exploiting Recall data in the background, with Microsoft requiring user presence verification through Windows Hello.

“We’ve moved all screenshot processing and sensitive operations into a virtualization-based security enclave, essentially placing them inside a virtual machine,” Weston added.

This design ensures that the user interface (UI) layer of the app does not have access to raw screenshots or the Recall database.

When a user interacts with Recall and conducts searches, Windows Hello prompts authentication, queries the virtual machine, and retrieves data. Once the user closes the Recall app, all memory is erased.

“The app outside the virtualization enclave is protected against malware, and any malicious attempt would require a kernel driver to breach it,” said Weston.

Microsoft has outlined the full security model of Recall and its Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) enclave in a blog post.

This approach looks significantly more secure than the original design and may provide a look into how Microsoft could enhance the security of future Windows applications.

As for why Microsoft almost launched Recall in June without these robust security measures, the details are somewhat unclear.

Weston confirmed that Recall had been reviewed under Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, introduced last year, but being a preview product, it had certain restrictions.

“The plan was always to include Microsoft’s fundamental security features, like encryption.

But we also received feedback from people who were very concerned about the risks,” Weston noted, leading Microsoft to accelerate additional security measures planned for Recall to ensure user concerns wouldn’t deter adoption.

“This goes beyond just Recall,” Weston hinted. “We now have one of the strongest platforms for handling sensitive data processing on the edge, and this opens up a lot of other possibilities.”

He emphasized that accelerating these security investments has positioned Recall as a premier platform for data protection.

Another important change is that Recall will only be available on Copilot Plus PCs, preventing users from sideloading it onto other Windows machines as seen earlier this year.

To verify a Copilot Plus PC, Recall will check for the presence of features like BitLocker, virtualization-based security, secure boot, system guard protections, and kernel DMA protection.

Microsoft has also conducted extensive reviews of Recall’s updated security. The Microsoft Offensive Research Security Engineering (MORSE) team spent months conducting design reviews and penetration tests on the feature.

Additionally, a third-party security firm performed an independent security design review and testing.

With more time to work on Recall, Microsoft has introduced additional control features. Users will now be able to filter out specific apps and block certain websites from being captured by Recall.

Sensitive content filtering will also prevent the storage of passwords, credit card information, health data, and financial details.

Users will even have the option to delete specific time ranges, content from particular apps or websites, or the entire Recall database.

Microsoft remains on track to preview Recall with Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs in October, meaning that the feature won’t ship with new laptops or PCs until after the Windows community has thoroughly tested it.