Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the would-you-look-at-that department: iPhone sales jumped 15% year-over-year in April and May 2025, "signaling Apple's strongest two-month performance for the period since the pandemic," reports MacRumors, citing preliminary data from Counterpoint Research. From the report: The growth was driven mainly by the United States and China, Apple's two largest markets. Both regions returned to positive year-over-year growth after three years of declines during what is typically a less seasonal period. China sales were particularly notable, with Apple capturing the top spot in May. It's quite the turnaround, after Apple only recently sustained market share losses to Huawei and other local mobile vendors. [...]

The report showed Japan also indicated strong iPhone demand, with the more affordable iPhone 16e proving especially popular among consumers who favor smaller devices. The device's entry-level pricing apparently appealed to Japanese tastes, while Apple also maintained strong sales for the iPhone 16 base model and even the older iPhone 14. India continued its growth trajectory as Apple expands both manufacturing and market presence in the world's most populous country.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the new-challenger-appears department: Midjourney has launched its first AI video generation model, V1, which turns images into short five-second videos with customizable animation settings. While it's currently only available via Discord and on the web, the launch positions the popular AI image generation startup in direct competition with OpenAI's Sora and Google's Veo. TechCrunch reports: While many companies are focused on developing controllable AI video models for use in commercial settings, Midjourney has always stood out for its distinctive AI image models that cater to creative types. The company says it has larger goals for its AI video models than generating B-roll for Hollywood films or commercials for the ad industry. In a blog post, Midjourney CEO David Holz says its AI video model is the company's next step towards its ultimate destination, creating AI models "capable of real-time open-world simulations." After AI video models, Midjourney says it plans to develop AI models for producing 3D renderings, as well as real-time AI models. [...]

To start, Midjourney says it will charge 8x more for a video generation than a typical image generation, meaning subscribers will run out of their monthly allotted generations significantly faster when creating videos than images. At launch, the cheapest way to try out V1 is by subscribing to Midjourney's $10-per-month Basic plan. Subscribers to Midjourney's $60-a-month Pro plan and $120-a-month Mega plan will have unlimited video generations in the company's slower, "Relax" mode. Over the next month, Midjourney says it will reassess its pricing for video models.

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the escalating-matters department: Austria's coalition government has agreed on a plan to enable police to monitor suspects' secure messaging in order to thwart militant attacks, ending what security officials have said is a rare and dangerous blind spot for a European Union country. From a report: Because Austria lacks a legal framework for monitoring messaging services like WhatsApp, its main domestic intelligence service and police rely on allies with far more sweeping powers like Britain and the United States alerting them to chatter about planned attacks and spying.

That kind of tip-off led to police unravelling what they say was a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, which prompted the cancellation of all three of her planned shows there in August of last year. "The aim is to make people planning terrorist attacks in Austria feel less secure - and increase everyone else's sense of security," Joerg Leichtfried of the Social Democrats, the junior minister in charge of overseeing the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN), told a news conference.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the what-year-is-it department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Napster, the brand synonymous with the music piracy boom of the early 2000s, has a new copyright challenge. Together with audio giant Sonos, Napster faces a lawsuit demanding over $3.4 million in alleged unpaid copyright royalties. Filed by collective rights management organization SoundExchange, the complaint (PDF) centers on missed payments related to the "Sonos Radio" service, which until 2023 was powered by Napster's music catalog. [...]

Sonos Radio launched in April 2020 with Napster as the authorized agent, submitting the required royalty reports and royalties to SoundExchange. While all went well initially, payments stopped around May 2022. At the time, Napster had been acquired by venture capital firms Hivemind and Algorand, with a focus on "web3" technologies, including cryptocurrencies and blockchain. According to the complaint, the takeover resulted in a "complete breakdown of reporting and payment for the Sonos Radio service." The alleged payment problems eventually came to light during an audit initiated by SoundExchange in 2023, which concluded that Sonos and Napster owed millions in unpaid royalties.

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Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 PTR - Build 61476

Patch 11.2 is here! We're working through the data changes, so keep checking back for updates.

/lean is now an emote

Official Notes



New Icons

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Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh Development Notes

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

The Ghosts of K’aresh Public Test Realm (PTR) is now available for testing.

These changes are for the first week of PTR testing and do not contain the full patch notes for the update.

The War Within: Ghosts of K’aresh Development Notes

---

CONTINUE THE WAR WITHIN CAMPAIGN

In Ghosts of K’aresh, the campaign continues as more pieces to a troubling puzzle fall into place. With the release of this content update players will be able to immerse themselves in The War Within story as it leads up to the next chapter of the Worldsoul Saga—Midnight.

There’s some unfinished business to be had on K’aresh and the specter of an old enemy looms large. Forces with ill-intent are determined to bring forth Dimensius, the All-Devouring once more to finish off the ethereals. Should he arise, Azeroth will also be in peril from this dangerous Void Lord.

EXPLORE THE SHATTERED WORLD OF K’ARESH

Home of the ethereals, K’aresh is a fragmented void-touched world just waiting for players to explore what remains of this little-known land.

With shadowy forces working toward bringing Dimensius back into the world, players will need to gather their allies in a bid to put a stop to him and his followers. You’ll fight alongside Alleria Windrunner and her mentor Locus-Walker among others to end the clear and present danger he poses.

Players will also have the opportunity to explore Tazavesh, The Veiled Market, work toward restoring the ecosphere in eco-domes, go Phase Diving, and more.

RETURN TO TAZAVESH, THE VEILED MARKET

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Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the passwordless-future department: Facebook now supports passkeys for login, offering users a more secure, phishing-resistant alternative to passwords by using biometrics or a PIN stored on their device. The feature is rolling out to iOS and Android "soon," while Messenger will get the feature "in the coming months." Lifehacker reports: Meta seems pretty excited about the news -- and not just because the company happens to be a member of the FIDO Alliance, the organization that developed passkeys. Aside from logging into your Facebook account, Meta says you'll be able to use passkeys to autofill your payment info when buying things with Meta Pay. You'll also be able to use the same passkey between both Facebook and Messenger, and your passkey will act as a key to lock out your encrypted Messenger chats.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the proceed-with-caution department: Waymo plans to relaunch its robotaxi service in New York City, starting with safety driver testing while lobbying to change state law to eventually allow fully autonomous vehicles without human operators. The company has applied for a permit and will begin mapping in Manhattan, though legislative hurdles and skepticism from lawmakers remain. The Verge reports: A bill was introduced in the New York State Legislature earlier this year that would permit autonomous vehicles without safety drivers "provided that the automated driving system is engaged and the vehicle meets certain conditions." The bill is currently under consideration by the state Senate's transportation committee.

New York City also has some of the most dangerous, congested, and poorly managed streets in the world. They are also full of construction workers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and double- and sometimes even triple-parked cars. In theory, this would make it very difficult for an autonomous vehicle to navigate, given that AVs typically rely on good weather, clear signage, and less aggressive driving from other road users for safe operation. And it's not clear that the state will amend its laws to allow for fully driverless vehicles, with some lawmakers expressing reservations. "This kind of testing hasn't even been completed in other parts of the country," state Senator John Liu told Daily News last year after the city announced its new permitting process. "It would behoove New York City to wait to see some of those other results of driverless technology in less dense urban settings. This is an example of something where New York City does not have to be first."

Posted by Randall Munroe from XKCD
Numbers can be tricky. On the day of my 110th birthday, I'll be one day younger than John Tukey was on his.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the AI-all-the-things department: An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has announced that the Google Veo 3 AI video generator will be integrated with YouTube Shorts later this summer. According to Mohan, YouTube Shorts has seen a rise in popularity even compared to YouTube as a whole. The streaming platform is now the most watched source of video in the world, but Shorts specifically have seen a massive 186 percent increase in viewership over the past year. Mohan says Shorts now average 200 billion daily views.

YouTube has already equipped creators with a few AI tools, including Dream Screen, which can produce AI video backgrounds with a text prompt. Veo 3 support will be a significant upgrade, though. At the Cannes festival, Mohan revealed that the streaming site will begin offering integration with Google's leading video model later this summer. "I believe these tools will open new creative lanes for everyone to explore," said Mohan. [...]

While you can add Veo 3 videos (or any video) to a YouTube Short right now, they don't fit with the format's portrait orientation focus. Veo 3 outputs 720p landscape videos, meaning you'd have black bars in a Short. Presumably, Google will create a custom version of the model for YouTube to spit out vertical video clips. Mohan didn't mention a pricing model, but Veo 3 probably won't be cheap for Shorts creators. Currently, you must pay for Google's $250 AI Ultra plan to access Veo 3, and that still limits you to 125 8-second videos per month.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the more-cuts department: Microsoft is planning to ax thousands of jobs, particularly in sales, as part of the company's latest move to trim its workforce amid heavy spending on AI. From a report: The cuts are expected to be announced early next month [non-paywalled source], following the end of Microsoft's fiscal year, according to people familiar with the matter. The reductions won't exclusively affect sales teams, and the timing could still change, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss a private matter. The terminations would follow a previous round of layoffs in May that hit 6,000 people and fell hardest on product and engineering positions, largely sparing customer-facing roles like sales and marketing.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: Investigators believe Air India Flight 171 had an emergency-power generator operating when it crashed last week, raising questions about whether the plane's engines functioned properly during takeoff. WSJ: The preliminary finding [non-paywalled source], according to people familiar with the probe, gives investigators a new line of inquiry as they study a crash that killed all but one of the plane's passengers. In all, at least 270 people died following the crash, including some on the ground in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.

The emergency system is known as a ram air turbine. It is a small propeller that drops from the bottom of the 787 Dreamliner's fuselage to serve as a backup generator. Engines normally produce electricity for an aircraft and help run its flight-control systems. The power generated by the RAT can enable crucial aircraft components to function. The system can deploy automatically in flight if both engines have failed or if all three hydraulic system pressures are low, according to an airline's Boeing 787 manual reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

It can also deploy if cockpit instruments lose power or problems emerge with the aircraft's electric motor pumps. Pilots can manually deploy the RAT if needed. The most common occurrence is when a pilot thinks that both engines failed, according to Anthony Brickhouse, a U.S.-based aerospace safety consultant. Engine failures can result from a variety of causes, including bird strikes or problems with fuel.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the getting-warmer department: The NFC Forum has released NFC Release 15 (that's what it's calling it), extending the operating range of Near Field Communication connections from 0.5 centimeters to 2 centimeters -- a fourfold increase that reduces the precision required for device alignment.

The global standards body, whose board includes representatives from Apple, Google, Huawei, Infineon, NXP, Sony, and ST Microelectronics, designed the enhancement to accelerate transaction speeds and improve reliability across NFC-enabled devices. The expanded range addresses technical challenges in smaller form-factor devices like wearables and smartphones while maintaining compatibility with existing ISO/IEC 14443 standards.

The standard also incorporates support for NFC Digital Product Passport specifications, allowing single NFC tags embedded in products to store and transmit sustainability data throughout their lifecycle.

Posted by Tony_Bacala from The Toyark


New drop today in the month long trickle of Gamerverse figures for Marvel Legends.  The big guy Gargantos is now live.  Hit the linkage, check the deets. Marvel Legends Series Gamerverse Gargantos PO Links -> Entertainment Earth, Big Bad Toy ...

The post Marvel Legends Series Gamerverse Gargantos appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


The official E-Hobby Twitter/X account have surprised us with the official announcement of their exclusive Transformers Garage Kits. Garage Kits pieces are often made of resin and are planned to be painted. There still not much detail about these new kits, but the first promotional pictures reveal Optimus Prime and a sneek peek of Pretender Stranglehold. We can also spot sketches of Megatron, Grimlock, Sideswipe, Drift and Deadlock. Stay tuned with this space for more updates! See the mirrored images attached to this news post after the break and then share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!

The post E-Hobby Exclusive Transformers Garage Kits Announcement appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the existential-crisis department: Microsoft is positioning Windows as the primary gaming platform for Xbox, according to Xbox president Sarah Bond. "We're working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming," Bond said in a video announcing a partnership with AMD for next-generation Xbox hardware spanning consoles and handhelds.

The statement, PCWorld points out, aligns with Microsoft's recent "This is an Xbox" marketing campaign, which promotes phones, PCs, televisions, and traditional consoles as Xbox devices. The company's newly announced Xbox Ally X handheld runs Windows beneath its Xbox interface, allowing access to multiple game stores unlike Valve's Steam Deck.

Microsoft has shifted strategy following weak Xbox console sales compared to PlayStation, spending billions to acquire publishers including Bethesda and Activision Blizzard while expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming services across multiple device types.

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


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Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh

Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh Developer Interviews

Some outlets had the opportunity to ask the developers some additional questions. We've recapped some of the highlights below.

ScreenRant

Screenrant interviewed Assistant Lead Quest Designer, Stephanie Yoon, the Associate Art Director, Tina Wang, and two Lead Encounter Designers for Ghosts of K'aresh, Taylor Sanders and Andrew De Sousa.

Players are able to gather a lot of hints and clues about where we're headed to next in Midnight with the story in this patch

Tazavesh was a really cool space that was built out as a dungeon, so the team did some revamping to make it work for flying, opened up some doors, and now more players will be able to see it.

Using a Reshii Wrap, players can take waygates and move as energy through conduits and even dodge through boss mechanics

The Dimensius fight will involve players diving through space, dodging lasers and even planets being thrown.

WellPlayed

WellPlayed talked to Tina Wang, Associate Art Director and Stephanie Yoon, Assistant Lead Quest Designer.

Ve’nari has a list of animals ready for you, so you won't be heading off to just any zone to collect animals for your eco-dome.

Players will be able to fly right away in of K'aresh, as there are shattered land masses that are separated by the twisting void that are unreachable without flying.

Capstone World Quest are only while in phase diving.

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the waking-up-to-reality department: Swiss Re has identified extreme heat as a significant insurance threat in its latest annual report on emerging risks with the Zurich-based reinsurer noting that up to half a million people globally die from extreme heat effects each year. The death toll exceeds the combined impact of floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. Heat waves contributed to conditions that generated $78.5 billion in insured wildfire losses globally from 2015-2024, Swiss Re reported.

The Los Angeles wildfires this year could add up to $45 billion in insured losses, according to UCLA Anderson School of Business estimates. The insurance industry has historically underestimated heat-related costs because damages spread across multiple policy types rather than appearing as a single category. Construction firms face rising medical insurance and workers compensation claims when outdoor workers suffer heat injuries, plus potential liability for inadequate cooling breaks.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2 - Ghosts of K'aresh

Today's WoWCast introduces us to Patch 11.2, Ghosts of K'aresh! It features a new Artifact Cloak, Dungeon, Raid, Delves, Outdoor World updates, and more!

Ghosts of K'aresh

The Ethereals in Burning Crusade told us about K'aresh, a beautiful arid homeworld that was ruined by Dimensius the All-Devouring consuming their world-soul

We helped the Ethereals get revenge and thought the matter was finished

We’ll be setting foot on the shattered void-touched land because we have heard that evil forces are trying to resurrect Dimensius the All-Devouring. If he’s allowed to return, it would be the end of the Ethereals and then the end of Azeroth.

Alleria will be here front and center with her old mentor Locuswalker, as he bring us to his old home planet

Lorewalking gave hints to the coming content for players that completed it in Legacy of Arathor.

Tazavesh, the Veiled Market will be a home base in K’aresh

New Raid - Manaforge Omega

Giant facility that was built on the planet to harvest cosmic energy

We’ll be facing down a spider like creature that they are harvesting silk from

We’ll also face a mysterious council of Demon Hunters that made their way to K’aresh

The final boss is Dimensius, the largest raid boss the team has ever created. It is the size of Stormwind!

Players will enter the raid through the mana intake pipe by turning themselves into energy with their Artifact Cloak.

The first boss encounter is against a Warden that oversees the pipes, so players will need to go in and out of energy form to survive

Artifact Cloak - Reshii Wraps

The team wanted to give players an upgradable artifact with visible components that doesn’t interfere with any tier sets

The cloak helps turn players’ bodies into energy form

A very powerful person in the campaign helps players gather Ethereal artifacts and coalesces them into a Reshii Wrap

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