Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: A year after Right to Repair laws took effect in California and Minnesota, many product manufacturers continue to obstruct consumer repairs, according to a new study from advocacy group US PIRG. The organization's "Leaders and Laggards II" report evaluated 25 products across five categories and found 40% received failing grades of D or F.

Apple delivered the study's biggest surprise, earning a B+ for its latest iPad and B for the M3 MacBook Pro after releasing repair manuals for the iPad in May. The Framework Laptop 13 and Valve's Steam Deck topped the rankings with A+ scores. Dishwashers from Beko, Bosch, Frigidaire, GE, and LG performed worst alongside gaming consoles from MSI, Atari, and Sony. Researchers could not access repair manuals for 48% of products and found no available spare parts for 44%.

Posted by from MMO Champion
Patch 11.2.0 PTR - Build 61787

Build 61787 will be deployed to the Public Test Realms soon.

New Icons

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Posted by from MMO Champion
Ghosts of K'aresh Development Notes - July 3, 2025

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Hello testers! The Ghosts of K’aresh PTR has been updated with this week’s changes:

THE WAR WITHIN SEASON 3

The War Within dungeons: Priory of the Sacred Flame, Operation: Floodgate, The Dawnbreaker, and Ara-kara, City of Echoes are now available for testing this week. See the dungeon testing schedule for more information: The War Within Season 3 Dungeon Testing Schedule.

CLASSES

Developers’ notes: We’re adjusting some of the outlier Liberation of Undermine tier bonuses and providing some compensation where relevant to ensure a smooth transition into the Manaforge Omega tier bonuses. We’ll continue to monitor the impact of these changes and adjust accordingly.

Death Knight

Hero Talents

Deathbringer

Reaper’s Mark damage increased by 30%.

Blood

Exterminate has been updated – First scythe of Exterminate now has a 100% chance to reap a Bonestorm for 2 seconds.

Frost

Bind in Darkness now increases Howling Blast damage on main target when consuming Rime by 60% (was 30%).

Rider of the Apocalypse

Mawsworn Menace now reduces the cooldown of Death and Decay by 5 seconds (was 10 seconds).

Frost

Mograine’s Might has been updated – Your damage is increased by 5% and you gain 5% Critical Strike chance while inside Mograine’s Death and Decay.

San’layn

Blood

Visceral Strength now has an additional effect – When Blood Boil hits 2 or more targets, it generates 1 charge of Bone Shield.

Frost

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Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the big,-beautiful-bill department: The House passed a sweeping Republican tax-and-spending bill Thursday that rolls back major portions of Democrats' 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, dealing a significant blow to clean-energy projects and the electric-vehicle industry. The 218-214 vote sends the legislation to President Trump's desk ahead of his July 4 deadline.

The Senate version of the bill gives wind and solar projects 12 months to start construction before losing tax incentives, extending the House's original 60-day window. House Freedom Caucus members had criticized the Senate for offering too generous a timeline for renewable energy tax credits they oppose. The legislation indefinitely extends Trump-era tax cuts while adding new deductions for tipped workers, overtime pay, and car-loan interest. Republicans paired these tax reductions with significant cuts to Medicaid and nutrition assistance programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will increase budget deficits by $3.4 trillion through 2034 while leaving more than 11 million additional people without health insurance.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the 10x-engineer department: Mixpanel co-founder Suhail Doshi has publicly accused an Indian developer of simultaneously working at multiple startups under false pretenses. Doshi posted on X that Soham Parekh works at "3-4 startups at the same time" and has been "preying on YC companies." (YC, or Y Combinator, is a popular startup accelerator and venture capital firm.)

Doshi fired Parekh within a week at his company Playground AI and warned him to stop the practice, but said Parekh continued a year later. Parekh's resume lists positions at Dynamo AI, Union AI, Synthesia, and Alan AI, along with degrees from the University of Mumbai and Georgia Institute of Technology. Doshi called the CV "probably 90% fake and most links are gone." Several other startup founders confirmed they had either hired Parekh in the past, or had been approached by him. Nicolai Ouporov of Fleet AI said Parekh "works at more than 4 startups at any given time." Justin Harvey of AIVideo said he nearly hired Parekh, who "crushed the interview." Doshi said he corroborated the account with more than six companies before posting publicly.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Joy Toy has released new photos for some of their upcoming King of Fighter ’98: Ultimate Match 1/18 Scale Figures.  The first three figures are from the Ikari Warriors Team of Leona Heidern, Ralf Jones, and Clark Still. Also debuting ...

The post King of Fighters ’98 – Joy Toy Ikari Warriors Team Figures appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Coldheart from The Toyark


The third and final San Diego Comic-Con 2025 Exclusive from Jada Toys has been announced. They are releasing a Mega Man – Neo Metall 6-Pack. The set features an assortment of the little yellow robots, a staple in the Mega ...

The post Mega Man – SDCC 2025 Exclusive Neo Metall 6-Pack appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the cutting-edge-funding-cuts department: An anonymous reader shares a report: A generation of scientific talent is at the brink of being lost to overseas competitors by the Trump administration's dismantling of the National Science Foundation (NSF), with unprecedented political interference at the agency jeopardizing the future of US industries and economic growth, according to a Guardian investigation.

The gold standard peer-reviewed process used by the NSF to support cutting-edge, high-impact science is being undermined by the chaotic cuts to staff, programs and grants, as well as meddling by the so-called department of government efficiency (Doge), according to multiple current and former NSF employees who spoke with the Guardian.

The scientists warn that Trump's assault on diversity in science is already eroding the quality of fundamental research funded at the NSF, the premier federal investor in basic science and engineering, which threatens to derail advances in tackling existential threats to food, water and biodiversity in the US.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the lesson-learned department: Citigroup spent over $9 billion on technology and communications last year, almost a fifth of total operating expenses and a larger proportion than competitors, as the bank works to fix legacy software systems that have produced costly errors including accidentally wiring more than $900 million to Revlon creditors.

The bank has consolidated 12 international sanctions screening systems into one platform, retired 20 cash equities platforms and launched a replacement, and automated high-risk processes where "fat-finger" errors previously occurred. Recent mistakes included crediting one account with $81 trillion after an employee failed to remove zeros from an electronic form and a copy-paste error that almost missent $6 billion.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: Samsung is working on a trifold smartphone that could be unveiled at the company's July 9th Unpacked event, according to leaked animations discovered in the latest One UI 8 build update. The animations, spotted by Android Authority, reveal a three-panel device with a dual-hinge folding mechanism where the left-hand display folds inward while the right-hand display sandwiches over the top.

The device features a triple-camera setup on the rear of the right-hand panel when fully unfolded, with the central panel serving as a cover display. The animations label the device as "Multifold 7," though it is speculated to be called the "Galaxy G Fold."

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


Via In Demand Toys Facebook we have our first look at the packaging of the new NFL x Transformers Collaboration. We hace clear images of the front and back packaging of these new NFL-inspired robots which transform into helmets of popular teams (Amazon pre-order links below). Transformers NFL Kansas City Chiefs KC-59 (#ad) Transformers NFL Dallas Cowboys Starblitz (#ad) Transformers NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Steelsmash (#ad) Transformers NFL Green Bay Packers Tundra Prime (#ad) These are planned for release on December 15, 2025. See the new images after the break and then sound off on the 2005 Boards!

The post NFL x Transformers Collaboration: In-Package First Look appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the bless-your-heart department: Let's Encrypt, a certificate authority (CA) known for its free TLS/SSL certificates, has begun issuing digital certificates for IP addresses. From a report: It's not the first CA to do so. PositiveSSL, Sectigo, and GeoTrust all offer TLS/SSL certificates for use with IP addresses, at prices ranging from $40 to $90 or so annually. But Let's Encrypt does so at no cost.

For those with a static IP address who want to host a website, an IP address certificate provides a way to offer visitors a secure connection with that numeric identifier while avoiding the nominal expense of a domain name.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the closer-look department: Ford CEO Jim Farley believes half of all white-collar workers in the U.S. could lose their jobs to AI in the coming years, he said. He joins other executives making similar predictions about AI's impact on employment. "AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind," he said. From a report: The Ford CEO's comments are among the most pointed to date from a large-company U.S. executive outside of Silicon Valley. His remarks reflect an emerging shift in how many executives explain the potential human cost from the technology. Until now, few corporate leaders have wanted to publicly acknowledge the extent to which white-collar jobs could vanish.

In interviews, CEOs often hedge when asked about job losses, noting that innovation historically creates a range of new roles.

In private, though, CEOs have spent months whispering about how their businesses could likely be run with a fraction of the current staff. Technologies including automation software, AI and robots are being rolled out to make operations as lean and efficient as possible.

Posted by msmash from Slashdot
From the how-about-that department: An anonymous reader shares a report: The US government canceled several federal agencies' subscription to Nature and other scientific journals. A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said all contracts with Springer Nature, Nature's publisher, had been "terminated" and that taxpayer money should not be used on "junk science." Nature newsroom, with an update : On 2 July, one US government agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the National Institutes of Health (NIH), appeared to walk back its earlier statement to Nature's news team saying that it was cancelling contracts to Springer Nature. Now the HHS says: "Science journals are ripping the American people off with exorbitant access fees and extra charges to publish research openly. HHS is working to develop policies that conserve taxpayer dollars and get Americans a better deal. In the meantime, NIH scientists have continued access to all scientific journals."

Posted by Black Convoy from TFW2005


Takara Tomy Website have been updated with a new T-Spark Zone webpage giving us details about their new “T-Spark Zone” Partner Shops. Several stores over Japan (and two in China) will carry T-Spark products which also includes Transformers items, collaborations and limited merchandise. Among the limited items they’ll carry there will be Takara Tomy Mall exclusives like Adama Machina Lost Light Rodimus. W still have no concrete information about other items or if they wuold be exclusive to specific stores. You can check the list of all locations via the official website (it’s available in Englis). Click on the discussion link » Continue Reading.

The post Takara Tomy “T-Spark Zone” Partner Shops Announcement appeared first on Transformer World 2005 - TFW2005.COM.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Pre-orders are live for the newly revealed Superman (2025) – Superman and Krypto 1/6 Scale Figure from Hot Toys. Superman stands at 12.8″ tall, with 30 points of articulation. The figure includes moveable eyes, a wired fabric cape, a newly ...

The post Superman (2025) – Hot Toys Superman and Krypto appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


The second San Diego Comic-Con 2025 exclusive Street Fighter figure from Jada Toys has been announced. Joiningthe previously announced M. Bison Exclusive is an Ultra Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers – Dhalsim Deluxe “Player 2” 1/12 Scale Figure. Dhalsim ...

The post Ultra Street Fighter 2 – Jada SDCC 2025 Exclusive Dhalsim appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Hot Toys has announced a Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Clone Commander Gregor 1/6 Scale Figure. This release is a Hot Toys Exclusive, and is limited to 2,500 pieces in select markets. Gregor includes multiple interchangeable hands, a blaster ...

The post Star Wars – Hot Toys Clone Commander Gregor Figure appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by Joe Moore from The Toyark


Modeled after the Mark III Armor seen in Iron Man from Marvel Studios, the new Iron Man Steath Mode 2.0 Figure from Hot Toys has been revealed. This is a Hot Toys Exclusive, and is limited to 2,500 pieces in ...

The post Hot Toys Iron Man Mark III Stealth Mode Figure appeared first on The Toyark - News.

Posted by BeauHD from Slashdot
From the twice-the-fun department: New evidence from a 300-year-old supernova remnant in the Large Magellanic Cloud suggests that some Type Ia supernovae may result from a "double detonation" -- where a helium shell ignites first, triggering a second core explosion in a white dwarf before it reaches critical mass. "While the physics of the process itself are interesting, the key question this raises is whether type Ia supernovae really are all equally bright," writes Ars Technica's John Timmer. "If they can detonate with substantially less mass than is needed for direct ignition of the core, then it's possible that some of them could be considerably less bright." However, the research team notes that additional factors -- such as the influence of binary systems or secondary detonations -- could further complicate the picture. Ars Technica reports: "The detonations in the carbon-oxygen core and the helium-rich shell result in qualitatively different yield products," the researchers behind the new work write in a paper describing it. In the paper, they focus on calcium, which there are two ways of producing. One is from the outer shell of helium, via fusion before the detonation dilutes the material. A second batch of calcium is produced through the fusion of the core material as it's ejected in the supernova, which prevents further fusion events from converting it to even heavier elements. (Material deeper in the core does end up getting fused into heavier material.) Because it's produced by both of the detonations, models predict that the expanding sphere of debris will contain two different shells of calcium, with some space in between them. To find evidence for these shells, the researchers checked an older supernova remnant, which allows enough time for the movement of material to separate the shells by enough distance that they can be resolved from Earth.

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