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The 6 best Mint alternatives to replace the budgeting app that shut down

Its been over one year since Intuit shut down the popular budgeting app Mint.

I was a Mint user for many years; millions of other users like me enjoyed how easily Mint allowed us to track all accounts in one place and monitor credit scores.

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16/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

The best VPN in April 2025

VPNs are seriously useful security tools that can protect your identity and data, bypass online restrictions to access extra content, and much more.

If this is all very new to you, youve probably got a lot of questions.

Dont worry, because ... Read More

16/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

Skullcandy’s new Method 360 ANC earbuds have been tuned by Bose

Skullcandy just revealed a new pair of wireless earbuds, the Method 360 ANC.

Interestingly, the company has teamed up with rival headphone-maker Bose for this product.

The earbuds have been tuned by Bose and use eartips similar to the ones ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

Sony has priced the Bravia Theater Bar 6 soundbar at $650

Sony just announced pricing for a number of upcoming products, including the Bravia Theater Bar 6 soundbar.

This 3.

1.

2-channel system costs $650 for US consumers.

It comes with a wireless subwoofer and is compatible with Do ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

The best MagSafe and Qi2 chargers

Wireless charging is slower and less efficient than plugging in a wire, but it’s certainly convenient — especially when you add magnets.

Most people who have an iPhone 12 or later (except the 16E) and want a magnetic charger should get a Qi2 charg ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for April 15, 2025

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games thats captured the publics attention.

The game is all about finding the common threads between words.

And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

NYT Strands hints, answers for April 15

If youre reading this, youre looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search.

Words can be made from linked letters — up, dow ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

The best iPad deals you can get right now

The iPad in its natural habitat: on David Pierce’s coffee table.

| Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge While the best iPad deals usually land during major sale events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, many great iPad deals are attainab ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

Mark Zuckerberg takes the stand

â€œYour honor, the FTC calls Mark Zuckerberg.

â€ Flanked by two bodyguards, Metaâ€™s CEO solemnly strode into a Washington, DC courtroom.

Despite his last-ditch efforts to avoid a trial, he was there, jaw cle ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

Nanoleaf’s new pegboard dock lights up your accessories and room

Nanoleaf’s Pegboard Desk Dock illuminates your desk, wall, and organized accessories.

| Image: Nanoleaf The latest addition to Nanoleaf’s lineup does more than just light up a room.

Like the company’s Expo Smart Display Cases, Nanoleaf’s n ... Read More

?The Pegboard Desk Dock can display, organize, and charge devices like headphones and controllers.

?The Pegboard Desk Dock can display, organize, and charge devices like headphones and controllers.

by Andrew Liszewski

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The latest addition to Nanoleaf’s lineup does more than just light up a room. Like the company’s Expo Smart Display Cases, Nanoleaf’s new Pegboard Desk Dock is designed to both organize and put accessories like controllers and headphones on display using color-changing LED lighting that can be synced to what you’re watching, playing, or listening to.

The Pegboard Desk Dock is now available through the company’s online store for $49.99, but it will also be available at Walmart starting in May.

Nanoleaf describes the Pegboard Dock as a “modern take on the desk lamp” that uses 32 full-color LEDs on both sides to illuminate a desk while also casting a mood-setting glow on the wall behind it. One side of the dock features just the lighting, while the other adds a perforated cover and four support arms that can be reconfigured to hold a handheld gaming console or other devices you don’t want left lying around. Using a rotating mechanism, you can regularly change which side faces forward or back.

The reason Nanoleaf calls it the Pegboard Dock is because it also features three USB ports (one USB-A and two USB-C), plus an additional USB-C port used to draw power from an outlet. The dock allows accessories to be charged at up to 15W, or connected to a computer while they’re on display, minimizing the number of cables snaking across your desk.

It doesn’t have to be connected to a computer, but doing so allows the Pegboard Dock to be controlled and configured using the Nanoleaf desktop app, which provides access to additional customization options such as preprogrammed lighting scenes that can simulate the appearance of a lava lamp or waterfall. The dock’s lighting can also mimic the colors and tones of a game you’re playing by mirroring your PC’s screen or sync to the music you’re playing using Nanoleaf’s Orchestrator feature that analyzes the contents of a song and its beats in real time.

A weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe.

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15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

What you should know before buying refurbished gadgets

Gadgets get a second life when you buy refurbished.

| Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Most people know that buying a refurbished tech product will save you money compared to buying it new.

It also gives a device a second life instead of s ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

Get an M1-powered MacBook Air for under $500 while supplies last

TL;DR: Score a powerful 13.

3-inch MacBook Air for a fraction of the usual cost at just $499.

99 (reg.

$1,499).

Finding a budget-friendly laptop that doesn’t cut corners can be tricky, but this MacBook might be the exception.< ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

This AI-powered smart lamp is available for under $90 on Amazon

SAVE OVER $70: As of April 15, the Lepro O1 AI Smart LED Floor Lamp is available for $86.

39 at Amazon.

That’s 46% off its regular price of $159.

99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lepro Lepro O1 AI Smart LED Floor Lamp $86.Read More

SAVE OVER $70: As of April 15, the Lepro O1 AI Smart LED Floor Lamp is available for $86.39 at Amazon. That’s 46% off its regular price of $159.99.

I bought Lepros O1 AI Smart LED Floor Lamp for $86.39 and it might be the first smart home gadget I’ve used that doesn’t feel like a tech demo. Its regular price is $159.99, but right now theres a 40% coupon on Amazon plus a 10% code (LEPROO1CODE) that brings it down to something far more reasonable.

I wasn’t expecting much. Its a lamp. But it actually responds to voice commands like “I want calm lighting,” and then recommends a bunch of options based on that mood. It’s the kind of smart feature that doesnt feel forced, and for once, it works like its supposed to.

The brightness hits 2300 lumens and it lets you shift from warm to cool light, ranging from 2700K to 5700K. I use it for reading, working, and whatever third thing I pretend I’m doing when I’m just scrolling on my phone. It also supports 16 million RGB colors. I don’t need that many, but I like knowing I could live in neon teal if I wanted.

Price: $86.39 $159.99

Retailer: Amazon

Brightness: 2300 lumens

Color range: RGBCW, 2700K to 5700K

Voice control: Compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant

App features: Remote control, group control, timers, DIY light modes

Music sync: Built-in rhythm lighting for audio-reactive effects

Build: 3.2 x 3.2 x 60 inches, plastic construction

Connectivity: Bluetooth and 2.4GHz WiFi

Setup time: Less than 10 minutes

Music sync is built in too. I tested it with a playlist and it did a decent job pulsing to the beat. Not a party trick, just a fun detail. The Lepro app handles remote control, scheduling, and grouping with other lights. If you’ve got Alexa or Google Assistant, it plugs into that setup without much hassle.

Assembly took me ten minutes. No weird tools, no sweat. I tightened a few poles, plugged it in, and it worked. That’s the kind of setup I appreciate.

If youre looking for a way to add some personality to your lighting without spending a ton, I think this lamp punches above its price.

Christian Wait is a freelance contributor to Mashable. Christian has countless years of gaming and tech journalism experience under his belt, and can usually be found in his office 3D printing or staring at Pokémon cards.

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15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

I swapped my old bulbs for these AI smart bulbs from Lepro, and $16 later my office looks epic

SAVE $73.

60: As of April 15, Lepro B2 AI Smart LED Bulbs (two-pack) are available for $15.

99 at Amazon.

That’s 43% off their regular price of $27.

99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lepro Lepro B2 AI Smart LED Bulbs ( ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

I added these AI rope lights to my wall for $45, and my office looks like a streaming setup

SAVE $14.

99: As of April 15, Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB Rope Lights are available for $44.

99 at Amazon.

That’s 25% off their regular price of $59.

99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lepro Lepro N1 AI Smart RGB Rope Lights ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

Score $100 off the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2) right now at Best Buy

SAVE $100: As of April 15, the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2, WiFi, 128GB) is on sale for $699 at Best Buy.

Thats 12% off its list price of $799.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple 13-inch Apple iPad Air M2 $699 at Best Buy $799 Save $100 Ge ... Read More

SAVE $100: As of April 15, the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2, WiFi, 128GB) is on sale for $699 at Best Buy. Thats 12% off its list price of $799.

If you missed out on the best deals in Amazons Spring Sale, Best Buy has delivered its own Spring Sale for shoppers to save. There has been some very nice tech deals included in this sale, including on Apple devices. One of our favorite deals is on the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2, WiFi, 128GB), which has received a $100 discount.

This has dropped the price of the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2, WiFi, 128GB) from $799 to $699. Youll also get some fun free trials with your purchase as well, including Apple Fitness+ for three months if youre a new subscriber, up to three months of Apple Music if youre a new or returning subscriber, Apple Arcade for up to three months if youre a new or returning subscriber, and Apple TV+ for two months if youre a new or qualified returning subscriber. The latter is especially nice to enjoy all of the great shows that have dropped on Apple TV+ lately.

With a 13-inch Liquid Retina display, this iPad Air boasts a bright, clear screen thatll make any image really pop. Performance-wise, the M2 chip will keep things moving quickly and smoothly. In our review, Mashables Kimberly Gedeon had praise for the latter, saying, Aside from a new 13-inch size and relocated webcam, there arent many changes design-wise, but the M2 chip brings sweet energy efficiency and a performance uptick.

We also consider this iPad to be the best option for most people in our roundup of the best iPads, considering what a great value it is for the performance youre getting. Mashables Samantha Mangino said in that roundup, In our Geekbench 6 tests, it scored on par with the M2 MacBook Air, offering a high-performance experience at a fraction of the cost.

If youve had your eye on an iPad, this deal on the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2, WiFi, 128GB) at Best Buy is worth taking advantage of while its still available.

It isnt the only Apple deal floating around right now, though. Also at Best Buy you can save on the AirPods Pro 2 and over at Walmart, the 10th gen iPad has received a very nice $80 discount.

Topics Apple iPad

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer with Mashable. She’s written for various entertainment websites since 2017, covering everything from tech to games to film. You’ll currently find her work on IGN and Fangoria alongside Mashable, but she also has bylines at Rock Paper Shotgun, Collider, Screen Rant, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys catching up with the latest films and shows — horror, in particular — and has a deep love of FromSoft games, which she continues to happily replay.

Read less

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

Hurry to snag a $100 Instacart gift card for just $85 at Amazon

SAVE $15: Get a $100 Instacart gift card at Amazon for just $85.

Thats a 15% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: Instcart $100 Instacart gift card $85 at Amazon $100 Save $15 Get Deal Saving money on lifes essentials is something every ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

Espresso 15 Pro review: Just a really nice (though pricey) portable monitor

Espresso Displays makes some of our favorite portable monitors, but up until now, it felt like there was a hole in its portfolio.

Thats because aside from its flagship model — the $800 Espresso 17 Pro — the other members of the family are slightly ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

The best smart plugs in 2025

I recently moved and, before I had a chance to set up my smart plugs again, I found myself turning on my living room lamps manually — I sort of hated it.

Reaching, twisting and visiting each one like some Victorian gaslighter felt almost silly to ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

The best Chromebook you can buy in 2025

Chromebooks have become a go-to choice for students, casual users and anyone who wants a simple, fast and affordable laptop.

Powered by Google’s lightweight ChromeOS, these devices are great for web browsing, streaming, word processing and using p ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

NVIDIAs GeForce RTX 5060 GPU starts at $299, RTX 5060 Ti at $379

At long last, NVIDIA has announced its budget GeForce RTX 50-series, but don't expect any major discounts over the previous models.

The RTX 5060 will start at $299, just like the RTX 4060 did when it launched two years ago.

Of course, ... Read More

At long last, NVIDIA has announced its budget GeForce RTX 50-series, but dont expect any major discounts over the previous models. The RTX 5060 will start at $299, just like the RTX 4060 did when it launched two years ago. Of course, its unclear how many people will actually be able to nab it at that price, given the volatile nature of the GPU market and further fluctuations from the Trump administrations sloppy tariff deployment.

NVIDIA is also launching two variants of RTX 5060 Ti GPUs with 8GB and 16GB of VRAM, priced at $379 and $429, respectively. Those faster GPUs will arrive on April 16, but we dont have a firm date for the RTX 5060 besides a vague May release.

While NVIDIA touts the typical performance improvements, the real selling point of the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti will be their full support of DLSS 4 upscaling and 4X multi-frame generation. In my reviews of the RTX 5070, 5070 Ti and 5090 cards, I was surprised how much DLSS 4 boosted frame rates while still delivering excellent image quality. But itll be interesting to see if that technology will see much benefit from slower cards like the 5060 and 5060 Ti.

Curiously, NVIDIA isnt divulging full specs for all of these GPUs just yet, even though plenty of early details have already emerged. Officially, the company says the RTX 5060 is powered by 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM, 19 TFLOPS Blackwell shader cores, 5th-gen tensor cores with 614 AI TOPS performance and 4th gen RT (ray tracing) cores that can hit 58 TFLOPS. Unofficially, reports claim it also has 3,840 CUDA cores. In comparison, the RTX 4060 had 3072 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM.

The RTX 5060 Ti steps things up to 4,608 CUDA cores and the aforementioned 8GB and 16GB GDDR7 RAM options. NVIDIA says its Blackwell shader cores offer 6 TFLOPS more performance than the 5060, which should be plenty noticeable in typical gameplay. The RTX 5060 is mostly a 1080p-focused card, while the RTX 5060 Ti is far better suited to 1,440p gameplay — as long as you dont need obscene framerates.

According to NVIDIAs benchmarks, the RTX 5060 can reach 234 fps in Hogwarts Legacy while playing in 1080p with maxed out graphics settings and 4X frame-generation. The RTX 4060, in comparison, hits around 110 fps with 1x frame generation. NVIDIA claims the 5060 can also reach 148 fps in Cyberpunk 2077, 220fps in Avowed, and 330 fps in Marvel Rivals in 1080p with the same graphics settings and frame gen. It could be the perfect card if youre rocking a 240Hz 1080p screen.

As for the RTX 5060 Ti, NVIDIA says it can reach 108 fps in Cyberpunk while playing in 1,440p with Full RT graphics settings and 4X frame generation. Thats double the 4060 Ti, which reached 52 fps with 1x frame generation. Even when native performance is solid, NVIDIA also says DLSS 4s transformer upscaling model can improve overall image quality and latency. The 5060 Ti can reach 61 fps and 70ms latency in Hogwartz Legacy natively, but the latency drops to 47ms with DLSS 4 enabled (which also pumps up the frame rate to 171 fps).

As usual, a scaled down version of the RTX 5060 is also headed to laptops, which NVIDIA says will start at $1,099. We dont have specs for that hardware either, but the company claims itll be able to reach 146 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 while playing in 1080p with ultra graphics settings and 2X frame generation. In comparison, the mobile RTX 4060 reached 60fps with those settings, and it was also limited to 1x frame generation.

The real challenge for NVIDIA with the GeForce RTX 5060 family lies in pricing. The company doesnt directly control how OEMs price their cards, and numbers could also fluctuate wildly depending on stock and economic conditions. So sure, the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti sound compelling for their price, but it remains to be seen if those figures are actually realistic for consumers. And itll be interesting to see how AMD responds with cheaper new GPUs, after its Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT cards walloped NVIDIAs current mid-range options.

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15/04/2025 - Source: www.engadget.com

Meet the researchers testing the “Armageddon” approach to asteroid defense

One day, in the near or far future, an asteroid about the length of a football stadium will find itself on a collision course with Earth.

If we are lucky, it will land in the middle of the vast ocean, creating a good-size but innocuous tsunami, or ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

A vision for the future of automation

The manufacturing industry is at a crossroads: Geopolitical instability is fracturing supply chains from the Suez to Shenzhen, impacting the flow of materials.

Businesses are battling rising costs and inflation, coupled with a shrinking labor forc ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs

In 2021, the Maryland Department of Health and the state police were confronting a crisis: Fatal drug overdoses in the state were at an all-time high, and authorities didn’t know why. There was a general sense that it had something to do with changes in the supply of illicit drugs—and specifically of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, which has caused overdose deaths in the US to roughly double over the past decade, to more than 100,000 per year.

But Maryland officials were flying blind when it came to understanding these fluctuations in anything close to real time. The US Drug Enforcement Administration reported on the purity of drugs recovered in enforcement operations, but the DEA’s data offered limited detail and typically came back six to nine months after the seizures. By then, the actual drugs on the street had morphed many times over. Part of the investigative challenge was that fentanyl can be some 50 times more potent than heroin, and inhaling even a small amount can be deadly. This made conventional methods of analysis, which required handling the contents of drug packages directly, incredibly risky.

Seeking answers, Maryland officials turned to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the national metrology institute for the United States, which defines and maintains standards of measurement essential to a wide range of industrial sectors and health and security applications.

The FDA is poised to approve the notorious party drug as a therapy. Here’s what it means, and where similar drugs stand in the US.

There, a research chemist named Ed Sisco and his team had developed methods for detecting trace amounts of drugs, explosives, and other dangerous materials—techniques that could protect law enforcement officials and others who had to collect these samples. Essentially, Sisco’s lab had fine-tuned a technology called DART (for “direct analysis in real time”) mass spectrometry—which the US Transportation Security Administration uses to test for explosives by swiping your hand—to enable the detection of even tiny traces of chemicals collected from an investigation site. This meant that nobody had to open a bag or handle unidentified powders; a usable residue sample could be obtained by simply swiping the outside of the bag.

Sisco realized that first responders or volunteers at needle exchange sites could use these same methods to safely collect drug residue from bags, drug paraphernalia, or used test strips—which also meant they would no longer need to wait for law enforcement to seize drugs for testing. They could then safely mail the samples to NIST’s lab in Maryland and get results back in as little as 24 hours, thanks to innovations in Sisco’s lab that shaved the time to generate a complete report from 10 to 30 minutes to just one or two. This was partly enabled by algorithms that allowed them to skip the time-consuming step of separating the compounds in a sample before running an analysis.

The Rapid Drug Analysis and Research (RaDAR) program launched as a pilot in October 2021 and uncovered new, critical information almost immediately. Early analysis found xylazine—a veterinary sedative that’s been associated with gruesome wounds in users—in about 80% of opioid samples they collected.

This was a significant finding, Sisco says: “Forensic labs care about things that are illegal, not things that are not illegal but do potentially cause harm. Xylazine is not a scheduled compound, but it leads to wounds that can lead to amputation, and it makes the other drugs more dangerous.” In addition to the compounds that are known to appear in high concentrations in street drugs—xylazine, fentanyl, and the veterinary sedative medetomidine—NIST’s technology can pick out trace amounts of dozens of adulterants that swirl through the street-drug supply and can make it more dangerous, including acetaminophen, rat poison, and local anesthetics like lidocaine.

What’s more, the exact chemical formulation of fentanyl on the street is always changing, and differences in molecular structure can make the drugs deadlier. So Sisco’s team has developed new methods for spotting these “analogues”—compounds that resemble known chemical structures of fentanyl and related drugs.

The RaDAR program has expanded to work with partners in public health, city and state law enforcement, forensic science, and customs agencies at about 65 sites in 14 states. Sisco’s lab processes 700 to 1,000 samples a month. About 85% come from public health organizations that focus on harm reduction (an approach to minimizing negative impacts of drug use for people who are not ready to quit). Results are shared at these collection points, which also collect survey data about the effects of the drugs.

Jason Bienert, a wound-care nurse at Johns Hopkins who formerly volunteered with a nonprofit harm reduction organization in rural northern Maryland, started Read less

15/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

Spains trade deficit falls by 34.4% in July 2024: A sign of strength in foreign trade

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email In July 2024, Spain saw a significant reduction in its trade deficit, which fell by an impressive 34.

4% year-on-year to €3.

214 billion.

This comes as Spains external sector continues to show resili ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

San Sebastián Film Festival Hosts Key Event on Europes Audiovisual Future

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email The 72nd edition of the San Sebastián International Film Festival will showcase more than films this year! On 22 September, industry leaders from across Europe will gather for an exciting event: Alliances and Investments ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

Spain Economy Shows Strong Growth in Tourism Industry

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email International tourists spent 86.

4 billion euros in Spain from January to August 2024, an increase of 17.

55% compared to 2023.

64.

3 million tourists visited Spain in the first eight months of ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

How Many People Are Unemployed in Spain?

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email As of September 2024, the total number of unemployed people in Spain is 2,575,285.

How Much is Unemployment Benefit in Spain? Main updates from November 2024: The Spanish government has introduced new changes to u ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

Spain introduces new system for short-term rentals with Royal Decree

The Spanish government has introduced a groundbreaking Royal Decree aimed at regulating short-term rentals, making Spain the first country in the European Union to implement such a comprehensive system.

The decree, presented to the Council of Min ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

1 Likes

Tourism Employment in Spain Reaches Record Levels, But What About Remote Jobs?

As someone who has worked in the hospitality and travel industry, and now as a tech-savvy person who works mainly remotely, I am always looking at the job market to keep up to date or to find better opportunities.

However, finding a new job in Spa ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

Spanish police rescue 21 women from sexual exploitation with the help of EUROPOL

Facebook Pinterest Twitter Email The Spanish National Police, with the help of EUROPOL, have rescued 21 women who had been sexually exploited in different provinces of Spain.

Most of the women came from Latin America.

They had been lured ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

Spain’s DANA Storm: Key Updates, Affected Areas, and How to Report Missing Persons

Spain is grappling with the devastating effects of a severe DANA (Isolated High-Level Depression), a meteorological phenomenon that has caused catastrophic flooding, particularly in the Valencia region.

According to El Pais, at least 158 deaths h ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: spaincheck.com

Android phones will soon reboot if they’re locked for a few days

Android is launching a new security feature that will force devices to reboot themselves if you haven’t unlocked them for a while, making it harder for other people to access the data inside.

The feature included in the latest Google Play services ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

The JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker is on sale for $80 off at Best Buy

SAVE $80: As of April 15, the JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker is on sale for $299.

99 at Best Buy.

Thats 21% off its list price of $379.

99.

Opens in a new window Credit: JBL JBL Xtreme 4 Portable Bluetooth Speaker $299.

Read More

SAVE $80: As of April 15, the JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker is on sale for $299.99 at Best Buy. Thats 21% off its list price of $379.99.

Spring Sales are still going strong over at Best Buy, as the retailer has quite a few items on offer right now that are worth checking out. If youve been on the hunt for a portable speaker to join you on any outdoor excursions you have planned for this year, there are quite a few discounted right now, including an $80 discount on the JBL Xtreme 4.

This discount has dropped the price of the JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker from $379.99 to $299.99. This speaker will bring you powerful sound and up to 24 hours of battery life, so you can keep the music going for longer while youre out and about. It also features a very durable design thats great for the outdoors.

The JBL Xtreme 4 portable speaker is waterproof and dustproof with an IP67 rating, so no matter if youre going on a camping trip or want to play some music on the beach this speaker can handle the elements. It even comes with a shoulder strap which makes carrying it around to different locations much easier. If youve been looking for a reliable portable speaker thats easy to travel with and still gives you big sound, the JBL Xtreme 4 is worth a look.

Dont miss out on $80 off the JBL Xtreme 4 right now at Best Buy.

If you prefer to listen to music on your own, there are some great headphone and earbud deals that are worth checking out right now, too. Also at Best Buy, the AirPods Pro 2 have received a $60 discount, and at Amazon, the Soundcore AeroFit headphones are 62% off at the moment.

Topics Bluetooth

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer with Mashable. She’s written for various entertainment websites since 2017, covering everything from tech to games to film. You’ll currently find her work on IGN and Fangoria alongside Mashable, but she also has bylines at Rock Paper Shotgun, Collider, Screen Rant, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys catching up with the latest films and shows — horror, in particular — and has a deep love of FromSoft games, which she continues to happily replay.

Read less

15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are down by $70 in Best Buys Spring Sale

SAVE $70: As of April 15, Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are on sale for $479.

99 at Best Buy.

Thats 13% off their list price of $549.

99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) $479.

99 at Best Buy $ ... Read More

SAVE $70: As of April 15, Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are on sale for $479.99 at Best Buy. Thats 13% off their list price of $549.99.

If youve been looking to get new headphones or earbuds, there are quite a few deals available right now that are worth checking out. Best Buy in particular has plenty of offers as part of its Spring Sale, including discounts on Apple devices. If youve been saving up to splash out on high-end headphones, the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) have received a $70 price drop thats worth jumping on.

The Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) are currently marked down to $479.99 from their list price of $549.99. This deal applies to a variety of color options as well, so you can save on the midnight headphones, starlight, blue, orange, and purple. On top of that, your purchase also comes with Apple Fitness+ for free for three months if youre a new subscriber and up to three months of Apple Music for free if youre a new or returning subscriber.

Whether you love to listen to the latest albums from your favorite artists or enjoy getting lost in a thrilling audiobook, the AirPods Max offer excellent audio quality thanks to the H1 chip. This is further improved with Active Noise Cancelation, which will absorb you in what youre listening to without the outside world interrupting. And for those moments when you need to be a bit more aware of whats going on around you, Transparency mode keeps you tuned in to your surroundings without totally sacrificing the sounds youre listening to.

The AirPods Max also feature Personalized Spatial Audio that surrounds you in sound to create a more immersive experience while youre listening. Theyre a real treat for the ears, and if youre looking to treat yourself to new headphones, this deal on the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C) at Best Buy is worth taking advantage of.

There are a few more Apple deals at Best Buy that are worth a look right now. You can also save on the AirPods Pro 2 if youre looking for earbuds instead, and the 13-inch Apple iPad Air (M2) is on sale at the moment as well.

Topics AirPods Apple

Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer with Mashable. She’s written for various entertainment websites since 2017, covering everything from tech to games to film. You’ll currently find her work on IGN and Fangoria alongside Mashable, but she also has bylines at Rock Paper Shotgun, Collider, Screen Rant, and more. When she’s not writing, she enjoys catching up with the latest films and shows — horror, in particular — and has a deep love of FromSoft games, which she continues to happily replay.

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15/04/2025 - Source: mashable.com

The Download: tracking the evolution of street drugs, and the next wave of military AI

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

How the federal government is tracking changes in the supply of street drugs In 2021, the Maryland Department ... Read More

15/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

This architect wants to build cities out of lava

Arnhildur Pálmadóttir was around three years old when she saw a red sky from her living room window. A volcano was erupting about 25 miles away from where she lived on the northeastern coast of Iceland. Though it posed no immediate threat, its ominous presence seeped into her subconscious, populating her dreams with streaks of light in the night sky.

Fifty years later, these “gloomy, strange dreams,” as Pálmadóttir now describes them, have led to a career as an architect with an extraordinary mission: to harness molten lava and build cities out of it.

Pálmadóttir today lives in Reykjavik, where she runs her own architecture studio, S.AP Arkitektar, and the Icelandic branch of the Danish architecture company Lendager, which specializes in reusing building materials.

The architect believes the lava that flows from a single eruption could yield enough building material to lay the foundations of an entire city. She has been researching this possibility for more than five years as part of a project she calls Lavaforming. Together with her son and colleague Arnar Skarphéðinsson, she has identified three potential techniques: drill straight into magma pockets and extract the lava; channel molten lava into pre-dug trenches that could form a city’s foundations; or 3D-print bricks from molten lava in a technique similar to the way objects can be printed out of molten glass.

Pálmadóttir and Skarphéðinsson first presented the concept during a talk at Reykjavik’s DesignMarch festival in 2022. This year they are producing a speculative film set in 2150, in an imaginary city called Eldborg. Their film, titled Lavaforming, follows the lives of Eldborg’s residents and looks back on how they learned to use molten lava as a building material. It will be presented at the Venice Biennale, a leading architecture festival, in May.

Buildings and construction materials like concrete and steel currently contribute a staggering 37% of the world’s annual carbon dioxide emissions. Many architects are advocating for the use of natural or preexisting materials, but mixing earth and water into a mold is one thing; tinkering with 2,000 °F lava is another.

Still, Pálmadóttir is piggybacking on research already being done in Iceland, which has 30 active volcanoes. Since 2021, eruptions have intensified in the Reykjanes Peninsula, which is close to the capital and to tourist hot spots like the Blue Lagoon. In 2024 alone, there were six volcanic eruptions in that area. This frequency has given volcanologists opportunities to study how lava behaves after a volcano erupts. “We try to follow this beast,” says Gro Birkefeldt M. Pedersen, a volcanologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), who has consulted with Pálmadóttir on a few occasions. “There is so much going on, and we’re just trying to catch up and be prepared.”

Pálmadóttir’s concept assumes that many years from now, volcanologists will be able to forecast lava flow accurately enough for cities to plan on using it in building. They will know when and where to dig trenches so that when a volcano erupts, the lava will flow into them and solidify into either walls or foundations.

Today, forecasting lava flows is a complex science that requires remote sensing technology and tremendous amounts of computational power to run simulations on supercomputers. The IMO typically runs two simulations for every new eruption—one based on data from previous eruptions, and another based on additional data acquired shortly after the eruption (from various sources like specially outfitted planes). With every event, the team accumulates more data, which makes the simulations of lava flow more accurate. Pedersen says there is much research yet to be done, but she expects “a lot of advancement” in the next 10 years or so.

To design the speculative city of Eldborg for their film, Pálmadóttir and Skarphéðinsson used 3D-modeling software similar to what Pedersen uses for her simulations. The city is primarily built on a network of trenches that were filled with lava over the course of several eruptions, while buildings are constructed out of lava bricks. “We’re going to let nature design the buildings that will pop up,” says Pálmadóttir.

The aesthetic of the city they envision will be less modernist and more fantastical—a bit “like Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia,” says Pálmadóttir. But the aesthetic output is not really the point; the architects’ goal is to galvanize architects today and spark an urgent discussion about the impact of climate change on our cities. She stresses the value of what can only be described as moonshot thinking. “I think it is important for architects not to be only in the present,” she told me. “Because if we are only in the present, working inside the system, we won’t change anything.”

Pálmadóttir was born in 1972 in Húsavik, a town known as the whale-watching capital of Iceland. But she was more interest Read less

15/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

The Download: AI co-creativity, and what Trump’s tariffs mean for batteries

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

How AI can help supercharge creativity Existing generative tools can automate a striking range of creative ta ... Read More

14/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

How AI is interacting with our creative human processes

In 2021, 20 years after the death of her older sister, Vauhini Vara was still unable to tell the story of her loss. “I wondered,” she writes in Searches, her new collection of essays on AI technology, “if Sam Altman’s machine could do it for me.” So she tried GPT-3. But as it expanded on Vara’s prompts in sentences ranging from the stilted to the unsettling to the sublime, the thing she’d enlisted as a tool stopped seeming so mechanical.

“Once upon a time, she taught me to exist,” the AI model wrote of the young woman Vara had idolized. Vara, a journalist and novelist, called the resulting essay “Ghosts,” and in her opinion, the best lines didn’t come from her: “I found myself irresistibly attracted to GPT-3—to the way it offered, without judgment, to deliver words to a writer who has found herself at a loss for them … as I tried to write more honestly, the AI seemed to be doing the same.”

A string of startups are racing to build models that can produce better and better software. They claim it’s the shortest path to AGI.

The rapid proliferation of AI in our lives introduces new challenges around authorship, authenticity, and ethics in work and art. But it also offers a particularly human problem in narrative: How can we make sense of these machines, not just use them? And how do the words we choose and stories we tell about technology affect the role we allow it to take on (or even take over) in our creative lives? Both Vara’s book and The Uncanny Muse, a collection of essays on the history of art and automation by the music critic David Hajdu, explore how humans have historically and personally wrestled with the ways in which machines relate to our own bodies, brains, and creativity. At the same time, The Mind Electric, a new book by a neurologist, Pria Anand, reminds us that our own inner workings may not be so easy to replicate.

Searches is a strange artifact. Part memoir, part critical analysis, and part AI-assisted creative experimentation, Vara’s essays trace her time as a tech reporter and then novelist in the San Francisco Bay Area alongside the history of the industry she watched grow up. Tech was always close enough to touch: One college friend was an early Google employee, and when Vara started reporting on Facebook (now Meta), she and Mark Zuckerberg became “friends” on his platform. In 2007, she published a scoop that the company was planning to introduce ad targeting based on users’ personal information—the first shot fired in the long, gnarly data war to come. In her essay “Stealing Great Ideas,” she talks about turning down a job reporting on Apple to go to graduate school for fiction. There, she wrote a novel about a tech founder, which was later published as The Immortal King Rao. Vara points out that in some ways at the time, her art was “inextricable from the resources she used to create it”—products like Google Docs, a MacBook, an iPhone. But these pre-AI resources were tools, plain and simple. What came next was different.

Interspersed with Vara’s essays are chapters of back-and-forths between the author and ChatGPT about the book itself, where the bot serves as editor at Vara’s prompting. ChatGPT obligingly summarizes and critiques her writing in a corporate-shaded tone that’s now familiar to any knowledge worker. “If there’s a place for disagreement,” it offers about the first few chapters on tech companies, “it might be in the balance of these narratives. Some might argue that the benefits—such as job creation, innovation in various sectors like AI and logistics, and contributions to the global economy—can outweigh the negatives.”

Vara notices that ChatGPT writes “we” and “our” in these responses, pulling it into the human story, not the tech one: “Earlier you mentioned ‘our access to information’ and ‘our collective experiences and understandings.’” When she asks what the rhetorical purpose of that choice is, ChatGPT responds with a numbered list of benefits including “inclusivity and solidarity” and “neutrality and objectivity.” It adds that “using the first-person plural helps to frame the discussion in terms of shared human experiences and collective challenges.” Does the bot believe it’s human? Or at least, do the humans who made it want other humans to believe it does? “Can corporations use these rhetorical tools in their products too, to subtly make people identify with, and not in opposition to, them?” Vara asks. ChatGPT replies, “Absolutely.”

Vara has concerns about the words she’s used as well. In “Thank You for Your Important Work,” she worries about the impact of “Ghosts,” which went viral after it was first published. Had her writing helped corporations hide the reality of AI behind a velvet curtain? She’d meant to offer a nuanced “provocation,” exploring how uncanny generative AI can be. But instead, she’d produced something beautiful enough to resonate as an ad for its creative potential. Even Vara herself felt foo Read less

14/04/2025 - Source: www.technologyreview.com

Apple’s complicated plan to improve its AI while protecting privacy

Apple says it’s found a way to make its AI models better without training on its users’ data or even copying it from their iPhones and Macs.

In a blog post first reported on by Bloomberg, the company outlined its plans to have devices compare a sy ... Read More

Apple’s new AI training method involves comparing synthetic data to real-world samples.

Apple’s new AI training method involves comparing synthetic data to real-world samples.

by Emma Roth

Apple says it’s found a way to make its AI models better without training on its users’ data or even copying it from their iPhones and Macs. In a blog post first reported on by Bloomberg, the company outlined its plans to have devices compare a synthetic dataset to samples of recent emails or messages from users who have opted into its Device Analytics program.

Apple devices will be able to determine which synthetic inputs are closest to real samples, which they will relay to the company by sending “only a signal indicating which of the variants is closest to the sampled data.” That way, according to Apple, it doesn’t access user data, and the data never leaves the device. Apple will then use the most frequently picked fake samples to improve its AI text outputs, such as email summaries.

Currently, Apple trains its AI models on synthetic data only, potentially resulting in less helpful responses, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple has struggled with the launch of its flagship Apple Intelligence features, as it pushed back the launch of some capabilities and replaced the head of its Siri team.

But now, Apple is trying to turn things around by introducing its new AI training system in a beta version of iOS and iPadOS 18.5 and macOS 15.5, according to Gurman.

Apple has been talking up its use of a method called differential privacy to keep user data private since at least 2016 with the launch of iOS 10 and has already used it to improve the AI-powered Genmoji feature. This also applies to the company’s new AI training plans as well, as Apple says that introducing randomized information into a broader dataset will help prevent it from linking data to any one person.

A weekly newsletter by David Pierce designed to tell you everything you need to download, watch, read, listen to, and explore that fits in The Verge’s universe.

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14/04/2025 - Source: www.theverge.com

Cheap Chromebook opportunity—this Lenovo Ideapad deal is ripe

GET $210 OFF: On April 14th, the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3 Chromebook MediaTek Kompanio 520 4GB RAM 64GB Storage Touchscreen Laptop is on sale for $189.

Opens in a new window Credit: Lenovo Lenovo Ideapad Slim 3 Chromebook MediaTek Kompanio 520 4GB RA ... Read More