It’s that quiet, end-of-December period for tech news. Still, alongside our usual retrospectives on tech in 2024, the Russian government is cracking down crypto, and final seasons of hit Netflix phenomena are on their way.
First, according to reports by the state-owned news agency Tass, the Russian government banned crypto mining in ten regions for six years. Russia has cited the industry’s high power consumption rates as the primary reason behind the ban. Crypto mining operations already account for nearly 2.5 percent of US energy use. The Russian ban takes effect on January 1 and lasts until March 15, 2031. The currency has only been fully legal in Russia since November.
— Mat Smith
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No, I don’t know what cliffhanger shenanigans wrapped up season 2 (it just came out!), but you won’t have to wait too long to see how it all concludes. The Netflix-owned blog Tudum announced that the South Korean drama will return for its third and final season next year.
After a bumper year in 2023, the last 12 months still offered plenty of amazing new releases. Whether you love a good indie or a big-budget production, there was something for you. And don’t worry: we shifted our Balatro essays into their own dedicated story.
The latest high-tech lamp from LG pulls double-duty as a plant pot. LG says the lamp with a circular lampshade shines LEDs in five different intensities on whichever plants you want to grow. Then, at night, the lights fire upwards to create cozy mood lighting. The taller, standing lamp can hold up to 20 plants at a time and you don't need to worry about watering. There's a 1.5-gallon tank built into the base of the lamp.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121507411.html?src=rss
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There is now a genetic excuse not to bother cutting carbs. Humans have genetically adapted to eating starchy foods, and our ancestors may have been carb-ivores even before modern Homo sapiens emerged.
The salivary amylase gene, known as AMY1, is already known to have helped us adapt to eating carbs. It encodes amylase, an enzyme that breaks starches found in pasta and bread down to glucose—and may have given us a taste preference for them. Humans have multiple copies of the gene, which may help us produce high levels of the enzyme.
Researchers from the University of Buffalo and the Jackson Laboratory have now found that, while most copies of this gene arose with the advent of farming, modern humans and our closest relatives had accumulated extra copies long before agriculture.
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The common charging standard brings USB PD support, improved labelling, and less e-waste.
Panama, Republic of Panama, 27th December 2024, Chainwire
The post Sentient AI Secures $1.5M Raise, Prepares AI Agent Launchpad on Sui first appeared on Tech Startups.
More than 18,500 games will have been released onto the PC gaming platform Steam in the year 2024, according to SteamDB. Dividing that by the number of people covering games at Ars, or the gaming press at large, or even everybody who games and writes about it online, yields a brutal ratio.
Games often float down the river of time to us, filtered by friends, algorithms, or pure happenstance. They don't qualify for our best games of the year list, but they might be worth mentioning on their own. Many times, they're better games then they were at release, either by patching or just perspective. And they are almost always lower priced.
Inspired by the cruel logic of calendars and year-end lists, I asked my coworkers to tell me about their favorite games of 2024 that were not from 2024. What resulted were some quirky gems, some reconsiderations, and some titles that just happened to catch us at the right time.
© Aurich Lawson
Whether you’re playing on the original Nintendo Switch, the sleek handheld-only Switch Lite or the upgraded OLED model with its stunning display, you’re in for a gaming experience that’s versatile, immersive and downright fun. The beauty of the Switch lineup is that, despite having different models, all games are compatible across the board. So no matter which version you own, you’ll have access to the entire library of games without worrying about what works on which console. This flexibility makes the Switch lineup ideal for both casual gamers and hardcore fans who love having the ability to access every title, whether they’re at home on the big screen or gaming on the go.
With such a vast and diverse game library, choosing the best games can feel a bit overwhelming. Nintendo has something for everyone — from epic action adventures and thrilling multiplayer battles to relaxing life sims and nostalgic platformers that bring back memories of classic gaming days. Whether you’re looking to dive into sprawling RPGs, conquer puzzles or enjoy a bit of friendly competition, the Switch has you covered.
Check out our entire Best Games series including the best Nintendo Switch games, the best PS5 games, the best Xbox games, the best PC games and the best free games you can play today.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/best-nintendo-switch-games-160029843.html?src=rss
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© Kris Naudus / Engadget
It’s been a long year. And there’s a lot to keep straight — what do industry acronyms stand for? How does that affect strategies? With our WTF series, we aim to breakdown what these complex topics mean, so the industry can walk into their meetings prepared for whatever’s next. Catch up below on some of our most popular WTF explainers this year.
(Here’s what resonated in 2023).
The concept of principal media — in which agencies invest in media at non-disclosed prices to resell to clients — was on the rise this year. It became widespread enough that the ANA published a report on it for marketers. Read our explainer here.
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This year was the year many publishers took formalized stances on AI companies, many of which resulted in deals between the two.
The wave was first kicked off by an agreement between the Associated Press and OpenAI in July 2023, then followed by another deal between OpenAI and Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt owner Axel Springer.
The deals are usually content licensing agreements, where publishers let the AI companies use their content to train the large language models (often including paywalled content). In exchange, publishers get attribution for that content surfaced on the AI companies’ chatbot or search platforms, as well as access to technology that publishers can use to build AI-powered products and features.
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