Author: matthewephotography@yahoo.com
Sony has released a PS5 system update that includes new options for customizing the home screen. The just-announced Welcome Hub is essentially a blank canvas where users can place various widgets that display things like the console’s storage space, accessory battery levels, online friends, trophies, and more. It replaces the current Explore tab.These widgets can be resized and positioned in a variety of ways, adding another layer of customization. The background can also be changed, allowing players to choose animation effects and screenshots. This is still a far cry from the system-wide themes of the PS3/PS4 era (FYI), but it’s…
The White House released a statement today outlining efforts by several AI companies to curb the creation and distribution of image-based sexual abuse. Participating companies revealed the steps they are taking to prevent their platforms from being used to create Non-Consent Intimate Images of Adults (NCII) and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).Specifically, Adobe, Anthropic, Cohere, Common Crawl, Microsoft and OpenAI announced the following:All of the aforementioned, except for Common Crawl, agreed:”We will incorporate feedback loops and iterative stress-testing strategies into our development process to prevent our AI models from outputting image-based sexual abuse content.”And, where appropriate, “remove nudity from our…
One of the most popular New Mutants in X-Men history, the soul sword-wielding, magic-casting mutant will be getting her own serialized series starting this January: X-Men: Blood Hunt – Written by Magik creator Ashley Allen and illustrated by popular artist Germán Peralta, there’s a lot fans can expect from not only her series, but also the design of Magik’s demonic Darkchild. “I’m so excited to return to writing Illyana!” said Allen. “Supernatural stories with kind-hearted characters are my favorite, so writing this series has been a dream come true! I can’t wait for readers to join Magik on her demon-slaying…
OpenAI has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, o1, which the company says can perform complex inference tasks more efficiently than its predecessors. The announcement comes as OpenAI faces an intensifying race to develop more sophisticated AI systems.OpenAI explains on its website that O1 was trained to “increase the amount of thought time it takes before answering a question, just like humans do. Through training,[the model]refines its thought processes, tries different strategies, and learns to recognize mistakes.” OpenAI envisions the new model being used by medical researchers to annotate cell sequence data, by physicists to generate mathematical formulas, and by…
A disturbing report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) expresses serious concerns about the future of America’s space exploration agency.The NASEM report was written by a committee of aerospace experts and describes a possible “empty future” for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The report cited the issue of underfunding due to a “declining national emphasis on aviation and civil space,” a claim that NASA itself is aware of and agrees with. The report also notes that NASA’s problems go beyond having enough money to carry out its mission and operations.Some of the report’s “key…
Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio is a unique exploration of art and story around one of the most famous works of Gothic horror. The extensive illustrations and accompanying text create a storytelling experience that goes beyond typical art book expectations with a powerful combination of illustration and prose. New York Times bestselling author and artist Williams III has created a fantastical, engrossing reinterpretation that adds even more depth to Bram Stoker’s original Dracula tale. PORTLAND, OR, September 12, 2024 — Image Comics is pleased to share a first look excerpt from the upcoming Dracula: Storybook Portfolio from Eisner and award-winning creator…
Apple (Apple)At Apple’s event on Monday, the company unveiled its latest iPhone series, including the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. If you’re thinking about upgrading to the latest model but aren’t sure what the differences are between the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro (besides price), we’re here to help you decide which one is right for you.Now that the iPhone 16 lineup has been officially announced and its extra features have been revealed, we know that all versions will run iOS 18 and will have access to Apple Intelligence features when they become available in…
Unity has scrapped the controversial fees it charged game developers, with the game engine maker saying it will focus on seat-based subscription fees (i.e. annual payments for each person who uses the software in a studio), but there will be price increases for Pro and Enterprise users.The company announced the runtime fees a year ago, initially planning to make developers pay a fee each time someone downloaded their game after a certain threshold was reached. The backlash was swift and fierce, with some industry insiders suggesting that it would make Unity unprofitable for indie developers. Many developers, some of whom…
Al Ewing and artist Ivan Coello pit father and son against each other after Eddie and Dylan Block have devastating visions of the future.The natural conclusion they both reach is that only one Venom will survive a conflict that will have ripple effects in the wider Marvel universe and involve other symbiotes.A master of plotting epic storylines, Ewing has been laying the groundwork for Venom War since the beginning of the current Venom series, an open-ended series that follows separate journeys of symbiote heroes Eddie Brock and his son Dylan, but when they catch a glimpse of a terrifying future,…
Apple’s recent iPhone event unveiled some nifty ideas, from a camera button to a reinvention of Google Lens. The company also announced that it’s introducing simple multi-track recording to Voice Memos. This was especially exciting for me because I use Voice Memos a lot. I have nearly 500 of these little recordings I’ve made over the life of my iPhone 14 Pro, with thousands more in the cloud. You never know when you’ll need that random song you hummed while waiting for the subway in 2013.So I felt like this feature was made for me. I write songs. I play…