Month: February 2023
‘Take It Down:’ a tool for teens to remove explicit images
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submitted by /u/thebelsnickle1991
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Deals: Apple’s 512GB M2 MacBook Air Discounted to $1,299.99 on Amazon ($199 Off)
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air (512GB) has dropped to $1,299.99 on Amazon, down from $1,499.00. This sale is available in Starlight and Silver, and right now only Amazon has this price on the 2022 MacBook Air.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This is one of the best prices that we’ve tracked so far in 2023 on the MacBook Air, and it’s an overall second-best price on the notebook compared to holiday sales. Amazon estimates a March 3 delivery date for most United States residences.
$199 OFFM2 MacBook Air (512GB) for $1,299.99
This version of the MacBook Air launched in June 2022 with a complete redesign compared to the previous generation, featuring an updated chassis, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, and Apple’s M2 chip. Apple also sells a 256GB model but we currently aren’t tracking any deals on this version.
You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you’re shopping for a new Apple notebook. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains as well.Related Roundup: Apple Deals
This article, “Deals: Apple’s 512GB M2 MacBook Air Discounted to $1,299.99 on Amazon ($199 Off)” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple’s M2 MacBook Air (512GB) has dropped to $1,299.99 on Amazon, down from $1,499.00. This sale is available in Starlight and Silver, and right now only Amazon has this price on the 2022 MacBook Air.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This is one of the best prices that we’ve tracked so far in 2023 on the MacBook Air, and it’s an overall second-best price on the notebook compared to holiday sales. Amazon estimates a March 3 delivery date for most United States residences.
This version of the MacBook Air launched in June 2022 with a complete redesign compared to the previous generation, featuring an updated chassis, 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, and Apple’s M2 chip. Apple also sells a 256GB model but we currently aren’t tracking any deals on this version.
You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you’re shopping for a new Apple notebook. Our full Deals Roundup has more information on the latest Apple-related sales and bargains as well.
This article, “Deals: Apple’s 512GB M2 MacBook Air Discounted to $1,299.99 on Amazon ($199 Off)” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums
‘Forspoken’ studio Luminous Productions will be folded into Square Enix
Luminous Productions, the studio behind Forspoken, will soon close shop. Its team will be folded back into parent company Square Enix and tasked with working on other projects. The publisher set up the studio, which included the developers behind Final Fantasy XV, in 2018 to work on new franchises, but Forspoken was its only game as a standalone studio.
In a statement, Luminous said that its team will move back directly under Square Enix’s umbrella starting on May 1st. In the meantime, the developers will continue to work on an update to address Forspoken’s performance issues, as well as an expansion that’s slated to arrive this summer.
“When we established Luminous Productions in 2018, our vision was to make AAA games that fused technology and artistry to deliver completely new play experiences,” Luminous wrote on Twitter. “Having the chance to do just that has been a dream come true.”
An Update from Luminous Productions pic.twitter.com/fbDENflRhj— Luminous Productions (@LumiPro_EN) February 28, 2023
In a statement of its own, Square Enix said it’s absorbing the Luminous team as “part of the company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the group’s development studios, a goal set forth under its current medium-term business strategy.” It added that Luminous is “equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.”
This is hardly the first time that Square Enix has taken swift action against its studios after projects failed to meet expectations. Last year, it sold off three Western studios — Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal — as well as franchises like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex to Embracer Group for a relatively small price of $300 million. The move came after the likes of Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy (which didn’t sell well enough despite strong reviews) didn’t sell as well as Square Enix hoped.
Forspoken is one of the highest-profile games of the year to date. However, Square Enix released it in January to a so-so reception from critics. It’s not yet clear how well the game has performed commercially.
Steam data indicated that Hi-Fi Rush, a game from Ghostwire: Tokyo studio Tango Gameworks that was announced and released on the same day, outperformed Forspoken in their first week of release on the platform. That’s despite Hi-Fi Rush being available on Game Pass and costing $30 versus the $70 Square Enix charged for Forspoken. In fairness, the data only takes into account sales on Steam from the same week, not preorders or purchases from Steam key sellers.
In any case, that’s not a great look for Luminous or Forspoken. Square Enix gobbling up the team spells disappointing news for any fans of Forspoken who were hoping for a sequel. Meanwhile, Luminous used a proprietary engine to create Final Fantasy XV and Forspoken. It’s not clear what the future holds for the Luminous Engine after the merger either. Whatever happens, here’s hoping the folks from Luminous aren’t stuck working on Square Enix’s NFT nonsense.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/forspoken-studio-luminous-productions-will-be-folded-into-square-enix-153805323.html?src=rss
Luminous Productions, the studio behind Forspoken, will soon close shop. Its team will be folded back into parent company Square Enix and tasked with working on other projects. The publisher set up the studio, which included the developers behind Final Fantasy XV, in 2018 to work on new franchises, but Forspoken was its only game as a standalone studio.
In a statement, Luminous said that its team will move back directly under Square Enix’s umbrella starting on May 1st. In the meantime, the developers will continue to work on an update to address Forspoken‘s performance issues, as well as an expansion that’s slated to arrive this summer.
“When we established Luminous Productions in 2018, our vision was to make AAA games that fused technology and artistry to deliver completely new play experiences,” Luminous wrote on Twitter. “Having the chance to do just that has been a dream come true.”
An Update from Luminous Productions pic.twitter.com/fbDENflRhj
— Luminous Productions (@LumiPro_EN) February 28, 2023
In a statement of its own, Square Enix said it’s absorbing the Luminous team as “part of the company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the group’s development studios, a goal set forth under its current medium-term business strategy.” It added that Luminous is “equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.”
This is hardly the first time that Square Enix has taken swift action against its studios after projects failed to meet expectations. Last year, it sold off three Western studios — Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal — as well as franchises like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex to Embracer Group for a relatively small price of $300 million. The move came after the likes of Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy (which didn’t sell well enough despite strong reviews) didn’t sell as well as Square Enix hoped.
Forspoken is one of the highest-profile games of the year to date. However, Square Enix released it in January to a so-so reception from critics. It’s not yet clear how well the game has performed commercially.
Steam data indicated that Hi-Fi Rush, a game from Ghostwire: Tokyo studio Tango Gameworks that was announced and released on the same day, outperformed Forspoken in their first week of release on the platform. That’s despite Hi-Fi Rush being available on Game Pass and costing $30 versus the $70 Square Enix charged for Forspoken. In fairness, the data only takes into account sales on Steam from the same week, not preorders or purchases from Steam key sellers.
In any case, that’s not a great look for Luminous or Forspoken. Square Enix gobbling up the team spells disappointing news for any fans of Forspoken who were hoping for a sequel. Meanwhile, Luminous used a proprietary engine to create Final Fantasy XV and Forspoken. It’s not clear what the future holds for the Luminous Engine after the merger either. Whatever happens, here’s hoping the folks from Luminous aren’t stuck working on Square Enix’s NFT nonsense.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/forspoken-studio-luminous-productions-will-be-folded-into-square-enix-153805323.html?src=rss
Archetype wants to help developers build a metered API billing solution
When developers are building software with API access, they need to figure out how to bill users fairly for hitting the API gateway. A flat fee probably wouldn’t cover the heavy users and would be unfair to the lighter ones. Archetype, an early stage startup, has created a metering solution, so developers can bill on
Archetype wants to help developers build a metered API billing solution by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch
When developers are building software with API access, they need to figure out how to bill users fairly for hitting the API gateway. A flat fee probably wouldn’t cover the heavy users and would be unfair to the lighter ones. Archetype, an early stage startup, has created a metering solution, so developers can bill on a usage basis.
Today the company announced a $3.1 million seed investment to get the company off the ground. The funding closed in May last year.
“What we’re doing at Archetype is we are building an API billing platform. So essentially, what we’re doing is we’re building a billing metering and control structure for API-first companies,” company co-founder Behailu Tekletsadi said.
Tekletsadik says that his solution relies on Stripe’s services to give developers a full-service metering solution. “We’re built on top of Stripe to enable easy integration through their back-end services and some front-end portals to enable API-first companies to launch self-serve products and monetize their platforms.”
This could include usage-based pricing, issuing usage limits or rate restrictions. He says that all of that is bundled into one, “batteries included service.”
It works much like any API service – it’s just a line of code and you can configure the different elements through a dashboard. You can also set it up using the Archetype component library for an external customer.
“If you wanted to deploy a self-service [element] like deploying prices automatically to your end customer, you can actually leverage our component library and basically just dynamically update anything there. And your customers can view their insights, usage stats and manage their subscription through our customer portal,” he said.
It’s still early for the product with the company still piloting the solution with a few customers using it. Currently, the startup has 8 employees, and has just hired a couple of engineers. Tekletsadik, who is Black, says he has built a diverse team so far, even though it wasn’t necessarily intentional.
“I always try to strive for excellence first, and see if [the candidate] also brings any cultural shift [to the company]. I think one of the first things I learned early on in my career is that it’s good to have people with different backgrounds and different experiences.They can challenge you implicitly on some of the things that you might think are normal, that might not be right,” he said.
The company’s seed round was led by MaC Venture Capital with participation from Hustle Fund, Magic Fund, NOMO Ventures, Soma Capital and other investors.
Archetype wants to help developers build a metered API billing solution by Ron Miller originally published on TechCrunch
Crypto payment startup FLUUS raises $600,000 in Pre-Seed funding ahead of its beta launch
Crypto payment startup FLUUS has closed a $600,000 pre-seed round to further develop these products and roll out FLUUS’ services, bringing crypto-fiat payments to a global audience. The round, which comes ahead of its beta launch, was backed by FHS Capital,
Crypto payment startup FLUUS has closed a $600,000 pre-seed round to further develop these products and roll out FLUUS’ services, bringing crypto-fiat payments to a global audience. The round, which comes ahead of its beta launch, was backed by FHS Capital, […]
Meet the space billionaire who is interested in something other than rockets
Vast’s acquisition of Launcher shows that Jed McCaleb is serious about this space thing.
Enlarge / An artist’s concept of a Vast space station with artificial gravity. (credit: Vast)
There’s a new space billionaire, and this one is not interested in launching rockets. His name is Jed McCaleb, a US software developer who made his fortune in blockchain development and cryptocurrency. With an acquisition last week of a small space company named Launcher, McCaleb has shown he is serious about building a space station in low-Earth orbit.
McCaleb’s space habitation company, Vast, emerged publicly last fall with a plan to build space stations that featured artificial gravity. This was significant because NASA and most other space agencies around the world have devoted little time to developing systems for artificial gravity in space, which may be important for long-term human habitation due to the deleterious effects of microgravity experienced by astronauts on the International Space Station. Vast boasted three technical advisers who were major players in the success of SpaceX—Hans Koenigsmann, Will Heltsley, and Yang Li—but did not offer too much information about its plans.
Now it seems clear that McCaleb is genuinely interested in making a run at this. An early pioneer in blockchain technology, McCaleb created Mt. Gox, the first major Bitcoin exchange. He is estimated by Forbes to be worth $2.5 billion and has vowed to invest at least $300 million into Vast Space as it seeks to develop space stations.
VCs and founders are finding life easy in the Big Easy
TechCrunch spoke to founders and investors in New Orleans for a vibe check: How is the city emerging as a tech hub?
VCs and founders are finding life easy in the Big Easy by Dominic-Madori Davis originally published on TechCrunch
The good times are starting to roll in the New Orleans startup ecosystem.
TechCrunch spoke to local founders and investors for a vibe check: How is the city emerging as a tech hub? A flood of both founders and capital is entering the market; that, coupled with tax and business incentives to keep them there, makes NOLA an attractive place to start a business.
The city minted its first unicorn in 2021 when software company Lucid sold for $1.1 billion to Swedish tech firm Cint Group. That same year, Shutterstock acquired the animation studio TurboSquid for $75 million, and Procore Technologies acquired NOLA-based software construction company Levelset for $500 million.
Of course, there are a few issues NOLA must overcome for it to be a true tech hub, founders and VCs told TechCrunch: There’s a lack of technical talent, making it hard to find local people to hire. And although money has been flowing in, the city needs more capital to keep up.
VCs and founders are finding life easy in the Big Easy by Dominic-Madori Davis originally published on TechCrunch
Ahead of the Oscars, AMC Promises Movie Theater Popcorn at Home – CNET
The movie theater company is launching a line of ready-to-eat and microwaveable popcorn at Walmart stores.
The movie theater company is launching a line of ready-to-eat and microwaveable popcorn at Walmart stores.
Redmi’s latest 300W charging feat powers your phone in under five minutes
Image: Redmi
Redmi’s fast-charging technology just got even more ridiculous. In this post on Weibo, the Xiaomi-owned phone maker shows off its new 300W fast-charging technology that can power up a phone in just five minutes flat, as spotted earlier by Android Authority.
If you don’t believe it, you can see it here for yourself. Redmi hooks up a modified version of its Note 12 Discovery Edition, which comes equipped with a 4,100mAh battery instead of a 4,300mAh one, to its superfast charger.
The dual GaN device manages to charge half of the phone’s battery in just a little over two minutes, and by the time the five minutes are up, it reaches 100 percent. That’s barely enough time to finish eating your breakfast cereal or even unload your dishwasher.
Although Redmi touts its charger as capable of charging up to 300W, it only hits about 290W during the charging process. That’s a pretty impressive feat regardless and beats the company’s previous record of charging the Note 12 Discovery Edition in nine minutes at 240W.
It also tops the speeds from Chinese phone maker Realme, which demoed its fast-charging technology earlier this month that can juice up its new GT Neo 5 in under 10 minutes. Other Chinese phone companies, including OnePlus, have taken a stab at making ultrafast charging the standard but still fall short of Redmi’s latest charging times. But hey, at least the OnePlus 10T’s available in the US and can reach a full charge in about 20 minutes.
We don’t know whether Redmi will bring this technology to one of its smartphones, but it seems like a possibility. After all, if it added the nine-minute charging feature to its Note 12 Discovery Edition it released in China, what’s stopping it from making even faster speeds available to customers in the future?
Image: Redmi
Redmi’s fast-charging technology just got even more ridiculous. In this post on Weibo, the Xiaomi-owned phone maker shows off its new 300W fast-charging technology that can power up a phone in just five minutes flat, as spotted earlier by Android Authority.
If you don’t believe it, you can see it here for yourself. Redmi hooks up a modified version of its Note 12 Discovery Edition, which comes equipped with a 4,100mAh battery instead of a 4,300mAh one, to its superfast charger.
The dual GaN device manages to charge half of the phone’s battery in just a little over two minutes, and by the time the five minutes are up, it reaches 100 percent. That’s barely enough time to finish eating your breakfast cereal or even unload your dishwasher.
Although Redmi touts its charger as capable of charging up to 300W, it only hits about 290W during the charging process. That’s a pretty impressive feat regardless and beats the company’s previous record of charging the Note 12 Discovery Edition in nine minutes at 240W.
It also tops the speeds from Chinese phone maker Realme, which demoed its fast-charging technology earlier this month that can juice up its new GT Neo 5 in under 10 minutes. Other Chinese phone companies, including OnePlus, have taken a stab at making ultrafast charging the standard but still fall short of Redmi’s latest charging times. But hey, at least the OnePlus 10T’s available in the US and can reach a full charge in about 20 minutes.
We don’t know whether Redmi will bring this technology to one of its smartphones, but it seems like a possibility. After all, if it added the nine-minute charging feature to its Note 12 Discovery Edition it released in China, what’s stopping it from making even faster speeds available to customers in the future?