Month: July 2024
After years of leniency, ULA cracks down on hobbyist photographers
“I’m just shocked they don’t want more coverage of these things and not less.”
Enlarge / This image of an Atlas V launch on Tuesday morning has been intentionally blurred. (credit: United Launch Alliance)
The emails from United Launch Alliance started popping into the inboxes of photographers a few days after the Fourth of July holiday. Although that day is meant to celebrate freedom and the red glare of rockets, the communication threatened to strip both from some of the company’s most ardent devotees.
The message from the launch company announced the implementation of a new “annual agreement” between ULA and all people who place remote cameras at Space Launch Complex-41, the company’s active launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Anyone interested in setting remotes for future launch dates had 11 days to review and sign the agreement.
The language was clear: Photographers were welcome to set up remote shots at ULA launches if they worked for the media or wanted to post their work on social media. However, photographers could not sell this work independently, including as prints for fellow enthusiasts or for use in annual calendars.
Amazon’s big-screen Kindle Scribe is more than $100 off right now
Amazon’s largest e-reader to date is also the only Kindle specifically built for taking notes. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
From AirPods to the Echo Pop, we’ve seen a handful of recent Prime Day standouts resurface as part of Best Buy’s latest sales event. The retailer’s current promo on Amazon devices also extends to the Kindle Scribe, which you can grab at Best Buy and Target with 16G of storage and a Basic Pen for an all-time low of $234.99 ($105 off). You can also buy it with the Premium Pen at Best Buy for $279.99 ($110 off).
If you’re someone who is already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, few note-taking ebook readers can rival the Kindle Scribe. It’s a great device with a sharp 10.2-inch display and battery life that’s on par with Amazon’s entry-level Kindle, allowing you to read uninterrupted for weeks at a time. Yet, unlike Amazon’s other e-readers, the Scribe offers decent note-taking capabilities via built-in notebooks, which provide multiple layouts, organizational tools, and pen styles for a more customized experience.
It’s a shame that the Scribe doesn’t allow you to annotate books directly like you can with the Kobo Elipsa 2E, which has become my favorite note-taking e-reader partly for that reason. But if your library consists of mainly Kindle ebooks, it’s still a good option with native support for Kindle books and the ability to take notes with select titles. Plus, since launching the Scribe, Amazon has added several new features via OTA updates — including the ability to convert handwriting into typed text — making it more capable than it was when we first reviewed it.
Read our original Kindle Scribe review.
Some more ways to save today
Now through August 11th, Nintendo is taking up to 50 percent off a range of multiplayer Nintendo Switch titles as part of its “Play Together” sale. If the 2024 Olympics has got you in the mood for sports games, you can save on both Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 ($23.99) and Nintendo Switch Sports ($27.99). You can also grab tactical roleplaying titles like Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes ($41.99) as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge ($16.19), which is essentially a modern take on the old-school beat-’em-ups that defined the ’90s.
Amazon’s latest Echo Show 8 has returned to its all-time low of $84.99 ($65 off) at Best Buy and Target. The responsive Alexa-enabled smart display delivers better sound than its last-gen predecessor and functions as a more helpful touchscreen controller with support for up to four widgets. It can also act as a Zigbee hub, a Matter controller, and a Thread border router, so you can control almost any smart gadget you own with ease. Read our review.
If you’re traveling internationally this summer, you can pick up the Epicka Universal Travel Adapter at Amazon for just $19.99 ($5 off), which matches its lowest price to date. Epicka’s all-in-one adapter sports a single USB-C port and four standard USB-A ports, letting you quickly charge a variety of electronics; it also works in more than 150 countries, from England and France to Japan and Argentina, making it suitable for almost anywhere.
Amazon’s largest e-reader to date is also the only Kindle specifically built for taking notes. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
From AirPods to the Echo Pop, we’ve seen a handful of recent Prime Day standouts resurface as part of Best Buy’s latest sales event. The retailer’s current promo on Amazon devices also extends to the Kindle Scribe, which you can grab at Best Buy and Target with 16G of storage and a Basic Pen for an all-time low of $234.99 ($105 off). You can also buy it with the Premium Pen at Best Buy for $279.99 ($110 off).
If you’re someone who is already embedded in Amazon’s ecosystem, few note-taking ebook readers can rival the Kindle Scribe. It’s a great device with a sharp 10.2-inch display and battery life that’s on par with Amazon’s entry-level Kindle, allowing you to read uninterrupted for weeks at a time. Yet, unlike Amazon’s other e-readers, the Scribe offers decent note-taking capabilities via built-in notebooks, which provide multiple layouts, organizational tools, and pen styles for a more customized experience.
It’s a shame that the Scribe doesn’t allow you to annotate books directly like you can with the Kobo Elipsa 2E, which has become my favorite note-taking e-reader partly for that reason. But if your library consists of mainly Kindle ebooks, it’s still a good option with native support for Kindle books and the ability to take notes with select titles. Plus, since launching the Scribe, Amazon has added several new features via OTA updates — including the ability to convert handwriting into typed text — making it more capable than it was when we first reviewed it.
Read our original Kindle Scribe review.
Some more ways to save today
Now through August 11th, Nintendo is taking up to 50 percent off a range of multiplayer Nintendo Switch titles as part of its “Play Together” sale. If the 2024 Olympics has got you in the mood for sports games, you can save on both Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 ($23.99) and Nintendo Switch Sports ($27.99). You can also grab tactical roleplaying titles like Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes ($41.99) as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge ($16.19), which is essentially a modern take on the old-school beat-’em-ups that defined the ’90s.
Amazon’s latest Echo Show 8 has returned to its all-time low of $84.99 ($65 off) at Best Buy and Target. The responsive Alexa-enabled smart display delivers better sound than its last-gen predecessor and functions as a more helpful touchscreen controller with support for up to four widgets. It can also act as a Zigbee hub, a Matter controller, and a Thread border router, so you can control almost any smart gadget you own with ease. Read our review.
If you’re traveling internationally this summer, you can pick up the Epicka Universal Travel Adapter at Amazon for just $19.99 ($5 off), which matches its lowest price to date. Epicka’s all-in-one adapter sports a single USB-C port and four standard USB-A ports, letting you quickly charge a variety of electronics; it also works in more than 150 countries, from England and France to Japan and Argentina, making it suitable for almost anywhere.
The Future of Science Publishing
A decade ago, the Gates Foundation announced it will cease covering open-access publishing costs for its grantees from 2025. This shift, following a decade of support for free access to research, sparked concerns in the scientific community. Experts fear the move could undermine the open-access model, which aims to make taxpayer-funded studies freely available. The decision also marked a significant change in the foundation’s approach to disseminating research findings, potentially impacting global access to critical scientific information. So where do we go from here? From a report: [The Gates Foundation] notes that open access in its current form has resulted in “some unsavory publishing practices,” including unchecked pricing from journals and publishers, questionable peer review, and paper mills — people or organizations that produce fake or subpar papers and sell authorship slots on them. “Last year was a really pivotal year in scholarly publishing since lots of people who were really pushing gold open access for many years are now thinking, ‘Oh, what beast have we created?'” says James Butcher, an independent publishing consultant in Liverpool, England, who writes the newsletter Journalology. “It plays into the hands of the big corporates because it’s all about scale.”
Gold OA creates incentives for journals to publish as many papers as possible to make more money. Some publishers, often referred to as gray OA publishers, have been criticized for exploiting the gold OA model to churn out high volumes of low-quality studies. Butcher says that because subscription- based publishers traditionally couldn’t increase revenues by publishing more papers, they tended to keep volumes fairly level. In contrast, Johan Rooryck, a French linguistics researcher at Leiden University and a proponent of open access, points to a “very rapid rise” in gold OA journals and papers in the past decade. The Gates Foundation is now suggesting that authors post online preprints of their author-accepted manuscripts — near-final versions of studies accepted by journals for publication before they are typeset or copyedited — and then publish in whichever journals they like.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
A decade ago, the Gates Foundation announced it will cease covering open-access publishing costs for its grantees from 2025. This shift, following a decade of support for free access to research, sparked concerns in the scientific community. Experts fear the move could undermine the open-access model, which aims to make taxpayer-funded studies freely available. The decision also marked a significant change in the foundation’s approach to disseminating research findings, potentially impacting global access to critical scientific information. So where do we go from here? From a report: [The Gates Foundation] notes that open access in its current form has resulted in “some unsavory publishing practices,” including unchecked pricing from journals and publishers, questionable peer review, and paper mills — people or organizations that produce fake or subpar papers and sell authorship slots on them. “Last year was a really pivotal year in scholarly publishing since lots of people who were really pushing gold open access for many years are now thinking, ‘Oh, what beast have we created?'” says James Butcher, an independent publishing consultant in Liverpool, England, who writes the newsletter Journalology. “It plays into the hands of the big corporates because it’s all about scale.”
Gold OA creates incentives for journals to publish as many papers as possible to make more money. Some publishers, often referred to as gray OA publishers, have been criticized for exploiting the gold OA model to churn out high volumes of low-quality studies. Butcher says that because subscription- based publishers traditionally couldn’t increase revenues by publishing more papers, they tended to keep volumes fairly level. In contrast, Johan Rooryck, a French linguistics researcher at Leiden University and a proponent of open access, points to a “very rapid rise” in gold OA journals and papers in the past decade. The Gates Foundation is now suggesting that authors post online preprints of their author-accepted manuscripts — near-final versions of studies accepted by journals for publication before they are typeset or copyedited — and then publish in whichever journals they like.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Tezi is building an AI agent for hiring managers
AI agents are all the rage right now, and Tezi, an early stage startup is working on one to help HR teams find the perfect candidates for a job opening. The startup claims this bot will sift through resumes to find the ones that match the hiring criteria, find time on the recruiter’s calendar to
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
AI agents are all the rage right now, and Tezi, an early stage startup is working on one to help HR teams find the perfect candidates for a job opening. The startup claims this bot will sift through resumes to find the ones that match the hiring criteria, find time on the recruiter’s calendar to […]
© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
This new AI-powered tool is about to make life easier for ecommerce websites built on Hostinger
Hostinger has launched a new tool that allows users to simply upload a product image and then let AI generate a title, subtitle, description, and label.
Hostinger, one of the best website builders, has just launched a new AI-powered tool that allows users to automatically create product descriptions by uploading a product image.
All users need to do is upload one or more images of the product they are selling and then hit the ‘Generate text’ button. The AI-Powered Product Information Generator will automatically analyze the image and suggest a title, subtitle, description, and label. You can then edit and refine the generated text to ensure it accurately represents the product and aligns with your brand.
Product description fatigue is a familiar fate for online store owners. Countless hours are spent uploading new products and trying to come up with creative and unique product descriptions for each one. It can be a significant drain on resources and costly to those who outsource the task. Hostinger’s new AI tool seeks to drastically reduce the time ecommerce businesses spend on undertaking these types of tasks.
Hostinger website builder AI tools
The new tool aims to help all users save time but will be especially useful to those who upload a high volume of products and for those looking to generate unique descriptions for products with multiple variations.
The AI-Powered Product Information Generator is the latest addition to Hostinger’s collection of AI-powered tools aimed at helping users build better websites faster than ever before. Other tools available on the platform include an AI writer, AI image generator, and AI heatmap. Hostinger also offers one of the best AI website builders on the market.
This latest addition follows an industry wide trend that sees the top website building platforms leverage AI technology to support users throughout their website building and management journey.
More from TechRadar Pro
Check out our list of the best small business website buildersRead our full Hostinger website builder review hereWix AI vs Hostinger AI website builder
Chimpzee Meme Coin Motivates People to Join Climate Fight with Passive Income Opportunities
Chimpzee is encouraging more people to fight climate change and protect animals while allowing them to earn passive income. The… Continue reading Chimpzee Meme Coin Motivates People to Join Climate Fight with Passive Income Opportunities
The post Chimpzee Meme Coin Motivates People to Join Climate Fight with Passive Income Opportunities appeared first on ReadWrite.
Chimpzee is encouraging more people to fight climate change and protect animals while allowing them to earn passive income.
The platform uses blockchain to create different income opportunities for members, including earning money by playing games, NFT trading, staking, and lots more.
The team has revealed that it will channel a certain portion of its profit towards conservation efforts.
Championing Environmental Causes
Chimpzee commits 10% of its token supply and a portion of its profits to organizations actively working to protect the planet. This gesture further shows the crypto platform’s passion for environmental sustainability.
Chimpzee has already done a lot to support different environmental projects. They recently donated to Hope with Paws, an organization that rescues and cares for animals.
They also gave $5,000 to the National Park Rescue organization to help stop poaching in Africa.
The crypto platform has also helped plant 5,000 trees in Tanzania through WeForest, which is helping to restore important forest areas. Chimpzee has also donated money to Rainforest Rescue to protect parts of the Australian rainforest, where land meets the ocean, and preserve the special plants and animals.
Chimpzee makes donation to Hope with Paws to help support the great work they are doing to help animals.
Here is a video they sent us of another rescue.https://t.co/pN6WRtaS0p
Chimpzee is here to help organizations big and small that are on a mission to help save the planet…
— Official Chimpzee Project (@RealChimpzee) July 16, 2024
Earning Opportunities
Chimpzee is incentivizing more people to partake in the climate fight and animal preservation by offering multiple streams of income within its ecosystem. These opportunities provide financial incentives and engage users in environmentally conscious activities.
Chimpzee’s merchandise shop will allow users to earn CHMPZ coins passively. A certain percentage of profits from these purchases goes to charity, aligning consumption with conservation.
The crypto project’s Zero Tolerance game will be a fun way to earn the CHMPZ token while fighting against poaching and cutting down forests. Players can use their NFT Passport or custom avatar to improve their gaming experience and earning potential.
Chimpzee’s NFT Marketplace will lead the way with its approach as it shares a portion of its trading fee with its users. The crypto platform’s eco-friendly NFTs will be placed on the main page, and all projects will be appropriately checked to reduce copying.
Staking Opportunities
Chimpzee offers two staking opportunities to motivate participation in climate action through passive income: CHMPZ token staking and NFT Passport staking.
CHMPZ token staking allows users to earn up to 40% APY. Thus, The potential profit increases with the amount staked:
1,000 CHMPZ to earn 5% APY
10,000 CHMPZ to earn 10% APY
100,000 CHMPZ to earn 15% APY
1,000,000 CHMPZ to earn 30% APY
10,000,000 CHMPZ to earn 40% APY
NFT Passport staking lets users earn between 10% and 20% profit yearly. The profit is determined by the NFT passport they are holding. These are in 4 types::
Bronze Passport holders earn 10% APY
Silver Passport holders earn 15% APY
Gold Passport holders earn 18% APY
Diamond Passport holders earn 20% APY
The higher-level Passports earn more interest, which encourages more people to upgrade their Passport level and become more engaged with the platform.
Users can do both the token staking and the NFT Passport staking simultaneously, which allows them to earn the most money and supports Chimpzee’s work to help the environment.
Bonus Opportunity
Chimpzee has added giveaway opportunities to get more people involved. The project will reward Passport holders with prizes of up to $10,000 USDT in an exclusive NFT promotion. The breakdown of the giveaway is in this order.
$10,000 USDT each for 2 winners with any NFT passport
$5,000 USDT for 1 winner with a Diamond passport
$2,500 USDT each for 2 winners with a Gold Passport
$1,000 USDT each for 3 winners with a Silver Passport
$500 USDT each for 4 winners with a Bronze passport
There are also 20 prizes of $250 USDT each available to any NFT passport holder.
The Ripple Effect
Chimpzee’s approach creates a positive cycle: As more people come to the platform for the chance to earn money, more resources go towards environmental causes.
This, in turn, makes the platform’s impact even stronger and attracts more people who care about the environment.
The crypto platform is transparent, which helps it achieve its mission. It regularly shares updates on donations and conservation efforts, and this helps it build trust with its community while showing the real-world impact of its participation.
JOIN CHIMPZEE COMMUNITY NOW
The post Chimpzee Meme Coin Motivates People to Join Climate Fight with Passive Income Opportunities appeared first on ReadWrite.
All Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters we know so far
Since Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is set in the famous Wizarding World, full of a variety of personalities, there are… Continue reading All Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters we know so far
The post All Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters we know so far appeared first on ReadWrite.
Since Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions is set in the famous Wizarding World, full of a variety of personalities, there are a lot of potential characters that could be available in the game.
This is compounded by the fact that in terms of timeline, it’ll be when Harry Potter and the gang are attending Hogwarts, making fan-favorites a real potential.
Here, we’ll reveal all of the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters so you know the roster before picking your go to.
Who are the Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters?
There are five playable characters that have been announced thanks to the latest trailer and official screenshots for the game.
This short list includes all the famous franchise faces you know and love so if you’ve read any of the books or watched the movies, you’ll definitely be happy.
Here is the complete list of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters we know so far:
Harry Potter
Ron Weasley
Ginny Weasley
Fred/George Weasley
Draco Malfoy
Cho Chang
Custom Character
As for when you’ll be able to play as these characters is yet to be seen.
Since there are various modes in the game, some characters may be restricted to certain ones, which could leave you a bit disappointed.
However, it would make sense to only have your Custom Character as a choice in the single player career mode for example, since this is centered around your climb to become the Quidditch world champion.
In the more online focused modes though, it may be fair game, with everyone you have unlocked ready for picking.
As we get closer to the release of Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, we expect to gain more insight into what characters will be added to the list but sadly it is just a waiting game.
Other Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions articles you may like
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Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions release date and more
The post All Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions playable characters we know so far appeared first on ReadWrite.
Uber partners with BYD to bring 100,000 EVs to its global ride-hailing fleet
Uber and Chinese automaker BYD announced on Wednesday a multi-year partnership aimed at integrating BYD’s electric vehicles (EVs) into Uber’s ride-hailing platform worldwide. As part of the partnership, Uber plans to deploy 100,000 BYD electric cars on its ride-hailing platform,
The post Uber partners with BYD to bring 100,000 EVs to its global ride-hailing fleet first appeared on Tech Startups.
Uber and Chinese automaker BYD announced on Wednesday a multi-year partnership aimed at integrating BYD’s electric vehicles (EVs) into Uber’s ride-hailing platform worldwide. As part of the partnership, Uber plans to deploy 100,000 BYD electric cars on its ride-hailing platform, […]
The post Uber partners with BYD to bring 100,000 EVs to its global ride-hailing fleet first appeared on Tech Startups.