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Home security isn’t something to be taken lightly. Outfitting your residence with indoor and outdoor cameras and sensors can be a totally DIY process, and smart ecosystems like Google Home make it easy to monitor and control all your surveillance tech. Most cams even offer cloud storage for motion-triggered event recordings, including Google’s entire Nest lineup. Unfortunately, there’s a monthly subscription attached to cloud backup, and plans start at $10 per month (for Google Home Premium). Also, we hate to break the news, but there isn’t a single Nest-branded camera or video doorbell that supports offline storage.
When it comes to personal security, we’re all about investing in one specific brand for hardware and services. But sometimes when you try to keep things under a first-party umbrella, you wind up paying more and missing out on features that are important to you; and not having local storage can be a big miss for a family that doesn’t want to offload data to Big Tech, even if it is encrypted. Luckily, there are just as many third-party security cameras on the market that a.) do offer local storage — whether by way of a microSD slot or a network-attached storage hub — and b.) are compatible with Google Home.
There are other benefits to keeping things third-party, too; depending on the brand, you could end up paying a lower upfront cost for the actual cameras. You could also avoid losing out on features that another company might lock behind a membership paywall (e.g., intelligent alerts or 24/7 monitoring). It’s your money and security; you may as well get exactly what you want or need.
Nest isn’t the only camera brand for Google Home households, and third-party pricing might be cheaper
Joni Hanebutt/Shutterstock
There are several reliable manufacturers that produce Google Home-ready security devices. Brands like Eufy (Anker’s smart home sub-label) offer a number of cameras with local storage, such as the Eufy Security 4K Indoor Camera E30. You can purchase a single cam for $70, or a combo for $130, and both SKUs support two offline storage options: microSD or local transfers to a HomeBase S380 (sold separately). The latter is particularly appealing, as Eufy’s in-house NAS offers up to 16 TB of storage; that’s potentially enough data for both cams to continuously record for up to three to four months.
We’d also like to recommend the Reolink E1 Pro, another motion-tracking cam that includes a microSD slot (supports up to 512 GB). The E1 Pro can also be interfaced with the Reolink NVR, Home Hub or Home Hub Pro, and FTP or NAS transfers. After setting up both the Eufy and Reolink systems, you’ll be able to add them to Google Home, too. Do keep in mind that as far as prompts go, you’ll need to use a smart speaker or the Google Home app to issue voice commands (camera microphones are only used for two-way audio).
Offline storage can make a DIY surveillance project feel all the more DIY; no one’s got their mitts on your footage, and you and yours alone (and whomever else you grant access to) are the only individuals who can see it. Keeping things close is the way to go, and local storage is the way to do it.
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Things are tough out there, especially if you’re looking to build a gaming PC. Having built PCs for over twenty years, I’ll be the first to tell you that now is not the time to get into the high-end gaming space. Things are so bad that some people have resorted to making their own RAM at home.
Even building a budget gaming PC can be problematic, as I recently faced the question of whether to spend money upgrading my CPU or GPU in a build. And consoles aren’t much better, with consumer-unfriendly practices and continually rising costs years after launch. But don’t lose hope, as budget options exist, including building retro gaming machines.
People are using affordable parts that aren’t heavily affected by RAM, storage, and price increases to build retro gaming rigs that are surprisingly powerful. You can build something for a few hundred dollars that can play all your retro games through emulation and modern eSports titles, while handling native PC games from around 2020 and prior without much trouble. With some tweaking, even some modern titles can run on lower settings.
Building a retro gaming PC is more affordable
Stenko Vlad/Shutterstock
To make this work, you’ll need to look on the secondhand market for some items. I’d also avoid used CPUs, as they can easily be damaged in shipping. Avoid used memory too, since bad RAM can be hard to diagnose and can cause system instability.
I’d start with an ASRock B550M, a motherboard in the machine I’m currently using. It’s regularly $70, making it a pretty affordable option for a budget build. This is an AM4-based motherboard, so you’ll want an AMD CPU; the board supports up to the Ryzen 5000 series. Pairing this motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a solid choice, and you can usually find it on Amazon for around $80, which keeps the build budget-friendly.
As for memory, you’ll be limited to DDR4 RAM. A stick of 8GB should be enough for older titles, and the DIGIERA 8GB DDR4 Memory Module is your best bet. It’s regularly $50, but it often goes on sale for less. And you won’t find a better deal on RAM right now unless you go the used route.
A budget build gives you room to grow
DC Studio/Shutterstock
Another option is buying laptop RAM. This might sound strange, as laptop memory is half the size of PC memory, but there’s an ingenious way around it. You can buy a Laptop SODIMM RAM Adapter Card that converts the format, letting you slot a laptop RAM stick into your PC. But be aware that support options may be limited.
As for the graphics card, you have some options. For the true budget build, the 8GB Radeon WX 5100 is an option, found online for around $80, but as low as $50 if you shop around. For something more powerful, the Radeon RX 6600 is a great mid-range choice, used for around $200 to $250. For more modern, demanding titles, the Intel ARC B580 is a solid option with its 12GB of RAM.
Nielsen’s TV viewing trend aggregator The Gauge indicates that nearly half of American television viewers flock to streaming as their primary media intake outlet. In that sphere, services like Netflix, Disney Plus, or even Amazon’s Prime Video may be the first that’d come to mind as the most likely outlets to take the cake as the most popular streaming platform.
It seems more people are watching content like video essays, let’s plays, and short-form videos as their go-to entertainment medium today. The Gauge reported in July 2026 that YouTube’s main app was the most-viewed streaming service on the scene. There’s little competition between the video-sharing platform, of which 14.2% of Americans primarily choose for their entertainment needs, and competitors like Netflix, which sits in second place at 7.8%. YouTube usurped the throne as the king of streaming in February 2025, and has firmly retained its title ever since. The last entity that held the designation was The Walt Disney Company, which owns and operates an army of entertainment brands including Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus. Given YouTube’s major lead over its rivals, the company doesn’t seem likely to budge from its top spot anytime soon, even if it’s cramming in ads and making your TV experience worse on purpose.
YouTube stands out from other streaming services
Azulblue/Shutterstock
YouTube’s recent dominance over other streaming services may be due, in part, to the increased social interactivity and engagement opportunities. Production company Early Light Media pointed out that the video platform, unlike rivals like Netflix or Disney Plus, features social media aspects such as commenting, sharing, and liking that give it a pivotal advantage other services lack in a social network-driven society. It’s also free to upload and watch videos on YouTube, thus providing a major draw over its subscription-driven adversaries. The company’s paid tier, YouTube Premium, is a relatively affordable tradeoff for features like ad-free viewing, access to YouTube Music, and background listening.
The overwhelming anxiety of choice presented by other services’ seemingly endless libraries could also prompt some viewers to pick YouTube’s free service instead. “It seems like many people have gone from not knowing what to watch on Netflix to just turning on YouTube,” one Reddit user wrote. Others appreciate how you can log into YouTube from pretty much anywhere, whereas services like Netflix require users to access the app from their main household. Thus, it makes for an easily accessible entertainment source whenever you’re on the road or in a public space.
When IndyCar announced its updated driver licensing requirements for 2027 – raising the bar for feeder series entrants and putting a tighter leash on pure “pay drivers” – there was a sense of gratification that the sport was pushing toward a higher level of integrity. For years, deep pockets routinely bought seats for drivers with subpar credentials – placing them directly into 750-plus-horsepower Indy cars navigating the unforgiving concrete canyons of St. Petersburg or the lethal speeds of the Indianapolis 500.
The new rules, revealed last month, establish clearer benchmarks on paper, requiring at least 12 Indy NXT starts, top-three championship finishes, or multiple race wins over a two-year span to earn automatic “Competitively Qualified” status. It sounded like IndyCar finally erected a proper wall. In practice, however, the updated framework is less of a fortress and more of a turnstile – leaving critical backdoors wide open and continuing to rely on subjective discretion where rigid objective standards are desperately needed.
The core vulnerability of the system lies in its refusal to commit to an absolute, unyielding standard. Under the updated guidelines, if a driver fails to meet the published performance criteria, they simply slide into the “Resume Review Required” category – a discretionary route that allows series officials to evaluate non-qualifying drivers case-by-case and grant eligibility through private evaluations. While flexibility is understandable when scouting unconventional international talent, it ultimately gives the series administrative cover to wave well-funded drivers right through the gate.
Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
Photo by: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
When IndyCar unveiled its updated protocols last month – around the same time rumors began circulating that Josh Pierson was a prime candidate to land at AJ Foyt Racing – members of the paddock immediately labeled the framework “the Josh Pierson Rule.” They saw it for what it was: a back-door off-ramp designed to keep well-funded drivers in play despite underwhelming junior records. This week, we watched that scenario unfold precisely as scripted. After a series-supervised evaluation test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Pierson was promptly cleared for competition. His Indy NXT record – capped by sixth- and eleventh-place championship finishes across the last two seasons alongside a solitary win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – was far from the standard required for automatic clearance.
Yet, armed with multi-million-dollar backing – rumored to be around $25 million for two years – and a seat waiting at Foyt, Pierson satisfied basic pace and control metrics under the eyes of series officials and former driver Davey Hamilton, making his approval a foregone conclusion. His swift sign-off confirms what the paddock knew from the start: the review process functions as a workaround, not a filter.
The situation immediately invites a deeper comparison to Kyffin Simpson, whose path to IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing was widely cited when discussions around stricter entry standards began. While Simpson came up through Indy NXT with ninth- and 10th-place championship finishes, his broader resume carried genuine weight: he was securing poles and podiums in his second NXT season, had captured the Formula Regional Americas Championship, and captured a European Le Mans Series title in 2023 on the back of two wins and five podiums.
Pierson, by contrast, presents a far lighter statistical record. He has yet to notch a top-three championship finish in any junior formula category and didn’t hit the NXT podium until his third year – out of four – in the series. To his credit, Pierson showed flashes of real front-running pace this past season, leading a series-high 108 laps thanks to a dominant stretch across the final rounds at Milwaukee and Laguna Seca. Yet his overall hardware remains significantly lighter than Simpson’s. If the updated rules were intended to set a firm benchmark above the Simpson precedent, approving Pierson through a private test proves the new framework hasn’t tightened entry – it has simply created a formal channel for exception. To be clear, the issue here isn’t with Pierson as a driver. Given his experience in sports cars and flashes of speed in Indy NXT, he may well make a seamless and successful transition to IndyCar. The flaw lies entirely in the series’ framework itself.
Compounding this structural breakdown is IndyCar’s ongoing gap in pre-licensing oval evaluation. Bouncing between permanent road courses, concrete-walled street circuits, and 220 mph superspeedways requires fundamentally distinct disciplines. Yet under the current framework, an evaluation test conducted exclusively on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course is treated as a blanket clearance.
Indy NXT field
Photo by: Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
While IndyCar does mandate the standard Rookie Orientation Program (ROP) for the Indianapolis 500, that process typically takes place during the spring Open Test – months after contracts are executed, seats are locked in, and full-season licenses are granted. Demonstrating baseline car control on a road course in the fall tells nothing about a driver’s comfort at high speed on an oval.
(UPDATE: Per Rule 4.3.2.7.1. – Before a Rookie Driver’s participation in his/her first (1st) Oval Event, the Rookie Driver must complete a ROP supervised by IndyCar.)
If private evaluation test – particularly in this unique case prior to a driver being declared a ‘rookie’ (a key point given the above stated rule) – are going to remain part of the licensing rulebook, the evaluation process itself must require a dedicated oval test – mirroring the road course session Pierson had at IMS – at a short oval like Milwaukee or World Wide Technology Raceway (WWTR). To be sure, a solo evaluation test at a track like WWTR or Milwaukee only measures single-car basics. Running alone on track cannot simulate high-speed pack traffic, turbulence, or managing aerodynamic wash into Turn 1. But even as a basic benchmark, validating a driver’s solo placement, line consistency, and speed on an oval is a critical minimum threshold before issuing a blanket certification for the entire schedule.
If IndyCar wants to move past paddock cynicism and subjective review panels, it needs to stop relying on closed-door boardroom discretion. Critics often point to Formula 1’s FIA Super Licence as overly bureaucratic – and I would largely agree with that – but it possesses one undeniable strength: clarity. To race in F1, a driver needs 40 points accrued objectively over three years. There is no subjective boardroom review for a driver who fell short just because they brought an attractive title sponsor. IndyCar’s hybrid model, by contrast, invites paddock politics and compromises competitive integrity. The moment an official’s discretionary “yes” allows a funded driver to leapfrog a proven winner, the series’ credibility takes a hit.
Tightening eligibility was a necessary step, but half-measures don’t hold up under pressure. If IndyCar wants true credibility, it must eliminate discretionary waivers for seats on North America’s premier open-wheel grid, mandate a standalone oval evaluation session alongside the road course test, and create an explicit, objective scoring matrix rather than closed-door exemptions.
Until the series closes its own loopholes, the updated licensing standards will remain an exercise in good intentions – protecting the narrative of high standards without fully enforcing the reality.
Salman Khan discusses his fitness journey, multiple injuries, trigeminal neuralgia and aneurysm on Koffee With Karan Season 9, reflecting on the health issues that affected his appearance.
Karan Johar and Salman Khan Photograph: (Instagram/JioHotstar (screengrab))
During the premiere episode of Koffee With Karan Season 9, Salman Khan has addressed the health problems and physical setbacks that affected his appearance over the years. The actor discussed his fitness journey, multiple injuries and the effort required to maintain his physique at 61.
Related Story: Koffee With Karan 9: Salman Khan to kick off Karan Johar’s final season; watch teaser
The conversation also revisited his shirtless moment on Bigg Boss 20, which went viral after viewers criticised his physical appearance. Salman acknowledged the discussion as Karan Johar brought up the incident.
From Maine Pyar Kiya to Dabangg: The Shirtless Legacy
Karan recalled how Salman helped popularise the shirtless male lead in Bollywood. His appearances in films such as Maine Pyar Kiya, Wanted and Dabangg helped establish his muscular physique as a defining part of his screen image.
The filmmaker also credited the actor with contributing to the growing gym culture among Bollywood’s leading men. Their conversation highlighted how Salman’s fitness became closely associated with his on-screen persona.
Salman Khan Opens Up About Multiple Injuries
Asked how he continues to maintain his physique at 61, Salman attributed it to years of hard work, discipline and lifestyle changes. He also admitted that several health complications had affected his appearance and that he regretted letting himself go during that period.
Explaining the physical challenges he had faced, the actor said, “A lot of hard work. A lot of sacrifices. I just added a lot of good things to my life and reduced every bad thing. For the people who have been die-hard fans of shirtless me, okay, there was a phase in my life because of a lot of injuries and stuff like that. It was unfair on them. No matter how old you are, it is unfair on them to see me like that. My head was broken, some hernia stuff was there. My shoulder was messed up. And all this came from Sultan. Knee and back, and then trigeminal neuralgia, then the aneurysm. That is not any justification for how I was looking. I should not have let go for that time.”
Also Check: Salman Khan returns to Koffee with Karan 9, recreates iconic ‘you still a virgin?’ moment
His remarks offered a glimpse into the health battles behind his changing appearance. The actor’s candid admission also reflected his awareness of the expectations surrounding his fitness, built over decades of playing action heroes on screen.
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The Korean Peninsula was thrust back into the spotlight this August following a surprise announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises would be partially cancelled. In his typical meandering style, Trump simultaneously claimed the decision stemmed from his “very good relationship” with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) President Kim Jong Un, and his growing frustration with the Republic of Korea (ROK), which he said had rebuffed his calls to join the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. While politicians and the media clamored over whether the decision was justified, few questioned the basic assumption that the U.S. military protects the Korean people or regional stability.
Trump’s up-and-down engagement with the DPRK has been a recurring story throughout his political career. It is one of the most ridiculed aspects of his presidency, and also one of the most misunderstood. At the root of this is a persistent ignorance concerning the true nature of Washington’s history and interests in Korea.
Democrats soon moved to convey their disapproval. DropSite News leaked a letter signed by 22 Democratic members of Congress expressing “alarm” at Trump’s decision, essentially urging the president to maintain a commitment to a cycle of military escalation and brinksmanship in Korea. “This decision has strained a 73-year alliance and risks undermining readiness, security, and deterrence on the Korean Peninsula,” the signatories warned. The letter was quietly published by House Democrats after the leak.
To be sure, there is much to criticize about the manner and purpose for why the Trump government made this choice to scale back these war drills in August. But it is important to recognize that Trump’s decision had little effect on the military situation. Ulchi Freedom Shield is a significant series of war drills, but it is far from the only one. In 2025, U.S. Forces Korea conducted 274 days of similar war exercises. Cancelling just a few is a drop in the bucket, and did nothing to meet his stated goal of advancing dialogue with the DPRK — which would have required stepping back from the prevailing framework of denuclearization.
So what was Trump’s purpose? In the weeks since, it has become apparent that Trump’s decision was a maneuver to pressure Seoul to concede on other matters: deliveries on the ROK’s promised $350 billion in tariff-related investments to the U.S., and joining the war on Iran. Today, South Korea is seeing a growing protest movement to prevent Seoul from capitulating to this pressure. The real issue is not Trump’s reduction of military drills; it is the U.S. war machine in Korea, and Democrats are part of this problem.
Calls for elected Democrats to drop their hawkish rhetoric on North Korea have gone unheeded. At a time when Washington is engaged in numerous destructive wars around the world, many of them escalated under Trump 2.0, the old guard of the Democratic Party is stubbornly clinging to a Cold War vision of the Korean Peninsula that can only lead to further escalation and instability.
A History of Occupation
The U.S. military has occupied Korea since 1945, when Washington made the decision to divide the peninsula into separate occupation zones, rather than permit the Korean people to organize an independent government. The U.S. military occupation in the south waged a brutal counterinsurgency war to crush a series of popular rebellions, and established the Republic of Korea (ROK) under the lead of Syngman Rhee, a staunchly pro-U.S. and anti-communist political figure. Even before the official start of the Korean War in 1950, the U.S. and ROK killed over 100,000 Koreans in the south alone.
Opposing war drills in Korea is fundamentally about opposing the violence of military occupation and Washington’s role in prolonging the Korean War.
The war itself brought only further destruction. In the south, the U.S. designated civilian refugees as enemy combatants, leading to atrocities like No Gun Ri, in which U.S. soldiers massacred hundreds of Korean refugees after evacuating them from their homes south of the 38th parallel. The U.S. backed the ROK state in its extermination campaign of political enemies, known as the Bodo League Massacre. In the north, the U.S. Air Force pursued a relentless bombing campaign that expunged the landscape of virtually all civilian structures. By the signing of the armistice in 1953, the U.S. had dropped 635,000 tons of explosives and over 37,000 tons of napalm in Korea — more than was used in the entire Pacific Theater of WWII.
A peace agreement has never formally concluded the Korean War. This makes the Korean War the longest-running overseas conflict in U.S. history. The war has left deep scars on the Korean people, but also upon U.S. politics. It was an undeclared war — a “police action” undertaken solely by executive fiat, a reverberating backdrop to all U.S. politics since 1945. Korea became the lab from which the U.S. could test its ideologies, technologies, and geopolitical maneuvers, executing heinous atrocities and setting the stage for countless Cold War interventions to come. To fight the Korean War, the U.S. quadrupled its military spending, directing much of it toward the restoration of military industry and the construction of overseas bases.
From the Cold War to the “war on terror,” the U.S. has continued to structure its economy and politics through permanent war on the Global South. If U.S. progressives today wish to dismantle the machine of endless war that dominates Washington, the legacy and present reality of Korea today must be confronted honestly.
U.S. intervention and occupation are far from being guarantors of democracy in Korea. This was made evident on the night of December 3, 2024, when then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, to the complete surprise of the South Korean public. Yoon’s failed self-coup revived the traumatic memory of Chun Doo Hwan’s 1980s martial law regime which, under the aegis of the ongoing U.S. war against North Korea, used martial law to enforce anticommunism in South Korea through the policing and repression of everyday life, including the massacre of civilians. (Independent journalist Tim Shorrock has exposed the U.S. role in the most infamous atrocity of the 1980s, the Gwangju Massacre, in which ROK paratroopers deployed from the DMZ massacred up to 2,000 people.) Yoon and his co-conspirators planned similar atrocities against the people of South Korea, and have even been accused of attempts to restart the Korean War through a series of drone incursions into the DPRK’s airspace in late 2024. While Washington claimed it had no prior knowledge of his plans, it is unlikely that Yoon would have acted if he felt it threatened U.S. patronage.
Elected officials of any party will not change their tune without pressure. That pressure must begin from the grassroots.
In Korea, the U.S. military presence is woven into the fabric of everyday life. Communities living near the 80 different U.S. military bases and facilities in Korea contend with the daily realities of environmental pollution, military accidents, and violence against civilians. For more than 80 years, the U.S. military has exploited access to Korean land, oceans, women, markets, and technology. The occupation manifests as oil leaks, noise pollution, stray bullets, and drunk drivers. At times, more severe incidents also occur. In 2025, the ROK Air Force accidentally bombed the city of Pocheon during a U.S.-led war drill. Pocheon sits in the vicinity of multiple U.S. firing ranges, and this was the 30th major military accident in the city since 2000.
The U.S. military occupation does not protect the Korean people, and U.S. military activity there is not undertaken as a favor to an ally of equal standing. The U.S. holds operational wartime control of the ROK Armed Forces, and dangles the possibility of eventually returning military sovereignty as an incentive to keep Seoul engaged in war drills. Both governments claim the drills are strictly for defensive purposes. Yet in reality they rehearse Washington’s aggressive military doctrine for Korea, which includes the deployment of nuclear weapons against the Korean people and plans for regime change in the DPRK.
These are the realities behind the bipartisan rhetoric surrounding the U.S.-ROK relationship. Opposing war drills in Korea is fundamentally about opposing the violence of military occupation and Washington’s role in prolonging the Korean War to justify its permanent, destructive, and wasteful military occupation of the peninsula and the Western Pacific.
Elected officials of any party will not change their tune without pressure. That pressure must begin from the grassroots. In 2024, Nodutdol, a grassroots anti-imperialist diaspora organization, launched the US Out of Korea campaign for precisely that purpose. We have since mobilized and educated thousands of people, and garnered the support of hundreds of organizations.
An international progressive movement for Korea is already rising, driven by the long struggle of the Korean people themselves. The question U.S. progressives face is whether to embrace this cause as their own.
This summer, Nodutdol took an international delegation of 26 progressive activists from six countries and territories to bear witness to the U.S. occupation firsthand. We visited communities struggling to preserve the local environment and their homes from U.S. base expansion. We spoke to activists fighting to preserve the historical memory of U.S. military sexual violence and femicide. We marched alongside nearly 10,000 protesters in Seoul on the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan under the banner of a familiar slogan: U.S. out of Korea.
An international progressive movement for Korea is already rising, driven by the long struggle of the Korean people themselves. The question U.S. progressives face is whether to embrace this cause as their own.
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Jeff Kaplan spent nearly two decades at Blizzard Entertainment, rising to the position of vice president while contributing to World of Warcraft as a core designer.
Jeff Kaplan spent nearly two decades at Blizzard Entertainment. (X @Pirat_Nation)
He later became one of the most recognizable figures behind Overwatch, serving as its lead director and public face. However, Kaplan left Blizzard in 2021 to pursue independent game development, eventually establishing his own studio, Kintsugiyama.
In a recent interview with Gamespot, the veteran game designer reflected on the challenges of moving from a major AAA developer to running an independent studio, describing the experience as “humbling.”
Jeff Kaplan discusses his “humbling” career reset
Over the past few years, Kaplan has largely stayed out of the spotlight, dedicating himself to developing Kintsugiyama’s first project, The Legend of California. His new role has brought a stark change in circumstances, from setting up server infrastructure in his dining room to finding that industry contacts who once sought his attention no longer respond to him.
“It’s very humbling because… you go from a lot of success. Like, think of World of Warcraft and Overwatch and the levels of success that those games have had. Also the level of success that I enjoyed personally in my career being associated with those games,” Kaplan told Gamespot.
Kaplan clarified that he was not claiming sole credit for the games he helped create, but rather pointing to what comes with spending 19 years at Blizzard.
Also read | Xbox Nano Controller price and release date: Features, connectivity and everything to know about Microsoft’s new gamepad
“You go from that success to essentially having the reset button pushed on you. You start completely from square one, at the bottom of the mountain,” he said.
Kaplan shares a painful career revelation
The Kintsugiyama founder also discussed how people’s attitudes toward him have shifted since his departure from Blizzard.
“It’s actually eye-opening in a great way, even if it’s painful sometimes…. I have many people in the industry who won’t return my emails, who won’t even give me the time of day,” Kaplan revealed in his interview with GameSpot.
He explained that people at Blizzard treated him differently because they recognized his connections and wanted to be associated with his reputation.
Kaplan finds lessons
Kaplan reflected on the situation through a “glass half-empty, glass half-full” perspective, explaining that he prefers to focus on the positive side of the experience.
He said, “The half-full version of it, which I really enjoy, is it shows you where truth is, it shows you where loyalty is, it shows you people’s true nature. It makes you realize that there’s a lot of managing up and people using you as a means to an end.”
Also read | Who is Xbox CEO? All we know about Asha Sharma amid servers outage and layoffs scrutiny, ‘Indians only…’
Kaplan added that while starting fresh has been rewarding in some respects, he still finds the change in how people respond to him unusual.
“It’s a little weird to me that people aren’t returning my emails, you know? I’m like, ‘I made you a billion dollars. You’d think you’d return my email,’ you know? But hey, whatever,” he said.
Minister of Finance Lan Foan will lead the nation’s delegation at the Apec Finance Ministers’ Meeting to be held in Hong Kong next Tuesday and Wednesday, according to mainland authorities.
The Ministry of Finance in Beijing said on Wednesday Lan will chair the meeting while vice finance minister Liao Min will speak on behalf of the country.
The meeting, the first to be held in Hong Kong, will be attended by finance ministers or representatives from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) economies, as well as from international organisations.
The ministry said four major topics have been proposed for the meeting: financial policies that support people’s livelihoods, digital infrastructure financing, driving the development of financial inclusion in light of local conditions, and promoting exchanges and cooperation among young finance professionals.
It added that the meeting serves as an important platform for Asia-Pacific economies to strengthen communication on macroeconomic policies and financial cooperation, and allows representatives of Apec economies to exchange views.
In addition to the meeting, a series of exchange activities would be arranged, the ministry said.
These include a closed-door meeting among finance ministers and a luncheon with Asia-Pacific business representatives on Tuesday before the start of the finance ministers’ meeting, as well as a press conference scheduled for the following day.
In this photo illustration, newly minted Donald Trump $1 coins are seen in formation on September 3, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The coin was officially released by the U.S. Mint on September 2, 2026 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, marking the first time a living person has appeared on circulating U.S. coinage since 1866.Alex Wong / Getty Images
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A strong majority of Americans believe that President Donald Trump is profiting illegally or unethically from his presidency, polling finds.
AP-NORC poll results released Tuesday find that 41 percent of U.S. adults say that Trump has acted illegally in personally profiting from his position, while another 18 percent say that those actions are unethical, for a total of 59 percent. In contrast, only 18 percent of people say that he has done nothing wrong.
Even a sizable proportion of Republicans, at 32 percent, believe that Trump has acted illegally or unethically in seeking private gain, the poll found.
Meanwhile, an even larger proportion believe that Trump is prioritizing his personal profits while acting as president. Fifty-six percent said he is prioritizing his profits “a lot,” while 19 percent said “some.” This stands in stark contrast to only 23 percent of people saying that he is prioritizing the country “a lot” and only 11 percent saying he’s focusing on “people like me.”
Corruption allegations have become rather common during Trump’s second term.
Trump has disclosed making $2.2 billion in income in 2025. Much of those profits came from the president’s crypto schemes and his meme coin that he launched three days before his second inauguration. His promotions of these schemes have often been openly corrupt; at least twice, for instance, Trump has encouraged buyers to become the biggest holders of the coin in order to gain access to an exclusive dinner with him.
Trump and his team hardly try to hide his many other avenues of income that are boosted by his presidency. His financial team trades prolifically, often in relation to his decisions. His practice of hosting foreign leaders and power brokers at his resorts has multiplied during this term. Earlier this year, Truth Social unrolled a program to allow traders and banks to buy access to Trump’s Truth Social posts — which often move markets — at the “fastest” speed, allowing them to access information quicker than others could react.
Trump has openly bragged about the power of wielding the Oval Office; earlier this year, he said that his children have “inside information” whenever they make any sort of investment or purchase. He has also defended his profits, claiming that he doesn’t “get involved” with his personal finances and that “we have funds that run my money.”
But Trump is still aware of the public perception of corruption surrounding his administration. This week, he ordered the ouster of U.S. ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle after reports found that she had asked a Trump donor to pay off a $100,000 credit card bill in exchange for access to the administration.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump grew incensed at Guilfoyle because he was upset that she was profiting off of his presidency. His aides, meanwhile, were concerned about more headlines describing the Trump administration’s self-dealing ahead of the midterm elections.
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Yesterday was a busy day for Apple’s smart home efforts. The company unveiled the HomeView smart display, the new Apple TV 4K, the HomePod mini 2, and the Apple Home Collection. All three of Apple’s new devices support Siri AI, but what about the older full-size HomePod? Thankfully, Apple’s own website suggests it may not be left out after all.
A tipster on X noticed that the product page for the second-generation HomePod was updated yesterday. Its Siri examples now use Siri AI’s gradient style, and the glow on top matches the one on the HomePod mini 2. Additionally, the alt text for the full-size HomePod image in the comparison section of Apple’s online store reads “multi-colored Siri AI glow on top”.
Big updates to the HomePod 2 product page this morning. May suggest support for Siri AI is coming.
The Siri examples now use Siri AI’s gradient style, and the refreshed glow matches Siri’s look on HomePod mini 2. https://t.co/5X1sbwsC4T
Of course, this could just be a mistake on Apple’s part, and the company hasn’t said anything about Siri AI coming to the bigger speaker. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman did report last month that Apple plans to update the full-size HomePod “eventually”, though that could mean a new model rather than a software update.
Apple is bringing Siri AI to older Apple TV 4K models from the 2nd generation onward, so the current HomePod getting it too wouldn’t be such a stretch. Even the HomePod mini 2 won’t have Siri AI at launch, since Apple says it’s coming “in a future software update”.
Sadly, none of this matters if you’re in the EU, since Siri AI still isn’t available in the region because of Apple’s feud with European regulators, which is also why Apple says the HomeView won’t be sold in the EU at all. Gurman thinks Siri AI may reach the EU about five months after its launch elsewhere in the “absolute best-case scenario”, much like Apple Intelligence did last year.
After 3 video games in 12 days, a set of ruthless losses and a gut-it-out win at the Houston Texans, the next Dallas Cowboys video game on Sunday follows a 10 day rest. Even this break hasn’t felt long enough to forget about the most current video game from last Thursday night.
Al Michaels called the Cowboys home video game versus the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers a “can’t lose” video game rather of a “needs to win”. Well, the Cowboys did lose in uninspired style, and now are approaching that “need to win” area a lot earlier than we ever might have pictured for this 2026 season.
The next chance to win returns in primetime, at Lambeau Field versus the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys just handled to toss a cumbersome incorporate the record books in between these historical franchises last season, however prior to that had actually lost 10 of the last 11 (consisting of playoffs) to the Packers.
That win did begin the roadway for Dallas though, all the method back in Dak Prescott’s novice season of 2016. The Cowboys won their 5th straight video game out of eleven in week 6 in Green Bay, 30-16. They would complete with 13 wins, still the high water mark of Prescott’s profession, however go one and carried out in the playoffs in a rematch versus the Packers in your home in the Divisional round.
That playoff loss to the Packers set the Cowboys back to where they ran out the playoffs the list below season. The Cowboys likewise lost to the Packers in the 2023 Wild Card round, have yet to make the playoffs because, and will see their opportunities of doing so for a 3rd season in a row drop if they can’t get their very first win versus the Packers in a years this Sunday night.
Most likely the most unexpected thing occurring to the 2026 Cowboys today is the method going from Matt Eberflus to Christian Parker as protective organizer has actually not enhanced even the principles of defense this group is playing through 5 video games.
The bar is extremely low for Parker’s defense to have a much better getaway versus the Packers compared to in 2015’s Eberflus experience, with the 40 points enabled through overtime being the 2nd most gave up that season (44 two times, to the Broncos and Lions, being the most).
The Packers scored on each of their 2nd half and overtime ownerships in 2015’s primetime conference. The Cowboys began the video game offensively with 3 straight punts also, and despite the fact that they turned a 13-0 deficit into a 16-13 halftime lead, handling just a basket sealed their fate in overtime. Jordan Love’s last-second toss to the end zone for a possibility at the win was knocked away by Jack Sanborn. The one 2nd staying after this protective stand permitted the Packers to kick the connecting 34-yard basket as the overtime clock ended.
Third down differential was a significant issue for the Cowboys in this tie, going 4-11 on offense and permitting the Packers to transform 10-14. Recently, the Packers handled to beat the Bears 31-7 in spite of going 4-12 on 3rd down, requiring the Bears in 14 efforts with the exact same 4 conversions. The Cowboys were 4-10 versus the Buccaneers while giving up 7-13 to an undrafted novice quarterback.
Carson Wentz and Michael Penix Jr. are the 2 quarterbacks to beat the Packers up until now this year, while Matt LaFleur’s group’s wins have actually come versus a Tyson Bagent led Bears group, Jalon Daniels in his very first start for the Bucs, and the Geno Smith Jets.
It stands to factor that Prescott will be the very best quarterback the Jonathan Gannon collaborated Packers defense has actually faced this season. It likewise stands to factor that Cowboys fans are flat-out sick of attempting to talk themselves into Prescott alone sufficing to will this group to triumph, definitely not with the number of things are failing on both defense and unique groups at the minute.
The treatment for all of this might depend on the finer information of how Penix and the Falcons got a surprise Thursday night win at Lambeau, in addition to the Vikings with Wentz in your home in the season opener. Beginning with the only group to win on the roadway at the Packers up until now this year, the Falcons outrushed the Packers 242-17. They had 15 of their 25 overall very first downs begun the ground. Atlanta balanced 5.9 backyards a rush, while the Packers just ran the ball 9 times for 1.9 backyards usually. Bijan Robinson opted for 194 lawns and scored two times while Brian Robinson likewise included a goal.
The Vikings likewise leaned on a set of running backs to manage the video game versus the Packers, Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones. Mason blazed a trail with 59 lawns on 15 brings and a rating, while Jones had 40 backyards on 12 brings likewise with a goal. Both groups balanced 3.1 lawns a bring, however the Vikings outrushed the Packers 107-66 and went 4-4 at a loss zone while holding the Packers to 1-4. The Packers got pushed into another undesirable run/pass split, having Love hang back 42 times compared to 21 runs.
To connect this all back to where we began, that 2016 win for the Cowboys at the Packers, the run video game had a strong impact. Novice Ezekiel Elliott had a brand-new profession high in this video game with 157 backyards on 28 totes. Prescott was comfy the whole video game as an outcome, tossing for an ostentatious 9.1 backyards per effort, acquiring 247 lawns, and 3 goals. Dallas leapt ahead 20-6 and put Green Bay passer Aaron Rodgers in position to toss 42 times compared to 24 hurrying efforts, most of which went to Eddie Lacy.
Amongst the important things that feel the outright most fixable coming off the Buccaneers loss for the Cowboys, not running the ball enough needs to top the list. The Cowboys came out and invited Tyler Smith back to the lineup at left guard by leaning on the run all the method for an opening drive Javonte Williams goal, however went away from this method after the extremely first indication of the Bucs having the ability to manage the ball themselves. To make matters worse, the Cowboys didn’t get the brief death video game going as an action either up until it was far too late.
The offense will require both to beat the Packers, and if absolutely nothing else cool off the hot spot beneath Brian Schottenheimer today. The Jason Garrett contrasts for Schotty have not come positively here in the early going of 2026, however today things feel so desperate that getting the Garrett-esque group that won at Lambeau in 2016 would be a significant win for Schotty’s group in ’26.
The Packers passing offense is going to like their match versus the Cowboys secondary if they can develop momentum and get on the field in as numerous neutral scenarios as possible. The Cowboys just can not ignore the run video game today, and doing so might let adequate other things form to bring hope back to this season at 3-3.
To do so, the Cowboys are seeking to hand the Packers their earliest 2nd home loss given that 2022. Their only losing season under LaFleur, Green Bay lost back to back video games to the New York franchises in weeks 5 and 6 in the house, the last loss beginning October 16th – 2 days before the Cowboys and Packers are set to fight for the 41st-ever time this weekend.
Dallas is likewise wanting to prevent back-to-back primetime losses for the very first time because 2020, to the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles.
An illustration reveals 2 households of planetary systems progressing from various stars (Image credit: INAF/ Universitat de València/ image generation helped by Gemini AI)
You can inform a lot about how a kid will age by taking a look at their moms and dads, and it ends up that this might be real for planetary systems, too. Researchers have actually carried out cosmic genealogy on planetary systems in the Milky Way, discovering 2 unique households that affect the development and fate of these systems.
The research study group, led by scientists at the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics(INAF), studied 300 of the best-understood multiplanet systems of the over 1,000 that astronomers have actually found in the Galaxy.
The group’s research study clarifies how the environments around baby stars straight impact planetary fates and, in turn, the survival of extrasolar worlds, or exoplanetsthat are possibly efficient in hosting life. That might be vital as astronomers look for life beyond the planetary systempointing them to systems with possibly habitable worlds like Earth.”The fundamental question we started from was: What determines the characteristics of planetary systems as we see them today? Are they established at birth or sculpted by evolution over time? The truth, in the end, turned out to lie somewhere in the middle,” employee and INAF scientist Diego Turrini stated in a declaration sent out to Space.com.
“Our results show that there is a genetic link between planetary systems and their stars, and that, depending on the star around which they are born, this link also determines their fate,” Turrini included.
What is the hereditary code of a planetary system?The very first “family” the researchers recognized includes broad, huge systems, typically with overall masses in between 2 and 10 times that of our own planetary system. The worlds in these systems orbit stars more huge than the sun with lower concentrations of components much heavier than hydrogen and helium (which astronomers rather confusingly call metals) than seen in our star.
The 2nd household is more compact and lower-mass systems. The members of this household are made up of worlds with equivalent masses and sizes, a so-called “peas-in-a-pod” setup. They orbit stars with mass and metallicity equivalent to or lower than those of the sun, with orbits that are typically much tighter than those of Mercurythe closest world to the sun.
Among the “genes” Turrini and coworkers chosen to arrange planetary systems into households was the discrepancies that worlds make from orbiting their star in the exact same circular aircraft. That, in turn, exposes a household history of violent gravitational instability brought on by occasions like huge crashes and planetary ejections.
Violent occasions prevailed for the very first household, however much less so for the 2nd group of planetary systems, the scientists discovered. They figured out that the variety of these unstable occasions a planetary system experiences can be connected to even modest variations in the environment in which worlds form. These variations develop due to various homes of the moms and dad star of those systems.
Hence, the nature of the star in these systems does not simply essentially alter the development of worlds in their systems; it affects the system’s future advancement, identifying whether it will be identified by stages of significant instability and huge effects.
An illustration reveals 2 worlds clashing. Such accidents might be more typical around specific kinds of stars (Image credit: Robert Lea(produced with Canva))“The main difficulty during the data analysis was determining whether the two families of planetary systems were real or just an illusion created by the technological limits of current observational techniques,” stated staff member Camilla Danielski, of the University of Valencia in Spain.
“At the end of the path, it became clear that selection effects acted as the tip of the iceberg, revealing the existence of much deeper structural diversities between these systems,” Danielski stated.
The researchers checked their conclusions by running simulations of planetary system development, all of which started with various conditions.
“The scenarios that best reproduce the dynamical properties of the family of wide and massive systems are those in which the systems are unstable from birth,” stated research study manager and INAF scientist Danae Polychroni. “The greater abundance of material from which planets form around their host stars causes them to be born too large, preventing the system from remaining stable.”
The group’s research study was released on Tuesday (Oct. 13) in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Robert Lea is a science reporter in the U.K. whose short articles have actually been released in Physics World, New Scientist, Astronomy Magazine, All About Space, Newsweek and ZME Science. He likewise discusses science interaction for Elsevier and the European Journal of Physics. Rob holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy from the U.K.’s Open University. Follow him on Twitter @sciencef1rst.
A part of the cover for “A Parade of Horribles,” the brand-new entry in the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series (Image credit: Getty Images/ Ace Books)
Fall has actually formally shown up, and as fall leaves blaze in brilliant colors, there is no much better time to plunge into the creative world of New York Times very popular author Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl”the extremely addicting science dream book series that’s taking the world by storm.
Even if you have not read them, you’ve most likely seen folks bring these books, emblazoned with their loud, neon-colored covers, at your community coffee home. You’ll see it a lot more in the future, too, as a streaming adjustment of the books is pertaining to Peacock, with Seth MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door and co-showrunners Eric Heisserer and Chris Yost at the helm.
The 8th book in the series, “A Parade of Horribles,” dropped in May of 2026 and continues the story of Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s precocious pussy feline called Princess Donut as they attempt to browse the precariously complicated levels of a deadly end ofthe world dungeon for an intergalactic tv program choosing the fate of mankind and the world Earth.
All 8 covers for the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” sci-fi dream book series (Image credit: Penguin Random House)Believe Douglas Adams’s “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” satisfies “The Running Man” and “Ready Player One” in the “Dungeons & Dragons” RPG world, and you’ve got a respectable concept of the stylistic story you’ll quickly find when you attempt to get in Dinniman’s somewhat lunatic literary world.”The genesis is that I’ve been writing my whole life, and I have a thousand story ideas,” Dinniman informs Space on the origins of his sci-fi feeling. “I’ve kept a running list of ideas since childhood, and this one had been on there for some time. The line in my list for this particular one was ‘Alien’ game show.'”
With over 14 million copies of the “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series offered to date, creepy season is the perfect jumping-on minute so you can share your preferred vicious dungeon level eliminate next time you’re at a cool mixer or enjoyable household function!
Peacock is bringing Matt Dinniman’s mind-blowing series to streaming! (Image credit: Peacock)“The success is a whole other question. I think I just happened to hit the right story at the right time,” admits Dinniman. “It’s about a man pushing back against impossible odds. The antagonist isn’t just a single person or entity, but an entire system designed to crush any life out of him, all for the entertainment of the masses. That sort of story seems to really be resonating right now. Plus there’s a talking cat in it.”
Dinniman has actually explained the most recently-released follow up as “the Carl and Donut version of Mariokart—only deadlier,” with the harsh dungeon designers tightening their ruthless grip. As the existing king of LitRPG titles in blood circulation, “Dungeon Crawler Carl” is the next finest thing to a living computer game
.[ 19659019]he confesses.
“Dungeon Crawler Carl’s” mastermind author Matt Dinniman (Image credit: Tony Dinniman)
An episodic series adjustment looks like a no-brainer, and Peacock has actually sensibly used the significant skills of both Heisserer(“Arrival,” “Bird Box”and Yost(“Thor: The Dark World,” “Thor: Ragnarok”for this enthusiastic television job.
“Both Chris and Eric have a great amount of experience in Hollywood, but more importantly, both have read the books and like them,” Dinniman notes. “Chris is a mega fan, and Eric knows more about gaming than any adult probably should. That’s a great combination.”
Dinniman likewise verified to us that he’s functioning as co-executive manufacturer on the program, and will be included throughout the production.
“The most important thing to preserve, I think, is the tone, which will also be the most challenging,” states Dinniman. “Thankfully, the team that’s been assembled is up to the challenge, and I can’t wait for the world to see how it turns out.”
With 8 books launched up until now (and another 2 to come), you’ve got a lot of checking out to do before the Peacock program and/or the next book lands. You can discover the Dungeon Crawler Carl book series in your regional book shops and on inline-link” href=”https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=72128&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.com%2FDungeon-Crawler-Carl-Matt-Dinniman%2Fdp%2F0593820258%2Fref%3Dtmm_pap_swatch_0%3Ftag%3Dftr-space-us-20%26ascsubtag%3Dspace-us-3145299459023572598-20″ target=”_blank” data-url=”https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Crawler-Carl-Matt-Dinniman/dp/0593820258/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0″ rel=”sponsored noopener” data-hl-processed=”hawklinks” data-article-category=”entertainment” data-google-interstitial=”false” data-placeholder-url=”https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=72128&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.com%2FDungeon-Crawler-Carl-Matt-Dinniman%2Fdp%2F0593820258%2Fref%3Dtmm_pap_swatch_0%3Ftag%3Dftr-space-us-20%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-20″ data-merchant-name=”Amazon US” data-merchant-id=”1471″ data-merchant-network=”Amazonus” data-merchant-url=”amazon.com” data-mrf-recirculation=”inline-link”>AmazonIt’s likewise readily available through Kindle e-readers and as an audiobook
Jeff Spry is an acclaimed film writer and veteran freelance reporter covering television, motion pictures, computer game, books, and comics. His work has actually appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and in other places. Jeff resides in gorgeous Bend, Oregon amidst the ponderosa pines, traditional muscle vehicles, a crypt of collector scary comics, and 2 faithful English Setters.
When the European thermal-imagery company constellr began working with Space Inventor on its next generation of satellites, some of the most important details of the spacecraft had yet to be finalized.
The Munich-based firm knew it wanted its HiVE, or High-precision Versatile Ecosphere, constellation to measure temperatures from space with the precision needed for agricultural applications and urban planning. But the requirements for the payload’s size, weight and power were still evolving.
That presented what can be a familiar tradeoff in the small satellite community. Work on satellite buses often begins before every detail of a payload has been finalized. If engineers lock in the spacecraft design too early, the payload may need to conform to the bus. If the payload needs new iterations, the bus may require an extensive – and expensive – redesign.
But Space Inventor, the Danish manufacturer, took a different approach. Instead of demanding the payload fit a standardized satellite bus, it adapted its BIG CAT 600 bus as constellr’s requirements evolved.
“We needed a platform built around the payload, not the other way around,” said Marius Bierdel, constellr’s co-founder and vice president of program management. “Space Inventor’s system-level approach means our thermal sensors perform exactly as designed once they’re in orbit.”
That ability to repeatedly modify the spacecraft is the centerpiece of Space Inventor’s pitch to operators who need to build payload-centric mini-constellations. Unlike megaconstellations numbering in the hundreds or thousands, mini-constellations typically range from a few satellites to a few dozen and can target specific geographies or niche capabilities.
“These are high state-of-the-art payloads that often are still in development when we start building the bus,” said Jan Smolders, the chief commercial officer at Space Inventor. As one batch is being built, he said, Space Inventor is already applying lessons learned to the design of the next.
“The standardization is in the satellite modules, not in the bus,” he added.
Mini-constellations occupy a middle ground in the satellite market.
Their smaller scale offers flexibility. Operators may want to incorporate lessons from the first satellites into later iterations. Or, as technology advances, they may want to upgrade the instruments.
Space Inventor designed its BIG CAT family of services for exactly those moments.
The BIG CAT 100, 300 and 600 platforms are sized for different spacecraft classes, but each is configurable rather than fixed. That means if a mission suddenly needs more power, improved pointing performance or a new communications capability, Space Inventor can often accommodate these changes by swapping out bus modules, rather than redesigning a spacecraft from scratch.
That philosophy of iteration is especially helpful in rapidly changing fields such as thermal imaging, space domain awareness and in-orbit servicing. It also means Space Inventor can avoid locking in a design around requirements developed years before launch.
Space Inventor pairs its modular approach with another strategy: making most of its components itself.
The company manufactures nearly all of its components – with the exception of propulsion – in house at its factory in Aalborg, Denmark, offering more control over its design and less exposure to the volatility of the supply chain.
Consider a printed circuit board.
If a new requirement calls for a modified PCB, Space Inventor can update the design, machine a revised housing, assemble the new component and test the change, all under the same roof. Such a change ordered from an outside supplier might take about six weeks. Space Inventor can make the same change in roughly one week, Smolders said.
“Because we make everything in house, we can easily add new modules to facilitate changing requirements, very fast,” he said.
This gives Space Inventor tighter quality control and reduces exposure to supply chain shortages.
Space Inventor also maintains a stock of its components, allowing it to offer next-day shipping. That reduces the risk that a small component or a supplier delay holds up the production of a spacecraft.
For mini-constellation operators, this model makes it easier to change later satellites based on what they’ve learned from earlier ones.
The same configurable approach that Space Inventor uses for commercial missions also underpins its offerings for the defense community.
Rather than only offering military customers a satellite bus, the company can pair a BIG CAT platform with a mission-specific payload to provide a turnkey system.
Space Inventor’s defense-specific Apex Predator series includes BC Lynx and BC Leopard, two turnkey surveillance solutions built on its BIG CAT platform.
Lynx is designed to detect radio-frequency emissions, geolocate their source and identify activity that may warrant further investigation. Leopard can then be tasked with capturing high-resolution optical or thermal imagery in the same area.
The approach follows a “tip-and-cue” model, with one sensor identifying a potential target and then directing another sensor to collect more detailed information.
The company has also developed a business case for detecting and investigating maritime activity in the heavily trafficked Baltic Sea, bordered by NATO members and Russia. There, Lynx satellites can identify anomalous RF emissions that could reveal dark vessels or help locate sources of GPS spoofing. It can then cue a Leopard satellite to collect additional intelligence.
This space-based approach to surveillance, Smolders argues, offers a cost-effective complement to expensive drones and stealth aircraft that can only monitor a relatively contained area at once.
“For the cost of one or two F-35s, you can actually get the intelligence to tell those planes where to go,” he said. “Affordable, proven ISR capability is ready to deploy in Europe today, with Space Inventor at the forefront of turning that capability into operational missions, but the decision-makers need to know about it.”
The Dallas Cowboys are a mess right now. Defensively they are just as bad as last year, if not worse, and offensively they currently aren’t playing up to their talent level. The good news is we’re only five games in the season was time to turn things around, but whether they’re capable of doing so remains to be seen.
Surprisingly enough, the Cowboys most pressing issues can be helped by doing one simple thing better from here on out, running the ball. An improved rushing attack would have a positive ripple effect throughout the team, both offensively and defensively. And, there’s no reason to believe this isn’t easily accomplishable.
As things stand right now, the Cowboys are only averaging 81.6 rushing yards per game, ranking a measly 30th in the league. This is completely unacceptable considering Javonte Williams was one of the best running backs in the league last year, rushing for over 1,200+ yards and scoring double-digit touchdowns on the ground.
Sadly, he’s only managed to rush for a total of 276 yards in the ground this year, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. He has proven to have a nose for the end zone once again scoring six touchdowns in just five games so far this season, but is still unfortunately having difficulty finding consistency in the running game.
It’s true some of his lack of production can be tied to game situations this season, however, that doesn’t change the fact this is an area that can be better by leaps and bounds. That’s especially true considering the offensive line is at their best as run blockers.
Starting this week against the Green Bay Packers, establishing the running game early on should prove beneficial to the team as a whole. The Packers are currently allowing 127.6 rushing yards per game, ranking 24th in the league. By rushing the ball more effectively the Cowboys not only can control the time position, but also keep their struggling defense off the field.
This is a win-win for everyone. Brian Schottenheimer has been questionable as a play-caller all season, but an improved run game opens up the entire offense. Play-action suddenly becomes more effective as does opening up their lethal aerial attack. Defenses have to defend the entire field instead of pinning their ears back to rush the passer.
Christian Parker’s defense also benefits by not having to be on the field so often. By playing less and staying fresher, they should hopefully be able to execute better. At the very least, the less they are on the field the less they can mess up. By controlling the game clock with a strong rushing attack, it kind of kills two birds with one stone.
There’s still a lot of things the Cowboys need to clean up, but improving their rushing attack should be at the top of the list. It’s the easiest issue to fix right now that could have the biggest impact throughout the team. Hopefully it starts Sunday in the Week 6 matchup with Packers and continues throughout the rest of the season. It could be a true difference maker.
Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says Ghana’s New Economy will confront the human cost of unemployment and address the barriers preventing young people, farmers and small businesses from building sustainable livelihoods.
According to him, the country could no longer accept a situation in which education fails to lead to employment, talent remains unsupported and productive effort yields little opportunity.
“Unemployment is personal. It is the graduate who has finished school but cannot find work. It is the young person with talent but no capital,” he said.
Dr Forson’s message places jobs and economic opportunity at the centre of the New Economy, drawing attention to the everyday struggles behind unemployment figures.
He highlighted the plight of farmers who produce without reliable markets and small business owners whose ambitions to expand are frustrated by the cost of credit. His remarks underscored the need to address both the search for work and the obstacles facing those capable of creating it.
For families, he said, the burden is particularly painful after years of sacrifice to finance a child’s education.
“It is the family that sacrifices to educate a child, only to watch that child sit at home.”
The Finance Minister rejected the idea that such experiences should become an accepted feature of national life.
“No serious nation can accept this as normal. The New Economy says Ghana must no longer accept it.”
He made these remarks in an engagement with students and faculty of the University of Development Studies at their Nyankpala Campus.
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At 2-3, the Dallas Cowboys have been extremely disappointing, given all the talent they have throughout the roster. That said, they are still only one game behind in the win column for the NFC East lead. The team hopes to get some healthy bodies back soon and also gain more clarity on the players who left last Thursday’s game with injuries.
Ahead of another primetime showdown, Dallas released its first official injury report of the week. Here’s the latest we know regarding Cowboys injuries.
Cowboys
CeeDee Lamb (quadriceps) and Tyler Guyton (back) were full participants on Wednesday. DeMarvion Overshown (hamstring) has been out since being injured in the season opener and did not practice. Cobie Durant (hamstring) was listed as a DNP, and Joey Porter Jr. (ankle) was limited.
Drew Shelton, Ameer Speed and Von Miller (rest) did not particpate.
Packers
Micah Parsons will not face his former team, as he is still on the PUP list while recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season. After losing Edgerrin Cooper to an Achilles injury earlier in the season, Javon Hargrave suffered the same fate late in last week’s game against the Chicago Bears. Wide receiver Skyy Moore missed practice while idealing with an ankle injury.
I’ll say this quickly and move on: The Fontaines DC’S new album, Dopamine Chamber, is the most anticipated new Irish album release since The Joshua Tree. We’ve had the meteoric rise, we’ve two sell-out of Slane in the bag. Next stop: The Classic Album. No pressure then.
The Classic Album is the one everyone can relate to, even fans who up to this were only vaguely aware of Fontaines DC. It requires three stone-wall classic tracks, ideally a One or a Wonderwall, and no fillers. It should broaden the FDC fanbase to the point where some older fans ditch them.
The new single, with Rosalia, is a brave step forward. In the long-established tradition of duets, it combines acts from different musical landscapes. It also pitches the Fontaines in with one of the coolest talents on earth. U2 have a song about her on their new album. The Fontaines have the girl herself. Round one to FDC.
But buyer beware: the duets world is not for the faint hearted. For every Les Hazlewood / Nancy Sinatra classic, there is an Ebony and Ivory, or worse, a Mick Jagger & David Bowie Dancing in the Street. It’s a fine line between Universal Classic and Eurovision Slop.
So, a quick guide:
1. Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra, Some Velvet Morning: The duet others duets call “The Boss.” Let’s be honest, no one knows what is going on here. Who the hell is Phaedra? Is this a song from an Ennio Morricone western? And what on earth is a velvet morning when its at home? The answers are irrelevant. Something heavy and brilliant is going on here. Look but do not touch indeed!
2. Nick Cave / Kylie Minogue, Where the Wild Roses Grow: How could anyone as nice as Kylie have ever fallen for the plainly evil Nick Cave? Yes he has an allure, all bad boys do, but going down to the river with him? Kylie have you learnt nothing? It is a world of doomed heroines, bad choices and unavoidable destiny. Magic!
3. Shane McGowan / Sinéad O’Connor, Haunted: A lot going on here. The contrast between Shane’s wonderfully ragged voice, his, as always, perfectly observed lyrics, his genius song writing nous, and the unspeakably beautiful voice of Sinéad O’Connor is a gift for the ages. It captures the innocence, the longing and the absolute fire of relationships that are as life affirming as they are dangerous.
4. Shane McGowan / Kirsty MacColl, Fairytale of New York: I won’t linger on this; you will soon be hearing it 20 times a day. But if Haunted is youthful passion Fairytale is it’s grown-up consequence. That love in the cold light of later dawns, when the promissory notes and IOU’s have been called in. And yet in the ashes, a spark.
5. Any indie act featuring Thom Yorke: I’d be nervous, regardless of my stature, of ever inviting Thom Yorke to guest. You don’t recall much of most songs after he does his bit. Most notable here are This Mess We’re In with PJ Harvey, and El Presidente with Drugstore, but I suspect there are more. These are great songs until he arrives. Then they become moments of godlike genius.
6. Peter Gabriel / Kate Bush, Don’t Give Up: Also performed by Willie Nelson and Sinéad O’Connor at a point where he seemed to be the only person on earth willing to put a supportive arm around Sinéad at her time of greatest need. This is a killer song: The frailty of the male vocal and then the gentle reassurance of the female voice. Swoon.
7. Stephen Bishop / Chaka Khan, Little Italy: Has to be one you aren’t quite familiar with. I’m not a great fan of Mr Bishop but the moment in this song from 1976 when Chaka comes in is one of the most superb, uplifting, gorgeous moments in music. It does concern the theme of daughters growing up and away, which is not an easy one for me, so approach with caution if you are similarly affected.
Other notable talents in the duet world: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Kenny and Dolly, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
Conclusion? Male voice: good. Male and female voices: pure heaven.
Barracuda Data AI Security is a recently introduced solution designed to help businesses manage the risks posed by generative AI tools. It empowers organizations to spot which AI applications their people are using (including shadow AI), inspect and block sensitive data before it reaches AI services, enforce policies tailored by team and tool, and produce audit-ready logs and reports. The goal is to let companies move forward with AI adoption without exposing customer data, intellectual property, health information, or credentials.
Key Features
AI discovery and visibility: Automatically identify all generative AI tools in use across the organization—both sanctioned and unsanctioned—with inventory tracking, usage metrics by group/user, risk classification, posture reporting, and governance insights.
Data protection: Real-time inspection of prompts and uploads before they leave the company, detecting sensitive content such as PII, credentials, source code, payment card data, and health records. Built-in classification lets many protections work out of the box, with options to block or warn in accordance with policy.
Safe AI interactions: Detection and prevention of prompt injections, jailbreaks, or attempts to bypass safeguards in AI tools; control in both directions of communication; protections aligned with industry standards like the OWASP LLM Top 10.
Policy enforcement and governance: Ability to apply rules by tool, group or user role; set per-data-type and per‐tool restrictions; define actions including allow, block, warn or redirect; enforce policies via firewall-style workflows; offer immediate guidance to users when an action is blocked.
Audit, compliance, and oversight: Full logging of what was accessed, who, when, policy triggered, detection type and action; exportable reports and evidence suited for auditors, insurers or regulators; visualization of risk posture over time.
Platform, operations, and MSP support: Delivered via the BarracudaONE platform, leveraging Barracuda IQ engine for detection/classification; simple agentless deployment using DNS and network traffic; preconfigured detection to get started quickly; multi-tenant management for MSPs; settings guided by Barracuda’s Bailey AI assistant.
Pricing
Foundation (Free): Includes shadow AI discovery and an AI risk report to help organizations see what tools are in use and where risk may lie.
Premium: Adds policy enforcement for high-risk tools, shadow AI remediation across over 1,300 GenAI services, and data protection for Microsoft Copilot.
Premium Plus: Extends protection to all supported GenAI tools including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and allows real-time prompt inspection and data loss prevention workflows across AI tools.
Pricing for Premium and Premium Plus is not publicly listed; they are quoted per user, per month, depending on organization size and needs.
Who is it for?
Barracuda Data AI Security is suited for business owners, CISOs, IT and compliance teams in organizations adopting generative AI tools rapidly but facing regulatory, data exposure or risk management concerns. It is especially relevant for:
Companies using Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or other GenAI tools across teams such as engineering, sales, marketing, or legal, who need to control what kinds of data are shared with what AI tools.
Resource-constrained security teams or MSPs who lack deep AI security expertise but need visibility, policy enforcement and audit documentation without long deployment times.
Organizations subject to compliance regimes (e.g., data protection, finance, healthcare) that require evidentiary controls over data flows and governance of AI use.
Businesses concerned about shadow AI—the use of unapproved AI services—which can lead to exposure of sensitive or regulated data, regulatory penalties, or brand reputational damage.
Final thoughts
Barracuda Data AI Security delivers a robust set of tools for securing the fast-growing use of generative AI across businesses. It strikes a balance between visibility and enforcement: offering free discovery to establish risk baseline, then progressively adding protection and controls. While pricing beyond the free tier requires negotiation and depends on scale, the clarity of its features, especially around policy enforcement, safe-AI interaction, and compliance auditing, make it a compelling option for decision-makers who want to adopt AI with oversight rather than wait or block entirely.
Google Home is getting a fresh update with improvements to reordering your favorite devices, redesigned controls for third-party smart home devices, and some much-needed fixes for Gemini commands.
I can’t speak for everyone else, but the Favorites tab in Home probably accounts for nearly all of my interactions with the app, which is why it’s so exciting to see Google making some big changes here. This month’s changelog suggests any “instability” seen while dragging and dropping tiles across your Favorites view has been smoothed out, and as someone who has absolutely given up on trying to manage that page in the past, I couldn’t be more grateful.
Of course, if you prefer controlling your lights or speakers with voice commands, you’ll know it’s Gemini that really needs some attention within Home. Google says it’s rolling out a bunch of fixes to how Gemini works with its smart home app, including more reliable “stop” commands to prevent misinterpretations and easier-to-read answers on smart displays. For my money, though, it’s the move to implement “more natural ways” to stop your conversation with Gemini that’s the highlight of the bunch, allowing you to quickly end your chat with a simple “thank you” to cease talking and close the mic.
Other Gemini fixes include the ability to better differentiate between relaxing music and ambient sounds — you’d think AI would know the difference between soothing spa music and white noise without a specific update, but alas — and consistent temperature units for weather based on the preference set within your Home settings. Outside of Gemini, you’ll find large smoke alarm banners within the app, complete with event time information, a more responsive progress bar when scrubbing along paused video on Android, and Matter control for Phillips Hue lights with existing bridges.
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