The next flagship soundbar from Sonos will be called the Arc Ultra, and marketing images of the product have been posted on X today. They line up with the photos I published back in July and offer yet more confirmation that the Arc Ultra will support Bluetooth audio playback. Sonos itself has managed to leak details about the Arc Ultra in recent days; the company’s online store briefly featured a few tidbits about the Arc Ultra and mentioned the inclusion of “Sound Motion technology.” This is presumably the branding that Sonos has chosen for the technology that it obtained through an acquisition of Mayht in 2022. Arc Ultra ($999) https://t.co/z6sXvj2dAg pic.twitter.com/iuwG2vGXDv S...
Business Read on The VergeUsers will be able to download their data or migrate their account to another Mastodon instance, if they choose.
Politics Read on TechCrunchMistral AI launched a new free tier to let developers fine-tune and build test apps with the startup’s AI models, the company announced in a blog post Tuesday. The startup also slashed prices for developers to access its AI models through API endpoints and added image processing to its free consumer AI chatbot, le Chat. […]
Business Read on TechCrunchThe new animated Witcher film, Sirens of the Deep hits Netflix on February 11, 2025.
Entertainment Read on GizmodoThe deadline to register to vote is coming up in many states. Check your voter registration today.
Local News Read on GizmodoWe’re still waiting on the biggest news in the Witcher universe — just what Liam Hemsworth will sound like as Geralt — but in the meantime, Netflix has announced when fans can expect the next animated spinoff. The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep will start streaming on February 11th, 2025. And Doug Cockle, the iconic voice of Geralt in the games, will be reprising his role. Here’s the premise of the film: Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends — old and new — to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into all-out war. This is...
Entertainment Read on The VergeUrsa Major, a startup that produces rocket motors through 3D printing, received a $12.5 million grant to develop new solid-fuel rocket engines.
Politics Read on TechCrunchA rolling Cloudflare outage is impacting access to web sites worldwide, including BleepingComputer, with sites working in some regions and not others....
Politics Read on Bleeping ComputerThe company has gotten a number of penalties in recent years, but it all amounts to pocket change for Elon Musk.
Business Read on GizmodoThe number of fully vaccinated children in The Hague continues to decline, and the vaccination rate is worryingly low in several districts, responsible alderman Hilbert Bredemeijer report
Health Read on NL TimesThis screenshot of a "Cloud in a dress" mod is being used in place of some other Final Fantasy PC mods that are way too inappropriate for publication on Ars. Final Fantasy XVI finally arrives on Windows PCs today, over a year after its launch on the PlayStation 5. That means expanded access for a game that sold below Square Enix's expectations on console. But it also means the first opportunity for modders to add their own content to the game. For game producer Naoki Yoshida, though, that new opportunity comes along with a plea for the user community to behave themselves when modifying the game. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Yoshida felt the need to step in when director Hiroshi Takai was asked about what "goofy mods" he would like to see in the game. "If we said, 'It'd be great if someone made xyz,' it might come across as a request, so I'll avoid mentioning any specifics here!" Yoshida told PC Gamer. "The only thing I will say is that we definitely don't want to say anything offensive or inappropriate, so please don't make or install anything like that."
Entertainment Read on Ars TechnicaRendering of an individual crew quarter within the Axiom habitat module. Axiom Space is facing significant financial headwinds as the company attempts to deliver on two key commercial programs for NASA—the development of a private space station in low-Earth orbit and spacesuits that could one day be worn by astronauts on the Moon. Forbes reports that Axiom Space, which was founded by billionaire Kam Ghaffarian and NASA executive Mike Suffredini in 2016, has been struggling to raise money to keep its doors open and has had difficulties meeting its payroll dating back to at least early 2023. In addition, the Houston-based company has fallen behind on payments to key suppliers, including Thales Alenia Space for its space station and SpaceX for crewed launches. "The lack of fresh capital has exacerbated long-standing financial challenges that have grown alongside Axiom’s payroll, which earlier this year was nearly 1,000 employees," the publication reports. "Sources familiar with the company’s operations told Forbes that co-founder and CEO Michael Suffredini, who spent 30 years at NASA, ran Axiom like a big government program instead of the resource-constrained startup it really was. His mandate to staff up to 800 workers by the end of 2022 led to mass hiring so detached from product development needs that new engineers often found themselves with nothing to do."
Business Read on Ars TechnicaAt least eight people have been killed and more than 2,700 people have been injured in Lebanon by exploding pagers. Experts say the blasts point toward a supply chain compromise, not a cyberattack.
Crime and Courts Read on WIRED SecurityDonald Trump officially announced details of his cryptocurrency project during an X space Monday night.
Investing and Stocks Read on GizmodoThe latest smart lock from Eufy is its first product to support Matter. The Eufy Smart Lock E30 ($169.99) works over Thread, which should allow for faster responsiveness, longer battery life, and better connectivity than locks that work over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The E30 is also the first smart lock from Anker’s smart home arm that works with Apple Home, although Home Key is not supported. While Eufy offers a handful of older security cameras with HomeKit compatibility, it hasn’t released a new Apple Home product for years. The E30 can use a traditional key but also has a fingerprint reader for biometric access and a keypad for keycode access. It can be controlled through the Eufy app over built-in Wi-Fi, including out-of-home control,...
Business Read on The VergeDutch author Yael van der Wouden and her book, The Safekeep, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize on Monday evening.
Entertainment Read on NL TimesThe absence of a blood oxygen sensor is a huge ding. But the Apple Watch still does everything else, and looks hella good doing it.
Business Read on WIRED Top StoriesThe Spectacles 5 are designed specifically for developers.
Business Read on TechCrunchWill developers finally help Snap take AR glasses mainstream?
Business Read on The Verge TechEnlarge Zynga must pay IBM nearly $45 million in damages after a jury ruled that popular games in its FarmVille series, as well as individual hits like Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells, infringed on two early IBM patents. In an SEC filing, Zynga reassured investors that "the patents at issue have expired and Zynga will not have to modify or stop operating any of the games at issue" as a result of the loss. But the substantial damages owed will likely have financial implications for Zynga parent company Take-Two Interactive Software, analysts said, unless Zynga is successful in its plans to overturn the verdict. A Take-Two spokesperson told Ars: "We are disappointed in the verdict; however, believe we will prevail on appeal."
Business Read on Ars Technica