FRIDAY, 20 JUNE 2025, 02:12
Midjourney has launched its first AI video generation model, V1, which turns images into short five-second videos with customizable animation settings. While it’s currently only available via Discord and on the web, the launch positions the popular AI image generation startup in direct competition with OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo. TechCrunch reports: While many companies are focused on...
Volatile weather patterns may be altering taste of juniper berries – a key botanical in the spirit – scientists say
The flavour of a gin and tonic may be impacted by climate change, scientists have found.
Volatile weather patterns, made more likely by climate breakdown, could change the taste of juniper berries, which are the key botanical that give gin its distinctive taste.
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Austria’s coalition government has agreed on a plan to enable police to monitor suspects’ secure messaging in order to thwart militant attacks, ending what security officials have said is a rare and dangerous blind spot for a European Union country. From a report: Because Austria lacks a legal framework for monitoring messaging services like WhatsApp, its main domestic intelligence service and...
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Napster, the brand synonymous with the music piracy boom of the early 2000s, has a new copyright challenge. Together with audio giant Sonos, Napster faces a lawsuit demanding over $3.4 million in alleged unpaid copyright royalties. Filed by collective rights management organization SoundExchange, the complaint (PDF) centers on missed...
Facebook now supports passkeys for login, offering users a more secure, phishing-resistant alternative to passwords by using biometrics or a PIN stored on their device. The feature is rolling out to iOS and Android “soon,” while Messenger will get the feature “in the coming months.” Lifehacker reports: Meta seems pretty excited about the news — and not just because the company happens to be a...
President Donald Trump has supported use of asbestos in the past and blamed the mob for its bad reputation.
Waymo plans to relaunch its robotaxi service in New York City, starting with safety driver testing while lobbying to change state law to eventually allow fully autonomous vehicles without human operators. The company has applied for a permit and will begin mapping in Manhattan, though legislative hurdles and skepticism from lawmakers remain. The Verge reports: A bill was introduced in the New...
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has announced that the Google Veo 3 AI video generator will be integrated with YouTube Shorts later this summer. According to Mohan, YouTube Shorts has seen a rise in popularity even compared to YouTube as a whole. The streaming platform is now the most watched source of video in the world, but Shorts specifically...
Microsoft is planning to ax thousands of jobs, particularly in sales, as part of the company’s latest move to trim its workforce amid heavy spending on AI. From a report: The cuts are expected to be announced early next month [non-paywalled source], following the end of Microsoft’s fiscal year, according to people familiar with the matter. The reductions won’t exclusively affect sales teams,...
Experts say that the suspect showed clear ties to forms of so-called charismatic Christianity that views abortion as a sacrifice to demons and seeks the end of secular democracy.
SpotStat Ltd, a Bulgarian company specializing in artificial intelligence and data analytics, is offering advanced analytical services tailored to the needs of advertising and online marketing firms. By applying proprietary AI models to large-scale marketing data, SpotStat helps agencies and brands unlock valuable insights, optimize campaigns, and make faster, data-driven decisions. The...
Ever since COVID hit, online gambling has been gaining popularity all over the world. Now it’s 2025, and gambling has turned from a niche pastime into a significant part of the digital entertainment industry. The US didn’t shy away from this shift. Many states have created local markets with strict regulations and responsible gambling measures […]
Investigators believe Air India Flight 171 had an emergency-power generator operating when it crashed last week, raising questions about whether the plane’s engines functioned properly during takeoff. WSJ: The preliminary finding [non-paywalled source], according to people familiar with the probe, gives investigators a new line of inquiry as they study a crash that killed all but one of the...
Over the past decade, Vietnamese football has made remarkable strides, achieving significant success both regionally and continentally. These achievements have become a source of national pride and serve as a testament to strategic planning and long-term investment. However, as noted by Ael1.com, sustaining this momentum will require comprehensive reform and innovation to tackle emerging...
From writing code to testing the new Alexa+, Amazon engineers used generative AI throughout the build process. We talk to Amazon’s Daniel Rausch about the next version of the voice assistant.
Iran is limiting internet connectivity for citizens amid Israeli airstrikes—pushing people towards domestic apps, which may not be secure, and limiting their ability to access vital information.
The NFC Forum has released NFC Release 15 (that’s what it’s calling it), extending the operating range of Near Field Communication connections from 0.5 centimeters to 2 centimeters — a fourfold increase that reduces the precision required for device alignment. The global standards body, whose board includes representatives from Apple, Google, Huawei, Infineon, NXP, Sony, and ST...
Microsoft is positioning Windows as the primary gaming platform for Xbox, according to Xbox president Sarah Bond. “We’re working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming,” Bond said in a video announcing a partnership with AMD for next-generation Xbox hardware spanning consoles and handhelds. The statement, PCWorld points out, aligns with...
The Ninja Slushi is not the only slushie machine. There is another.
Solar power system prices seem to be stabilising and could start increasing.
Swiss Re has identified extreme heat as a significant insurance threat in its latest annual report on emerging risks with the Zurich-based reinsurer noting that up to half a million people globally die from extreme heat effects each year. The death toll exceeds the combined impact of floods, earthquakes and hurricanes. Heat waves contributed to conditions that generated $78.5 billion in insured...