Game’s creator will be stepping aside and handing over the reins to the NYT.
Enlarge/ The New York Times is buying Wordle. (credit: Wordle)
The New York Times announced today that its Games division would be purchasing Wordle—everyone's favorite five-letter-word guessing game and emoji-square generator—for a number in the "low-seven figures."
"At the time it moves to The New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay," the Times notes in its press release. Presumably afterWordle has moved, the Times will tweak its gameplay and impose a registration requirement or paywall as it sees fit. Many of the Times' games, including Sudoku, Spelling Bee, and the mini-version of its crossword, can also be played for free without signing in or registering. But a subscription is required to play the full version of the crossword puzzle and access the NYT's crossword puzzle archive.
AYA’s next handheld gaming PC will go up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign soon, and it’s expected to ship to backers in March as the first handheld with a Ryzen 5825U processor (but still featuring Radeon Vega 8 graphics rather than the newer RDNA 2 graphics featured in the rival Steam Deck which will […]
AYA’s next handheld gaming PC will go up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign soon, and it’s expected to ship to backers in March as the first handheld with a Ryzen 5825U processor (but still featuring Radeon Vega 8 graphics rather than the newer RDNA 2 graphics featured in the rival Steam Deck which will begin shipping at the end of February).
In other recent news, developers have been making a lot of progress in creating software for the new PinePhone Pro Linux-friendly smartphone with a Rockchip RK3399 processor, although there’s still a lot of work to do. Meanwhile PinePhone maker Pine64 has released the results of a recent poll that gives us an idea of which mobile Linux distributions and users interfaces are most popular… at least among the most engaged PinePhone users. And the New York Times has acquired popular word game Wordle with a promise that it won’t get put behind a paywall… yet.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
Crowdfunding for the AYA Neo Next handheld gaming PC with an AMD Ryzen 5825U processor is set to begin soon, with the handheld expected to ship to backers in March. Here’s a preview of the Indiegogo campaign.
The MNT Reform is a marvel in some ways: a modular laptop designed to be useable with nearly no proprietary, closed-source software. But it’s also slow and buggy for a $1299+ laptop only a FOSS enthusiast could love, according to this in-depth review.
The New York Times has acquired the popular web-based, play-once-a-day word game Wordle, promises not to lock it behind a paywall or make any other changes.
3,079 people responded to this survey in January and while that only represents about 5% of the 60K or so folks who’ve purchased PinePhones, it’s likely that responses come from some of the most actively engaged members of the community. With that in mind, it’s interesting to see what the most popular operating systems and user interfaces are… and I was a little surprised to see that over 600 respondents said they’re using a PinePhone as their daily driver smartphone (but nearly half of all respondents also said they’re Linux and FOSS enthusiasts who can write code).
The update brings swipeable notification frames, VPN quick settings authentication, and a status icon, and support for arbitrary passwords, among other things.
Another operating system that now works on the PinePhone Pro is Gentoo. Here’s how to build and install it on Pine64’s newer, more powerful smartphone.
Now that developers and early adopters have received some of the first PinePhone Pro smartphones, some folks have been running into charging issues when trying to use a “dumb” USB charger rather than a smarter USB-C charger or when the battery is completely drained. Megi, who has put an impressive amount of work into maintaining a Linux kernel that enables support for PinePhone and PinePhone Pro hardware, explains the issue in-depth and notes that some mobile Linux distributions for the PinePhone Pro have already merged Megi’s work-in-progress USB Type-C support into their kernel trees… but they may not always have the latest updates.
Evan Blass (@evleaks) has shared some leaked promotional material for Samsung’s next-gen flagship phones via a new Substack newsletter. Sign up for full details, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8 inch QHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, an S-Pen, four rear cameras (including 108MP primary, 12MP ultra-wide, and two 10MP telephoto (up to 100X “Space Zoom”) and a 40MP front camera and 45W fast charging support.
The S22+ has a 6.6 inch FHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, three rear cameras (including a 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto (up to 30X “Space Zoom”), a 10MP front camera, and 45W fast charging support.
The Galaxy S22 has a 6.1 inch FHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, the same camera system as the Plus model, and support for 25 watt fast charging.
AYA’s next handheld gaming PC will go up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign soon, and it’s expected to ship to backers in March as the first handheld with a Ryzen 5825U processor (but still featuring Radeon Vega 8 graphics rather than the newer RDNA 2 graphics featured in the rival Steam Deck which will […]
AYA’s next handheld gaming PC will go up for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign soon, and it’s expected to ship to backers in March as the first handheld with a Ryzen 5825U processor (but still featuring Radeon Vega 8 graphics rather than the newer RDNA 2 graphics featured in the rival Steam Deck which will begin shipping at the end of February).
In other recent news, developers have been making a lot of progress in creating software for the new PinePhone Pro Linux-friendly smartphone with a Rockchip RK3399 processor, although there’s still a lot of work to do. Meanwhile PinePhone maker Pine64 has released the results of a recent poll that gives us an idea of which mobile Linux distributions and users interfaces are most popular… at least among the most engaged PinePhone users. And the New York Times has acquired popular word game Wordle with a promise that it won’t get put behind a paywall… yet.
Here’s a roundup of recent tech news from around the web.
Crowdfunding for the AYA Neo Next handheld gaming PC with an AMD Ryzen 5825U processor is set to begin soon, with the handheld expected to ship to backers in March. Here’s a preview of the Indiegogo campaign.
The MNT Reform is a marvel in some ways: a modular laptop designed to be useable with nearly no proprietary, closed-source software. But it’s also slow and buggy for a $1299+ laptop only a FOSS enthusiast could love, according to this in-depth review.
The New York Times has acquired the popular web-based, play-once-a-day word game Wordle, promises not to lock it behind a paywall or make any other changes.
3,079 people responded to this survey in January and while that only represents about 5% of the 60K or so folks who’ve purchased PinePhones, it’s likely that responses come from some of the most actively engaged members of the community. With that in mind, it’s interesting to see what the most popular operating systems and user interfaces are… and I was a little surprised to see that over 600 respondents said they’re using a PinePhone as their daily driver smartphone (but nearly half of all respondents also said they’re Linux and FOSS enthusiasts who can write code).
The update brings swipeable notification frames, VPN quick settings authentication, and a status icon, and support for arbitrary passwords, among other things.
Another operating system that now works on the PinePhone Pro is Gentoo. Here’s how to build and install it on Pine64’s newer, more powerful smartphone.
Now that developers and early adopters have received some of the first PinePhone Pro smartphones, some folks have been running into charging issues when trying to use a “dumb” USB charger rather than a smarter USB-C charger or when the battery is completely drained. Megi, who has put an impressive amount of work into maintaining a Linux kernel that enables support for PinePhone and PinePhone Pro hardware, explains the issue in-depth and notes that some mobile Linux distributions for the PinePhone Pro have already merged Megi’s work-in-progress USB Type-C support into their kernel trees… but they may not always have the latest updates.
Evan Blass (@evleaks) has shared some leaked promotional material for Samsung’s next-gen flagship phones via a new Substack newsletter. Sign up for full details, but the Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8 inch QHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, an S-Pen, four rear cameras (including 108MP primary, 12MP ultra-wide, and two 10MP telephoto (up to 100X “Space Zoom”) and a 40MP front camera and 45W fast charging support.
The S22+ has a 6.6 inch FHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, three rear cameras (including a 50MP primary, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto (up to 30X “Space Zoom”), a 10MP front camera, and 45W fast charging support.
The Galaxy S22 has a 6.1 inch FHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display, the same camera system as the Plus model, and support for 25 watt fast charging.
Update 1/31/2022, 10:15pm ET: Pfizer and its partner BioNTech are expected to submit a request to the Food and Drug Administration as early as Tuesday, February 1, for emergency authorization of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for children ages six months to four years, according to officials familiar with the situation who spoke with the Washington Post and the New York Times. According to the Post, FDA officials encouraged Pfizer and BioNTech to submit the request and data in hopes of authorizing the two doses as early as the end of February. Meanwhile, the companies will continue to collect data on a third dose for the age group.
The original story follows.
Original story 1/31/2022, 5:21pm ET: The Food and Drug Administration may be reconsidering its criteria for authorizing COVID-19 vaccine doses for children under age five, according to Scott Gottlieb, a former FDA commissioner and a current board member of vaccine-maker Pfizer. This opens the possibility that vaccine-ineligible youngsters could get protection from severe COVID-19 sooner than anticipated.
Peloton has just launched a new forearm-worn heart-rate band that will replace the company's current chest-strap monitor. The $90 heart-rate monitor (HRM) uses optical sensors rather than the electrodermal ones found on the chest strap it will soon replace.
Meant for use with the Peloton suite of exercise equipment, the original HRM retailed for $50 and is now being sold for $34 while supplies last. It uses ANT+ and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to connect to equipment and track effort levels. The new strap lacks ANT+, but it will have the same functions and log heart rate and heart-rate zones while contributing to Peloton's proprietary Strive Score metric. The exclusion of ANT+ means that some third-party equipment (particularly those that lack Bluetooth) won't be compatible with the latest strap.
Peloton's new heart-rate monitor features five multicolor LEDs to display battery, heart-rate zone, and connectivity information. [credit:
Peloton
]
The new heart-rate band adds five multicolor LEDs to relay information about your heart-rate zones, the strap's battery level, and connectivity status. The battery is also now rechargeable, unlike its predecessor, and it's rated for about 10 hours of use.
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted on January 15 in one of the largest volcanic events in decades, and research in recent years indicates that the volcano produces similar violent eruptions about once every millennium. But some of the deadliest and most explosive eruptions in the last two centuries have come from volcanoes with no historical record of eruption. Now, scientists are taking a fresh look at surprise eruptions and seemingly quiet volcanoes.
Several smaller eruptions have happened at Tonga over the last century, providing some clues for what to expect. But forecasting volcanoes that have been dormant for hundreds or thousands of years is especially challenging. Mount Lamington in Papua New Guinea, for example, killed nearly 3,000 people and displaced thousands more when it erupted for the first time in recorded history in 1951.
"If this were to happen right now, in a region that is highly populated, like, for example, Indonesia or the Philippines, where millions of people live around volcanoes, the consequences for life would be really high," said Vanesa Burgos, a PhD candidate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
Popular TV-torrent distribution group ETTV has vanished. The official site has been offline for more than a week and many bots already stopped uploading content to third-party sites weeks ago. ETTV has recovered from internal troubles in the past but, without a word from the admin, a comeback is not expected anytime soon.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
Five years ago, the torrent community was hit hard when the popular torrent site ExtraTorrent suddenly shut its doors.
The site provided a safe harbor for millions of file-sharers and was also the birthing ground for several popular releasers and distribution groups. This included ETTV, which is short for ExtraTorrent TV.
With its home gone, ETTV decided to carry on independently by launching its own website. Over the past years, this had grown out to become a medium-sized torrent site with a dedicated and vetted group of regular uploaders.
ETTV Goes Down
Over the past few days, however, ETTV has disappeared. The official site and its backup domain now show a Cloudflare error message, which indicates that the site’s server is offline. The same is also true for the status page (archived), which is hosted on yet another domain.
All of this is happening without an official word from the site’s ‘operator’. TorrentFreak reached out to a contact at the site before the weekend but we haven’t received a response. This means that it’s possible that the site is not coming back at all.
Troubled Past
This isn’t the first sign of trouble at ETTV. The site has suffered downtime in the past and behind the scenes, there were plenty of problems as well. The internal issues started roughly two years ago when the main ETTV operator who controlled the domains, servers, and ads, suddenly went missing.
With the ETTV ship adrift, administrator ‘sidekickbob’ stepped in and took the helm. At the time, he told us that it wasn’t the plan to keep managing the site permanently due to a lack of time. Selling it to a third-party with a good track record seemed to be the preferred option.
“Ultimately my intention is to sell it to somebody that wants to run the torrent site. Preferably somebody that has experience in running a medium-traffic torrent site. I’m not going to give it to some random kids,” sidekickbob said at the time.
Uncertain Future
As far as we know the site was never sold. Sidekickbob didn’t respond to our requests for comment on the current downtime so the future of the site remains uncertain.
In addition to the site, ETTV’s upload bots are also offline. These are scripts that pull videos from private sources to make them available to the public, also on external torrent sites such as 1337x.org. It’s an effective system but one that relies on central servers as well.
The ETTV bots started having issues last year. The last upload on 1337x was more than three months ago and things have gone quiet since then. Perhaps that was already an early sign of the trouble ahead.
From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.
One of the things that prevents thin and light laptops from getting too thin is that they usually need to be large enough for at least a few ports. But that’s not an issue for the Craob X, because this laptop doesn’t have any physical ports at all. The result is a laptop that’s less than […]
One of the things that prevents thin and light laptops from getting too thin is that they usually need to be large enough for at least a few ports. But that’s not an issue for the Craob X, because this laptop doesn’t have any physical ports at all.
The result is a laptop that’s less than 0.3 inches thick and which weighs just 1.9 pounds and relies on a magnetic wireless accessory for things like charging and connecting wired peripherals including displays, keyboards, mice, or storage devices. The only catch? I can’t actually tell if the Craob X is a real thing you’ll be able to buy one day or just a concept.
Craob isn’t exactly a household name, and the Craob X appears to be the company’s first product. The Craob website is filled with sleek-looking pictures, but they all look like renders rather than real-world photos. And there’s no word on the pricing or availability for this port-free laptop yet.
Theoretically the technology required for a port-free laptop exists. Heck, Apple released a MacBook with just a single USB-C port and a headphone jack nearly seven years ago, and since then it’s become increasingly common to see notebooks with just a few ports. Sooner or later it seems inevitable that some PC maker will try to remove the last few ports. It’s just a little unclear whether Craob will actually be the first to bring a port-free notebook to market.
But here’s what the company is promising:
13.3 inch 4K display with slim bezels and a hole-punch camera cut-out
Up to Intel Core i7-1280P 28-watt Alder Lake processor with Iris Xe graphics
Up to 32GB LPDDR5 RAM
Up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 storage
WiFi 6E
The wireless charger can attach to the lid of the notebook magnetically, letting you top up the battery without plugging a cable into a port. And the same accessory that provides wireless charging also includes USB Type-C, USB Type-A and headphone ports plus a microSD card reader, allowing you to use this port-free laptop with… things that need ports.
Pictures of the “portshub” charger also show an interesting design that allows you to lift the top, wrap the charging cable around the center, making the charger/hub into a compact accessory that you can easily throw in a bag before you leave the house.
Five years ago, the torrent community was hit hard when the popular torrent site ExtraTorrent 
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