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This past summer, Google DeepMind debuted Genie 3. It's what's known as a world world, an AI system capable of generating images and reacting as the user moves through the environment the software is simulating. At the time, DeepMind positioned Genie 3 as a tool for training AI agents. Now, it's making the model available to people outside of Google to try with Project Genie.
To start, you'll need Google's $250 per month AI Ultra plan to check out Project Genie. You'll also need to live in the US and be 18 years or older. At launch, Project Genie offers three different modes of interaction: World Sketching, exploration and remixing. The first sees Google's Nano Banana Pro model generating the source image Genie 3 will use to create the world you will later explore. At this stage, you can describe your character, define the camera perspective — be it first-person, third-person or isometric —
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 Lockdown Mode is an optional security feature designed by Apple to provide maximum protection against highly sophisticated digital threats. When enabled on your Apple device, it greatly reduces exposure to complex attacks by restricting certain features and network connections. Keep reading to learn how to use it across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
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Virtual private networks (VPNs) have been household technology for a while now, but there's still a lot of uncertainty around them. This is partly due to the fact that they can conceal online activity that local or national governments deem illegal — up to and including, say, circumventing ID checks for age verification. Consumers aren't helped by the sheer amount of duds sold in app stores right next to the best VPNs, especially when they're purposefully exploiting moments that have people rushing to shore up their online anonymity. If you've almost decided to start using a VPN, you may be wondering if the services you're looking at are actually safe.
Unfortunately, the answer is a hard "it depends." VPNs are technology that can work well or poorly, just like they can be used for good or evil. There's nothing intrinsically dangerous about using a VPN — whether or not one is safe comes down to who built it and how they're running it. The good news is that there are easy ways to tell whether you're using one of the good ones.
The question "Are VPNs really safe?" can also mean something else — "Is using a VPN enough to keep me safe online?" I'll get into that too, but to spoil the ending: VPNs are important security tools, but they aren't enough to protect against all digital threats by themselves. Also, to be clear, I'm talking here about commercial VPNs like Proton VPN and ExpressVPN, not commercial VPNs like NordLayer or Cisco AnyConnect
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Brandon Sanderson, a popular author of high-fantasy and science fiction books, has signed a deal with Apple TV to adapt his works set in the Cosmere fictional universe into films and TV shows. Sanderson said last year at Celsius 232, Spain's annual sci-fi and fantasy convention, that his ultimate dream project is a "really good Mistborn film." Apple TV is making that come true: Some of the first projects to come out of the deal are feature film adaptations of the Mistborn books and a TV show based on series.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sanderson's deal with the streaming service is unprecedented, because he will have major creative control over the adaptations. He will write, produce and consult for the projects under development, and he will have the power to sign off on various aspects of the adaptations. That's a level of control other famous authors such as George R. R. Martin don't enjoy. In fact, Martin recently talked about how House of the Dragon's showrunner, Ryan Condal, has stopped taking his notes and suggestions into account.
Sanderson's Cosmere universe encompasses dozens of books set in various but interconnected worlds and timelines. They're all bound by a single creation myth, which explains w
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Building muscle depends on different factors. Here's the best way to reach your goals.
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That old adage of eight glasses of water a day is outdated.
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Amazon has confirmed that it's letting go of 16,000 workers and employees across its organization. In an announcement by company SVP Beth Galetti, she explained that Amazon was going through organizational changes to reduce layers and remove bureaucracy. Affected employees in the US will be given 90 days to look for another internal role and will receive severance pay if they do not find any. Galetti also said that Amazon doesn't have plans to announce "broad reductions every few months" but admitted that the company could "make adjustments as appropriate."
News about the layoffs was leaked in an email mistakenly sent out early to workers, along with a calendar invitation for a meeting dubbed internally as "Project Dawn." In the email seen by Bloomberg and the BBC, Amazon Web Services Senior Vice President Colleen Aubrey told workers that their "impacted colleagues" from the US, Canada and Costa Rica had already been notified. "Changes like this are hard on everyone. These decisions are difficult and made thoughtfully as we position our organization and AWS for future success," Aubrey reportedly wrote in the email.
Amazon eliminated 14,000 roles back in October 2025 across its games, logistics, payment and cloud computing divisions, with the availability of AI technologies being one of the main reasons for the layoffs. "Thi
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Meteorologists are tracking another major storm system that could exacerbate lingering impacts from last weekend's Winter Storm Fern.
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 Apple today announced that its hit comedy-drama series "Ted Lasso" is returning for a fourth season in "summer 2026," but it did not share a specific date.
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Originally, Microsoft had made the Limited Edition Crocs available in October, timed with the company's 50th anniversary celebration. The "shoes" were originally made available as part of a Microsoft-sponsored sweepstakes. However, the footwear has now become a viral hit of sorts.
"Based on the incredible response and positive engagement across social media, we're thrilled to share that the Microsoft Limited Edition Crocs Bundle officially drops globally beginning today," the company said in an updated blog post.
The Crocs ship in a Windows XP-inspired theme. It's based upon the "Bliss" background, inspired by a photograph from Charles O'Rear taken just a few miles from my home. (Like Windows, the Sonoma, Calif. vista looks nothing like the original photograph.) They also include custom Jibbitz charms taken from Microsoft iconography, such as the mouse cursor. There's even a Bliss-themed drawstring backpack, perfect for carrying them to your next gala or shindig.
Where can you buy such wonders? At Microsoft's official merch site, where sizes are available from a women's 4/men's 2 all the way up to a women's 19/men's 17.
While I have actually purchased several Microsoft's
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