But the most anticipated news this year from Apple is, of course, the launch of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. In principle, they will not arrive until September, but 9to5Mac has had access to them and has leaked the most interesting information through its website.
What’s new in the upcoming iPhone 15?
The design of Apple’s next smartphone has surprised many, with a host of changes that have not been seen before. The screen will be the most significant change. It will be larger and flatter than the current model. In addition, the edges will also be much thinner, allowing for a larger viewing area without making the phone too large or uncomfortable to hold.
According to the leak, the screen will be 6.7 inches, which is quite large even by today’s standards. Also, not being as wide as previous ones it will look much more like smarpthones from other brands.
Another interesting change is that the buttons could change from physical to capacitive, which could be a drastic change in iPhone design. Even so, it is still early to make this claim, and it is something that could change in the final designs.
In addition, Apple could use titanium in the manufacture of its next iPhone 15. Thanks to this material, it would improve the ergonomics of the device, making it lighter and stronger at the same time. It would also allow the battery to last longer, since titanium is a more resistant material than the aluminum used in current iPhone models.
Finally, another very interesting new feature is the addition of a USB-C port. Although all iPhones so far had different chargers, the next ones will finally join this new trend. The reason could be the European policy that states that all cell phones on sale from January 1, 2025 must use this port. However, it is something they already apply to Mac computers, so it is not surprising that they want to standardize their ports.
Electronic Arts released its long-awaited hunting title, but was not able to defeat it.
We knew that Hogwarts Legacy was going to be a sales success thanks to the number of reservations and wishlist it had on Steam. However, forecasts are falling short in the face of the unstoppable success of the Warner Bros. title: for the second week in a row, the video game set in the Harry Potter universe is the most purchased game of the last seven days on Steam.
As is well known, it is no longer possible to obtain sales figures from SteamDB. However, we can get an idea of where things are going, since the maximum peak of players during all this time has been 879,308 users. As a result of this, the platform calculates that it has sold a minimum of 2.73 million copies, with a maximum of 7.52 million games. Whether it is down or up, the sales are impressive. Moreover, the curiosity is that it occupies both first and second place thanks to its different versions.
Behind it, only two games can cough it up during this last week: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Wild Hearts. In the case of the latter, the Electronic Arts videogame debuted in fifth and sixth position. According to estimates, this mix of Monster Hunter with Minecraft -which has been getting such good reviews- would have sold 100,000 copies in its first weekend on Steam. Not bad at all.
The complete ranking of Steam’s best-selling video games for last week is as follows. Anecdotally, Steam Deck is once again ranked in the TOP 3, a huge proof of how well Valve’s handheld is performing.
Twitter has announced that it will remove two-step verification via SMS on March 20 for being a "security issue."
Today, we bring you one more “Elon Musk making friends” story. The future ex-CEO of Twitter (at least in theory) hasn’t stopped making some pretty questionable moves since he became lord and master of the social network. From making features like the checkmark or uploading hour-long videos pay, to making the algorithm display (and a lot of it) his own tweets, Musk doesn’t know what else to do to get people to leave Twitter.
The latest of their brilliant measures? Eliminate SMS as a two-step verification system when logging in. In this way, Twitter would only leave you with the options of using an authentication app such as Google Authenticator or a login key, which is stored on the device where you use the social network.
Twitter explains this move on its blog, “While historically a popular form of two-step verification, we’ve unfortunately seen phone number-based two-step verification used – and abused – by miscreants. So, starting today, we will no longer allow accounts to sign up for SMS two-step verification unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers”.
Users who have activated this two-step verification method will have until March 20 to switch to the other two systems. After this time, two-step verification will be automatically deactivated for those who have not changed their settings.
Elon Musk says that, in addition to being a security problem, this system will save the company a lot of money, since the cost of sending SMS messages is assumed by Twitter itself. However, and like practically everything he has done since he arrived, he has done it badly and with terrible communication.
Use of free authentication apps for 2FA will remain free and are much more secure than SMS https://t.co/pFMdxWPlai
While it may be true that two-step verification via SMS is overpriced and more insecure than the other two methods mentioned, it is also the system used by many users who do not know how to use the other verification systems and who, as of March 20, could have their account unprotected.
Moreover, not removing the feature for good and including it as a Twitter Blue feature completely contradicts his pro-security statement, and exposes that Musk’s only interest in removing this verification system is the financial savings it brings.
Meta has introduced a trial feature that would allow Facebook and Instagram users to have a verification badge by paying a monthly fee.
Meta would be looking for new ways to recover from the million-dollar losses left by his foray into the Metaverse. After having closed its connectivity division and laying off 13% of its total workforce, the company behind Instagram and Facebook recently recovered its value on the stock market by repurchasing shares valued at 40.000 million dollars.
The latest move by Mark Zuckerberg’s company to increase Meta’s revenue has also been one of the great fears of many users: creating a payment verification program on Facebook and Instagram, very similar to the one implemented by Elon Musk On twitter.
Meta has announced on its blog the start of the test of this function: “To help up-and-coming creators grow their presence and build a community more quickly, we’re starting to test a new offering called Meta Verified, a subscription package on Instagram and Facebook that includes a verification badge, which authenticates your account with your ID, proactive account protection, access to account support, and increased visibility and reach”.
Meta justifies the introduction of Meta Verified by saying that several of the most requested features on both Facebook and Instagram are: easier access to account verification, and help/support for accounts experiencing some kind of problem. In addition, he explains that it would give more visibility to those content creators or advertisers who want to have it.
Priced at $1199 per month if paid on the web, or $1499 per month if users subscribe in the iOS and Android apps (both charge fees for transactions made in downloaded apps of its stores), Meta thus copies one of the most infamous measures of Twitter and the world of social networks.
Despite the fact that the verification system would, in theory, be more reliable than that of Twitter Blue (which does not request any type of documentation that proves the identity of the user), this movement could end up discrediting the verification badges of Facebook and Instagram, reserved for influencers, companies, journalists and other people of public interest.
Will it end “curdling” this new function? Will we find ourselves before a new standard in the world of social networks?
Despite the scientific and technological advances that are made year after year, the nature of dreams still largely eludes our scientific understanding. Alice in Borderland, the Japanese Netflix series starring Kento Yamazaki, has opened up a debate that is always raging and never quite has a concrete answer: can two or more people experience the same dream independently?
In the Season 2 finale of Alice in Borderland (spoiler alert), Arisu and the rest of the survivors of the deadly Battle Royale games they face in the dystopian Tokyo of the series realize that nothing they have done in fiction has actually happened. Instead, a meteorite crashed into the Shibuya district where they all were, and many of those who survived fell into a coma.
At the end it is explained that all the players were citizens who had fallen into a coma, and were in a limbo between life and death. When someone died in one of the games, they had not overcome the coma and died in reality. And if someone survived to the end, they had overcome the coma and came back to life.
The conclusion of Alice in Borderland is left open to a new card that no one expected, The Joker, but in the meantime it has opened the question for all fans: is it really possible for something similar to happen in real life?
What are shared dreams?
As they explain in a thoughtful article on the subject in Inverse, the closest real-world analog we have to what the characters in the series go through is a phenomenon called shared or mutual dreams. Although highly unlikely and rare, they are not scientifically implausible, and there are cases in which they have been experienced.
Dreams have been a subject of interest to mankind for millennia. People would go to temples in ancient Greece to receive guidance about dreams or try to cultivate specific dreams with the help of the gods, a kind of spiritual “dream incubation”. In the Western world, dream analysis really took off with Freud, who believed that dreams were a way to explore our unfulfilled desires in wakefulness.
Psychologists have been studying the subject for decades, but neuroscientific research on dreams has been slower to catch up and has only progressed in the last ten years. Most dreams occur during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a time of significant brain activity.
We usually forget dreams after they happen, something that is due to our brain design: our brains don’t want our dreams cluttering our waking minds. For that reason, it is useful to be able to study our brains while we are asleep, rather than just relying on dream diaries written after a person wakes up.
But if we forget our dreams, what evolutionary purpose do they serve? There are multiple theories, but two schools of thought tend to dominate dream science. The first claims that dreams are basically a way for the brain to activate the visual part of the mind while we sleep, since our eyes are closed and send no information to the brain, and ensure that we can still see when we wake up. The second argues that dreams are a default mode of virtual reality, something that could come to explain shared dreams.
If our brain creates a virtual reality in which to test itself in different situations, then it is possible that multiple brains can tune into the same virtual reality. So explains Moran Cerf , professor of neuroscience at Northwestern University:
“There are different parts of your brain trying to create this dreamlike experience. Your emotions, your memory, your ability to construct stories, everything is trying to contribute to this and not necessarily all parts are working in the same direction.”
But how is it possible for two or more brains to tune into the same virtual reality? This is where the science becomes more speculative.
One theory is that shared real-life experience could cause brains to become attuned in a similar virtual reality. Cerf says neuroscience studies have shown that the brains of people who know each other well can synchronize while performing a task together, so it would be an extrapolation of this fact.
Another more futuristic theory says that technology could allow brains to synchronize more directly. Connecting brains to machines is already a reality, as researchers can use electrodes to read and sometimes send signals to the brain. Cerf says one idea being explored in his lab is whether two people can be connected in such a way that one brain can read the other brain’s intentions and respond to them. If that’s possible, then the idea of mutual dreams begins to seem a little less fantastic.
But even so, shared dreams are very rare. It is possible that two people who are experiencing the same situation in real life could dream of something similar, but it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for two brains to synchronize perfectly in the same virtual reality.
Are they trying to scam you by Bizum or was it a mistake? Find out in a very simple and effective way.
Bizum is the star application to send and receive money instantly. What we used to have to do by withdrawing money from the bank or through transfers that could take days, now we can do it automatically. Everyone uses it nowadays, so it’s important to be vigilant.
Receiving a Bizum, whatever the money, should always be a reason for joy, right? Well not at all. There are cybercriminals who take advantage of this technology to scam other people, saying that they have sent you a transfer by mistake so that you can then fall into their trap and send them money or to get your data.
But how can you know that, when you have been sent a Bizum by mistake, it is not one of these scams? So that no one is left without their money and you can be a good Samaritan by returning what you have received, we leave you with a very simple formula to verify it.
Find out if they want to scam you through Bizum
In any banking app (at least in the 4 that we have been able to verify), when you receive a Bizum you do not get the number directly from the person, but their name. But when you go to the movement history, the number does appear, so you can know where it came from.
The ideal when checking it is, first of all, to find out if that number is suspicious or analyze if it is from a strange country or has some ending that seems out of place to you. A quick search will tell you the answer if it is a particular number.
Then, it is best to call by phone. A WhatsApp message can be easily boycotted by a bot or hacker, but if a person picks up your call, they will hardly want to fool you. Finally, it depends on you if you want to return the money or not, especially knowing that the money sent by Bizum cannot be returned automatically.
We teach you how to use one of the artificial intelligences of the moment: DALLE 2.
OpenAI has burst into the field of artificial intelligence like an elephant in a china shop. Its generative models (such as ChatGPT or DALL•E 2) have become extremely popular with the public thanks to their incredible capabilities. Today, we will delve into DALL•E 2, the AI that has managed to revolutionize the world of imaging.
DALL•E 2 is a tool that generates images from a description or “prompt”. We as users simply have to write how we want an image to be and what it will contain: DALL•E 2 will create it from our description.
If you want to get the most out of DALL•E 2, follow these tips and tricks to generate your dream images. However, before you begin there are several things to keep in mind:
There are some limits to what DALL•E 2 can do: Harmful, misleading, or political content is strictly prohibited by OpenAI policy. In fact, famous people and celebrities appear with distorted faces to avoid the proliferation of “deepfakes”.
DALL•E 2 is free, but with a catch: you have 50 free credits for the first month of use and then the amount is reduced to 15 credits. These are charged after entering and completing the generation of an image.
Sign up for OpenAI
To use DALL•E 2 you must be registered on the OpenAI website. This is mandatory if you want to use any company product. Once you have created an account, you will see a search bar at the top of the website. That is where you will have to enter your description. Below, you will see some works to inspire you in case you do not have much idea what to order.
Get creative with your description
When you have thought of what you want to generate, write it in the bar and select Generate. Remember to be specific, since DALL•E 2 is based on your words and thus, you will be able to obtain better results. You can also designate the pictorial style of the image (impressionist, realistic, pop, cubist)…). There are no limits here, so experiment with your descriptions.
Generate several results until you find the right one
DALL•E 2 returns four different results for you to preview based on what you typed. If you’re not satisfied, keep adjusting the terms of your description to delve deeper into what interests you. When a result catches your eye, select it and then click Save. You can also share your image on social networks by clicking Share.
What can I do to get the best images?
If inspiration doesn’t strike you or you just feel overwhelmed, select some of the DALL•E 2 sample images and click Click to try. From there, DALL•E 2 will generate variations that you can customize with your own descriptions.
Although we already mentioned it before, it is important to remember that you have to be very specific with DALL•E 2. Despite its incredible capabilities, it’s still limited to what we tell it to do: DALL•E 2 isn’t going to guess your intentions from infused science, so you have to make it very clear.
Sony's virtual reality glasses go on the market for 600 euros.
In just 24 hours the new virtual reality glasses from Sony hit the market: the PlayStation VR2. With the landing of this new version of the hardware, a key question arises: will it be able to steal some ground from Facebook’s Meta Quest 2?
From a technical point of view, there is no doubt that the specifications of PS VR2 are very good. With a resolution of 2000 x 2040, these are above those formerly called Oculus, which remain with a resolution of 1832 x 1920 in its normal version, and 1800 x 1920 in the pro model. Likewise, it should be added that the VR2 panel is OLED, while the Meta Quest 2 mounts an LCD (normal) and QD-LCD (in the pro).
On the other hand, the refresh rate of the PS VR2 is 90 / 120 Hz, while the Meta also have that maximum limit, but the minimum drops to 72 Hz. In addition, the field of view is 110 degrees in the Sony ones, with 96 degrees in the normal Meta and 106 maximum in the pro model. With all this already commented, it can be easily seen that in terms of features it surpasses the Facebook glasses, but where does it falter?
Perhaps the biggest drawback Sony’s virtual reality glasses have encountered is their price. They cost 600 euros (59995, to be exact), a figure that is high, yes, but to which must be added a very important condition, which is none other than that it also requires a PlayStation 5 console. Therefore, to this amount it would be necessary to add 550 euros or an additional 450, all depending on whether you are looking for the model with a reader or the digital one, respectively. In other words: to play virtual reality it is necessary to pay, in the least of the cases, 1.050 euros, and all this without having a single video game.
The Meta Quest 2, for its part, in its basic version are 450 euros, a cheaper price, despite the fact that they even increased in cost during the past 2022 (the pro ones, on the other hand, go up to 1.800 euros, an already exorbitant price). However, the strong point of Meta Quest 2, and it is where it really beats the PlayStation VR2 by a landslide, is that you do not need absolutely anything additional to play.
The glasses bring their own internal storage memory, so dozens and dozens of video games can be played without even needing a PC. Yes, it is true that the latter is needed to enjoy certain titles -this is written by a Half-Life Alyx fan-, but here it is not necessary to spend an extra amount to play a long list of video games: you buy the glasses, you put your user and ready. That easy.
In this sense, there is an additional detail that also makes a difference at this time. To use PlayStation VR2 it is necessary to have a cable yes or yes: either it is connected like this or you will not be able to play. On the other hand, the Meta Quest 2 are wireless, something that is greatly appreciated, especially in those locations where there is not a large space. They can also be connected via cable, to such an extent that some games require it for less lag, but there are hundreds of them that can be used without problems wirelessly, with an incredible experience (Beat Saber, for example, as a maximum test ).
The great handicap that PS VR2 has compared to Meta Quest 2 is its price, the need to have a console (they cannot be used on PC, for example) and, above all, the use of a cable that restricts freedom of movement. The task ahead of Sony is daunting, and these three variables are the ones that play against it.
Richard Belzer, el famoso actor de Law & order que también aparecía en Saturday Night Live, ha muerto a los 78 años en el sur de Francia.
El actor estadounidense Richard Belzer, famoso por su papel del detective John Munch en la serie televisiva Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ha muerto a los 78 años en su hogar de Bozouls, en el sur de Francia, según explica The Hollywood Reporter.
La noticia la ha dado su amigo Bill Scheft en exclusiva para la revista, y explica que, siguiendo con su humor habitual, sus últimas palabras antes de fallecer han sido: “Que te jodan, hijo de p*ta”.
Belzer debutó en la película cómica The Groove Tube en 1974, pero su carrera televisiva se consolidó gracias a su personaje del detective John Munch, basado en un agente de Baltimore que existió en la vida real. El creador de Law & Order, Dick Wolf, llegó a decir que Munch “es uno de los personajes más icónicos de la televisión“.
Wolf trabajó con Belzer por primera vez en el crossover de Law & Order y Homicide, y quedó tan impresionado con el personaje que pidió convertirlo en uno de los protagonistas de Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Con ese mismo rol, Belzer apareció en series como The Wire, 30 Rock o The X-Files. Además, su carrera no se quedó ahí: también participó en Saturday Night Live y escribió varios libros, uno de los más populares How to be a stand-up comic (1998).
Cómo han reaccionado los actores a la muerte de Richard Belzer
Varios actores y actrices han lamentado la muerte de Belzer en redes sociales, como Chris Meloni y Mariska Hargitay. Esta última interpretaba el personaje de Olivia Benson en Law & Order, y ha querido despedirse de él a través de Instagram: “Adiós mi querido, querido amigo. Te extrañaré. Tu luz y tu visión eran singulares en este extraño mundo. Me siento bendecida de haberte conocido y adorado y trabajado contigo, codo con codo, durante tantos años. Qué suerte tienen los ángeles de tenerte. Ya puedo oírlos reír. Te quiero mucho, ahora y siempre”.
Laraine Newman, quien fue miembro del elenco de Saturday Night Live y una de las personas más cercanas al actor, también ha publicado un mensaje en su cuenta de Twitter para despedirse de Belzer: “Quería tanto a este chico. Fue uno de mis primeros amigos cuando llegué a Nueva York para hacer SNL. Solíamos salir a cenar todas las semanas. Una de las personas más divertidas de la historia”.
I'm so sad to hear of Richard Belzer's passing. I loved this guy so much. He was one of my first friends when I got to New York to do SNL. We used to go out to dinner every week at Sheepshead Bay for lobster. One of the funniest people ever. A master at crowd work. RIP dearest. pic.twitter.com/u23co0JPA2
En el ámbito personal, Richard Belzer ya lidió con un cáncer testicular en la década de 1980, que inspiró su comedia Another Lone Nut. En ese mismo género, bromeó acerca de un supuesto episodio en el que Hulk Hogan lo asfixió en su programa, lo que le hizo perder el conocimiento y caer, golpeándose la cabeza en el escenario. Belzer presentó una demanda contra Hogan, aunque finalmente llegaron a un acuerdo extrajudicial.
Justice Online Mobile is the name of the video game that will integrate everything.
At this point in the movie it is impossible that you do not know ChatGPT, especially when giants like Microsoft or ultimately Opera are making great integrations with it. Artificial intelligence is present in a multitude of areas, so video games are not going to be less.
The news comes to us from China thanks to economic analyst Daniel Ahmad. Specializing in Asian video games, the famous user has published that NetEase, the giant that develops and publishes video games in China (and around the world), has confirmed that it will use ChatGPT in an MMO called Justice Online Mobile.
The idea behind the chatbot integration is that players can talk to NPCs, i.e. characters that are not controlled by other users. “But that’s already been done in all video games since ancient times,” many of you may ask. And yes, the answer is correct, the predefined dialogue has always been there, but there is a difference now: these NPCs will respond depending on what you ask them, and the answer will be given thanks to the implementation of ChatGPT. So “easy” on paper. In fact, Ahmad comments that the idea is that it can also be done by voice and not just remain purely textual.
With Generative AI being all over the headlines these days, NetEase says it'll launch launch the first game version of ChatGPT in Justice Online Mobile, its upcoming MMO title.
It'll allow players to chat with NPCs and have them react in unique ways that impact the game. pic.twitter.com/JBiFy3J5dV
According to the information revealed, it is also expected that these conversations will generate playable moments within the title. Ahmad gives as an example telling an NPC that his house is on fire, so that this AI-controlled character has to run to his house to see if this is true; likewise, we can also cause the breakup of two people in love by getting in the middle.
The possibilities are endless according to what has been published. Of course, this has only appeared in an investor meeting for the moment, although the idea is to make it available to players as soon as possible.
