CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on his Facebook page on Thursday about the new technology created for the metaverse, which can take simple drawings and give them life. “Meta AI researchers built a tool that lets you animate kids’ drawings, so I tested it out with a sketch my daughter made,” he said. “AI advancements can be used in storytelling and world-building tools—and in the future, they’ll unlock new experiences and make creative expression in the metaverse as effortless as social posts today....

Kang said she found a visible pain point in her previous work in nuclear weapons security after often feeling down and stuck in her position. As a result, she switched her mindset in 2015 to launch InnovatorsBox, a tech company specializing in culture, leadership, and team development for organizations. Kang describes InnovatorsBox as a creative educational firm that helps employees at other companies tap into their untouched creativity through workshops, consulting , and, most notably, online tools and courses....

According to app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, the three new labels would include “Get the latest,” “Stay Informed,” and “Misleading.” Wong tweeted a screenshot of the label examples she found on Monday. The labels also would include “Find out more” links, which presumably would take the user either to information on why the tweet was flagged or a reputable source on the topic. While there’s little information other than what Wong shared in her experiment, it looks like the new labels are meant to help slow the spread of misinformation and fake news on the platform....

The Moto G Stylus (2021) is the second iteration of the hardware, superseding the fantastic Moto G Stylus (2020). Following on its predecessor’s heels a mere nine months later, the Moto G Stylus (2021) features a bigger display, an improved stylus, and an incrementally better processor. Specifications such as the amount of RAM, display resolution, and Android version all remain unchanged. Yet others, specifically the rear camera array, are in some ways bafflingly worse....

What Is an MSR File? There are a variety of file formats that use the MSR file extension to store data for different types of software, one being for a MineSight resource. A different file that uses the .MSR extension might be a Bersoft image measurement file, a LaVision ImSpector file, an OzWin CompuServe Access SYSOP file, a manifest summary record, or a report file associated with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) software....

Need for Speed continued the illegal street racing theme of the NFS Underground series but also added high-stakes, high-risk drifting through mountain roads similar to the climax of “Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift”. It also included great customization options as well. With solid gameplay, great visuals, and tons of features, it was a good follow-up to the massively successful Underground games. It didn’t take off at retail, however, as it just missed out on taking full advantage of the import racing craze which was dying down at the time....

Here’s the low-down on everything you need to know to keep those competitive races going and have everything saved in the cloud. What Is Nintendo Switch Online? Nintendo Switch Online is Nintendo’s aptly named service for its Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch (OLED model) gaming consoles, which enables internet features. It’s comparable to Microsoft’s Xbox Network service or Sony’s PlayStation Network. Nintendo’s online service isn’t required by default to use the Switch; only if you want to play games online and against other people, or if you want access to its other advertised benefits....

On Tuesday, Oculus revealed more details about its newest update. Version 34, or v34 for short. The update is available now and brings several major upgrades to the VR software. Chief among them are the introduction of new voice commands, notifications for Android phones, and a new feature for the Guardian system called Space Sense. Oculus says the improvements made to voice commands will make them more capable of handling your everyday tasks....

This OnePlus 8T, however, has me wondering if I could switch. It’s not innovative in a folding-phone way, no, but it makes my iPhone XS feel kinda sad and slow. I honestly could see myself using the OnePlus 8T for day to day life, personal and professional, thanks to its speedy responsiveness, gorgeous screen, and long-lasting battery. Will I, though? Probably not, since I’m pretty committed to using AirPods, iMessages and FaceTime (my folks can only handle so many different apps to stay in touch), and my massive collection of apps and games that also show up on my iPad Pro....

No matter which electronic hardware is in a pair of headphones, there’s one aspect that affects the sonic signature more than anything else. Headphones can be open or closed, sometimes referred to as open-back or closed-back. Although less common, some headphones meld the best of both worlds by being semi-open. To most users, the open or closed state of headphones shouldn’t matter as long as the audio experience is enjoyable....

Last week, the FDA ruled that hearing aids can be sold over-the-counter (OTC). This will bring hearing improvements to millions who previously could not afford medical-grade hearing aids. Prices should drop, and with a huge market ready to exploit, technology companies will step in and improve the offerings. “These devices have great potential to increase access to hearing technology for individuals who felt that traditional hearing aids were financially out of reach or due to poor access to hearing healthcare professionals,” Rebecca Lewis, audiologist and audiology director of the Adult and Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica told Lifewire via email....

What Is the I2C Protocol? I2C is a serial communication protocol that only requires two signal lines. It was designed for communication between chips on a printed circuit board (PCB). I2C was originally designed for 100 Kbps communication. However, faster data transmission modes have been developed over the years to achieve speeds of up to 3.4 Mbit. The key feature of I2C is the ability to have many components on a single communication bus with only two wires, which makes I2C perfect for simple applications....

PCM Basics PCM analog-to-digital audio conversion can be complex, depending on the content being converted, the quality desired, and how the information is stored, transferred, and distributed. In basic terms, a PCM audio file is a digital interpretation of an analog sound wave. The goal is to replicate the properties of an analog audio signal as closely as possible. Analog-to-PCM conversion is accomplished via a process called sampling. Analog sound moves in waves, as opposed to PCM, which is a series of ones and zeros....

According to a report from the Motion Picture Association released in March, online video subscriptions passed the 1 billion mark in 2020 for the first time. A J.D. Power survey shows that American households had an average of four different streaming subscriptions in December—up from three in April 2020—and were spending an average of $47 per month. But while public spaces like movie theaters are reopening, one Hollywood expert thinks that consumers will prefer continuing to stream movies after the pandemic....

Changing the desktop wallpaper is one of the easiest ways to personalize your Mac. It ensures everyone knows it is yours, different from all the other Macs using the standard wallpaper supplied by Apple. Picture Formats to Use Desktop wallpaper pictures must be in JPEG, TIFF, PICT, or RAW formats. Raw image files are sometimes problematic because each camera manufacturer creates its own RAW image file format. Apple routinely updates the Mac OS to handle the many different types of RAW formats, but to ensure maximum compatibility—particularly if you’re going to share your pictures with family or friends—use JPEG or TIFF format....

Announced during the Adobe MAX 2021 event, Photoshop will be getting three new neural filters for photographs and new interoperability with Illustrator. Artists on Illustrator will enjoy improved 3D effects and a redesigned interface. The new Photoshop filters are Landscape Mixer, Color Transfer, and Harmonization. Landscape Mixer can blend two different landscape images together to create a new picturesque scene, like changing a photograph of a summer day to winter by adding a snowy picture....

The Pico 4 offers both a standalone and a PC-connected experience, just like the Quest 2, but includes something Meta has still yet to crack: full-color passthrough. In VR terms, passthrough refers to seeing the world around you as you use the device, which comes in handy when avoiding furniture, finding controllers, and just checking out the source of external noise. Quest 2 only offers an extremely grainy black and white passthrough, which makes it difficult to see what is going on when wearing the headset....

I’m old enough to remember when Quake was the first-person shooter, grabbing the spotlight from Doom thanks to its more advanced visuals. Seriously, my friend Nick and I would spend hours in the game just marveling at how we could see enemy remains from different angles. 3D models were a huge deal back then. Naturally, I was excited to see how one of my most fondly remembered shooters holds up in 2021....

The report from consulting firm McKinsey & Company says that by harnessing the mysterious power of quantum mechanics, computers could find everything from better batteries to ways to capture emitted carbon. The company predicts that useful quantum computers could arrive by the end of the decade. “Meeting the goal of net-zero emissions that countries and some industries have committed to won’t be possible without huge advances in climate technology that aren’t achievable today,” the report’s authors wrote....

The Different Types of Cell References The three types of references that can be used in Excel and Google Sheets are easily identified by the presence or absence of dollar signs ($) within the cell reference. A dollar sign tells the program to use that value every time it runs a formula. Relative cell references contain no dollar signs (i.e., A1).Mixed cell references have dollar signs attached to either the letter or the number in a reference but not both (i....