Author: Vidya Saras

X Money is one step closer to launch, according to the company’s CEO. Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, will integrate its long-awaited payments feature in 2025, according to a Dec. 31 announcement. X CEO Linda Yaccarino said that the platform will “connect [users] in ways never thought possible,” including through the launch of X Money. She did not reveal a definite launch date, but some commentators believe that the company is prepared to launch the product at any time. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered leaked code that suggests the company plans to launch X Money before it gains…

Nvidia announced today it’s releasing a family of foundational AI models called Cosmos that can be used to train humanoids, industrial robots, and self-driving cars. While language models learn how to generate text by training on copious amounts of books, articles, and social media posts, Cosmos is designed to generate images and 3D models of the physical world.During a keynote presentation at the annual CES conference in Las Vegas, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang showed examples of Cosmos being used to simulate activities inside of warehouses. Cosmos was trained on 20 million hours of real footage of “humans walking, hands moving,…

Asus’ ROG brand has never been one to skimp out on external lighting, but these latest laptops are getting closer to creating a full-on light show on their lids. The company’s latest Strix lineup, specifically the ROG Strix Scar, has crammed in more LED “AniMe” lights on its cover than the back of the recent ROG Phone 9. If the only thing you demand from gaming gear is excessive lighting, then the new ROG Strix Scar 16 and 18 would be on the top of the pile. However, if you don’t care about lighting, there’s still a lot to like.…

In theory, the beheading of a king and queen should trigger some sober reflections in the ruling class. But after Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were famously guillotined in 1793, the surviving members of the House of Bourbon and their most fervent supporters were still adamantly committed to reviving to the same arrogant autocracy that provoked the French Revolution in the first place.

Lara Ozkan, an MIT senior from Oradell, New Jersey, has been selected as a 2025 Marshall Scholar and will begin graduate studies in the United Kingdom next fall. Funded by the British government, the Marshall Scholarship awards American students of high academic achievement with the opportunity to pursue graduate studies in any field at any university in the U.K. Up to 50 scholarships are granted each year.“We are so proud that Lara will be representing MIT in the U.K.,” says Kim Benard, associate dean of distinguished fellowships. “Her accomplishments to date have been extraordinary and we are excited to see…

Broader implications for US infrastructure The Salt Typhoon revelations follow a broader pattern of state-sponsored cyber operations targeting the US technology ecosystem. The telecom sector, serving as a backbone for industries including finance, energy, and transportation, remains particularly vulnerable to such attacks. While Chinese officials have dismissed the accusations as disinformation, the recurring breaches underscore the pressing need for international collaboration and policy enforcement to deter future attacks. The Salt Typhoon campaign has uncovered alarming gaps in the cybersecurity of US telecommunications firms, with breaches now extending to over a dozen networks. Federal agencies and private firms must act swiftly…

Compass International Pictures In hindsight, 1978’s “Halloween” was always destined to have a sequel. Co-writer/director John Carpenter and co-writer/producer Debra Hill even included a particularly prophetic line of dialogue in their tale of a supernaturally-charged maniac, Michael Myers, terrorizing his hometown on Halloween night: “You can’t kill the bogeyman.” Thanks to the film’s massive success critically, commercially, and culturally, “Halloween II” was practically a given. While “Halloween” concludes with the assertion that Myers has indeed not yet been killed, a trickier question for Carpenter and Hill concerned what to do…

Millions of people across the UK are at risk of penalties after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealed that 5.4 million taxpayers have yet to submit their self-assessment tax return. With the 31 January deadline fast approaching, HMRC has urged anyone who has not yet filed to do so immediately to avoid hefty fines. Tax insurance firm Qdos reacted to the announcement, warning that failing to file and pay on time incurs an automatic £100 penalty. Additional charges mount rapidly the longer the delay persists, with daily penalties and further levies imposed after three months, six months and 12 months.…

I really thought that we had seen the bottom in terms of Bitcoiners making irrational and ridiculous arguments against improvements to Bitcoin, in order to paint themselves as some kind of righteous underdog fighting against corruption and incompetence from the inside.Boy was I wrong. So, some things to explain first. With Lightning channels, you have to decide your fee-rate for a unilateral close transaction ahead of time. Because the actual UTXO is a multisig, both parties to the channel have to sign the transactions either side uses to close the channel unilaterally ahead of time. The entire security of Lightning…

The Dogecoin price might be gearing up for what looks like another notable rally after its recent performance since the beginning of January. Dogecoin, which spent the majority of the last two weeks of December on a decline, has regained momentum this month and is now about to break above the $0.40 mark again.  According to crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade, Dogecoin is currently mirroring its movements in the last bull cycle. Particularly, price movements suggest that the meme coin may be preparing for a significant rally to reach new all-time highs in the coming months. DOGE Playing Out Familiar Price…