Is there a more satisfying experience in video gaming than clearing four lines at once in Tetris? (A move technically referred to as a tetris.) It turns out there is: watching an AI developed by Greg Cannon play Tetris flawlessly while prioritizing clearing four lines as frequently as possible.
<img width="1200" height="800" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P90448642_highRes_bmw-m8-competition-g-1200×800.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="2022 BMW M8 Competition" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="709160" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/2022-bmw-m8-competition-range-revealed-with-bigger-screens-and-better-lights-27709159/p90448642_highres_bmw-m8-competition-g/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P90448642_highRes_bmw-m8-competition-g.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,960" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="P90448642_highRes_bmw-m8-competition-g" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Images: BMW AG
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P90448642_highRes_bmw-m8-competition-g-1080×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P90448642_highRes_bmw-m8-competition-g-1200×800.jpg” />German automaker BMW has updated its 2022 M8 Competition sport-luxury car. You can still get an M8 Competition in three body styles (2-door Coupe, 2-door Cabriolet, and 4-door Gran Coupe), sharing the same 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine with 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. However, BMW’s press release said the V8 is pumping out 625 horsepower or 460 kW, … Continue reading
It’s not just the dark web marketplace operators who face the law — sometimes it’s the people who facilitate access to those marketplaces. Israeli national and Brazil resident Tal Prihar has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his alleged role in a dark web money laundering scheme. He and co-defendant Michael Phan reportedly received the equivalent of $8.4 million in Bitcoin kickbacks for agreeing to link illegal dark net marketplaces from their news site DeepDotWeb. To hide the cryptocurrency’s origins, Prihar laundered the money by transferring payments to other Bitcoin accounts and conventional bank accounts tied to shell companies.
Prihar pleaded guilty in March 2021, and had already agreed to forfeit $8.4 million. Phan is still in the midst of extradition from Israel to face a money laundering charge.
The relatively stiff sentence might be a message to others who’d serve as brokers for illegal dark web outlets. If you knowingly point users to contraband (including illegal guns, hacking tools and drugs) and receive payment for it, you’re apparently as culpable as anyone selling those underground items. Whether or not this is an effective deterrent, it’s clear the feds don’t want to look soft.
“Wine is an easy solution to a problem that no one plans on fixing.”
Good Omens’ second season has lost some divine voices. Showtime’s Let the Right One In adaptation starts growing its cast. Get a dark look at what’s coming in Raised by Wolves season two. Plus, what’s next for Kung Fu, Legends of Tomorrow, and more. To me, my spoilers!
I was sitting on the couch one evening over the holidays, watching a college bowl game as one is wont to do. Football is usually my tune-out time where I can forget the world is on fire and the fossil fuel industry is hellbent on stoking the flames.
<img width="1280" height="800" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/google-nest-speaker-1280×800.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Google Nest speaker on counter" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="709143" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/google-assistant-no-longer-requires-wake-word-to-stop-talking-27709140/google-nest-speaker/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/google-nest-speaker.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,900" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="google-nest-speaker" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="
Chris Davies/SlashGear
” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/google-nest-speaker-1152×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/google-nest-speaker-1280×800.jpg” />Google has announced a small but highly convenient Google Assistant tweak: the AI will now silence itself when you tell it to “stop.” This change eliminates the need to use the “Hey Google” wake word before telling Assistant to cancel a response, which is awkward when the AI is rambling about something you don’t want to hear. The change is … Continue reading
Back in 2020, California governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order that will ban the sales of new gasoline and diesel vehicles in the state by 2035. While California already represents half the EV market in the US, the state’s officials know that they have to offer help and incentives to accelerate EV adoption and reach an all-electric future. They need to take steps so that removing gas vehicles from the market wouldn’t hurt consumers. California committed $3.9 billion for its EV-related initiatives last year, and Newsom recently proposed the addition of $6.1 billion to the state’s zero-emission vehicle package to bring the total to $10 billion. Now, the governor has detailed what he plans to do with the money.
First off, Newsom is hoping to make EVs more accessible by putting aside $256 million for low-income consumer EV purchases and spending $900 million on deploying affordable charging options to low-income neighborhoods. Another $935 million will also be spent to add 1,000 zero-emission short-haul trucks and 1,700 electric buses to the state’s fleet. $1.5 billion will be used to electrify school buses, while $1.1 billion will be used to buy trucks, buses, off-road equipment and fueling infrastructure. California will spend $400 million on the electrification of ports and $419 million to support projects that increase access to zero-emission transportation in low-income communities, as well.
Alvaro Sanchez, Vice President of Policy at The Greenlining Institute non-profit org, said in a statement:
“To achieve California’s climate goals we must focus on the needs of the most polluted and underserved neighborhoods. Governor Newsom’s ZEV investment proposal recognizes this reality. We’re excited to work with the Governor and the Legislature to prove to the rest of the country that we can not only advance our climate agenda but also advance equity.”
You can read more information about the proposal on the governor’s website.
Critics offered rockin’ rewrites after the GOP senator applauded Spotify for removing the “Heart of Gold” singer’s music at his request.
Squarespace is taking on Patreon, YouTube and the safe-for-work segment of OnlyFans with the launch of its new video offering. The web host is enabling its users to upload video directly to their Squarespace site and sell access on a one-off or recurring subscription basis. These clips will be hosted natively on the platform itself although users can route in videos from YouTube and Vimeo where necessary. The company added that it has built a new native video player with “slick playback” and “deep integration into the Squarespace platform.”
This is very much an extension of the work Squarespace took to enable its users to earn subscription revenue back in 2020. Much as it did back then, the company said that its new paywall and membership features are targeted toward chefs, instructors, wellness providers and educators. While the company has conceded that it will not be proactively moderating content uploaded on its platform, it does say that the material has to abide by its terms of service, which currently prohibit violent conduct and hate speech.
Creators will get the opportunity to upload 30 minutes of video content for free, with users needing to sign up for a Member Areas plan to get more. On the low end, the basic plan offers five hours of video space, while the Pro tier offers 50, with the promise of lower transaction fees as you grow.
This is part of a broader push that many sites are making into taking a slice of the aforementioned platforms’ pie. Just yesterday, Substack announced that it was expanding into video as a way of keeping creators within the same ecosystem.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
