April 22, 2025 • By Oli Buckley, Professor in Cyber Security, Loughborough University

The TV series Severance explores a world where employees undergo a surgical procedure to split their memories into "innies" (work memories) and "outies" (personal memories). This concept is seen as a potential solution to insider threats, where employees can leak or sabotage sensitive information. However, the show highlights the risks of trying to eliminate human risk through control and surveillance. Research has shown that excessive monitoring and control can lead to disengagement, burnout, and even counterproductive behavior. Instead of trying to separate people from their work, organizations should focus on building systems that are secure and respectful of employees. This can be achieved through better design, clearer boundaries, and a workplace culture that values openness and trust. By prioritizing employee wellbeing and promoting a culture of trust, organizations can reduce the risk of insider threats and create a more secure and respectful work environment.

April 22, 2025 • By Oli Buckley, Professor in Cyber Security, Loughborough University

The TV series Severance explores a world where employees undergo a surgical procedure to split their memories into "innies" (work memories) and "outies" (personal memories). This concept is seen as a potential solution to insider threats, where employees can leak or sabotage sensitive information. However, the show highlights the risks of trying to eliminate human risk through excessive control and surveillance. Research has shown that such approaches can backfire, leading to disengagement, hostility, and even rule-breaking among employees. Instead of separating people from their work, organizations should focus on building systems that are secure, respectful, and prioritize employee well-being. This can be achieved through better design, clearer boundaries, and a workplace culture that values openness and trust. By implementing measures such as clear expectations, open communication channels, and collaborative workspaces, organizations can promote a culture of trust and prevent insider threats. Ultimately, prioritizing humanity at the center of systems and organizations is crucial to preventing the most significant vulnerabilities.

April 22, 2025 • By ClickHouse

ClickHouse, an analytical database, has introduced a new optimization technique called "lazy materialization." This technique delays reading column data until it's actually needed, resulting in significant performance improvements, especially for Top N queries. In a real-world example using the Amazon customer reviews dataset, ClickHouse achieved a 1,576× speedup, from 219 seconds to 139 milliseconds, without changing the SQL query. The technique works by deferring column reads until they're required by the query execution plan, making it particularly effective for queries with large columns and LIMIT clauses. Lazy materialization complements other I/O optimization techniques in ClickHouse, such as indexing and PREWHERE, to reduce data read, memory usage, and query time.

April 22, 2025 • By Robin Mitchell

Here's a concise summary of the news article: Several tech advancements have been made recently. In a half marathon, 21 humanoid robots competed against humans, with many robots facing technical challenges. Amazon has paused its AI data center plans, while Microsoft has achieved a 90.9% reuse and recycling rate for servers. Huawei is launching an advanced AI chip, and nickel-zinc batteries are emerging as a viable alternative for energy storage. Researchers have also developed a self-healing lithium-ion battery and a quantum-based navigation system with 50 times greater accuracy than traditional GPS. Additionally, NASA has introduced a quantum sensor to detect subtle shifts in Earth's gravity, and an open-source project has created a 360-degree camera using Raspberry Pi and LiDAR technology. Other notable developments include Apple's introduction of the M4 chip and the launch of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

April 22, 2025 • By Cam Vigliotta, Forbes Staff, Cam Vigliotta, Forbes Staff https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/people/cam-vigliotta/

The article discusses the best golf pants for comfort and performance. The top pick is the Lululemon ABC Pants, which are lightweight, stretchy, and easy to wear. They are made from a breathable and flexible blend of fabric, have four pockets, and are quick-drying and resistant to wrinkles. Other notable options include the CRZ Yoga All-Day Comfort Golf Pants, Bonobos Performance Link Golf Pants, Greyson Montauk Joggers, and Callaway Big & Tall Stretch Classic Pant. When choosing golf pants, consider factors such as fit, fabric, storage, and weatherproofing. Look for fabrics with stretch, a tailored fit, and pockets for essentials. A clean and classic design can also make the pants versatile for both on and off the course. The article provides a buyer's guide with insights from Scott Morrison, cofounder of golf apparel brand Radmor, to help golfers find the best pants for their needs.

April 22, 2025 • By Lance Eliot, Contributor, Lance Eliot, Contributor https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/

The article discusses the development of AI foundational models and generative AI for mental health therapy. Currently, most AI models are general-purpose and lack in-depth expertise, being "a mile long and an inch deep." To create effective mental health therapy AI, domain-specific models are needed, which are designed to be specific to a chosen domain. These models have four cornerstone ingredients: structure, algorithms, data, and interactivity. The article highlights the challenges and opportunities in creating domain-specific AI foundational models for mental health therapy, which could potentially provide in-depth expertise and benefit society. However, it also notes that we are still in the early days of devising robust AI for mental health advisement, and there is a need for continued research and development.

April 22, 2025 • By Oliver Brandt

Gen Urobuchi, known for his work on Madoka Magica and Psycho-Pass, has created a new metroidvania game called Rusty Rabbit. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where rabbits have become the dominant species and have built a society based on the stories of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit. The game's main character, Stamp, is a middle-aged scavenger who rides around in a mechsuit, exploring ruins and fighting enemies. Urobuchi-san was inspired by a photo of a Sylvanian Families figure in a toy mech and wanted to create a game that combined cute characters with a unique storyline. The game is available now on Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC, and offers a fresh take on the metroidvania genre with satisfying exploration and inventive gameplay ideas.

April 22, 2025 • By Gavin Sheehan

Catan Studio has released Catan: Sixth Edition to celebrate the game's 30th Anniversary. This updated version features a new look, improvements, and streamlined elements to make it more accessible to modern players. The Sixth Edition stays true to the original mechanics while introducing thoughtful updates to enhance the player experience, making it a must-buy for both new and experienced players.

April 22, 2025 • By Marc Deschamps

Rocket League is collaborating with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, introducing new content, including a limited-time mode called Pizza Party. In this mode, a giant pizza replaces the ball, and players use grappling hooks to score. The mode will be available from April 22nd to May 1st. The game will also feature 11 TMNT-themed Challenge Rewards, such as banners, wheels, and a Turtle Power topper. Additionally, players can earn an Ooze Canister by completing challenges, which contains items from various series. The iconic Turtle Van will be available in a bundle for 2500 Credits, complete with customizable decals. This event is part of a larger trend of TMNT content in live service games and dedicated titles, making it an exciting time for fans.

April 22, 2025 • By Christian Eberle

The AOC CQ27G4ZH is a 27-inch QHD curved VA panel gaming monitor with a 300 Hz refresh rate, Adaptive-Sync, HDR10, and wide gamut color. It offers excellent contrast and color accuracy, premium video processing, and a solid build quality. The monitor features a simple design, a fully adjustable stand, and a range of gaming aids, including aiming points, sniper mode, and a refresh rate indicator. With a price of $300, the CQ27G4ZH represents a superlative example of a favorable price-performance ratio, making it a viable alternative to more expensive OLED monitors. The monitor's high contrast ratio of over 5,600:1 and 300 Hz refresh rate provide a smooth and immersive gaming experience. While it may lack some features like USB ports and internal speakers, the CQ27G4ZH's focus on excellent video processing and picture quality makes it an attractive option for gamers seeking a high-quality monitor without breaking the bank. Overall, the AOC CQ27G4ZH is a great choice for those looking for a fast and responsive gaming monitor with excellent image quality.

April 22, 2025 • By JC Torres

The Framer Creator Micro 2 is a micro keyboard designed for designers, particularly those using the Framer visual website builder. It stands out with its purposeful simplicity, using physical keycaps instead of digital displays. Each key is mapped to a specific action, and users can swap out keycaps and rearrange them as needed. The device also features a tactile knob and thumb slide joystick for additional control. This hands-on approach helps users develop muscle memory, making repetitive tasks feel more natural. The Framer Creator Micro 2 offers a customizable layout, satisfying physical keys, and helpful extras, making it a fresh take on boosting productivity and inviting creators to interact with their work in a playful way.

April 22, 2025 • By Sponsored

Planetary Processing is an online game development tool that simplifies the process of creating multiplayer games. It provides infrastructure for hosting online games, eliminating the need for tedious netcode writing. The tool offers plugins for popular game engines like Unity, Unreal Engine, and Godot, allowing for easy integration of multiplayer functionality. With Planetary Processing, game logic is handled server-side, and developers can write Lua scripts to manage online technicalities. The tool is scalable, with a recent 'Dimensions' update making it easier to create instances within game worlds and online games with private sessions. The basic tier of Planetary Processing is free, offering access to the tool's SDKs, online dashboard, and a beta physics engine, with limitations on player and dimension numbers. The premium tier provides unlimited server sizes, multi-user access, and other features, at a lower cost than self-hosting. Developers can use a pricing calculator to estimate monthly costs based on server loads. To get started, visit the official Planetary Processing site, and stay updated through social media channels, the community Discord, and YouTube tutorials.

April 22, 2025 • By Jacob Roach

The article discusses the gaming monitor market, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of various brands. Alienware is praised for its simple lineup, competitive pricing, and excellent support. Asus is noted for its wide range of panel options and features, but criticized for its high prices. BenQ offers affordable monitors, but its higher-end options are overpriced and lack image quality. Gigabyte provides value with its low-end displays, but its high-end monitors are slow to market and lack unique features. LG is focused on high-end displays and experiments with unique form factors, but its pricing can be steep. MSI has a complicated lineup, but offers flexibility and lower prices. Samsung is known for its premium designs, but can be late to market and overpriced. The article concludes by mentioning other brands to consider and encouraging readers to share their opinions.

April 22, 2025 • By Zackery Cuevas

The Samsung Odyssey 3D is a 27-inch, 4K gaming monitor that features glasses-free 3D technology. Priced at $1,999, it has a high price tag and limited library of supported titles, with only 50 games confirmed to be compatible by the end of the year. The monitor uses a 4K IPS panel, which offers wide viewing angles and good color range, but is not as vibrant as OLED panels. It has a sturdy stand with height adjustment, pivot, and tilt, and features RGB lighting and outward-facing ports, including two HDMI 2.1 ports and a headphone jack. The Odyssey 3D uses eye-tracking technology, a proprietary lenticular lens, and view-mapping algorithms to create a 3D image. It requires the user to position themselves directly in front of the monitor with the lenses at eye level and connect their computer to the USB-B port to download the Reality Hub app. The app scans the computer for compatible games and allows users to adjust 3D settings. In testing, the monitor performed well, with a brightness of 328 nits and a color gamut of 99.6% of the sRGB color space. It also had a low input lag of 9.2ms at 4K/60Hz and supported AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible technologies. The monitor's 3D capabilities were impressive, with games like Palworld and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake looking good in 3D. However, the limited library of supported titles and high price tag may limit its appeal. The Odyssey 3D also features artificial intelligence-powered 2D-to-3D video conversion, but this feature has limitations, including no support for HDR or DRM-enabled content. Overall, the Samsung Odyssey 3D is a unique and impressive monitor, but its high price and limited game support may make it a niche product.

April 22, 2025 • By Zackery Cuevas

The Samsung Odyssey 3D is a 27-inch, 4K gaming monitor that features glasses-free 3D technology. Priced at $1,999, it has a high price tag and limited library of supported titles, but its 3D implementation is the best to date. The monitor uses a 4K IPS panel, which offers wide viewing angles and good color range, and it supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. It has a sturdy stand with height adjustment, pivot, and tilt, and a strip of RGB lighting that complements the screen's colors. The monitor's 3D technology uses eye-tracking, a proprietary lenticular lens, and view-mapping algorithms to create a 3D image. It requires the user to position themselves directly in front of the monitor with the lenses at eye level and connect their computer to the USB-B port. The Reality Hub app scans the computer for compatible games and allows users to adjust 3D settings. In testing, the monitor performed well, with an average brightness of 328 nits and a contrast ratio of 1,376:1. It also had low input lag, with 9.2ms at 4K/60Hz and 1080p/60Hz. The monitor supports 50 titles at launch, including games developed using Unreal Engine 4, but it does not support games developed in Unreal Engine 5. The Odyssey 3D also uses artificial intelligence to transform compatible 2D video content into 3D, but this feature has limitations, such as not supporting HDR or digital rights management (DRM) enabled content. To use this feature, users need a high-end GPU, such as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080, and a powerful computer with at least 32GB of RAM. Overall, the Samsung Odyssey 3D is an impressive monitor with excellent 3D technology, but its high price and limited library of supported titles may limit its appeal. It is a niche product that is best suited for those who are willing to pay a premium for a unique gaming experience.

April 22, 2025 • By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

ZDNET recommends the Chipolo Pop Tracker tag, a small, durable, and water-resistant device that helps find lost items. It works with Apple's Find My network or Google's Find My Device networks and has a Bluetooth range of 300 feet. The tag emits a loud 120-decibel sound, is powered by a user-replaceable battery that lasts about a year, and comes with additional features such as finding your phone and taking selfies. The Chipolo Pop is priced at $29, made with 50% recycled materials, and has a sustainable packaging design. However, it does not support Apple's precision finding feature like the AirTags.

April 22, 2025 • By Luke Dormehl

The iBeetle, a collaboration between Apple and Volkswagen, debuted at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2013. It featured Apple-inspired colors, a built-in iPhone dock, and a custom app to control the car's features. Although it didn't live up to the hype, Apple remained interested in automotive technology. The company introduced CarPlay in 2014 and published research on lidar technology for autonomous vehicles in 2017. Apple also operated a fleet of self-driving cars and pursued patents for futuristic vehicles. However, after spending $10 billion on Project Titan, Apple pulled the plug on its self-driving electric vehicle project in 2024. The company continues to work on advancing CarPlay as a software framework for other automakers.

April 22, 2025 • By Katherine Kallergis

Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would eliminate the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC), which oversees real estate agents, brokers, and brokerages. The proposed legislation, House Bill 1461, aims to deregulate industries such as real estate. FREC, established in 1925, adjudicates complaints against agents and brokers, and has the authority to revoke licenses, issue fines, or suspensions. The bill's passage could have significant implications for consumer protection and the real estate industry, with many trade groups and professionals opposing the legislation, citing concerns about the loss of regulatory oversight and potential risks to consumers.