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There are several meteor showers we can count on seeing every year as Earth passes through the debris trails of known comets and asteroids orbiting the sun, and two of them are about to be in full swing. The Lyrids, which come from comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher, will be visible from April 17 to 26, most prominently in the skies over the Northern Hemisphere. And just a couple days later, the bright streaks of the Eta Aquarids stemming from the famous Halleys Comet will make their first appearance around April 20 before peaking in early May. In both cases, you wont need any equipment to enjoy the show. How to see the Lyrids While the Lyrid meteor shower isnt the most fruitful astronomical event of the year, we can still expect to see an average of 15 meteors per hour during its peak on the night of April 21 going into April 22, if the conditions are right. In the days before and after that, theyll come at a rate of about five per hour. The Lyrids radiant, or the point from which they appear to emerge, will be in the northeast near the constellation Lyra and well above the horizon by around midnight. Youll want to set up in a spot with a wide view of the sky and as little light pollution as possible, and look up toward the east. The best time to watch is late evening on April 21 until the moon rises a few hours before dawn on April 22, EarthSky recommends. Then, after the moon rises, place yourself in the moons shadow. Youll have the best shot at seeing the Lyrids if youre in the Northern Hemisphere (and if the weather is clear), but viewers south of the equator may be able to catch some too. Every so often, the Lyrid meteor shower produces an unusual abundance of meteors in events known as outbursts, but when theyll occur is unpredictable. In 1982, viewers in Florida spotted as many as 75 meteors per hour, according to NASA. While thats by no means the norm, its not out of the question that you might catch an outburst one of these days. More likely than that, though, is the chance of seeing a fireball, or an exceptionally bright meteor that NASA says is occasionally a feature of the Lyrids. The relatively short meteor shower will come and go in a little over a week, but the Eta Aquarids right after will offer a whole month of potential shooting star sightings. How to see the Eta Aquarids The Eta Aquarid meteor shower (also spelled Aquariid) is one of two annual meteor showers originating from comet 1P/Halley, or Halleys Comet. This comet is in a retrograde orbit around the sun, EarthSky explains. That means it runs around the sun in the opposite direction from Earth and all the other planets. As a result, we pass near its path twice, giving us the Eta Aquarids on the outbound leg of the trip and the Orionids in late October during the inbound. The Eta Aquarids are more plentiful than the Lyrids, and you can start looking out for them around April 20, according to NASA. The shower will be active until May 21, but the best time to spot meteors will be overnight from May 5 into May 6, when it peaks, in the pre-dawn hours. During that time, as many as 50 meteors per hour could be visible, versus about 10 per hour in the non-peak windows. The Eta Aquarids radiant is in the constellation Aquarius. These meteors are best seen from the Southern Hemisphere, where theyll pop up at a higher rate, but that doesnt mean you wont be able to see any if youre in the north. Observers in the Northern Hemisphere may just see fewer, and theyre more likely to see those dubbed Earthgrazers, or long meteors that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon, NASA notes. The Eta Aquarids in general move fast, at about 40.7 miles per second, according to the space agency, and theyll often leave incandescent trains lingering in the sky after theyve zipped by. While the debris from Halleys Comet graces our skies twice a year, the comet itself (which I cant think about without also remembering that episode of Hey Arnold!) only swings past Earth about every 76 years, which last happened in 1986. Itll make its next appearance in 2061. After the Eta Aquarids wrap up, well still have a few more meteor showers to look forward to through the summer, so there will be plenty of chances to view some shooting stars if you missed out this time around or just want to catch as many as possible. That includes the Arietids in early June, the Delta Aquarids starting in mid-July and perhaps the best known meteor shower, the Perseids, in mid-August.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/the-first-meteor-shower-of-spring-peaks-soon-and-another-is-close-on-its-heels-174458501.html?src=rss
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You might now be out of luck if you've been relying on Apple's AI tools to help you craft a Facebook post or generate a custom emoji to slap on an Instagram Story. As first reported by Sorcererhat Tech (by way of 9to5Mac), Apple Intelligence features are not currently functional on Meta's iOS apps, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Threads. Engadget has confirmed that Apple Intelligence isn't working in the apps at the time of writing. As things stand, along with writing tools (which include the likes of text generation and proofreading), Apple Intelligence features such as Genmoji aren't working in Meta's apps. While people were previously able to include keyboard stickers and Memoji in Instagram Stories, that's no longer the case. Developers can opt out of using Apple Intelligence in their iOS apps and Meta may have done just that. Perhaps it's looking to nudge folks to use its own Meta AI tools in Facebook et al. Engadget has contacted Meta and Apple for comment.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-intelligence-is-busted-on-metas-ios-apps-165620772.html?src=rss
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More details about Mario Kart World, the big first-party Nintendo Switch 2 launch title, were shown during a dedicated Direct on Thursday. The 17-minute presentation showcased some of the game's courses, such as the canal-based Salty Salty Speedway and spooky Boo Cinema, and revealed that some classic, reimagined courses will be dotted around the game's open world. Beyond regular races and the new Knockout Tour elimination mode, there are a bunch of other ways to play Mario Kart World. Team-based races will see you compete in squads of between six and 12, and you can test yourself in time trials. The classic Balloon Battle mode is here, and in Coin Runners, you'll compete to collect the most coins. Nintendo New tricks include a charge jump and a wall-riding option that was highlighted in the reveal trailer. A nifty Rewind feature in particular caught my eye. If you miss a jump or want another crack at making it to an elevated shortcut, you can hit a button that will send your kart backward a bit. You'll probably want to use this sparingly, as the Rewind function only affects your own kart. Your opponents can easily overtake you in the process, so there's a risk-reward balance to consider here. The Forza Horizon series has a similar rewind feature, so it's interesting to see Nintendo adopt that. Some of the fresh items look pretty nifty. You'll be able to embrace your inner Hammer Bro by peppering the track with an arc of hammers to either hit an opponent or block their progress. With the Ice Flower, you can freeze enemies, while deploying the Coin Shell, oddly enough, leaves a trail of coins that you can collect. It's nice to see the feather, which debuted all the way back in the original Super Mario Kart, make a return. The open-world aspect of the game looks pretty interesting. You can explore it with your friends (you're all going to be using GameChat, right?) and find some secrets. Hitting one of the hundreds of P Switches that are dotted across the world starts a minigame, such as collecting a number of blue coins in a certain period of time. In Free Roam, you'll also be able to make use of the photo mode. Nintendo Elsewhere in the first completely new mainline Mario Kart game since 2014, there are several assist options. The Smart Steering feature can help you avoid accidentally veering off a track, and there's a tilt control function for steering. On top of all of that, you can pick up food from drive-thrus. While I suspected that we might be taking a trip to The Snack Zone, the Dash Food that you pick up unlocks outfits that are inspired by your meal. Munch on some sushi, for instance, and you'll find yourself wearing a Japanese-influenced getup. Mario Kart World is slated to arrive on June 5, the same day as the Nintendo Switch 2. There's still no official update on when Switch 2 pre-orders will go live in the US and Canada after Nintendo delayed them. However, rumors suggest that you may be able to lock in a pre-order in either country in the coming days.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/mario-kart-world-for-switch-2-borrows-forzas-rewind-feature-160818661.html?src=rss
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Instagram is adding yet another way to liven up your Reels recommendations. The app is rolling out Blend, a feature that allows you to create a custom feed within a DM that combines your recommendations with a friends. If that sounds familiar, its because Blend has been in the works for some time. It was first spotted in the app more than a year ago, but was only an internal prototype at the time. Now, Meta is finally making it official, describing it as an invite-only Reels feed for you and your friend(s). Anyone can invite a friend or a group of friends to join a Blend from within a direct message or group chat on Instagram. Once someone accepts the invitation, Instagram generates a custom feed of Reels made up of video recommendations tailored to each person. As you scroll, you can view who each suggested clip is for, giving a window into what types of Reels Instagrams algorithm serves your friends. The feature is the latest way Meta has been allowing instagram users to gain more insight into their friends Reels-watching habits. The company also recently introduced a dedicated tab that shows videos liked by your Instagram friends. Whether that sounds like an intriguing way to find new niches of content, or potentially massively embarrassing is another matter. (Its also yet another reminder that your Instagram likes were never actually private.) But, if youre Reels suggestions have been feeling a little stale, or youre just curious about how some of your friends experience the app, it could be an entertaining way to spice up your recommendations.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-now-lets-you-combine-your-reels-recommendations-with-friends-160023003.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
A federal judge has ruled that Google is a monopolist in online advertising. The New York Times reported on Thursday that Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said the company broke the law to maintain its ad tech dominance. In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Googles publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web, the judge said. The case stemmed from a January 2023 lawsuit from the US Justice Department and eight states. They accused Google of illegally monopolizing the ad market and using that power to charge more and take a higher portion of sales. "Competition in the ad tech space is broken, for reasons that were neither accidental nor inevitable," the government said in its complaint. "One industry behemoth, Google, has corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of the wide swath of high-tech tools used by publishers, advertisers, and brokers, to facilitate digital advertising." The government says Google holds an 87 percent market share in ad-selling tech. Judge Brinkema's decision follows another in August, when a federal judge ruled that Google monopolizes online search. Judge Amit Mehta of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said in 2024 that the company "is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly." Judge Mehta is considering a DOJ request to break up the company based on that ruling. Now, Judge Brinkema will face a similar decision about the nearly $1.9 trillion company's dominance in advertising. The DOJ's lawsuit already asked the court to make Google sell portions of its ad tech business. Much of the company's future will rest on what those two judges decide in the coming months. Developing...This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-a-monopoly-in-online-ad-tech-federal-judge-rules-151531919.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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