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Alibaba wants you to compare its new AI video generator to OpenAI's Sora . Otherwise, why use it to make Sora's most famous creation belt out a Dua Lipa song? On Tuesday, an organization called the "Institute for Intelligent Computing" within the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba released a paper about an intriguing new AI video generator it has developed that's shockingly good at turning still images of faces into passable actors and charismatic singers. The system is called EMO, a fun backronym supposedly drawn from the words "Emotive Portrait Alive" (though, in that case, why is it not called "EPO"?). EMO is a peek into a future where a system like Sora makes video worlds, and rather than being populated by attractive mute people just kinda looking at each other , the "actors" in these AI creations say stuff — or even sing. Alibaba put demo videos on GitHub to show off its new video-generating framework. These include a

"PS5 Slim vs. PS5" is a face-off gamers want to see as they scratch their heads over how Sony's skinnier new console differs from the original variant. For years, many complained about PS5's bulky, unwieldy body — and Sony finally addressed that with the new PS5 Slim. Sony announced the new slim PS5 model on Wednesday, following a decades-long tradition of each PlayStation console getting a smaller counterpart midway through its generation. As you can probably tell, it's meant to be smaller than the original 2020 model, but that's not all. SEE ALSO: 180+ of the best Cyber Monday gaming deals Here are all the ways in which the new PS5 Slim is different from its predecessor. Note: While we're dissecting the differences between PS5 vs. PS5 Slim, keep in mind that Sony is reportedly working on a new console called PS5 Pro. It is expected to hit store shelves later this year. PS5 Slim vs. PS5: Price For whatever reason, Sony has elected to not dro

Saber Interactive has reportedly found an exit strategy from the death grip of its parent company, Embracer Group AB . Bloomberg reported Thursday that “a group of private investors” will buy the studio in a deal worth roughly $500 million. Saber would then become a private company with about 3,500 employees. Engadget emailed a spokesperson from Saber for confirmation about the alleged buyout. The studio declined to comment. The alleged agreement would be one of Embracer’s most significant cost-cutting moves since the collapse of a reported $2 billion deal with a group backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. Some criticized the imperiled deal as the gaming equivalent of “sportswashing,” using popular sporting acquisitions and partnerships to boost beleaguered governments’ global images. That followed US intelligence’s conclusion that the Saudi regime murdered The Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018. Other cost-cutting moves at Embracer have included

After months of rumors , we may have just gotten our eyes (sort of) on Apple's newest iPad Pro . The device showed up in some CAD (computer-aided design) drawings that popped up online, per MacRumors , which pointed out that these things tend to leak out of China-based actories from time to time. This shouldn't surprise anyone, but it looks an awful lot like an iPad. SEE ALSO: Don't buy a new MacBook Air, iPad – updates are reportedly around the corner Tweet may have been deleted There are a couple of rumored major changes for the next-generation iPad Pro — and one of them is quite clear in the renders: a thinner, slimmer profile. The device's dimensions suggest that there will be 11-inch and 13-inch models; both will be substantially thinner than the iPad Pro models currently on the market. Credit: Stan Schroeder / Mashable The 13-inch model, in particular, could be more than 1mm thinner than the current 12.9-inch version. Another possible big change is

The next generation of Samsung laptops is (mostly) here. The new Samsung Galaxy Book4 series is now available for purchase in the U.S. following its initial December rollout in South Korea and an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 last month. The current lineup features two traditional laptops and two 2-in-1 laptops , including the Galaxy Book4 360, the Galaxy Book4 Pro, the Galaxy Book4 Pro 360, and the Galaxy Book4 Ultra. A fifth model, the entry-level Galaxy Book4, will make its delayed debut on March 28 with a starting price of just $899, according to a press release . SEE ALSO: The best laptops you can buy in 2024 for work, school, and gaming Samsung has equipped its new Pro and Ultra machines with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors, upgraded anti-reflective AMOLED touchscreen displays, a new Knox security chip, and rich AKG Quad speakers; the Ultra model tacks on a NVIDIA GeForce 40 Series GPU. They're also available in a new Moonstone Gray

Google has been quietly striking deals with some publishers to use new generative AI tools to publish stories, according to a report in Adweek . The deals, reportedly worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, are apparently part of the Google News Initiative (GNI), a six-year-old program that funds media literacy projects , fact-checking tools , and other resources for newsrooms. But the move into generative AI publishing tools would be a new, and likely controversial, step for the company. According to Adweek , the program is currently targeting a “handful” of smaller publishers. “The beta tools let under-resourced publishers create aggregated content more efficiently by indexing recently published reports generated by other organizations, like government agencies and neighboring news outlets, and then summarizing and publishing them as a new article,” Adweek reports. It’s not clear exactly how much publishers are being paid under the arrangement, though Adweek says it’s a “five

Android and iOS users can test out the Galaxy AI experience before shelling out for a brand new phone. This week Samsung announced a way to try the new Galaxy AI features that come with the Galaxy S24 Series without actually owning one. Galaxy AI is part of the Samsung One UI 6.1 update, which is pre-loaded on the Galaxy S24 Series and coming soon to the S23 series. SEE ALSO: Galaxy AI won't be free for long. Here's when you'll start paying for it. The Try Galaxy app lets users play around with Galaxy AI features like Live Translate, Chat Assist, Note Assist, Photo Assist, and Google's Circle to Search , "so that those still on the fence can experience Galaxy AI without changing phones," said the announcement. Previously, Try Galaxy was for iOS users as a way of luring them to the Android side. But the app was updated with Galaxy AI features and made available to all Galaxy users so they can see whether the update lives up to the hype. "AI everyt

Ten years, billions of dollars, multiple leadership changes, and dozens of rumors later, the Apple Car project is dead. A new report from Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman says that Apple has officially canceled the car, breaking the news to nearly 2,000 employees who had been working on it on Tuesday. As part of the change, Apple will move “many employees working on the car” to the company’s artificial intelligence division where they will focus on generative AI projects, which Apple is expected to share more about later this year, according to a statement by CEO Tim Cook on the company’s earnings call earlier this month. But the car team also included hundreds of hardware engineers and car designers, some of who, Bloomberg reports, will be able to apply for jobs in other divisions of the company. The rest are likely to be laid off. Apple has never spoken publicly about its efforts to build a vehicle, internally known as Project Titan . But a number of leaks over the years revealed the

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle , Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle. If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for February 27's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. What is Connections ? The NYT 's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common. Tweet may have

UPDATE: Feb. 26, 2024, 2:30 p.m. EST This article has been updated with the latest and greatest gaming deals from across the web. Best gaming deals of the week at a glance: Best PlayStation deal 'Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Deluxe Edition' $53.99 in the PlayStation Store (save $36) Get Deal Best Xbox deal 'Dead Space' $39.99 at Xbox (save $40) Get Deal Best Nintendo Switch deal Nintendo Switch OLED + 'Mario Kart 8 Deluxe' bundle $339.95 at Walmart (save $70) Get Deal Best PC deal Razer BlackShark V2 Pro $129.99 at Amazon (save $50) Get Deal Gaming is a pricey hobby to keep up with. Not only are a staggering number of must-play titles released each year, but they're also expensive. (Yes, games cost $70 now.) That's why each week, we're bringing you the best gaming deals we can find, so you can stay in the know about the hottest new games without stressing over video game-induced debt. Whether