❌ Marks the spot: When you don’t have a gaming buddy, challenge ChatGPT (or any bot). Start simple with, “Let’s play Tic-Tac-Toe. I’ll be X and you’ll be O. You can make the first move.” Let me know who wins the most rounds!
DJI drone takes out firefighting aircraft
A 9-ounce drone grounded a firefighting aircraft during wildfires. The pilot? A former gaming executive who should have known better.
🐭 MrBeast wants to be the next Disney: Hard to believe his first YouTube video, a Minecraft trick, went up on Feb. 20, 2012, when he was only 13. Now? He’s raising hundreds of millions to build an empire of animation, gaming, toys, comics, merch, you name it. At this point, his thumbnails deserve their own Emmy.
🧠 Google’s AI just learned Minecraft: They dropped it into the game with zero training on how to play and told it to find a diamond. After nine days of learning from scratch, “Dreamer” figured it out and was mining diamonds within 30 minutes (like an expert player). Folks, this isn’t just about gaming. It’s about teaching AI to think, adapt and act on its own. Slightly scary.
Hate YouTube ads? There’s a cheaper fix. YouTube is rolling out Premium Lite for $7.99/month, cutting down on “most” ads. News, fashion and gaming videos will be ad-free, but if you want music without ads, you’ll still need the $13.99/month standard Premium plan. That one also includes offline downloads.
It’s everywhere: Hackers uploaded a free survival game to Steam. PirateFi was live for a week on the super-popular gaming site, spreading malware. Today’s cybercriminals have too many tricks up their sleeves. You need real-time protection that’s smarter than they are. My pick, TotalAV, is $19 for the first year and works with Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones and Androids.
No fires, please: Power strips rock, but they’re not for everything. Stay safe and never, ever use one for a fridge, freezer, microwave or other small appliance, space heater, heating pad, hair dryer, or gaming console. They all draw too much power, and power strips aren’t built for that.
🦁 This cheetah isn’t lion: Professional blackjack and poker players say tech is powering cheating schemes in casinos. People pass info via tiny cameras hidden in their shirts at card level, then get feedback through earbuds from card counters outside. Two players won $220,000. Speaking of … Never play poker with a toilet — too many flushes.
Nvidia's big bet on AI
A Silicon Valley success story no one saw coming — Nvidia’s now the world’s top company, worth $3.42 trillion, thanks to its AI chips. They power everything from gaming to your car. Plus, employees sue over returning to work, iPhone 16 changes, and catching creepy Airbnb hosts.
How to cut back on gaming
It’s easy for kids to get glued to their screens. Here’s a simple step to help cut back on that.
Shopping bots to score a PS5 and other hot gifts
Want to score the hottest holiday gifts, from toys to gaming consoles? Here’s how a shopping bot can help.
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How Chess.com became an empire
You’ve got to hear this amazing story about a niche gaming website that suddenly exploded with millions of users around the world. Why did it skyrocket to stardom? Find out in today’s episode.
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