David Lidsky's Blog, page 265

Sony PlayStation is adding smell—yes, you read that right—to its games

A new trailer shows players experiencing the postapocalyptic world of ‘The Last of Us’ with smell-o-vision.

Sony has unveiled a new gaming system that could allow PlayStation players to sniff their way through games like The Last of Us.

These jobs will disappear fastest by 2030 as AI rises, according to the World Economic Forum

According to a new report, cashiers, post office clerks, and bank tellers are among the most at risk, while frontline workers in delivery and construction will see their sectors grow.

Bank tellers, cashiers, postal workers, and the jobs of administrative assistants are among those forecast to decline by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, which was released ahead of the group’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, later this month.

Thousands flee as L.A. wildfires rage and destroy homes

At least 70,000 people were ordered to evacuate—a number that kept changing because evacuation orders were continually being issued.

Multiple massive wildfires tore across the Los Angeles area with devastating force Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures and killing at least two people as desperate residents escaped through flames, ferocious winds and towering clouds of smoke.

College tuition has fallen at many schools. Here’s why

Costs are coming down as Americans question whether college is worth the price.

The cost of college keeps spiraling ever higher, right?

Meta tests letting Facebook Marketplace users view eBay listings in a bid to appease the EU

The test, which is being launched to a small group in Germany, France, and the U.S. starting Wednesday, is an attempt to resolve charges by the European Union that the social media giant uses anticompetitive behavior.

Meta is testing a feature that will let Facebook users browse eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace before being redirected to complete the purchase on eBay. 

Quantum computing stocks are having a rough start to 2025: IonQ, D-Wave, Rigetti tank after Nvidia CEO predicts 20-year horizon

Shares of leading firms nose-dive after Nvidia’s Jensen Huang suggests a generational wait for fully functional quantum tech.

We’ve been told that the future is now, but it seems it’s not quite here yet—at least not for quantum computing.

‘Shark Tank’ star Kevin O’Leary wants to buy TikTok—and says he needs Trump’s help

O’Leary is teaming up with billionaire Frank McCourt to make a play for the app, which faces a nationwide-looking U.S. ban.

Kevin O’Leary of Shark Tank fame and billionaire Frank McCourt, ex-owner of the Dodgers, are teaming up to save TikTok from a looming U.S. ban. Their coalition, the People’s Bid for TikTok, aims to buy the app’s U.S. operations, promising a platform that prioritizes the privacy of TikTok’s roughly 170 million American users.

What to know about ByteDance’s Lemon8

Lemon8 resembles an amalgamation of the types of short-form videos found on TikTok and the picture-perfect aesthetic of Instagram and Pinterest.

Hearing a lot about Lemon8 lately? You’re not the only one.

Your IRS refund could take years if you were a victim of ID theft. The national taxpayer advocate wants that fixed

Tax-related identity theft is common, but the Internal Revenue Service is often too slow to move when refunds become ensnarled by the actions of bad actors.

Taxpayers who have been the victims of identity theft have experienced significant delays when requesting refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to a Wednesday report to Congress from the national taxpayer advocate on the most serious problems that taxpayers faced last year. These delays hurt low-income taxpayers the most. 

Meta tests eBay listings in Facebook Marketplace to resolve EU charges

The social media company said it’s launching a test that will let Facebook users in Germany, France, and the U.S. browse eBay listings directly on its Marketplace service but will still have to complete the transaction on eBay.

Meta said Wednesday that it will allow some Facebook users to view eBay listings on its Marketplace service, as it tries out a possible way to resolve European Union charges of anticompetitive behavior that the bloc leveled last year.