High-end graphics, cinematic plotlines, and challenging boss battles aren’t what made Minecraft one of the most popular video games of all time. After nearly 15 years, millions of people still play it every day because it doesn’t offer any of those features. Instead, Minecraft hinges exploring, building, and experimenting inside a virtually infinite digital universe. For many players, logging onto a server provides a sense of freedom that the real world sadly denies them.

It’s not symbolic, either. Minecraft’s digital freedom produces tangible benefits that extend far beyond the game itself. In 2020, the international press advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders (also known as Reporters Sans Frontières, or RSF) announced the Uncensored Library, an online repository filled with books, essays, and articles by individuals routinely silenced by their authoritarian governments. But instead of stashing the collection in an unassuming corner of the game, RSF and the Minecraft design collective BlockWorks built a massive, gorgeous neoclassical library located on a picturesque, pixelated island. 

“Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, and yet, there are countries that seek to censor their citizens or prevent them from accessing certain information,” RSF explais. “This is why The Uncensored Library exists; a grand digital library meant to combat censorship – and it’s all accessible through Minecraft.”

Even six years after its debut, the project regularly goes viral on social media, and receives routine updates from RSF and BlockWorks. There is even a map to guide visitors through the digital institution’s multiple wings that are organized by country. Until recently, the library hosted materials from writers contending with particularly repressive governments across eight nations, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Egypt. Earlier this year, RSF added a section for the United States following the Trump administration’s pushbacks on the press.

“Often, suppressing stories takes a less overt form than direct censorship,” RSF North America executive director Clayton Weimers said at the time, adding that the decision to include the U.S. was intended to highlight that “fully authoritarian regimes do not have a monopoly on free press violations.”

The Uncensored Library is accessible either by downloading the files to your personal computer, or accessing the visit.uncensoredlibrary.com server while playing Minecraft.

The post Read censored texts from around the world at this Minecraft library appeared first on Popular Science.

A family near Kalamazoo, Michagan was in for a surprise while cleaning out their grandfather’s basement. Amid the dusty storeroom clutter, the Paw Paw Township residents discovered a vintage, possibly live grenade from World War II apparently forgotten after decades in storage. Unsure what to do with their newfound, potentially deadly device, family members quickly contacted local emergency services.

According to the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, first responders confirmed the grenade’s authenticity and estimated that it dates back to 1945. However, they couldn’t immediately determine if the weapon remained functional after more than 80 years tucked away in the cellar. For that, officials needed to call in the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Bomb Squad.

Peering inside the grenade required specially designed X-ray equipment, which lets explosives experts examine internal components from a safe distance before handling the weapon. Thankfully, the process remained relatively straightforward and the team confirmed that the veteran wasn’t a reckless wartime collector—someone already had decommissioned the grenade long ago. That doesn’t let history buffs off the hook, however.

“The Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents that old military ordnance, ammunition, and other potentially explosive devices can remain dangerous for decades, regardless of their age or appearance,” officials cautioned.

Unexpected, military-grade finds are more common than it may seem. Recently, a late WWII veteran’s neighbors located a trove of files related to Stalag Luft 3, the infamous Nazi prison camp depicted in The Great Escape. Researchers are regularly rediscovering long-lost shipwrecks from the era, while restoration specialists are even bringing vintage aircraft back to life.

First responders also offered some standard guidelines for anyone else who might stumble across unexpected incendiary devices, but they all basically boil down to one simple rule: do not mess with them. Any suspected explosives—no matter how old—should always be handled by trained professionals, so it’s best to immediately retreat to a safe distance and call the proper authorities.

“Even items believed to be military souvenirs or decommissioned equipment should be treated as potentially hazardous until examined by qualified professionals,” the sheriff’s office added.

The post Family finds World War II grenade in grandfather’s basement appeared first on Popular Science.

Novos rumores apontam que o PlayStation 6 portátil pode ser o único dispositivo a contar com um chip RDNA 5 semi-customizado — o que ajudaria o aparelho a superar hardwares como o próximo XBOX de mão e até mesmo um futuro Steam Deck 2.

A informação surgiu durante o Digital Foundry Direct, com uma insinuação do apresentador Richard Leadbetter sobre como o mercado se comportará na geração que está por vir:

“Há algumas discussões nos bastidores de que a Sony terá alguns componentes exclusivos com RDNA 5 para os portáteis, com o seu dispositivo que está vindo”, afirma o host.

A grande questão é a produção em massa dos chips. A AMD, que detém a arquitetura, se tornou mais seletiva sobre o volume de trabalho de seu time de engenharia em processadores semi-customizados para produtos de nicho. 

Na prática, a fabricante não quer produzir mais do que o necessário — sob risco de ficar com os componentes parados no seu estoque. Ela passou a produzir com um número mínimo, o que impede as demais de seguirem com um acordo comercial.

O leaker Kepler_L2 já reforçou essa informação no passado. De acordo com os dados obtidos, ele afirmou que a XBOX teria de se comprometer a comprar 10 milhões de unidades de uma CPU dedicada. Porém, isso soa bastante improvável nas condições atuais do mercado.

Alguém tem de se arriscar a ficar com os produtos parados. A Microsoft não deseja isso, já que a crise de memórias RAM e armazenamentos segue sem previsão de chegar ao fim. A AMD também não, é mais lucrativo não fazer do que ficar com o dinheiro parado. 

O que significa o PS6 portátil com RDNA 5?

Se a jogada da Sony der certo, o PlayStation 6 portátil será o aparelho gamer de mão com maior desempenho no mercado. A vantagem estratégica é clara quando a concorrência (leia como XBOX e Valve) permanecerá na geração RDNA 4.

Além disso, a companhia japonesa tem consigo tecnologias próprias para o PS6 com RDNA 5 — o que garante uma certa paridade de recursos próprios e destaca o seu console como uma das melhores opções para os consumidores. 

Uma delas é a Universal Compression, que ajudará a comprimir dados da GPU, reduzir o tráfego da memória e aprimorar a largura de banda. Deste modo, o PlayStation 6 portátil economiza bateria e mantém a sua performance.

A tecnologia Neural Arrays permite utilizar um motor gráfico de IA para diversas funções (como reconstrução e upscaling); assim como a Radiance Cores pode trazer o path tracing e acelerar os efeitos de ray tracing durante a execução dos games.

Vale lembrar que a AMD trabalha lado a lado com a Sony para impulsionar o potencial deste hardware — logo, as chances de tudo isso se concretizar e trazer diversas outras melhorias são altas. 

Agora que a Sony e Microsoft finalizam chips do PS6 e do novo XBOX, essa corrida se tornará cada vez maior para conquistar o público. Porém, vale lembrar que não é apenas desempenho que ganha uma geração, mas sim o seu preço e jogos disponíveis somados a este fator. 

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