Analysts have a more precise measurement of how much US natural gas goes directly into the atmosphere, worsening

Some iPhone users are set to receive payouts as part of a controversy over Apple’s battery technology. Owners of older devices who joined a lawsuit over what was termed “batterygate” are set to receive around $65, according to the lawyers behind it. The payments relate to a controversy that erupted in 2017, when users complained that Apple was intentionally limiting the performance of their iPhones. As their devices aged, they found, Apple would place restrictions on how fast the devices could run. Apple said the restrictions were a way of ensuring that older devices could continue to function even as their batteries degraded. The older batteries did not provide reliable or constant power, and so spikes in performance could mean the devices would spontaneously shut down otherwise. But users complained that they had not been told about the change and had no way to turn it off. It also played into a persistent belief that Apple slows down older devices as part of “planned obsolescence” aimed at encouraging people to buy new iPhones – though there is no evidence that is the case. The controversy meant that lawyers brought complaints on behalf of owners of the iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, or the first-generation iPhone SE, in 2018. Now they have achieved success in what they say is “the largest all-cash recovery in a computer intrusion case in history”. The settlement stipulated that Apple would pay at least $310 million to affected customers, which is expected to work out at about $65 each. But users must have signed up before October 2020, when a deadline passed, if they want to receive it, and only those 100 million people who did so will be part of the settlement. Apple has not publicly commented on the proceedings. It had appealed the settlement, but an appeals court in the US has since dismissed that case, allowing the payments to go forward. Read More Something unexpected is happening to people’s iPhone 14s, owners claim Apple is working on a mysterious new project called ‘Watch X’, report claims Apple is planning a host of powerful new Macs, rumours say

Facebook users have shared images of cartoon characters wielding weapons, naked celebrities, and child soldiers – all created using the app’s new AI-generated sticker feature. Parent company Meta unveiled the new feature last week, allowing Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Instagram users to generate stickers with artificial intelligence by writing prompts. “I don’t think anyone involved has thought anything through,” 3D artist and illustrator Pier-Olivier Desbiens wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, who used the tool to create stickers with the prompts ‘Waluigi rifle’, ‘child soldier’, ‘Karl Marx large breasts’ and ‘Trudeau buttocks’. “We really do live in the stupidest future imaginable,” he wrote. Another user shared an AI-generated sticker of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones kissing a dog. “It’s completely unhinged,” they wrote. The Independent has reached out to Meta for comment. The new AI stickers are currently only available to a limited number of English-language users, with Meta yet to confirm whether a wider roll out is planned. “Using technology from Llama 2 and our foundational model for image generation called Emu, our AI tool turns your text prompts into multiple unique, high-quality stickers in seconds,” Meta announced in a blog post last week. “This new feature... provides infinitely more options to convey how you’re feeling at any moment.” Meta claims that billions of stickers are sent by Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp users each month, having first introduced the feature in 2013. Other AI-generated image tools, such as OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, have limits in place to prevent misuse. Users are unable to generate images featuring violent content or real people, though other generative AI platforms exist that do not place limitations on the ways content can be generated. In its blog post announcing the new feature, Meta noted that there was a chance that AI tools could be misused, which is why their introduction is being done on a “step by step” basis. “In keeping with our commitment to responsible AI, we also stress test our products to improve safety performance and regularly collaborate with policymakers, experts in academia and civil society, and others in our industry to advance the responsible use of this technology,” the post stated. “We’ll continue to iterate on and improve these features as the technologies evolve and we see how people use them in their daily lives.” Read More Pixel 8: Google unveils ‘AI-centred’ iPhone rival Facebook and Instagram users face monthly fee for ad-free version Zuckerberg says Metaverse can bring back the dead – virtually Meta just took a step towards its dream of the metaverse

Life forms could potentially be able to survive in the conditions in the clouds above Venus – although, to be honest, we don’t want to be the ones who go there and have to test this theory out. Venus has fascinated scientists for years due to the relative similarities between the planet and Earth. The surface of Venus now is around 475 degrees Celsius, but its geology resembled Earth’s before the greenhouse effect took hold over millions of years. To add to that, the surface is also covered in sulphuric acid, so the chances of it being able to foster life is slim to say the least. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, new research has looked into the conditions in the clouds above the surface and the findings have been published in the journal Astrobiology. The key point revolves around the presence of the biosignature gas phosphine, which is often identified as a sign of life. It also posits the idea that potential life forms on the planet could use sulphuric acid the way life forms on Earth use water. The paper reads: "Although we consider the prospects for finding life on Venus to be speculative, they are not absent. "The clouds can support a biomass that could readily be detectable by future astrobiology-focused space missions from its impact on the atmosphere." It goes on: “We conclude that Venus' aerial biosphere must be much smaller than the Earth's. However, even such scarce, strictly aerial life could leave a detectable mark on the chemistry of the atmosphere in the clouds… “We conclude that terrestrial precedent exists for mechanisms that could keep at least some life-containing cloud particles aloft on Venus, and it prevents the entire ecology from inevitably falling to its doom in the hot, lower layers of the atmosphere.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Players need ships to explore the Settled Systems in Starfield. Visit these places to buy one.

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