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The Indian national and postdoctoral fellow is the latest scholar detained or deported by the Trump administration for speaking in support of Palestinian rights or criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza.

(Image credit: Mladen Antonov)

We hear a lot about how screens impact our sleep, but how significant is the disruption? And how much does exercise predict sleep quality? This story first appeared in the Body Electric newsletter.

The lawsuit includes a photo of a notebook found in John Barnett's truck when he died by suicide, bearing the message, "I pray Boeing Pays!!!" In response to the new lawsuit, Boeing said in a statement, "We are saddened by John Barnett's death and extend our condolences to his family."

(Image credit: Google Maps/ Screenshot by NPR)

• DeepSeek R1’s 671 billion parameters run smoothly on the M3 Ultra’s unified memory
• Apple’s Mac Studio proves AI workloads don’t require expensive, power-hungry GPU clusters
• M3 Ultra consumes under 200W, far less than traditional multi-GPU AI setups

Apple’s Mac Studio with the M3 Ultra chip has demonstrated a capability that no other personal computer can match, running the DeepSeek R1 AI tool with 671 billion parameters entirely in memory.

A test by YouTube reviewer Dave2D showed despite using a 4-bit quantized version of the model, it retained its full parameter count and performed smoothly.

The DeepSeek R1 model, a hefty 404GB of storage and high-bandwidth memory typically found in GPU VRAM, is usually run on multi-GPU setups that distribute processing across several high-end graphics cards.

A unique feat: running DeepSeek R1 in memory

However, the M3 Ultra’s unified memory system, instead of relying on external GPUs, uses its 512GB of unified memory to store and process the AI model in a way that no other personal computer can.

Although MacOS imposes a default VRAM limit, Dave Lee manually increased it through the Terminal to allocate up to 448GB for AI processing, eliminating memory bottlenecks and reducing the need for multiple components to streamline AI performance on a single system.

One of the most striking aspects of this test was the M3 Ultra's power efficiency, as it consumed less than 200W while running DeepSeek R1.

The ability to run such a demanding AI model without a multi-GPU setup challenges the industry standard, which relies on high-end Nvidia and AMD graphics cards, as the best workstations and server farms typically use GPU clusters that consume vast amounts of electricity.

Apple’s unified memory architecture enables significant power savings by sharing the M3 Ultra’s memory pool across CPU and GPU workloads, unlike conventional PC setups where VRAM is separate from system memory, maximizing bandwidth while minimizing energy use.

Apple’s Mac Studio, launched with the M3 Ultra chip, features up to a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU, making it one of the best LLM workstations and one of the best video editing computers.

Via Wccftech

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The world celebrates International Day of Forests on Friday, but President Trump aims to expand American logging and roll back reforestation efforts.

(Image credit: ROBYN BECK)

President Trump says he's thinking of getting rid of the country's disaster response agency, FEMA. States say they can't replicate what FEMA does on their own.

(Image credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 384 for March 22.

Hints and answers for Connections for March 22, #650.

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 180, for March 22.

Here are hints and the answer for today's Wordle No. 1,372 for March 22.

• Max added more than 120 new features to its app in 2024
• A WBD survey indicates an increase in design, stability, and personalization
• The service has been rolled out to 73 new countries in the last nine months

Max has been busy making a lot of updates to its app in the last year as part of its global expansion to more countries, but not every new feature is a welcome one.

Of the 120 new features that were added to the Max app in 2024, most are aimed at improving the content discovery journey to finding the best Max movies and best Max shows, but there have also been some less favorable ad-related updates.

These include ads that let you shop for products related to the content you're watching by clicking on a QR code, sponsored content recommendations, and commercials that target 'moments' (not to be confused with Netflix's 'moments' feature that makes sharing content on social easier).

It's an area that many of the best streaming services are increasingly doubling down on as they look for more ways to generate lost revenue from unsuccessful movies and shows. Indeed, Prime Video has also been adding a lot of the same ad features over the past year, making it slowly fill up with even more ads.

Aside from the ad onslaught, Warner Bros. Discovery has been making other changes to the Max app, including enhancements like an improved navigation design on the homepage to make your streaming life easier.

This update moved the navigation tools normally found at the top of a title to the left-side utility menu, making it much simpler to find these options (see the difference this made in the image below).

Global subscribers have also been treated to more ways to find content in the app, even while in the middle of streaming. This feature lets you browse similar titles while watching a movie or show by clicking a drop-down arrow to access the recommendation list.

Like Netflix, Max has also added similar functionality to recommend more movies and shows to watch after you've finished streaming a title. This means that after 25 seconds, if you haven't selected something else, a related genre title will automatically start playing.

Another Netflix feature that Max has added is that titles on the homepage will automatically begin playing the trailer with audio while browsing. I don't know about you, but I can't help but find this distracting while browsing for content and would rather that the audio be muted while the video plays. At least, this feature has only been rolled out to the US for now.

Other US-only features that have been added include the ability to watch five of HBO's linear channels through the app. These include HBO, HBO 2, HBO Signature, HBO Comedy, and HBO Zone.

And, of course, we can't forget the new multiview feature for 2025's NASCAR Cup Series that puts you in the driver's seat that was added to US subscribers' apps earlier this year. It's a great sports feature we're seeing being added to many streamers, such as the Apple TV app and YouTube.

These are just a small portion of the tech updates that Max's streaming app has added since September 2024, but they highlight a lot of the behind-the-scenes work that the service is doing as it looks to expand into more regions.

Max has been rolled out to 73 new countries in the space of nine months and will soon launch on Aussie shores on March 31, just in time for HBO's The Last of Us season 2, which premieres on April 13. However, for those of us in the UK, we'll have to patiently wait a bit longer until we can access all of these great features in the Max (most likely early 2026, going by reports). In the meantime, the best place to stream HBO content in the US is on Sky or Now.

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The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is the most recent chair offering from Autonomous after years of making great chairs.

I have reviewed many of them, including the ErgoChair Pro, ErgoChair Mesh, several desks, and other items from Autonomous. They are known for high-quality gear, rivaling that of Herman Miller and other notoriously fabulous companies. These chairs are created with quality materials, and there is some evident care of quality and performance when designing and building these chairs.

The ErgoChair Ultra 2 is designed for professionals, gamers, remote workers, and everywhere. It's a chair that can seamlessly traverse all the things you may take place at your workstation, just like you do, all while looking great and feeling comfortable. How does it compare to the best office chairs we've reviewed? I took it for a test run to find out.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2: Price and Availability

The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is available on the Autonomous website for $599 - discounted to $499 at time of review - and includes a 5-year warranty. You can check it out by clicking here.

The company offers offer the chair in two variants, one with the headrest and one without. They also offer the chair in two colorways, black and grey.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2: Unboxing & first impressions

When the chair was delivered, I ran upstairs to find a massive box on my front porch. Upon unboxing the chair, I realized this was partly because Autonomous sends the chair with the armrests already attached.

While this made the box a bit bigger, it also made the building experience much faster overall. All I needed to do was screw in four bolts and four screws, which took a matter of minutes.

Right away, the striking white exoskeleton caught my attention. It's sharp, distinct-looking, and beautiful while staying professional-looking.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2: Design & build quality Specs

• Materials: Exoskeleton frame, mesh back, high-density foam seat.
• Weight Capacity: Up to 320 lbs.
• Seat Depth: Great thigh support for extended sitting.
• Base: Metal for extra durability.
• Adjustments:
• Seat height & depth.
• Tension adjustment for recline control.
• Armrest height, depth, and angle.
• Headrest: Optional (I skipped it because it looks cooler without it).

The ErgoChair Ultra 2 is the flagship offering from Autonomous, which has three current chairs. It's got all the best features, the best design (if you ask me), and arguably the most comfortable.

I chose the grey colorway to get the brilliant matte white exoskeleton contrasting the black mesh back. This mesh back helps with breathability as well as comfort. Unlike leather or cloth, mesh enables you to stay calm even on warmer days, or if you run warm like I do, it helps with circulation and keeps you from overheating due to your chair.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2: In use

Not only did the Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 not take long to build, but it also didn't take long to love it. I took two minutes to adjust it to my preferred settings, lengthening the thigh depth, setting the seat height, tightening the tension (my preferred), and changing the armrests to be the right height. Once I got this dialed in, I could complete a day without discomfort or desire to change chairs. The mesh back is super comfortable for my back, the seat is soft yet supportive, and the tension is perfect for when I want to lean back compared to when I don't want to, and I like that resistance.

It's been several weeks since I had this chair in my rotation, and I have not felt the need to change the tension or any other settings after that initial setup. During this time, I also loved seeing the exoskeleton design. I work with many chairs, and to the average person, they all look the same. The ErgoChair Ultra 2 has that striking and identifiable back, which helps it stand out - in a good way.

If you're working from home, having a good workspace can be a game changer for your work. I'm not saying you need to drop thousands on outfitting the dream home office, but having a nice chair that won't hurt your back, promote slouching, or make you want to get up in discomfort can be the difference between actually getting work done and wishing you could. Granted, a good chair doesn't automatically make your job more efficient, but I can say from experience that if I have a great chair, I want to spend time at my desk.

(Image credit: Collin Probst // Future) Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2: Final verdict

The Autonomous ErgoChair Ultra 2 is a near-perfect chair for your home workspace, the office, or anywhere between. It offers fantastic, all-day comfort while looking great and blending in various workspaces. Yes, the design is a bit more modern than other ergonomic chairs, but if you want one that looks the part and blends in, you can choose the black colorway, which has everything all-black.

Commentary: This series feels like Knives Out meets Clue with some Columbo mixed in for good measure.

The payment option should appear "in the coming months."

• AMD targets Nvidia’s Blackwell with upcoming Instinct MI355X accelerator
• Oracle plans massive 30,000-unit MI355X cluster for high-performance AI workloads
• That’s in addition to Stargate, Oracle’s 64,000-GPU Nvidia GB200 cluster

While AI darling Nvidia continues to dominate the AI accelerator market, with a share of over 90%, its closest rival, AMD, is hoping to challenge the Blackwell lineup with its new Instinct MI355X series of GPUs.

The MI355X, now expected to arrive by mid-2025, is manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm node and built on AMD's new CDNA 4 architecture. It will feature 288GB of HBM3E memory, bandwidth of up to 8TB/sec, and support for FP6 and FP4 low-precision computing, positioning it as a strong rival to Nvidia’s Blackwell B100 and B200.

In 2024, we reported on a number of big wins for AMD, which included shipping thousands of its MI300X AI accelerators to Vultr, a leading privately-held cloud computing platform, and to Oracle. Now, the latter has announced plans to build a cluster of 30,000 MI355X AI accelerators.

Stargate

This latest news was revealed during Oracle’s recent Q2 2025 earnings call, where Larry Ellison, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, told investors, “In Q3, we signed a multi-billion dollar contract with AMD to build a cluster of 30,000 of their latest MI355X GPUs.”

Although he didn’t go into further detail beyond that, Ellison did talk about Project Stargate, saying, “We are in the process of building a gigantic 64,000 GPU liquid-cooled Nvidia GB200 cluster for AI training.”

He later added, “Stargate looks to be the biggest AI training project out there, and we expect that will allow us to grow our RPO even higher in the coming quarters. And we do expect our first large Stargate contract fairly soon.”

When questioned further about Stargate by a Deutsche Bank analyst, Ellison gave a reply that could just as easily apply to the cluster of MI355X AI accelerators Oracle is planning to build.

"The capability we have is to build these huge AI clusters with technology that actually runs faster and more economically than our competitors. So it really is a technology advantage we have over them. If you run faster and you pay by the hour, you cost less. So that technology advantage translates to an economic advantage which allows us to win a lot of these huge deals,” he said.

Ellison also touched on Oracle’s data center strategy, saying, “So, we can start our data centers smaller than our competitors and then we grow based on demand. Building these data centers is expensive, and they’re really expensive if they’re not full or at least half full. So we tend to start small and then add capacity as demand arises.”

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The president said federal student loans would move to the Small Business Administration, and hinted that the Department of Health and Human Services would take over special education oversight.

(Image credit: Mario Tama)

When you have limited ISP options like in Savannah, it's important to know which are the top choices available. Our experts are here to help.

The Brooklyn Bedding Signature Hybrid is our top pick of all mattresses. Here are our thoughts on whether it may be a good fit for you.

In the crowded competitive shooter market, Fragpunk is a breath of fresh air. This is a more casual first-person shooter (FPS) than the likes of Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, geared towards generating quick bursts of adrenaline-fueled fun rather than forcing you to contend with any particularly complex strategy.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PC (Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS5 TBC)
Release date: March 6, 2025

This is a blessing and a curse, as it leads to snappy matches that are a blast in its flagship casual mode but often leaves things feeling frustratingly random in a proper competitive format. This wouldn't necessarily be a deal-breaker for those players who prefer to keep things relaxed, but there are other issues that drag the experience down.

Card counter strike

(Image credit: Bad Guitar Studio)

If you’ve ever played a match of Counter-Strike, then you’ll know roughly what to expect here as Fragpunk follows the same kind of format. Two teams of five players face off in multiple rounds, with the attacking side seeking to place a converter (read: bomb) at a designated site on the map. For the defenders, the goal is to prevent it from going off at all costs - usually by killing the entire enemy team before it’s placed or defusing it at the last moment.

Sides swap at half time, with the first team to win four rounds crowned the victor. So far nothing special, but developer Bad Guitar Studio mixes things up through its marquee addition: Shard Cards. These are powerful buffs that can fundamentally change how each game plays out.

In the standard Shard Clash mode, both teams are offered a selection of three random cards between rounds. To activate a card, the team needs to spend a certain number of Shard Points which are awarded to each player depending on their performance in the match. As the most powerful cards often require five or so points to activate, multiple players will need to pick them in order to reap the benefits - a clever way to reward more closely coordinated teams.

The effects of each shard card vary massively, opening the door to loads of exciting gameplay possibilities. Some of my personal favorites include one that hilariously teleports damaged foes back to their spawn point and another that covers the entire map in snow and ice - causing both teams to slide around chaotically.

Of course, I can't help but also mention a card that allows your team to lay eggs, yes eggs, by crouching for a few seconds and then consume them for a quick health boost. Is this the kind of randomness that you would want to decide a tight competitive match? Absolutely not, but it’s a blast if you’re not taking things seriously.

Who needs balance, anyway?

(Image credit: Bad Guitar Studio)

If the Shard Cards weren’t enough, Fragpunk also features thirteen hero-like Lancers with their own special abilities. Each character has three and they range all the way from borderline useless (I’m looking at Corona’s underwhelming dash and Jaguar’s puny electric traps here) to completely overpowered. There are even multiple characters that can turn nearly invisible, letting you get behind the enemy team in seconds.

I favored the ancient undead mummy Serket for this purpose, as she can scout out nearby enemies as a hard-to-see beacon before teleporting to it in a flash. In her cloaked state enemies are displayed as these vague tornadoes, presumably to conceal which way they’re facing so it’s a little harder to appear right next to them undetected, though I am still routinely able to wipe out three or four players from the rear without much opposition.

Best bit

(Image credit: Bad Guitar Studio)

The Shard Cards are definitely the best part of Fragpunk. On top of those that I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I love the one that makes enemy heads gigantic for easy headshots and another that gives your team a double jump.

The character Broker then boasts a one-hit rocket launcher, while Hollowpoint has a super powerful sniper rifle that can be summoned with the click of a button. Every Lancer has an eye-catching design, which shines thanks to the cartoony cel-shaded art-style, and given the sheer breadth of themes they embody there’s going to be at least one that mechanically or aesthetically appeals to you.

Unfortunately, the Lancers do bring the game’s dire monetization to the fore. Outside of the small handful that you start with, they cost about $5 / £4 worth of Fragpunk Coins - the most valuable of the three in-game currencies - each. You can buy them with the more common Gold too, but they’re incredibly expensive and would take weeks, if not months, of grinding to obtain. Some of the strongest characters are locked behind this paywall, which leaves a bit of a sour taste.

Worse still, almost every part of the main menu seems like it's trying to sell you something and is clogged with endless tabs talking about events, challenges, bonuses, limited-time store offers, and more. This is on top of a pushy subscription service (which gives you monthly bonuses and access to every Lancer as long as you’re subscribed) and two types of battle pass, though I can’t really complain about the latter as it’s reasonably priced and has a decent number of rewards.

Not here for the long haul

(Image credit: Bad Guitar Studio)

The selection of maps here is solid, but none particularly stand out in terms of layout or theme, and the weapons are broadly fine in design terms. There’s definitely some more balancing work to be done between the nine weapon categories, though, as the two submachine guns and assault rifles seem disproportionately powerful.

There’s practically no reason not to use them, as they excel at seemingly any range. In contrast, the marksman weapons (a middle point between assault rifles and sniper rifles) are pathetically weak and, as a result, almost never seen in matches. Still, this could be easily remedied with a few patches.

Less simple to fix are the arcade modes, which are generally poor. The likes of Free for All and Sniper Deathmatch are completely uninspired and the bizarre Outbreak mode (the game’s take on Halo’s thrilling Infection) is comically badly designed. Every match that I played devolved into the human team camping in the same handful of impenetrable corners, leaving the zombie side unable to do much more than wait for the match timer to tick down to zero. It’s not remotely fun for either group and I’m already noticing queue times increasing, presumably as other players begin to realize this.

This all leads to an online game that can be a delight at time but fails to deliver a well-rounded experience. As it’s a free-to-play game I’d still recommend checking out Fragpunk if you’re a fan of the genre and want a few hours of entertainment, especially if you have a few friends willing to squad up, but I doubt that it’s going to become an FPS staple in the years ahead.

Should I play Fragpunk?

(Image credit: Bad Guitar Studio) Play it if…

You want a more casual shooter
Fragpunk is often bizarre and, on the whole, is very approachable. This makes it a good casual alternative to the likes of Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant.

You enjoy silly abilities
If you love experimenting with weird and wonderful abilities, then Fragpunk is for you. There are loads of Lancers to try, plus a huge number of impactful Shard Cards.

Don’t play it if…

You’re a competitive fan
If you live for serious competition, then Fragpunk is best avoided. Matches can be dictated by cards entirely outside of your control and many Lancers are very unbalanced.

You want to live the side modes
The selection of Arcade modes in Fragpunk is a letdown. If you’re looking for that kind of experience, you’re better off with the likes of Overwatch 2.View Deal

Accessibility

There are few accessibility features in Fragpunk and no dedicated accessibility menu. The game can be played with either keyboard and mouse or a controller. It also offers a dedicated colorblind mode and the ability to tweak the appearance of important colors in the settings menu.

How I reviewed Fragpunk

I played Fragpunk for over 15 hours on PC, using my desktop computer with an Nvidia RTX 3060, 32GB of RAM, and an Intel Core I5-11400F. I relied on an Asus ROG Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition mouse, plus an Endgame Gear KB65HE keyboard. For display output, I used a Sony Inzone M9 II monitor.

Throughout my time with the game I directly compared my experience to my thousands of hours of playtime in other competitive shooters, namely Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant. I also considered the likes of Overwatch, Overwatch 2, and Team Fortress 2 given the conceptual similarity between Fragpunk's Lancers and the heroes of those games.

First reviewed March 2025