eyashadow

[eyashadow]

"The Threshold of Reverie," a work produced by Botto.BottoGenerative artificial intelligence is making huge waves across industries and services from finance to human resources and spending on the technology is growing fast.And the art world is no different — some artists are using it to help generate work, and others are shocked by its capabilities.Now, a new AI "artist" is making a splash, bringing up central questions around the nature of art, its creation and ownership.Botto, described as a "decentralized autonomous artist" on its website, has produced around 150 images, or "works," which together have fetched more than $5 million via auctions since 2021. Botto's work is influenced by a group of people who vote on the image that will be auctioned each week, and in turn help to determine what it creates next."If there's, kind of, a purpose of Botto, it's first to become recognized as an artist, and I think second is to become a successful artist," said Simon Hudson, Botto's operator and co-lead, in a video call with CNBC."A successful artist, you can look at from a lot of different lenses: commercially successful, financially successful, culturally successful, spiritually successful — if it's really having that kind of deep impact on people," he said.How Botto worksBotto was designed by software collective ElevenYellow and German artist and computer programmer Mario Klingemann to produce images based on prompts generated by an algorithm.It was initially given a general idea of what a prompt is "without any specific directions on aesthetics, and it started by combining random words, phrases and symbols ... to produce images," Hudson told CNBC by email. Symbols such as plus and minus were used to add or reduce emphasis, he said."Expose Stream," an image generated by an AI known as Botto. It was sold by Sotheby's New York for $144,000 in October 2024.BottoEach week, Botto generates around 70,000 images and presents 350 of them to a group of about 5,000 people known as the BottoDAO, or decentralized autonomous organization. The BottoDAO votes on which single image will be put up for sale via the SuperRare nonfungible token auction platform.Anyone can vote on the pieces Botto produces for free, Hudson said. But to "fully participate in the economy," people in the DAO buy Botto tokens and in return receive points to spend, or vote, on Botto's output, Hudson said. "There's no passive income. You have to participate and help train Botto," Hudson said.Half of the auction's proceeds go to the voters in the BottoDAO and the other half to Botto's "treasury," which pays for operating costs such as servers. One Botto token equates to one voting point, and returns are pro-rated — and are allocated regardless of which image an individual voted on.Botto then uses the voting data to help it decide what to produce next, and the process continues.'Machine artists'Klingemann believes that, in the near future, because of advances in AI and machine learning, "'machine artists' will be able to create more interesting work than humans," according to a post on his website. One of Klingemann's pieces became the first AI-produced work to be sold by Sotheby's in Europe, with a 2019 auction fetching £40,000.Images produced by Botto exhibited for sale at Sotheby's New York in October 2024.Botto | Sotheby'sThe value of Botto's images appears to be increasing, Hudson said.Two early images put up for auction during a quiet period for the AI art market were given reserve prices of around $13,000 to $15,000 by the BottoDAO, but they didn't sell. However, at an October auction at Sotheby's New York, the same images — "Expose Stream" and "Exorbitant Stage" — sold for $276,000 in total, Hudson said. Botto is also the third-highest seller by total sales on the SuperRare platform for the last year, as of Dec. 12.Questions of authorshipIs Botto an artist in its own right? "It's a thing of perception," Hudson said. "Certainly, Botto right now is a collaboration between machine and crowd. The human hands are certainly there, but the setup is such that Botto has maintained the central role of authorship," he said.Botto has the potential to change the way art — and artists — are perceived, Hudson said. "With Botto, it strips away this myth of the lone genius artist and shows how artwork is really a collective ... meaning-making process. And when you have a deluge of AI-generated content, that's going to be even more important of a process," he said. https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108071372-1733335783497-The_Threshold_of_Reverie.jpg?v=1734080041&w=1920&h=1080 2024-12-23 06:06:34

[eyashadow]

AirLight is compatible with iOS 13.0 and above (including iPads), Android 8.0 Oreo and above, and Bluetooth 5.0. It offers 12 presets tailored for four different modes: Standard, Sleek, Curly, and Coily. Each preset is adjustable and can be saved for future use, so once you lock in your settings, they’re always ready. There’s also a fully customizable mode. Another teeny but welcome feature is the app’s usage tracker, which logs how long you’ve used the dryer. It sounds trivial, but knowing when to clean the filter can extend the product’s lifespan (more on this later).The app is clearly in its early stages, but it works well and leaves plenty of room for updates. I can’t help but imagine how much better it could be with features like heat-styling tips from pros, quick video tutorials, or even curated inspiration boards for different hairstyles. L’Oréal has laid the groundwork here, and I’m curious to see how they build on it in the future.Hair shown after blow-dry with concentrator finish (no brush) In an industry where many gadgets are destined for the landfill, the AirLight Pro is an outlier. L’Oréal claims the AirLight Pro engine is built for the long haul, with a lifespan that can extend up to 10 years of professional-level use—that’s about two hours a day, five days a week. For anyone who’s dealt with cheap hair dryers that barely last a season, this alone is a promising proposition.What really sets the AirLight Pro apart, though, is its repairability. L’Oréal is making spare parts available starting in early 2025. The AirLight Pro also has built-in filter cleaning alerts for when cleaning is required. The frequency varies depending on air quality, everyday dust, and other particles (i.e., hairspray). If the filter reaches critical condition, the dryer shuts off until you clean it to avoid motor damage. I haven’t hit that point yet, so I can’t vouch for how well it works, but I appreciate the idea of a blow-dryer looking out for its longevity.At $475, the AirLight Pro isn’t cheap. But it's only $45 more than the viral Dyson SuperSonic and has a lot of advantages—it's quieter than the Dyson, faster at drying my hair, and more customizable with the app. And most important, you can repair it if it gets busted after the warranty runs out. If I'm going to spend almost $500 on a hair dryer, I want to make sure I'm only doing it once. The AirLight Pro's tailored experience is worth it. https://media.wired.com/photos/6766edfd0eee360a2e1a04ba/191:100/w_1280,c_limit/L'Oreal-Professionnel-AirLight-Pro-Reviewer-Collage-122024-SOURCE-Boutayna-Chokrane.jpg 2024-12-22 13:32:00

[eyashadow]

ReutersTen members of a family have died after a private plane crashed into the city of Gramado in southern Brazil. Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, was killed in the crash alongside his wife, three daughters and other family members, a statement from his company said.The small plane reportedly hit the chimney of a building, as well as a house and a shop as it fell.Local authorities say 17 people on the ground were injured in the accident, including two in a serious condition.Mr Galeazzi, 61, was taking his family on a trip to Jundiaí, in the São Paulo state, according to reports in Brazilian media.All 10 victims of the crash were members of Mr Galeazzi's family, Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite told a press conference. He added that the plane had taken off in unfavourable weather conditions.The plane reportedly flew for 3km (1.8 miles) before falling into the urban area of the city just minutes after take-off on Sunday morning."At the time, it was revving up. You could see that it was accelerating a lot," an eyewitness, Nadia Hansen, told Reuters news agency. "Then there was a bang as it hit the building and then it passed close to my house and then it fell, and I thought it had dropped in front of the house," she said.Pictures from the scene show emergency workers attending to the smoking wreckage among debris from badly damaged buildings.ReutersMr Galeazzi was the chief executive of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm based in São Paulo.The company issued a statement on LinkedIn, paying tribute to the 61-year-old. "Luiz Galeazzi will be eternally remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as the leader of Galeazzi & Associados," the statement said."We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region," it said, adding that it would co-operate with investigations into the accident.The plane crashed near the centre of Gramado, hitting a house, a furniture store and a hotel, according to Brazilian media.State governor Mr Leite said the cause of the accident was being investigated by the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa)."The entire state is mobilized here to provide the necessary assistance," he told reporters at the scene.Gramado is a popular tourist destination, known for hosting events during the festive period. The region was severely hit in May this year by unprecedented flooding, which claimed dozens of lives and displaced around 150,000 people from their homes. https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/98fd/live/411cdae0-c0ad-11ef-a2ca-e99d0c9a24e3.jpg 2024-12-22 22:30:55

[eyashadow]

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Two years on from the public release of ChatGPT, conversations about AI are inescapable as companies across every industry look to harness large language models (LLMs) to transform their business processes. Yet, as powerful and promising as LLMs are, many business and IT leaders have come to over-rely on them and to overlook their limitations. This is why I anticipate a future where specialized language models, or SLMs, will play a bigger, complementary role in enterprise IT. SLMs are more typically referred to as “small language models” because they require less data and training time and are “more streamlined versions of LLMs.” But I prefer the word “specialized” because it better conveys the ability of these purpose-built solutions to perform highly specialized work with greater accuracy, consistency and transparency than LLMs. By supplementing LLMs with SLMs, organizations can create solutions that take advantage of each model’s strengths. Trust and the LLM ‘black box’ problem LLMs are incredibly powerful, yet they are also known for sometimes “losing the plot,” or offering outputs that veer off course due to their generalist training and massive data sets. That tendency is made more problematic by the fact that OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other LLMs are essentially “black boxes” that don’t reveal how they arrive at an answer.  This black box problem is going to become a bigger issue going forward, particularly for companies and business-critical applications where accuracy, consistency and compliance are paramount. Think healthcare, financial services and legal as prime examples of professions where inaccurate answers can have huge financial consequences and even life-or-death repercussions. Regulatory bodies are already taking notice and will likely begin to demand explainable AI solutions, especially in industries that rely on data privacy and accuracy. While businesses often deploy a “human-in-the-loop” approach to mitigate these issues, an over-reliance on LLMs can lead to a false sense of security. Over time, complacency can set in and mistakes can slip through undetected. SLMs = greater explainability Fortunately, SLMs are better suited to address many of the limitations of LLMs. Rather than being designed for general-purpose tasks, SLMs are developed with a narrower focus and trained on domain-specific data. This specificity allows them to handle nuanced language requirements in areas where precision is paramount. Rather than relying on vast, heterogeneous datasets, SLMs are trained on targeted information, giving them the contextual intelligence to deliver more consistent, predictable and relevant responses. This offers several advantages. First, they are more explainable, making it easier to understand the source and rationale behind their outputs. This is critical in regulated industries where decisions need to be traced back to a source.  Second, their smaller size means they can often perform faster than LLMs, which can be a crucial factor for real-time applications. Third, SLMs offer businesses more control over data privacy and security, especially if they’re deployed internally or built specifically for the enterprise. Moreover, while SLMs may initially require specialized training, they reduce the risks associated with using third-party LLMs controlled by external providers. This control is invaluable in applications that demand stringent data handling and compliance. Focus on developing expertise (and be wary of vendors who overpromise) I want to be clear that LLMs and SLMs are not mutually exclusive. In practice, SLMs can augment LLMs, creating hybrid solutions where LLMs provide broader context and SLMs ensure precise execution. It’s also still early days even where LLMs are concerned, so I always advise technology leaders to continue exploring the many possibilities and benefits of LLMs.  In addition, while LLMs can scale well for a variety of problems, SLMs may not transfer well to certain use cases. It is therefore important to have a clear understanding upfront as to what use cases to tackle.  It’s also important that business and IT leaders devote more time and attention to building the distinct skills required for training, fine-tuning and testing SLMs. Fortunately, there is a great deal of free information and training available via common sources such Coursera, YouTube and Huggingface.co. Leaders should make sure their developers have adequate time for learning and experimenting with SLMs as the battle for AI expertise intensifies.  I also advise leaders to vet partners carefully. I recently spoke with a company that asked for my opinion on a certain technology provider’s claims. My take was that they were either overstating their claims or were simply out of their depth in terms of understanding the technology’s capabilities.  The company wisely took a step back and implemented a controlled proof-of-concept to test the vendor’s claims. As I suspected, the solution simply wasn’t ready for prime time, and the company was able to walk away with relatively little time and money invested.  Whether a company starts with a proof-of-concept or a live deployment, I advise them to start small, test often and build on early successes. I’ve personally experienced working with a small set of instructions and information, only to find the results veering off course when I then feed the model more information. That’s why slow-and-steady is a prudent approach. In summary, while LLMs will continue to provide ever-more-valuable capabilities, their limitations are becoming increasingly apparent as businesses scale their reliance on AI. Supplementing with SLMs offers a path forward, especially in high-stakes fields that demand accuracy and explainability. By investing in SLMs, companies can future-proof their AI strategies, ensuring that their tools not only drive innovation but also meet the demands of trust, reliability and control.  AJ Sunder is co-founder, CIO and CPO at Responsive. DataDecisionMakers Welcome to the VentureBeat community! DataDecisionMakers is where experts, including the technical people doing data work, can share data-related insights and innovation. If you want to read about cutting-edge ideas and up-to-date information, best practices, and the future of data and data tech, join us at DataDecisionMakers. You might even consider contributing an article of your own! Read More From DataDecisionMakers https://venturebeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a-vector-art-illustration-of-a-small-fle_uqOt6VuuSSyz0U6nwUHI8g_sSK28McNSIee3H6LfJRqZA-transformed.jpeg?w=1024?w=1200&strip=all 2024-12-21 20:25:00

[eyashadow]

The Israeli expert leading a civilian commission into sexual violence by Hamas and Israeli soldiers is calling for global bodies to recognize “a new crime against humanity,” involving violence targeted at families. Cochav Elkayam-Levy said the world should take a stance against the destruction of families as a specific, identifiable weapon of conflict, aimed at terrorizing one’s kin. She is proposing the crime be called “kinocide.”In an interview, she also said Canadians can demand Hamas be brought to justice while also seeking accountability when Israeli troops commit sexual violence against Palestinians, without drawing a false equivalence.“We have to see Canada’s leadership in addressing the lack of moral clarity of international institutions,” Elkayam-Levy said in an interview during a visit to Ottawa last month.Elkayam-Levy is an international-law professor at Hebrew University who chairs Israel’s Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children. Story continues below advertisement That non-governmental body originally set out to document patterns in sexualized violence by Hamas and its affiliates during the 2023 attack and against hostages it took into the Gaza Strip.The aim wasn’t to come up with a tally of assaults, but to instead document systemic factors in how women were raped, tortured and mutilated. The idea was to have an understanding that could help victims and their descendants cope with intergenerational trauma, and to create an archive for researchers and prosecutors to use for possible investigations.Elkayam-Levy’s team reviewed hours of footage featuring “very extreme forms of violence” from closed-circuit cameras and what militants themselves recorded. More on World More videos They started to notice six patterns of violence involving among the circumstances of more than 140 families.These include using victims’ social media to broadcast that person being tortured to their friends and family, including hostages and those killed. Another involved murdering parents in front of their children or vice versa, while another is the destruction of family homes.“We started understanding that there is something here, a unique form of violence,” she said. “The abuse of familial relations to intensify harm, to intensify suffering.” Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Elkayam-Levy said she developed the term with the help of experts, including Canadians like former attorney general Irwin Cotler. The rules undergirding the International Criminal Court only mention families in procedural contexts, but not as a factor in war crimes, she noted. Story continues below advertisement “It’s a crime without a name,” she said, arguing that impedes victims’ healing.She said experts in past conflicts have agreed with her, saying kinocide should have been a factor in how the world understood and sought justice for atrocities on various continents, such as how Islamic State militants targeted Yazidi families from 2014 to 2017.“Justice begins with this recognition; healing begins with recognition,” she said.Elkayam-Levy noted “gender-based violence” existed for centuries before the United Nations officially recognized the term in 1992.She’s also taken aim at “the silence of many international organizations, and the lack of moral clarity,” in calling out sexual violence on a global scale.In particular, UN Women did not condemn Hamas’ sexual violence until nearly two months after that attack, a move Elkayam-Levy said sets a bad precedent for upholding global norms.“They have fuelled denial of the sexual atrocities,” she said, adding that a constant demand for physical evidence pervades social media “in a very antisemitic way.”Israeli police have said forensic evidence was not preserved in the chaos of the attack, and people believed to be victims of sexual assault were often killed and immediately buried.Acts of sexual violence were not part of 43-minute video that Israel’s foreign ministry has screened for journalists, including The Canadian Press, which was sourced from security footage and videos filmed by militants during their October 2023 attack. Story continues below advertisement In March, a UN envoy said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape and “sexualized torture” during the attack, “including rape and gang rape,” despite the group’s denials. Trending Now Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died German Christmas market killings: What we know about the suspect That same month, released hostage Amit Soussana went public about her captors groping her and forcing “a sexual act” that she asked not to be specified.As part of its avowed feminist foreign policy, Canada funds initiatives abroad to prevent sexual violence and support victims. Yet the Conservatives have lambasted the Liberals for not condemning Hamas’ sexual violence until five months after the attack.In March, Ottawa came under fire for pledging both $1 million for groups supporting Israeli victims of Hamas sexual violence and $1 million for Palestinian women facing “sexual and gender-based violence” from unspecified actors.Global Affairs did not say whether that referred to domestic abuse or sexual violence by Israeli officials, drawing a rebuke from a senior Israeli envoy.Human-rights groups have long accused Israeli officials of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainees in the West Bank. In July, those concerns escalated when Israeli soldiers were accused of perpetuating the filmed gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner from the Gaza Strip. Far-right Israeli cabinet ministers voiced support for mobs attempting to free soldiers under investigation.Elkayam-Levy said Canadians can call out the patterns of sexual violence by Hamas against Israelis, and also demand the Israeli state investigate and prosecute its soldiers who undertake acts of sexual violence against Palestinians. Story continues below advertisement “The fact that (Western leaders) are trying to make the right political decision, instead of the right moral decision, is creating confusion, is creating moral blur — instead of making space for all victims to be heard for what they have endured,” she said.To her, there is a “false parallel” being made between individual cases of sexual assault from soldiers who should be held to account, and a group using patterns of sexual violence as a weapon of conflict.Elkayam-Levy said people should uphold the principles of international law.She is aware that many have instead argued that Israel’s military campaign has broken international law and undermined the systems meant to uphold human rights.Elkayam-Levy has been critical of the Israeli government, arguing before the conflict that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought anti-democratic reforms to the country’s judiciary.She has been critical of his war cabinet for lacking any women and has highlighted extensive media reports that female military personnel had detected Hamas was planning a large attack only to be dismissed by male leaders.She said the world needs to condemn violence against families and try prosecuting those responsible. Otherwise, she fears combatants in other countries will take up its brutal tactics.Otherwise, “we are going to see an international system that will not last for long,” she said. https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/20241222031256-20241219161232-5cc684e59d20ee8a00b197aa601a730a1d0489e9d6619b969a0d8a9bb17a0389.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=720&h=379&crop=1 2024-12-22 18:34:07

[eyashadow]

In December 2024, YouTube TV again hiked its rates, this time to $83 a month, an increase of around $50 since the service’s debut in 2017. It’s just the latest live TV streaming service to raise prices — Hulu+ Live TV jumped to $82 in August of 2024 and FuboTV’s cheapest tier climbed to $80 back in January. Even in the $80-range, these are still cheaper than cable in many markets, but the gap is steadily narrowing — and at least you don’t need a contract or any special equipment like you do with cable.Other distinctions that once separated broadcast, streaming and cable TV are disappearing too, with standard streaming platforms offering linear channels and live programming, and free ad-supported streaming (FAST) services like Plex and Pluto echoing broadcast TV from way back when. It’s no surprise cord-cutters might want a little help making sense of it all, so we tried all the major services out there, judging each one in terms of content, user experience, live sports and news offerings and, of course, price so you can find the best live TV streaming service for you.Table of contentsBest live TV streaming services for 2025YouTube TVMonthly price: $83/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (with an add-on) | Total channels: 100+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: Yes (select programming) | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (length varies) In mid-December of 2024, subscribers got a bummer of an email letting them know the price of YouTube TV would be going up yet again, this time to $83, which is a $10 hike from the last increase of $8 in March of 2023. Even still, Google’s option makes a strong case for delivering the best streaming service for live TV.  Compared to our top pick for sports, YouTube TV covers major and minor teams, regional games and national matchups almost as well. It gives you clear navigation, a great search function, unlimited DVR and broad network coverage. But, even beyond the price increase, YTTV is financially precarious if you're not great at resisting temptation. Upon signup, you’re presented with nearly 50 different add-ons, including 4K resolution, premium channels and themed packages. Even if you fight the urge to roll Max, Shudder and AcornTV into the mix at signup, the enticement remains as it’s dangerously easy to add more to your subscription — when I searched for a program on a network I didn’t have, I was prompted to add it. And of course, you can also rent or buy movies that aren’t currently showing on any channels, just like you can via YouTube. While it’s convenient to be able to order up anything I might want on a whim, I could easily see this pushing one’s bill far above Google’s listed price per month.. Still, it’s nice to have all your entertainment in one place. And if you only want the add-ons, you can actually subscribe to most of the standalone networks without paying for the base plan. Either way, you get a familiar user experience, with navigation you’ll recognize if you’ve spent any time on regular ol’ YouTube. Unsurprisingly, Google’s search function was the best of the bunch, finding the shows and games I searched for quickly and giving me clear choices for how to watch and record. At signup, you’ll also pick the shows, networks and teams you like, which are added to your library. YouTube TV then automatically records them. You get unlimited cloud DVR space (though recordings expire after nine months) and it’s dead simple to add programming to your library. Like a real cable experience, YouTube TV autoplays your last-watched program upon startup by default, but it was the only service that allowed me to turn that feature off by heading to the settings. Searching for and recording an upcoming game was easy. Once the game was recorded, I had to hunt a little to find it in my library (turns out single games are listed under the Events heading, not Sports). But after that, playback was simple and included a fascinating extra feature: You can either play a recorded game from the beginning or hit Watch Key Plays. The latter gives you between 12 and 20 highlight snippets, each about 10 seconds long. It focuses on the most impressive shots in an NBA bout and includes every goal in an MLS matchup. The feature was available for NCAA basketball and in-season major American leagues (hockey, soccer and basketball at the time of testing). Foreign and more minor games didn’t have the feature. Sports fans will also appreciate the new multiview feature that YouTube TV added mid-2024 that lets you pick up to four sports, news and weather channels from a select list and view them all at the same time on your screen. If you find yourself constantly flipping back and forth between games, this could save you some hassle. YouTube TV also gives you the most in-app settings. You can add parental controls to a profile or pull up a stats menu that shows your buffer health and connection speeds. You can lower playback resolution for slow connections and even send feedback to YouTube. It was also the best at integrating VOD and live programming. For example, when I searched for a show that happened to be playing live, a red badge in the corner of the show’s image let me know it was on right then. I know it makes no difference whether I watch an on-demand recording or a live show, but I like the imagined sense of community knowing someone else might be watching this episode of Portlandia too. ProsIntuitive and smooth interfaceAccurate search functionsCool multiview featureGood coverage of sports, news and linear programming networksConsVery easy to overspend on extrasThe price keeps going up$83 at YouTube TVFuboMonthly price: $80/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (mid- and high-tier plans) | Total channels: 215 (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 10 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: Yes (select programming, Apple TV) | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (length varies) If you want to stream live sports, you should probably opt for Fubo. When you first sign up, it asks which teams you follow across all kinds of associations. Pick teams from in-season leagues and you’ll quickly have DVR content to watch. That’s because Fubo records every game your chosen teams play as long as it’s aired on a supported channel – and its sports coverage is vast. I tested out the top-tier package and the guide said there were 118 sports networks to choose from. In addition to the usual suspects from ESPN, Fox, NBC and CBS, you can watch motorsports, international leagues, adventure sports and even poker. Add-ons give you NBA TV, NHL Network, NFL Red Zone and MLB Network. And if you need access to all one thousand games the NBA plays in a season, you can add the NBA League Pass to your lineup for $17 per month. Fubo even has its own sports channels. Yes, the coverage is comprehensive, but Fubo also made finding and recording specific games very easy. Searching for an upcoming game was simple, as was sifting through the ample amount of recorded games I ended up with. I particularly liked FanView for live games, which inserts the video into a smaller window and surrounds that window with continually updating stats plus a clickable list of other games currently airing. But, unfortunately, the feature isn't currently available. Hopefully Fubo will bring it back, as it was a differentiating perk for the service.   Fubo has made an obvious effort to win at sports, but recently it’s tried to deliver on the live TV experience as well. Based on what I've seen so far, it's certainly made strides. The guide was impressive in the number of ways it let you organize live TV, yet everything felt clean and uncluttered. The Home, Sports, Shows and Movies pages were filled with recommendations and many iterations of categories, with almost all suggestions being live TV. Where Fubo falls short is in VOD access and DVR playback. It wasn’t the best at finding the shows I searched for, and navigating available VOD content wasn’t as breezy as browsing through live programming. The lack of a pop-up preview window as you fast forward or rewind through recordings makes it tough to gauge where you are in a show.  As for price, Fubo is no longer the most expensive base package. It’s now cheaper than YouTube TV and Hulu+ TV, which are both $83. And if you need all the sports – and want some nicely organized live TV during the few moments when there’s not a game on – this is the way to go. ProsBest coverage of sports networksAutomatically records your favorite teamsInformative FanView featureUncluttered live TV interfaceConsDVR and VOD experience is inferior to the live component$80 at Fubo HuluMonthly price: $83/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 95+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 9 mo. expiration | Profiles per account: 6 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 2 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (3 days) When increased the price of its ad-supported base plan to , it was the most expensive option out there. YouTube TV caught up a few months later and now both are the same price. Of course, because the service comes bundled with Disney+, ESPN+ and includes Hulu’s original programming, you get a lot of content you can’t find elsewhere. So if you already subscribe, or plan to get the regular Hulu app and/or Disney+, Hulu’s live component makes a lot of sense. Note that $83 gets you that content with ads — for ad-free Disney+ and Hulu, it’s $96 monthly. Hulu + Live TV carries your local affiliates and most of the top cable channels. For sports, you get all available ESPN iterations plus FS1, FS2, TBS, USA, NBC Golf, the NFL Network and TNT (Turner Network Television). You can also add on premium VOD channels like Max and Showtime, and it’s the only provider that includes Disney+ at no extra cost. Navigation isn’t as smooth as most of the other options — as I used Hulu + Live TV, it felt like the live component had been shoehorned into the standard Hulu app. But for viewers who are already comfortable with (and paying for) Hulu and Disney+, this might be the best pick for your live TV subscription. ProsIncludes Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ progrmming$83 at HuluDirecTVMonthly price: $102/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes | Sports coverage: National, local, international | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (three channels) | Total channels: 90+ (base plan) | DVR limits: Unlimited (9-month expiration, maximum of 30 episodes per series) | Profiles per account: 1 | Simultaneous at-home streams: Unlimited | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (5 days) Live TV streaming was supposed to replace cable, but if you want an experience that’s as close to cable as you can get, right down to the confusing pricing, go for . The lowest non-promotional price is listed as $102 monthly. Promotional pricing puts the cheapest Entertainment + Sports Pack plan at $87 for the first two months, which will then return to $102 after the promo period. (A disclaimer states that the lowest-priced package costs $87 regularly, but that plan is not currently listed on the site as something you can purchase. There’s also confusing language that states you’ll “lose this offer” if you cancel.) I suppose it’s still good that there’s no unreasonably hard-to-cancel contract. The cable comparisons are unsurprising considering DirecTV is AT&T’s cable company. Other cable-like quirks include the serendipity of flipping from one channel to the “next” (DirecTV Stream numbers its channels) with your remote just like the good old days. I counted nearly all of the most popular cable networks and you can add multiple packages and premiums like Showtime, Starz, AMC+ and Discovery+. You can also include Max, just like on YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV, but DirecTV is the only one I tried that also lets you get Peacock. Of course, you can just add those apps separately to your smart TV, but for anyone who wants to approximate the all-in-one convenience of cable, it’s a nice perk. When I fired up DirecTV Stream, whichever network I’d watched last automatically started playing. It continued when I switched over to the guide or other menu pages. I’m used to the quieter experience of traditional streaming apps (after turning off autoplay), so I found that crazy making, but it might not bother everyone. The navigation didn’t feel intuitive, partly because the menu options overlay the currently playing show and because there are so many ways to browse, access and control live, recorded and on-demand content. The search function found the shows and movies I searched for and accurately presented the upcoming games I wanted just from typing in one of the teams. You can’t add new channels or packages through the app, which might be a relief to anyone worried about succumbing to subscription overload. Everyone else may just find it annoying. ProsCable-like experience without a contractBroad channel coverageConsSomewhat complicated interface$102 at DirecTVSling TVMonthly price: $40/mo. and up | Local channels: Yes (ABC, FOX, NBC in 20 markets) | Sports coverage: National, local | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: Yes (in 16 markets) | Total channels: 35 or 46 (base plans) | DVR limits: 50 hrs, no expiration | Profiles per account: 4 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 1 (Orange), 3 (Blue) | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: No To me, the idea of spending time fine-tuning channel choices sounds exhausting. But if you’re the type who wants to get exactly what you want without paying for too much of what you don’t, Sling TV may be your best bet. It breaks its base plan into two packages, Blue and Orange, with different channels on each. Blue, which costs $45 a month, carries a larger number of networks, while Orange seems to have spent its lineup dollars on ESPN and ESPN 2. But at $40 monthly, Sling Orange is the cheapest way to get those two sports outlets. After picking a plan, you can choose from a stable of add-on packages, with monthly prices ranging from $6 to $11. These include blocks of sports or lifestyle channels, kid-friendly fare, the Discovery+ bundle and a news package. There are 29 individual premium offerings, including AMC+, Starz, MGM+, Shudder and Acorn, which go for between $2 and $10 per month. Sling has pay-per-view movies, too. As far as local coverage, Sling Blue grants access to ABC, Fox and NBC local affiliates in about 20 of the larger US markets including Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, NYC, Miami and DC. ABC coverage began in March 2023. That raised the price of Sling Blue in supported markets from $40 to $45. For people not in those areas (or who opt for Orange) Sling getting an HD antenna to catch local stations for free.  Sling now offers . You'll need a Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV device that supports 4K (and a compatible TV) but for no extra charge, you'll get to certain sports events with a bump in resolution. Sling's navigation is speedy and the interface is nicely organized, putting an emphasis on what you like to watch, with recommendations that are pretty accurate. The UI also makes the add-ons you’ve chosen easy to find. In my tests, though, the app froze a number of times as I navigated. While most services froze once or twice, it happened enough times with Sling to frustrate me. I had to force quit or back out of the app and start over five or six times during the three weeks of testing. Compared to others, Sling’s DVR allowance is on the stingy side, only giving you 50 hours of recordings, though they won't expire. You can pay for more DVR storage, but that will increase your overall costs. I tried not to wander too far off-path during testing, but I feel it’s my duty to inform you that Sling has an Elvis channel, a Bob Ross channel and ALF TV (yes, an entire station devoted to the ‘80s sitcom starring a puppet). There’s also a Dog TV network intended to be played for your dogs when you leave the house, which you can add to Sling or get as a standalone app for $10 per month. ProsMore affordable than most live servicesOrange plan is the cheapest way to get ESPNHighly customizable packagesConsOnly 50 hours of DVR allowanceLocal channels only in major metro areas$40 at Sling TVPhiloMonthly price: $28/mo. and up | Local channels: No | Sports coverage: No | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 70+ (base plan), 100+ (free) | DVR limits: Unlimited, 1 yr. expiration | Profiles per account: 10 | Simultaneous at-home streams: 3 | Picture-in-picture: Yes (mobile and computer) | Multiview: No | Contract: No | Free trial: Yes (7 days) Philo held out at $25 monthly for a few years but increased to $28 in 2024 — though they did add AMC+ to the channel lineup to lessen the blow (and it has some good shows!). Despite the bump, it’s still one of the cheapest ways to get a cordless live TV experience. Philo’s free offerings recently increased as well, bumping up to more than 100 channels.  The biggest caveat is that you won’t find any local stations or sports programming on Philo. If that’s not an issue, the service is great, with a clean, streamlined interface and generous DVR limits. I’m a fan of minimalist design, so I appreciated presentation of the menus and guide. There are just four top navigation headings: Home, Guide, Saved and Search. And instead of the usual guide layout that stretches out or shortens a show’s listing to represent its air time, Philo’s guide features monospaced squares in chronological order with the duration of the program inside the square. Another nice touch is when you navigate to a square, it fills with a live video of the show or movie. Philo doesn’t limit the amount of programming you can DVR and lets you keep recordings for a full year, which is more than the nine months other providers allow. Like all live TV streamers, Philo won’t let you fast forward VOD programming. If skipping commercials is important to you, I recommend taking advantage of that unlimited DVR policy and hitting “Save” on any show or movie you think you may want to watch, then fast forwarding it on playback (you can do this with all the services we tried). As far as channels, Philo covers many of the top cable networks, with notable exceptions including Fox News, CNN, ESPN and MSNBC. Anyone looking for great news coverage should look elsewhere anyway, but the lack of a few must-have entertainment outlets like Bravo and Freeform was a little disappointing. The 100 or so channels in Philo’s free service are baked into the paid plan, bringing the total to 170, which is a pretty good deal for under $30 monthly. ProsAffordableMinimalist and easy interfaceUnlimited DVR allowance that lasts for a yearConsNo sports or local accessLimited news coverage$28 at PhiloBack to topBest free live TV streaming services for 2025There are plenty of ways to get free TV these days. To start, many standard streaming apps have added live components to their lineups. You’re paying for the service, so it’s not technically “free,” but you can get a dose of live TV without spending more than necessary. Peacock includes some regional NBC stations, and notably access to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Paramount+ subscribers can watch on-air CBS programming. The standard Hulu app has a live ABC news channel and Max now includes a live CNN outlet with its service, along with cable-like linear channels.The smart TV operating system (OS) you use likely provides free live content too: Amazon’s Fire TV interface has a live tab and Roku’s built-in Roku Channel includes hundreds of live channels at no extra cost. The same goes for Samsung TV Plus, which added a trove of K-dramas to its free live and on-demand lineup in 2024. The PBS app offers local live streams of its channels — even NASA has a free streaming service with live coverage.But for a full suite of live TV networks, and don’t want to sign up for any paid service, there are a number of free ad-supported TV services that have live TV. Even cable company DirecTV has joined the crowd with MyFree, though we haven’t had a chance to test that one yet. Here's the best of what we tried:TubiLocal channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 260 | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No  You don’t need to give Tubi any of your information to start watching live content. In many areas, it’ll grant access to your local ABC and Fox station and also includes the news-stream channels that other similar services carry, like NBC News Now, Fox Live Now and ABC News Live. Fox is Tubi’s parent company so you get picks like Fox Sports, Fox Soul and over a dozen regional Fox networks. The live TV component lives within the Home menu and, from there, the stations are organized by category, making it easy to browse the more than 200 live channels. Navigation is speedy and, along with a good library of on-demand movies, shows and kids’ stuff, Tubi has a few regional news stations plus at least five regional Fox News stations. Despite being billed as a live TV service, TUBI has a wide range of VOD movies and series. Whenever I flipped on the app, there were at least a few movies I was interested in. If you like the idea of fine-tuned browsing, you’ll probably appreciate Tubi’s Categories tab, which includes such hyper-specific topics as “shonen anime,” “vampire romance,” “black independent cinema” and “heist films.” In fact, I prefer Tubi’s on-demand experience over its live TV competency — the live TV guide only stays open for 10 seconds if you’re not actively clicking around and, like PlutoTV, your current show keeps playing as you browse the guide. ProsFree with no sign-in requiredShows some local Fox and ABC stationsAppealing on-demand contentHighly detailed categories sections for VODConsChannel guide disappears after 10 secondsCurrent show continues playing as you browseFree at TubiPlexLocal channels: No | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 800+ | Profiles per account: 15 (with a free Plex Home acct) | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No I test lots of gadgets and services but only a few make their way into my off-hours life. Plex feels likely to be one of those rarities. The FAST service has around 800 live TV channels that are organized fairly granularly and you can have up to 15 profiles. You can also rent a good selection of new-release and popular older movies directly from the app. There was once a nifty integration with notable music streaming service Tidal, but that collaboration sadly came to an end late in 2024. But the reason I’ll keep using Plex is the search function. It not only lets you hunt for shows and movies on its own platform, it also tells you which other services are currently carrying a particular title. I searched for Glass Onion, Get Out, Buckaroo Banzai and Billy Eichner’s Bros and found out I could watch those movies with my subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video and Starz, respectively.  Searching by an actor’s name, like Jamie Lee Curtis or Donald Glover, will give you a list of movies and shows they’ve been in. You can then find out that Halloween 1978 is available for free on Plex and Atlanta is included with a Hulu subscription. Recently, Plex added movie and show reviews culled from other Plex users and professional critics — users can even share their reviews with friends on the service, creating a Letterboxd-like social media element. It’s also quite easy to add any title to your Watchlist — together with the search feature, that could be a unifying way to organize your streaming aspirations. I checked every service Plex indicated for the titles I searched for and, so far, it’s been correct every time. My only real complaint is how painfully slow the search can be at times, but the results are spot-on. So, yes, you can watch a linear stream of old episodes like the BBC’s The Office or NCIS:New Orleans for free, but you can also find out which streamer is currently playing Joker: Folie à Deux (it’s Max). ProsGood selection of free live channelsHelpful and accurate search for any titleDetailed organization that's not overly complicatedFree at PlexSlingLocal channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 400+ | Profiles per account: 4 (with sign-up) | Picture-in-picture: Yes | Multiview: No | Contract: No When I first tried out Freestream, it was tough to find out where the free content was. It uses the same app as the paid Sling service, and I only found the prompt to watch for free when I was about to close the app. It has since become far easier to find the gratis option and, once you do, you get access to over 400 channels of free stuff, including a good deal of national and global news networks, such as BBC News, CBS News 24/7, USA Today, ABC News Live and Bloomberg. Yes, many of these are already available for free at their respective websites, but it’s nice to have a one-stop location to browse them all. Since the last time I tried Sling’s free service, the navigation has improved greatly. Where once there were just a few organizational options, now you’ll find categories for sports, movies, comedies, true crime, kids, documentaries, science and nature, classic TV and more. When you flip back to the guide, what you’re watching pops into a picture-in-picture window — but if you don’t like that, it’s easy to close it so you can browse in peace. ProsGood national news network selectionNicely organized interfaceYour current show becomes a pop-out as you browse and is easily closedConsOften asks you to sign up for paid Sling plansFree at SlingAmazonLocal channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 400+ | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No Editor’s Note: Amazon recently announced it was and integrating the free content into its Prime Video subscription. People who don’t pay for Prime will still be able to access some of the free content through that app. But as of this writing, the Freevee app was available to download and use. It was first called IMDbTV, but Amazon changed the name of its free streaming option to Freevee to better hint at its price. What’s available is pretty similar to the Live TV menu option you’ll find within the Prime Video app — in fact, the interface on that app is actually better organized, with listings by category. Freevee’s live TV menu is just a long, single list of channels. Prime’s version is speedier, too. However, Freevee is, true to its name, completely free. You don’t even have to sign in, though you’ll be prompted to do so when you first open the app (just select “Watch as a guest” in the lower corner to bypass that). There are currently around 400 channels with news networks like ABC News Live, Fox Live Now and NBC News Now. Sports showcases include the MLB Channel, NBC Sports and Fubo Sports. Tons of reality, true crime and current and classic TV avenues round out the offerings.  For original content that you can’t watch elsewhere, you not only get Freevee’s own shows like Jury Duty, but you can also watch select episodes of Prime shows like Fallout and Outer Range. Plus there are plenty of live channels arranged around specific classic shows including Saved by the Bell, Sailor Moon, The Addams Family and Murder, She Wrote. It’s possible Freevee has the most regional news channels of any other FAST service too, but it’s almost impossible to find them without scrolling endlessly through the guide. You can’t search for them and there’s no way to organize the channels by category as you can with the live TV section in the Prime Video app (which almost gives you the impression Amazon would rather you just pay for the membership). But while flipping through the guide, I saw NBC Chicago, Philadelphia and New York affiliates, Fox in Milwaukee, LA and Tampa Bay, and the Bay Area’s ABC station. ProsLets you watch a selection of Prime Video contentLots of regional stationsConsHardly any organization to the channelsFree at AmazonPluto TVLocal channels: A few | Sports coverage: Replays and shows about sports | On-demand: Yes | 4K live streams: No | Total channels: 250+ | Profiles per account: 1 | Picture-in-picture: No | Multiview: No | Contract: No Pluto TV is granularly organized, separating out nearly two dozen categories for its live content — including local news, kids, sports, daytime TV along with more specific topics like anime, competition reality, and history/science. The service also has a slew of its own stations such as Pluto Sports, Pluto News, Pluto True Crime and Pluto Star Trek. Actually, much of Pluto’s service is made up of content owned by its parent company, Paramount, who owns, in addition to Star Trek properties, CBS, Nickelodeon and MTV brands. Thanks to that affiliation, you’ll get access to a bunch of original content here. Regional news options are, however, limited to about a dozen CBS stations, but the live news-stream selection is pretty good and includes NBC News Live, BBC Headlines, Bloomberg Television, Cheddar News and others. As for sports, you get CBS Sports HQ, a version of Fox Sports and league-specific sports shows from the NFL, MLB, and Golf Channels. Though, as with any free live TV streaming service, you won’t find much in the way of live games. One thing I have to point out is that whatever you’re watching keeps playing when you browse the guide, and after searching the settings in the app and forums online, I could find no way to turn this off. If, like me, hearing your currently playing show natter on as you look for something else to watch drives you insane, you’ll have to hit mute. ProsHighly organized guideLots of Paramount-owned contentConsYour current show plays under the guideFree at Pluto TVBack to topWhat to look for in a live TV streaming serviceHow to stream live TVStreaming live TV is a lot like using Netflix. You get access through apps on your phone, tablet, smart TV or streaming device and the signal arrives over the internet. A faster and more stable connection tends to give you a better experience. Most live TV apps require you to sign up and pay via a web browser. After that, you can activate the app on all of your devices.Monthly PriceWhen I started testing these cord-cutting alternatives, I was struck by the price difference between live TV and a standard video streaming app. Where the latter cost between $5 and $20 per month, most live TV services hit the $80 mark and can go higher than $200 with additional perks, channel packages and premium extras. The higher starting price is mostly due to the cost of providing multiple networks — particularly sports and local stations. And, in the past year or so, every service except Sling has raised base plan prices.Local channelsOnly two of the services I tried don’t include full local channel coverage for subscribers and one of those makes no effort to carry sports at all. That would be Philo and, as you might guess, it’s the cheapest. The next most affordable option, Sling, only carries three local stations — and only in larger markets — but it still manages to include some of the top sports channels.When you sign up with any provider that handles local TV, you’ll enter your zip code, ensuring you get your area’s broadcast affiliates for ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Of course, you can also get those stations for free. Nearly all modern television sets support a radio frequency (RF) connection, also known as the coaxial port, which means if you buy an HD antenna, you’ll receive locally broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, PBS, FOX and NBC. And since the signal is digital, reception is much improved over the staticky rabbit-ears era.Live sports coverageOne reality that spun my head was the sheer number and iterations of sports networks in existence. Trying to figure out which network will carry the match-up you want to see can be tricky. I found that Google makes it a little easier for sports fans by listing out upcoming games (just swap in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL and so on in the search bar). When you click an event, the “TV & streaming” button will tell you which network is covering it.That just leaves figuring out if your chosen service carries the RSNs (regional sports networks) you want. Unfortunately, even with add-ons and extra packages, some providers simply don’t have certain channels in their lineups. It would take a lawyer to understand the ins and outs of streaming rights negotiations, and networks leave and return to live TV carriers all the time. That said, most major sporting events in the US are covered by ESPN, Fox Sports, TNT, USA and local affiliates.I should also point out that traditional streaming services have started adding live sports to their lineups. Peacock carries live Premier League matches, Sunday Night Football games and aired the 2024 Olympic Games from Paris. Thursday Night Football is on Amazon Prime and Christmas Day Football aired on Netflix. Max (formerly HBO Max) now airs select, regular season games from the NHL, MLB, NCAA and NBA with a $10-per-month add-on. You can watch MLS games with an add-on through the Apple TV app, and Apple TV+ includes some MLB games. If you subscribe to Paramount Plus, you can see many of the matches you’d see on CBS Sports, including live NFL games.Roku just added a free sports channel to its lineup. And a new upcoming sports streaming service called Venu is a joint venture between ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery and will cost $43 per month. Even taken all together, these options may not cover as much ground as live TV streamers, but they could scratch a small sports itch without too much added cost.Traditional cable networksDozens of linear programming networks were once only available with cable TV, like Bravo, BET, Food Network, HGTV, CNN, Lifetime, SYFY and MTV. If you only subscribe to, say, Netflix or Apple TV+, you won’t have access to those. But as with sports, standard streamers are starting to incorporate this content into their offerings. After the Warner Bros. merger, Max incorporated some content from HGTV, Discovery and TLC. Peacock has Bravo and Hallmark shows, and Paramount+ has material from Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central.Other channels like AMC+ have stand-alone apps. The Discovery+ app gives you 15 channels ad-free for $9 per month (or with ads for $5 monthly). And a service called Frndly TV starts at a mere $7 per month and streams A&E, Lifetime, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel and about 35 others. Of course, most live TV streaming options will deliver more sizable lists of cable networks, but just note that you may already be paying for some of them — and if all you need is a certain channel, you could get it cheaper by subscribing directly.On-demand streamingMost live TV subscriptions include access to a selection of video-on-demand (VOD) content, like you would get with a traditional streaming service. Much of this content is made up of the movies and TV series that have recently aired on your subscribed networks. This typically doesn’t cover live events and news programming, but I was able to watch specific episodes of ongoing shows like Top Chef or BET’s Diarra from Detroit. Just search the on-demand library for the program, pick an episode and hit play.Partnerships, like Hulu’s relationship with Disney, and add-ons, such as bundling Max with your YouTube TV subscription or Starz with your Sling plan, will let you watch even larger libraries of on-demand content. But again, if VOD is all you’re after, paying for those networks directly instead of through a live TV plan will be far cheaper.Digital video recordings (DVR) limitsEvery option I tried offers some cloud DVR storage without needing a separate physical device. You’ll either get unlimited storage for recordings that expires after nine months or a year, or you’ll get a set number of hours (between 50 and 1,000) that you can keep indefinitely. Typically, all you need to do is designate what ongoing TV series you want to record and the DVR component will do all the hard work of saving subsequent episodes for you to watch later. You can do the same thing with sports events.Aside from being able to watch whenever it’s most convenient, you can also fast-forward through commercials in recorded content. In contrast, you can’t skip them on live TV or VOD.Simultaneous streams and profiles per accountEach plan gives you a certain number of simultaneous streams, aka how many screens can play content at the same time. And while most providers will let you travel with your subscription, there are usually location restrictions that require you to sign in from your home IP address periodically. Stream allowances range from one at a time to unlimited screens (or as many as your ISP’s bandwidth can handle). Some plans require add-ons to get more screens.Most services also let you set up a few profiles so I was able to give different people in my family the ability to build their own watch histories and libraries, set their favorite channels and get individual recommendations.Picture-in-picture mode and multiviewPicture-in-picture (PiP) usually refers to shrinking a video window on a mobile device or computer browser so you can watch it while using other apps. Sling, YouTube TV, FuboTV, Philo, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV all have PiP modes on computers and mobile devices. Another feature, multiview, lets you view multiple live sports games at once on your TV screen. YouTube TV and FuboTV are the only live TV streamers that let you do this. With YouTube TV, you can select up to four views from a few preset selection of streams. FuboTV offers the same feature, but only if you're using an Apple TV set top device.4K live streamsRight now, just FuboTV, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream offer 4K live streams — but with caveats. YouTube TV requires a $20-per-month add-on, after which you’ll only be able to watch certain live content in 4K. DirecTV Stream has three channels that show live 4K content — one with shows and original series, and two with occasional sporting events. You don’t have to pay extra for these but you do need to have either DirecTV’s Gemini receiver, or a device from Fire TV, Apple TV or Roku. You’ll need those same devices to watch the select 4K programming on Sling as well. FuboTV shows certain live events in 4K but access is limited to the Elite and Premier packages, not the base-level Pro plan.Of course, watching any 4K content also requires equipment that can handle it: a 4K smart TV or 4K streaming device paired with a cord and screen that can handle 4K resolution.Tiers, packages and add-onsComparing price-to-offering ratios is a task for a spreadsheet. I… made three. The base plans range from $28 to $80 per month. From there, you can add packages, which are usually groups of live TV channels bundled by themes like news, sports, entertainment or international content. Premium VOD extras like Max, AMC+ and Starz are also available. Add-ons cost an extra $5 to $20 each per month and simply show up in the guide where you find the rest of your live TV. This is where streaming can quickly get expensive, pushing an $80 subscription to $200 monthly, depending on what you choose.How to stream live TV for freeI also downloaded and tried out a few apps that offer free ad-supported TV (FAST) including Freevee, Tubi, PlutoTV and Sling Freestream. These let you drop in and watch a more limited selection of live networks at zero cost. Most don’t even require an email address, let alone a credit card. And if you have a Roku device, an Amazon Fire TV or Stick, a Samsung TV, a Chromecast device or a Google TV, you already have access to hundreds of live channels via the Roku Channel, the live tab in Fire TV, through the Samsung TV Plus app or through Google TV.Back to topHow we testedWhen I begin testing for a guide, I research the most popular and well-reviewed players in the category and narrow down which are worth trying. For the paid plans, just six services dominate so I tried them all. There are considerably more free live TV contenders so I tested the four most popular. After getting accounts set up using my laptop, I downloaded the apps on a Samsung smart TV running the latest version of Tizen OS. I counted the local stations and regional sports coverage, and noted how many of the top cable networks were available. I then weighed the prices, base packages and available add-ons.I then looked at how the programming was organized in each app’s UI and judged how easy everything was to navigate, from the top navigation to the settings. To test the search function, I searched for the same few TV shows on BET, Food Network, HGTV and Comedy Central, since all six providers carry those channels. I noted how helpful the searches were and how quickly they got me to season 6, episode 13 of Home Town.I used DVR to record entire series and single movies and watched VOD shows, making sure to test the pause and scan functions. On each service with sports, I searched for the same four upcoming NHL, NBA, MLS and NCAA basketball matches and used the record option to save the games and play them back a day or two later. Finally, I noted any extra perks or irritating quirks.All live TV streaming services we’ve tested:Back to topLive TV Streaming FAQsWhat is live streaming?Streaming simply refers to video content that is delivered to your screen over the internet. Live streaming can be split into two categories: linear programming and simultaneous transmission. That first one is similar to what you get with cable or broadcast TV, with channels that play a constant flow of movies and shows (sort of what TV looked like before Netflix). Simultaneous streaming lets you watch live events (like a basketball game) or a program (like the evening news) as they happen.What is the difference between streaming and live streaming?Standard streaming, the most popular example being Netflix, lets you pick what you want to watch from a menu of choices. It’s also referred to as “video on demand.” Live streaming refers to sports and news events that you can stream as they happen in real time. It also refers to channels that show a continuous, linear flow of programming.What streaming service is best for live TV?FuboTV does the best job of letting you organize live channels to help you find just what you want to watch. The interface is uncluttered and when you search for something, the UI clearly tells you whether something is live now or on-demand. YouTube TV also does a good job making that info clear. Both have just over 100 live channels on offer.What is the most cost effective TV streaming service?Free TV streaming services like PlutoTV, Plex, Tubi and FreeVee show plenty of ad-supported TV shows and movies without charging you anything. Of course, they won’t have the same channels or content that more premium subscriptions have. Ultimately it depends on what you want to watch and finding the service that can supply that to you in the most streamlined form so you’re not paying for stuff you don’t need.Is it cheaper to have cable or streaming?A basic cable package used to be more expensive than the base-level live TV streaming service. But now that nearly all major providers have raised their prices to over $75 per month, that’s no longer the case. And with add-ons and other premiums, you can easily pay over $200 a month for either cable or a live TV streaming service.What streaming service has all the TV channels?No service that we tested had every available channel. Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream carry the highest number of the top rated channels, according to Neilsen. Hulu’s service will also get you Disney+ fare, which you can’t get elsewhere. FuboTV has the most sports channels and YouTube TV gives you the widest selection of add-ons.What is the most popular live TV streaming platform?YouTube TV has the most paying customers. According to 2024's letter from the CEO, the service has over eight million subscribers. Disney’s 2024 third quarter earnings put the Hulu + Live TV viewer count at 4.6 million. Sling’s customer count dipped from two million to about 1.9 million in 2024 and FuboTV grew its subscriber list to 1.6 million.How safe are free streaming services and websites?You may have heard certain sites that provide free content can be dangerous, leading to stolen info and/or exposing you to malware. That’s likely in reference to certain peer-to-peer (P2P) networks and file-sharing sites that let people download free movies and series — which can come bundled with malicious code.But if you’re talking about the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services listed here, from providers like PlutoTV, Tubi and Freevee, they are just as safe as any other streaming service. Since you sometimes don’t even have to provide your email address or credit card info, they can even be more anonymous than apps that require login credentials.Back to topRecent updatesDecember 31, 2024: Noted increased pricing for YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV and DirecTV. Updated information for 4K streaming capabilities and requirements for multiple services. Reported on the upcoming shut down of Amazon’s Freevee service and the addition of DirecTV’s free service.August 6, 2024: Updated with the addition of Plex as a free live TV streaming recommendation and mentioned the additional free channels Philo is now including with the free version of its service. Added pricing information for ESPN's new sports-only streaming service, Venu.June 12, 2024: Updated with more information about 4K live streaming, picture-in-picture and multiview modes, as well as video on-demand options. We expanded our recommendations around free live TV streaming services and added a FAQ query about the safety of free streaming services and clarified the difference between standard and live streaming. More traditional streaming services have added live and sports components, so we revised that section accordingly.Back to top https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ZRQ2WwWpmGSDVeMODF.VYg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD02NzU-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2024-12/df0bddc0-bd68-11ef-be39-da0a62e03075 2024-12-22 12:00:36

[eyashadow]

A U.S. Navy ship mistakenly fired at the F/A-18, whose two pilots were safely recovered, the military said. [og_img] 2024-12-22 05:50:58

[eyashadow]

Justin Baldoni JB Lacroix/Getty Images Years before his past issues with porn were named in a lawsuit about his alleged behavior on the set of It Ends With Us, director Justin Baldoni previously shared how he developed an “unhealthy” relationship with porn after being introduced to it at a young age. “I was introduced to porn when I was ten years old. Long before I ever, you know, could have an erection or even knew how I felt about anything,” Baldoni, now 37, shared on a July 2021 episode of Sarah Grynberg’s “A Life of Greatness” podcast. “We’ve sexualized this thing, so of course it becomes fascinating and interesting and you’re like, ‘oh my God, boobs.’ And then, you know, hormones start raging.” Baldoni added at the time that he “sought refuge [in porn] when I felt alone, or when I felt abandoned, or when I felt hurt or something like that, because it was a dopamine rush — I didn’t know that then. At an early age, I trained my brain to deal with pain with the dopamine hit.” On the podcast, he shared that despite never drinking alcohol or doing drugs, he could still have a vice and use something in an “unhealthy” way. Related: Everything Justin Baldoni Has Said About Working With Blake Lively Justin Baldoni appears to have nothing but positive things to say about his It Ends with Us costar, Blake Lively, as reports of an on set feud continue circulating online. The drama officially hit theaters in August 2024, and Baldoni, who both directed and starred opposite Lively, has heaped praise on his onscreen partner. “Blake […] “And I found myself, over the course of my life, going back to looking at images and videos of naked women when I was feeling necessarily bad about myself,” he told Grynberg. “And I knew that it was an issue for me when I would tell myself that I don’t want to do that.” Justin Baldoni Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership Baldoni is also the author of a book titled Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity, where he wrote extensively about his “relation” to the porn industry and how it informs young men’s understanding of consent. “I do believe that especially the porn that young boys are watching is very violent and because we never no one ever sits us down and teaches us about consent, we learn it through porn,” he said in 2021. “So what do you have? You have an entire generation of boys who think that when a girl says ‘no,’ or ‘stop,’ or ‘that hurts,’ that that means that’s good.” Baldoni’s previous comments about porn are relevant again after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her It Ends With Us costar on Friday, December 20,, alleging that Baldoni’s behavior toward her on set caused the actress “severe emotional distress.” Related: Inside Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's Intense ‘Creative Struggle’ Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s new film, It Ends With Us, has proven to be a box office hit, grossing $50 million during its opening weekend. While the cast should be riding high on the film’s success, they’ve instead found themselves embroiled in controversy as reports swirl of behind-the-scenes drama involving differing final cuts of […] The lawsuit also alleges that, before filming resumed in January 2024, a meeting was conducted to address Lively’s claims of a “hostile work environment” on set, which was attended by numerous people as well as her husband, Ryan Reynolds. Per the lawsuit, her demands included “no more showing nude videos or images of women to Blake, no more mention of Baldoni’s alleged previous ‘pornography addiction,’ no more discussions about sexual conquests in front of Blake and others, no further mentions of cast and crew’s genitalia, no more inquiries about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father.” Bryan Freedman, Baldoni’s lawyer, addressed Lively’s accusations in a statement to Us Weekly, which he called “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Freedman claimed to Us that Lively had filed the lawsuit to “fix her negative reputation” and “rehash a narrative” regarding the production of the film, further alleging the actress made “multiple demands and threats” during filming, including “threatening to not show up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.” Related: Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's Reported 'It Ends With Us' Drama Explained UPDATE 12/21/24 at 10:30 a.m. ET: TMZ reported in December that Lively sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and “severe emotional distress.” His lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement to Us Weekly that the allegations are “completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious.” Us reached out to Lively’s rep for comment at the time. Original story […] Us has reached out to Lively’s rep for comment. “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted,” Lively said in a statement to The New York Times in December, where she also denied spreading negative information about Baldoni. https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2-Justin-Baldoni-Previously-Admitted-to-Unhealthy-Relationship-With-Porn-Was-Introduced-to-It-at-10-Years-Old.jpg?crop=0px%2C53px%2C1399px%2C734px&resize=1200%2C630&quality=86&strip=all 2024-12-21 19:15:13

[eyashadow]

Stay safe and cozy in your room with NordVPN – there’s no better time! NordVPN’s winter sale will warm you up more than your hat and gloves. More than your built-in heat. This 74% discount has melted NordVPN’s prices to only $2.99/mo, making it the cheapest it’s ever been! But that’s not all. NordVPN grants you 3 free months for all 2-year/1-year plans. This winter, you can’t complain about the lack of generosity in the VPN marketplace. NordVPN leads the pack but its generous offer won’t last. Hurry up if you want your piece of cake. See at NordVPN NordVPN Basic Plan: Save 74% and Pay $2.99/mo By far the cheapest NordVPN deal is the Basic one. This is an excellent plan for those on a budget who still want that flagship VPN experience. It costs just $2.99/mo as a result of a 74% discount with 3 free months. This is a 2-year deal but the 1-year version is also affordable at $4.59/mo. NordVPN includes 3 extra months for both lengths, ensuring you get the best possible value. To get the NordVPN Holiday discount, simply click one of the buttons, pick the plan you want, and subscribe. Simple stuff. Other NordVPN Winter Offers Gizmodo’s NordVPN coupon lets you save massively on more powerful plans. This winter, NordVPN gives you its Plus and Prime plans with a few more tools: Threat Protection Pro NordPass NordLocker 1 TB NordProtect The Plus plan at $3.89/mo for 27 months or $5.49/mo for 15 months is perhaps the most compelling NordVPN’s offer. Users can enjoy NordPass and protect the privacy of their passwords and login details effortlessly. However, the Prime plan at $7.89/mo jumps to another level with 1 TB of NordLocker storage. Making things better is NordProtect. It ensures additional protection against data brokers and removes your private information from their databases. All plans have a huge advantage; a 30-day money-back guarantee. Whichever NordVPN winter offer you pick, you have 30 days to get a refund if you’re unimpressed. We’re sure that won’t be the case. NordVPN Features & Options We’ve barely scratched the surface with the things we mentioned. If you’re wondering what this sweet winter deal brings, let us quench your curiosity: Over 6,800 servers in 113 countries Unlimited speed and bandwidth Secure protocols like NordLynx and OpenVPN Full streaming and P2P allowance. According to our experts, it’s currently the best YouTube TV VPN. Audited zero-logging policy Apps for all devices 10 simultaneous connections Double VPN functionality, and more. NordVPN’s Holiday savings are still on the table, so there’s time to decide. With so many awesome plans and their all-time low prices, you’re spoilt for choice. Go ahead. Secure your online presence and enjoy Christmas browsing safely and watching countless Netflix shows and blockbusters. Explore All NordVPN Holiday Discounts https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2024/12/NordVPN-Holiday-Winter-Deal.jpeg 2024-12-21 22:00:46

[eyashadow]

The appearance of a larger belly in powerlifters, as opposed to a more muscular look, can be attributed to their high intake of carbohydrates and calories. This dietary strategy is essential for providing the energy required to lift exceptionally heavy weights throughout their training routines. It’s All About Calorie Consumption I guess it’s fairly obvious that “big” in relation to the body typically occurs through calorie consumption. You have to eat a surplus of calories if you want to get bigger and stronger. So, if you’re wondering why you’re not packing on muscle, even though you train like a demon, it will be because of your diet and nutrition. Powerlifters are all about muscle and strength, so it makes perfect sense that they have to eat a huge amount of calories. The truth is that they are almost in a state of constant bulking. The heavyweight divisions of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, as well as competitors in the World’s Strongest Man, will typically reveal some very big bellies. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ6dqqj-OiQ[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ6dqqj-OiQ[/embed] The Difference Between Powerlifters and Bodybuilders When you consider a bodybuilder, they will initially go through the bulking phase too. This involves training with high intensity and eating a lot. Basically, doing all they can to grow as much muscle as possible. Unfortunately, fat comes as part of the deal with all the extra calories. However, a bodybuilder will then typically go through a cutting phase. This involves following a very strict diet in order to eliminate fat. In fact, I’m sure that you’ve heard many bodybuilders live off chicken, broccoli, and rice. However, even an ingredient like rice is likely to take a back seat during a bodybuilder’s cutting phase. They will also back off on their training, but still do just enough to maintain as much muscle mass as possible. That being said, the cutting phase will also deplete the athlete of a lot of strength. In essence, they become much weaker. Now, if we look at things from a powerlifter’s point of view, the last thing they want is to lose strength and become weaker. Powerlifting is all about building as much raw strength as possible. This allows you to lift the heaviest loads within your capabilities. So, a powerlifter won’t go through a cutting stage, especially when training for a competition. Admittedly, shifting a huge amount of weight will burn a massive amount of calories. The solution once more is to consume even more calories. You must remember that you can eat as “clean” as you want. But excess calories are just that. If they’re not burned through your normal daily activities, they will be stored as fat. However, this is of little concern to a powerlifter. More body mass means being able to move more barbell mass. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cz6l_ZPY2U[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cz6l_ZPY2U[/embed] Powerlifters Train With Lower Volume Something else to consider is the overall volume of work that a powerlifter does during a session. Okay, I’ve already mentioned that shifting a lot of weight will burn a huge amount of calories. However, this doesn’t work in the same way as high-volume training. Plus, let’s not forget that it’s impossible to spot reduce body fat. But, the same cannot be said when it comes to adding body fat. For the vast majority of us an excess in calories will typically make its way straight to our stomachs. If you’ve ever changed training protocols you have probably noticed the same thing yourself. Let’s say that you’ve had a real concentration on hypertrophy and conditioning for a few months. You then decide to shift your focus to pure raw strength training. Even though you are lifting with just as much intensity, if not more, you’ll usually notice that you’re getting fatter. You’ll probably end up taking on more calories as your energy levels feel severely depleted from the training. Plus, even though you’re shifting much heavier loads, your overall volume will have significantly dropped. The Type of Training Can Produce a Big Belly Now, when I talk about the “type of training” a powerlifter does, this isn’t so much about a lack of cardio and ab work. In fact, powerlifters will definitely train their abs and core. Pretty much every movement we make originates from the core, so it’s essential that a powerlifter has an extremely strong core. In fact, heavy weighted sit ups form part of a powerlifter’s training regime. Oh yes, even though powerlifters are in a constant state of bulking they still train abs. But, these are no ordinary weighted sit ups. Depending on the athlete you could be talking about performing sets of 15 reps with 300-500lbs. Yes, this will work the abs, but it will also build big slabs of stomach muscle. You’ll also need to consider how these athletes use their weight belt. Whereas, most of us will use a belt for core stabilization and to protect the lower back, a powerlifter also uses it to target their breathing. During extremely heavy squats, deadlifts and bench presses the athletes will literally push their stomach out as hard as possible. The aim here is to press the stomach out as hard as you can against the belt in order to provide additional support. If you’re doing this multiple times a day, for weeks, months, and years, you’re going to end up with a bigger belly. Former powerlifter and current strength coach, Louie Simmons, once stated, “If you want a small waist then powerlifting is not your sport.” [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAGfMPiu7Qs[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAGfMPiu7Qs[/embed] The Role of Steroids Steroids can play a role in producing a big belly. In fact, there is a term known as “roid gut”, although this is more prevalent in bodybuilders than powerlifters. It’s actually known as palumboism. This is when the oblique muscles thicken and actually force the rectus abdominis muscles outwards. In truth, it’s not actually the steroids that cause this “big belly”, but rather other performance enhancing drugs. These include insulin, human growth hormone, and various anabolic peptide hormones. With that being said, the opposite can also be said of certain steroids. In effect, there are some steroids which will raise the metabolism and increase your total daily energy expenditure. This will actually cause you to burn calories and body fat, while also improving recovery so that you can train harder and longer. So, from a powerlifter’s point of view, in order to combat this “calorie burn” the obvious solution is to eat more. And then we’re back to where we started – higher calorie consumption equals more body fat. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7gKKzijBmU[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7gKKzijBmU[/embed] Key Learning Points Powerlifters are required to take on a huge number of calories in order to support their training. It’s not unheard-of for powerlifters to eat DURING their training sessions. Powerlifting training involves forcing the stomach out a lot. The stomach is typically “forced” into a weightlifting belt in order for the lifter to target their breathing. Ab training for powerlifters involves huge weights which will build big slabs of ab muscle, thus making the stomach look larger. Steroids may play a role, whether this is due to palumboism or the requirement to consume more calories. Do you want to try a powerlifting-type workout (just 3 exercises) that will help you add 14lbs of lean muscle in just 60 days? Check the Anabolic Aftergrowth workout program. Hi, I’m Partha, owner and founder of My Bodyweight Exercises. I am a Level 3 Personal Trainer and Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist through the Register of Exercise Professionals, United Kingdom. I have been a regular gym-goer since 2000 and coaching clients since 2012. My aim is to help you achieve your body composition goals. https://mybodyweightexercises.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Why-Do-Powerlifters-Have-Big-Bellies-FB.png 2024-05-15 07:48:37

[eyashadow]

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Saturday announced the shutdown of TikTok for at least one year from 2025. The decision comes after a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death by a classmate last month in a fight that had started on social media.  [og_img] 2024-12-21 21:02:58

[eyashadow]

Gabriel Jesus says he is a different player when he has a “smile on his face” after another brilliant display for Arsenal against Crystal Palace. Fresh from his hat-trick in the Gunners’ 3-2 EFL Cup win over the Eagles on Wednesday night, the Brazil international netted twice inside the opening 14 minutes to help propel the visitors to a 5-1 win at Selhurst Park. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice were also on target for Arsenal with Ismaila Sarr netting for Palace. The goals were Jesus’ first in the league in 2024 and he hinted his midweek exploits had provided an injection of self-belief. Arsenal close the gap on Liverpool and Chelsea 🤏 🔜 Everton v Chelsea, Sunday 14:00 GMT🔜 Spurs v Liverpool, Sunday 16:30 GMT pic.twitter.com/1C4245TfXj — Premier League (@premierleague) December 21, 2024 He told Sky Sports: “Obviously the first goal was very important early. The way we started, the full team was really ready to play well and fight. They have a strong team and quality players and we know it is always difficult to come here. We did the job and I am very happy with the goals as a number nine, I know the pressure is always on to score. I am happy but the win, the three points, was massive today. “I’m the type of guy that wants to work hard. I know my qualities. I know I can score. In my mind I know I can score, I just have to put myself in a good position to finish the action like today. I put two in the net and missed one I will be dreaming of. When I play with a smile on my face everything is different so I am trying to keep my mind strong and just help the team. I understand I have to be more in the box to finish the action.” Patience pays off Jesus has had to be patient to claim a place in the first XI, especially as a striker, having often been deployed in a wide-left position. He added: “It is great to be back in the team playing more. I am experienced enough and know when a player is playing constantly it is different. I am happy to get more chances but it is up to me to put myself in the right places to score. It is Arsenal, it is a huge club and I know the pressure for the number nine to score is there.” Saka worry for Arsenal The only negative on an otherwise perfect evening for Arsenal was a hamstring injury suffered by Bukayo Saka that forced his withdrawal after 24 minutes. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, whose side are now just three points behind leaders Liverpool but have played two games more, said: “I don’t know. He had to come off because he felt something. It is not good news obviously. We have to assess him.” Guehi disappointed by Palace display The defeat was a blow for a Palace side that have been showing signs of a resurgence in recent weeks. England defender Marc Guehi believes sloppiness in both areas contributed to his team’s defeat. He told PLP: “We’re disappointed. It’s not nice to lose that way. Heads are down and we have to go again. There’s moments we create for ourselves every single game, today we didn’t take them and they did. “But I think tonight it was about both boxes. When we look back on it we didn’t defend well and a top team like Arsenal will punish you. We have to go again, look at the areas we can improve and take this game with a pinch of salt.” https://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2YYDJNM-2-2.jpg 2024-12-21 20:12:04

[eyashadow]

Robert Way/iStock Editorial via Getty Images OpenAI’s artificial-intelligence project intended to be a major advancement to the technology that drives ChatGPT is behind schedule and expenses are soaring, The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday. And the project that has been in the works for more https://static.seekingalpha.com/cdn/s3/uploads/getty_images/1491458341/image_1491458341.jpg?io=getty-c-w750 2024-12-21 19:49:20

[eyashadow]

A nine-year-old is reportedly among five people killed after a driver plowed through a crowd at a Christmas Market in Germany. RELATED: Prayers Up! 2 Kindergarten Students Reportedly Hospitalized Following Shooting At School In California More Details On The Driver Who Reportedly Plowed Through A Crowd At A Christmas Market In Germany According to CNN, the incident occurred at a market in Magdeburg, Germany, on the evening of Friday, December 20. Per the outlet, at the scene, a 50-year-old man from Saudi Arabia who resided in the country and worked as a doctor plowed his car into a crowd of more than 200 people. At this time, authorities have reportedly not released the motive behind the man’s attack. However, the outlet notes that authorities reportedly discovered “past shared anti-Islam statements” on the suspect’s social media. Furthermore, CNN has noted that German authorities have currently listed the man’s name as Taleb A. More Details On The 9-Year-Old, Five People Killed & Other Reportedly Victims Per the outlet, a nine-year-old and four other adults were killed amid Friday’s incident. Additionally, over 200 people were reportedly left injured. Furthermore, amid that number, it has also been shared that “nearly 40 people… were critically injured in the attack.” Lastly, CNN notes that footage of the incident has been posted on social media. In the footage, a black car is seen driving “directly” into the crowd of individuals standing at market stalls. As the car enters the area, some individuals are reportedly seen running away in a panic as others dove into the stalls for protection. As The Christmas Holiday Nears, Another Tragedy Also Occurred In California The tragedy to strike Magdeburg, Germany, isn’t the only amid the holiday season. As The Shade Room previously reported, in November, Antonio Pascual Mateo, a 24-year-old, passed away after reportedly being electrocuted while hanging up Christmas lights. RELATED: Prayers Up! 24-Year-Old California Man Passes Away After Reportedly Being Electrocuted While Hanging Christmas Lights What Do You Think Roomies? https://theshaderoom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Prayers-Up-9-Year-Old-Reportedly-Among-5-Killed-After-Driver-Plowed-Through-Crowd-At-Christmas-Market-In-Germany-scaled.jpg 2024-12-21 20:42:19

[eyashadow]

Buying a new planner gives me an endorphin rush like no other, whether it’s for a new school semester, work year, or a much-needed fresh start. A good one should help you stay on track without overwhelming you. Some folks on WIRED's Gear team prefer paper planners over digital tools. Plus, writing things down has the added benefit of improving retention.There's no such thing as the best planner, but the WIRED staff has tried and tested all kinds of paper planners to bring you the best recommendations for your planner needs. Once you find something that works for you, read our guides on work-from-home gear, the best digital notebooks, and the best laptop backpacks for more.Updated December 2024: We've added a brand-new section on monthly planners. We've also removed the Skinny Confidential Hot Minute Planner since it's been out of stock, and the Plum Planner is now our runner-up for daily planners.Table of ContentsPower up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.Weekly PlannersWeekly planners are some of the most popular types of paper planners. They're great for students, professionals, and parents who need to plan each day but also see the entire week.No matter how many perfectly adorable planners I try and love, I've been repurchasing Happy Planners since 2017—though I've switched from a vertical layout to a large dashboard (there is also a horizontal style). These planners have room for organizing work and to-do lists with enough extras for other planning and notes without feeling overwhelmed. The divider pages are cute and sometimes include phrases and quotes, but they aren't unbearably corny (usually).The Happy Planner is almost infinitely customizable. Stock and themes fluctuate throughout the year, but in addition to the layouts already mentioned, you can choose between Classic, Skinny Classic, Mini, or Big sizes, and dated or undated pages. There are daily planners, ones tailored to teachers and students, among many others. You can get extension packs to add a few more months or to keep track of things like your budget and fitness goals. If you need it, the Happy Planner probably has it. —Medea GiordanoIf the Happy Planner isn't for you, you might lean more toward the Erin Condren LifePlanner (ECLP for short). WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe says it's the Rolex of paper planners. It's one of the most popular for weekly-spread enthusiasts, with gorgeous layouts and room for notes or doodles. It's customizable and there are extra touches, like a storage pocket and snap-in ruler. Together, these features aren’t cheap (or lightweight), but Strampe has used an ECLP for the past three years, and it’s her favorite system of them all (and makes a great gift).Once you find the size and cover you like, finish designing it with your desired layout—hourly, horizontal, or our favorite, vertical—choose a coil color and internal color scheme, and add your name or quote to the cover. The minimal Focused Planner can't be personalized as much, but you can add a monogram and choose the coil. A cheaper version is available from Target, but you lose the customization options. —Medea GiordanoI still have nightmares of being in school and having no idea what or when my next class is. If that's you, Class Tracker's first three pages are designated for outlining your semester schedule from Monday to Sunday, 6 am to midnight.Like most planners, there are monthly calendars, but the weekly pages shine. Each day gets a section for things to remember, tests, papers, or projects due that day, and larger spots for assignments and a daily plan. There's a Self-Care Corner for non-school things you should focus on and a countdown box for something you're looking forward to. The only thing I want is tabs to easily sift through months. The planner pictured here is the college version, but there are middle school and high school options. —Medea GiordanoGreat for Business OwnersThis planner is hefty, but it's full of pages for business owners to organize their thoughts and plans along with their weekly tasks (the PA stands for personal assistant). The first section is for filling out your mission and goals, marketing plans, and finances. Each month, you get spaces for goals, projects, and a social media content planner for the next 30 or so days. Then there are weekly overviews like the other planners here, broken down by hours with spots for that day's goals, and weekly notes and expenses.There are also little illustrations for tracking water intake and minutes of meditation and exercise. At the end of each week, a weekly review section gives you space for achievements or misses, sales, and subscribers, plus a brainstorming space for the following week. —Medea GiordanoThere are a lot of quirky planners, but Ban.do is one of the most fun options. It’s the cool aunt of the planner world. From a page to track the books you read to an entire page dedicated to my astrological birth chart, it's hard to resist the fun that Ban.do's planners offer. The weekly layout has enough room for daily planning, and you'll get fun extras like monthly meal planning and three pages of included stickers. Ban.do's current 17-month academic planners start in August 2024 and will go all through 2025, and its newest 12-month planners ($28) are available for 2025. In both versions you'll find a meal planner and notes pages for each month, and a fun overview section for the year at the front of the planner. There are also undated ($25) versions if you want full date flexibility. —Nena FarrellFormer WIRED reviewer Maryn McKenna prefers the Moleskine Pro Weekly Vertical, which is a notebook planner hybrid. The left page has blank lines, and the right is divided into sections for projects, status, and a classic to-do list. Weekly pages break down days by the hour, and blank check box pages let you plan elaborate arrangements of daily and category to-dos. McKenna says she feels like she has accomplished something before she even starts ticking off tasks. —Medea GiordanoSeveral members of our team like Blue Sky. Its affordable planners give you space to jot down tasks without cluttering up the page. They're also a good size—much easier to tote around than some on this list. As with the Happy Planner, you can find different layouts, sizes, and formats to suit you, and there's a collaboration with Day Designer, another favorite of ours. One thing I like about this collab with One Tree Planted is that the planner is sustainably made and recyclable. The cover is durable and has a nice texture to it, plus there's no plastic coating (not even on the month tabs!). —Medea GiordanoBrass Monkey makes fun tchotchkes like games and office goods, and its planners are as snarky as the rest of its lineup. Each week includes dates, so you have to fill in the year and check off which day of the week it is. I like that better than having to fill out everything myself. It offers fun facts like two pop culture birthdays and an “on this day” note, and it keeps you on top of what national day you should be celebrating—like how October 8 is National Pierogi Day. You'll either like or dislike how compact the pages are, and while the text and lines could stand to be darker, the fun and quirky extras make up for it. —Medea GiordanoDaily PlannersIf your schedule is particularly busy and you need to plan each day rather than weeks as a whole, daily planners might be a better fit. They often give each day its own page, organized by hours.If you need a detailed checklist for each day, get the Day Designer. Each page is divided into a schedule from 5 am to 9 pm to outline meetings or appointments and a to-do list, making it easier to keep track of assignments and other tasks. The top of each day page has a box for planning dinner and keeping track of bills due that day, plus your top three tasks of the day. There's a notes area at the bottom too.It's big—something I prefer in a planner so I never have to cram stuff in the corners—so you might not want to lug it around, but if you can keep it at your desk, you'll benefit from its organization. Also, it arrives in a nice box, making the entire thing feel like a fancy little ritual. —Medea GiordanoEven though I test planners all year long, Plum Planner's customizable A5 planner is one I keep finding myself grabbing over and over after I'm done testing a new one. There are multiple layouts to choose from, but I love the Vertical Priorities layout as a person who lives for a daily to-do list and as a parent, since I added a custom priority section to the top for my son. There are two sections, so you could either add two kids, add one for meetings and one for deadlines, or any other priorities you'd want. The A5 size is easy to use and tote around wherever I want, and you can have the planner start on any month you wish—great for if you want an annual planner suddenly in March or July without needing to skip all those extra months. There are lots of fantastic add-ons too, from themed pages (monthly workout summaries! baby tracking pages!) to chic sticker sets for every theme you can think of. —Nena FarrellEven second-graders need (or want) to remember things! WIRED reviewer Adrienne So wanted something cheap for her kids and didn't just want a notebook they'd fill with drawings. This Daily Checklist fits the bill. There are included to-dos like brushing teeth and making the bed, with extra lines for items to be written in. There are a few other prompts for them too. It’s sturdy and has held up under aggressively rough treatment in her kids' backpacks. —Medea GiordanoSeveral WIRED staffers recommend the Hobonichi Techo (Japanese for “planner”). WIRED reviewer Adrienne So says it's the perfect size—small enough to fit in a bag and hold information but also able to lie flat on a desk. There is a monthly overview and then a page for each day, along with a quote that manages to be thought-provoking without being too trite. The cover is a distinctive black, stamped with gold foil and it comes with a wide variety of cute accessories. —Medea GiordanoPapier has incredible cover design options to match nearly any style or mood. For layouts, I like the undated Daily Productivity planner best. Each week has a box per day, lines for notes, areas for three priorities, a long to-do list, and a habit tracker. Plus, there's a meal planner and shopping list for every week. There are also a few pages dedicated to outlining each day's schedule. I didn't need these pages as much during my usual week, but people with rotating weekly schedules might appreciate it.I don't like the layout of Papier's yearly planners, which feature all the month calendars first, then an overview for each month with goals and to-do lists, and then the weeks. This kind of scramble doesn't work for my brain. But Papier is the only brand I found that lets you scroll through every single page before you buy. I'm so specific about what I like and need, this should be standard. —Medea GiordanoMonthly PlannersIf you're looking for a planner that will help you look at an entire month at a glance rather than just a day or week, here are some options for you. There's less room for detailed to-do lists, but it's great if you're a big-picture planner rather than a by-the-minute planner.Not surprisingly, given the name, there’s nothing discreet about this planner. With its bright-blue cardstock cover and 11- by-14-inch profile too big to fit in any purse or small bag, this is for people who live—or plan to live—large. The companion to motivational speaker and entrepreneur Jesse Itzler’s Big A## Calendar (as seen in our Gift Ideas for People Who Work From Home), this spiral-bound “planner for highly visual people” depicts each month in its entirety across a two-page spread, with oversized 2.5- by 2.5-inch squares for each day. Motivational quotes top each page (sample: “To do exceptional things, put yourself in exceptional situations”), and the back of the planner contains a goal-tracker version of the Big A## Calendar—every day of the year at a glance.There are five lined pages for notes, a running-pace chart should you find yourself overcome with a sudden burst of energy, and a Year in Review worksheet with boxes for keeping track of year highlights such as “favorite new music,” new things I tried,” and “career milestones.” If sudden inspiration strikes that needs to be shared, there’s a 300-square-inch dry-erase board in the back that can be propped up for impromptu meetings or demonstrations. I feel more energized just looking at it. I do wish the days of the week were on one page instead of across both, so I could keep it open folded in half on my desk (when opened, its footprint sprawls just under 2 feet wide—a significant amount of desk real estate), but as someone who takes copious handwritten notes, it’s a worthy trade-off for me for the sheer amount of writing space. —Kat MerckBest Seasonal Monthly PlannerThese Seasonal Planners from Portland-based Studio Tigress aren't your standard planner. These are large individual sheets covering an entire three-month season, allowing you to have it pinned on a wall or lying across your desk for easy access. The 10- by 16-inch sheets are certainly bigger than most planners and aren't easy to travel with, but rather serve as a handy at-a-glance look for your key goals, to-do items, events, and deadlines that you write down. There're five undated weeks for each month, so you'll have to check your digital calendar to confirm which dates are where, but that also means there's plenty of room for each month to write down what's coming up and extra notes if you need. There are 25 spots on the to-do list, and I liked using it for my main seasonal goals (like apple picking in the fall, seeing the zoo holiday lights in the winter) and major to-do items (like getting my car emissions checked and purchasing train tickets). While it can't replace a weekly or daily planner if you like daily to-do lists, I loved using these sheets to get a birds-eye view of the upcoming season. —Nena FarrellBest Affordable Monthly PlannerBlue Sky's planners are affordable and unburdened by extra junk—we recommend a weekly version above. Each day of the month has a few lines for jotting down multiple bullet points, and there’s a notes section for anything that would require more writing room. The yearly overview lets you track from an eagle-eyed perspective. It's also the smallest monthly planner we've tried, with 10- by 8-inch pages. —Nena FarrellNotebooksNot everyone needs or wants a rigid planner. If you just need daily to-do lists or are a fan of bullet journals, consider getting a great notebook instead.“Planners should transform according to the shape of your life,” former WIRED reviewer Pia Ceres says. For her, that means using a dotted notebook. This single notebook can be used for class schedules, daily planners, to-do lists, and angsty diaries. She says dots are the perfect medium between the limitations of lines and the void of blank paper. It's just structured enough to let you draw the calendars and lists you need—then remake them when life inevitably upends itself again. Muji's notebook has a durable cover to withstand book bags and coffee spills. If you have a Muji store near you, you may be able to find one for cheaper. —Medea GiordanoFormer WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey opts for a plain lined notebook. After trying dozens, her favorite is the Midori MD Notebook with paper made from cotton pulp (just like money!). It comes in lined, unlined, or dot-grid. Grey says there's just something meditative about turning over a blank page at the beginning of each week and carefully jotting down her schedule, plans, and workload. No missed days to make you feel guilty. Midori’s notebooks are designed to fit inside notebook or journal covers (which you can find all over Etsy). The pages are a subtle off-white and have a weight and texture that draws you in. The soft cotton paper of this notebook makes drawing, sketching, and plain old writing an absolute joy. —Medea GiordanoPhotograph: Nena FarrellLaurel Denise Horizontal Weekly Edition for $59: I've never seen a planner designed like this. It's wider than a traditional planner, and the left side is for laying out the month—it's undated—while the right has a spot for the month's to-dos and a dotted area for whatever else. In the middle are five half-pages for organizing each specific week. You turn the week page and still get to see everything else you already wrote for the month.Levenger Circa smartPlanner Weekly Agenda for $60: This is another solid weekly planner with little frills. If you just need lines and days, this is your match. The brand also sells a leather folio for the planner, which looks very professional but is pricey.Artful Agenda for $40 (per year): If you wish you could add stickers to your Google Calendar, this is the tool for you. This isn't a paper planner, but it turns your digital calendars into the paper planner experience. There are both monthly and weekly views, plus an area for lists, and tons of stickers you can add. Some stickers you need to buy on top of the annual membership, but lots are included, and the included stickers have a ton of variety.WIRED reviewer Scott Gilbertson says he doesn't use a planner, but each day he writes down the handful of things he's going to do on a single 3-by-5 index card. The index card with this to-do list lives in his pocket, along with a small notebook in which he jots down notes throughout the day—often the source of the following day's to-do list. The notebook and index cards fit inside this very cool waxed canvas notebook cover. Gilbertson says he copied this system from one of the most successful people he has known, and after nearly 20 years, it's still better for him than any other system he's tried. It's cheap, lightweight, and easy to manage. —Medea GiordanoIf You Can't Give Up DigitalIf you're reading this guide, you probably are a pen-and-paper person, but sometimes going digital is more convenient. A good digital planner can complement your analog one instead of replacing it. Notion is a multipurpose productivity tool with tons of powerful and customizable features. WIRED reviewer Louryn Strampe uses it as an endless to-do list, with tasks separated into categories like Work and Long-Term Goals, but it can be used as a team database, a budget spreadsheet, a habit tracker, and more. There are tons of templates to choose from, including planners that range from monthly at-a-glance views to granular hour-by-hour days. It even syncs across devices. The best part? It's free. —Medea GiordanoPhotograph: Getty ImagesMaybe all you need is paper and a good pen and you're good to go. But we like to get creative. Stickers are a popular accessory, and they're a delightful slippery slope. Once you make your first “spread” (a collection of themed stickers on a planner page, similar to a scrapbook), you will never go back. Etsy is the central hub of planner stickers. You can order printed stickers or buy digital files and print and cut them yourself. You can also opt for a full kit (an entire spread’s worth of stickers) or just the individual components you like the most. https://media.wired.com/photos/66c394d89e3a90da22e8441a/191:100/w_1280,c_limit/Hobonichi%20Techo%20Planner%20Abstract%20Background%20SOURCE%20Hobonichi.jpg 2024-12-21 15:07:00

[eyashadow]

Learn how to do body recomposition, an effective way to build muscle mass, lose fat, and achieve sustainable fitness results. The post More Muscle, Less Fat: A Body Recomposition Guide appeared first on Anytime Fitness. [og_img] 2024-12-20 15:12:39

[eyashadow]

The U.S. Congress passed spending legislation early on Saturday in a down-to-the-wire burst of activity to avert a destabilizing government shutdown ahead of the busy holiday travel season.The Democratic-controlled Senate in an 85-11 vote passed the bill to continue government funding 38 minutes after it expired at midnight. The government did not invoke shutdown procedures in the interim.The package had earlier cleared the Republican-controlled House of Representatives with bipartisan support.U.S. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law Saturday.The late-night vote capped a frantic week that saw president-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk defeat an initial bipartisan deal, throwing Congress into disarray.WATCH | Lawmakers sign bill, which avoided government shutdown, into law: U.S. senate averts government shutdown, passes spending billThe U.S. Congress passed a spending legislation early Saturday morning, averting a destabilizing government shutdown ahead of the busy holiday travel season. In an 85-11 vote, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the bill to continue government funding 38 minutes after it expired at midnight.The final version stripped out some provisions championed by Democrats, who accused Republicans of caving in to pressure from an unelected billionaire who has no experience in government.Congress did not act on Trump's demand to raise the debt ceiling, a politically difficult task, before he takes office on Jan. 20.The federal government spent roughly $6.2 trillion last year and has more than $36 trillion in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorize further borrowing by the middle of next year.The legislation extends government funding until March 14, and provides $100 billion US for disaster-hit states and $10 billion US for farmers. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans would have more power to influence government spending next year, when they will have majorities in both chambers of Congress and Trump will be in the White House."This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending," he told reporters after the vote. He said Trump supported the package.A government shutdown would have disrupted everything from law enforcement to national parks and suspended paycheques for millions of federal workers.U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is seen speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill on Friday. (John McDonnell/The Associated Press)A travel industry trade group warned that a shutdown would cost airlines, hotels and other companies $1 billion US per week and lead to widespread disruptions during the busy Christmas season. Authorities warned that travellers would face long lines at airports.The package resembled a bipartisan plan that was abandoned earlier this week after an online barrage from Trump and Musk, who said it contained too many unrelated provisions, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and a crackdown on pharmacy benefit managers.Republicans struck most of those elements from the bill — including a provision limiting investments in China that Democrats said would have conflicted with Musk's interests."He clearly does not want to answer questions about how much he plans to expand his businesses in China and how many American technologies he plans to sell," Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro said on the House floor.Musk happy with dealTrump has tasked Musk, the world's richest person, with heading a budget-cutting task force but Musk holds no official position in Washington.Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he was happy with the package. "It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces," he posted.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the package still accomplished important goals, such as delivering disaster aid, averting a shutdown and stopping Republicans from enacting a debt-ceiling hike that would make it easier to cut taxes."We have successfully advanced the needs of everyday Americans, but there are still things to be worked on and we look forward to that fight in the new year," he told reporters.Trump's demand to increase the debt ceiling was resoundingly rejected by the House — including 38 Republicans — on Thursday.Rep. Rich McCormick, one of 34 Republicans who voted against the bill, said it did nothing to change the nation's fiscal trajectory and would only add to the debt load."We will be the country of the past if we continue doing what we're doing," he said.The federal government last shut down for 35 days during Trump's first term over a dispute about border security.Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a U.S. government default would send credit shocks around the world.The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, though lawmakers likely would not have had to tackle the issue before the spring. https://i.cbc.ca/1.7417009.1734734354!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_1180/view-of-the-u-s-capitol-building-from-afar.jpg?im=Resize%3D620 2024-12-21 17:24:36