The identities of the Three Wise Men may have finally been revealed by a biblical researcher who claims they may not have been three kings from the East after all.

Research by the Associates for Biblical Research has come to the conclusion that the Three Wise Men, who were written to have followed a star to the birth of Jesus, were most likely priests or astrologers who served in an ancient Middle East kingdom.

The Bible never named them or confirmed there were actually three travelers, but the details suggesting that the Three Kings, or magi, brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were added centuries later through Christian stories and traditions.

In a recent YouTube video, researcher Bryan Windle explained that the word magi actually may have meant magician, and only appeared in the Gospel of Matthew, one of the four biographical accounts of Jesus’ life in the Christian Bible.

‘That word Wise Man is often used in modern translations. Magi is maybe the older word we use,’ Windle said.

Windle added that the supposed kings were left unnamed in Matthew’s gospel, with their alleged names coming from a fifth century Armenian text, which suggested they were Melkon, King of Persia; Kaspar, King of India; and Balthasar, King of Arabia.

After reexamining the Bible and comparing it to historical records of the time, Windle believed the Three Wise Men were likely advisors who served in one of the ancient kingdoms that sat in the modern-day Middle East.

Biblical scholars have suggested that they could have either been from the court of the Nabatean kingdom, an ancient Arab kingdom covering modern-day Jordan, Syria, and nearby areas southeast of Jesus’ birthplace, or to the east in the Parthian Empire in modern-day Iran.

The Adoration of the magi by Georg Pencz, painted in the 16th century: Many of the details we associate with the Three Wise Men come from post-Gospel texts

A carving from Persepolis shows King Darius on the throne with Xerxes standing behind him and a magi behind Xerxes

Windle said that there are clues in the Gospel of Matthew, which may include parts of the story that came directly from Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, it states: ‘After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’

‘When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they knelt and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.’

Wilder noted that the biblical text did not specify that there were three magi, just that they came from the east and left three gifts to honor Jesus’ birth. Some have suggested they were Babylonians, Persian priests, or even Chinese mystics.

However, Wilder explained that the Babylonian astrologer or Persian priest theory would be ‘out of sync’ with what we know of history at the time, as both empires had already ended by the time of Jesus’s birth.

Historical texts have also suggested that the word ‘Magi’ may have been also used as an ethnic term, not just a word for ancient priests and magicians.

Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian from the fifth century BCE, wrote: ‘Deioces, then, united the Median nation by itself and ruled it. The Median tribes are these: the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, and the Magi. Their tribes are this many.’

In the episode entitled Who Were The Magi? Digging for Truth, Wilder said the meaning may have shifted so that it referred to an order of Persian priests, who started from the tribe of the magi and then became priests.

The Adoration of the Kings is a large oil-on-oak painting by Jan Gossaert in 1510 AD which featured the magi

Xenophon, another ancient Greek historian and soldier from the fourth century BCE, wrote that the founder of the vast Persian Empire, Cyrus the Great, would call upon the magi to perform sacrifices before battle.

By the time of the New Testament, the word had become generally used for magicians of any kind, and various New Testament texts refer to magi, with early Christian missionaries Paul and Barnabas encountering magi in the New Testament book of Acts.

‘Scholars believe the magi came from the area of ancient Babylon or Persia that was now under Parthian control when Christ was born. This would satisfy the criteria of the magi coming from the east,’ Windle said.

Adding to the possibility that the Three Wise Men came from the kingdom of Nabatea, Windle noted that King Herod’s mother was Nabatean, and Nabateans traveled considerable distances, so they would have had a grasp of astrology.

They were also renowned traders who traded frankincense and myrrh, making the case that they were priests or astrologers who served as ‘wise men’ in territories once held by the Babylonians and Persians.

However, this assumes magi still held honored roles in the Parthian courts that their caste had earlier filled for the Persian kings.

‘I also believe the idea of Nabataean magi has merit and needs to be studied in further detail,’ Windle concluded.

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After 33 years, Bernardo Quintero decided it was time to find the person who changed his life — the anonymous programmer who created a computer virus that had infected his university decades earlier.

The virus, called Virus Málaga, was mostly harmless. But the challenge of defeating it sparked Quintero’s passion for cybersecurity, eventually leading him to found VirusTotal, a startup that Google acquired in 2012. That acquisition brought Google’s flagship European cybersecurity center to Málaga, transforming the Spanish city into a tech hub.

All because of a small malware program created by someone whose identity Quintero had never known.
Moved by nostalgia and gratitude, Quintero launched a search earlier this year. He asked Spanish media outlets to amplify his quest for tips. He dove back into the virus’s code, looking for clues his 18-year-old self might have missed. And he eventually solved the mystery, sharing the bittersweet resolution in a LinkedIn post that went viral.

The story begins in 1992, when a young Quintero was prompted by a teacher to create an antivirus for the 2610-byte program that had spread across the computers of Málaga’s Polytechnic School. “That challenge in my first year at university sparked a deep interest in computer viruses and security, and without it my path might have been very different,” Quintero told TechCrunch.

Quintero’s search was aided by his programmer instincts. Earlier this year, he stepped down from his team manager role to “go back to the cave, to the basement of Google.” He didn’t leave the company; instead, he went back to tinkering and experimenting without managerial duties.

That tinkering mindset also led him to reexamine Virus Málaga and look for details that his 18-year-old self would have missed. First, he found fragments of a signature, but thanks to another security expert, he discovered a later variant of the virus with a much clearer cue: “KIKESOYYO.” “Kike soy yo” would translate to “I am Kike,” a common nickname for “Enrique.” 

Around the same time, Quintero received a direct message from a man who is now the general digital transformation coordinator for the Spanish city of Cordoba and who claimed he witnessed one of his Polytechnic School classmates created the virus. Many details added up, but one stood out in particular: he knew that the virus’s hidden message — called a payload, in cybersecurity terms — was a statement condemning the Basque terrorist group ETA, a fact that Quintero had never disclosed.

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The tipster then gave Quintero a name — Antonio Astorga — but also shared the news that he had passed away. 

This hit Quintero like a ton of bricks; now, he would never be able to ask Antonio about “Kike.” But he kept following the thread, and the plot twist came from Antonio’s sister, who revealed that his first name was actually Antonio Enrique. To his family, he was Kike.

Cancer took away Antonio Enrique Astorga before Quintero could thank him in person, but the story doesn’t stop here. Quintero’s LinkedIn post sheds new light to the legacy of “a brilliant colleague who deserves to be recognized as a pioneer of cybersecurity in Málaga” — and not just for helping Quintero discover his vocation.

According to his friend, Astorga’s virus had no other goal than spreading his anti-terrorist message and proving himself as a programmer. Mirroring Quintero’s path, Astorga’s interest in IT endured, and he became a computing teacher at a secondary school that named its IT classroom after him in his memory. 

Astorga’s legacy also lives on beyond these walls, and not just through his students. One of his sons, Sergio, is a recent software engineering graduate with an interest in cybersecurity and quantum computing — a meaningful connection for Quintero. “Being able to close that circle now, and to see new generations building on it, is deeply meaningful to me,” Quintero said.

For Quintero, who suspects their paths will cross again, Sergio is “very representative of the talent being formed in Málaga today.” This, in turn, is a result of VirusTotal forming the root of what eventually became the Google Safety Engineering Center (GSEC) and spearheading collaborations with the University of Málaga that made the city a true cybersecurity talent hub.

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It’s a dilemma faced by singletons around the world. 

Does someone actually fancy you, or are they just being polite? 

Now, scientists have revealed an easy way to find out – simply look closely at their eyes. 

According to Amanda Meyer and Monika Zimanyi, experts in anatomy at James Cook University, if someone is sexually aroused, their pupils will grow larger. 

‘In every other romance novel, enlarged pupils are commonly enlisted as imagery to indicate sexual arousal,’ the pair explained in an article for The Conversation.

‘And it’s not unusual to read advice online suggesting dilated pupils are a sure sign someone you like also likes you back.

‘But what does the science say?

‘In fact, it’s true: our pupils really do tend to grow large when we’re aroused.’

It’s a dilemma faced by singletons around the world. Does someone actually fancy you, or are they just being polite? Now, scientists have revealed an easy way to find out – simply look closely at their eyes (stock image)

The pupil is the black hole at the centre of the eye, which expands and contracts to let light reach the retina. 

‘The muscle around the edge of the pupil acts like a sphincter,’ the experts explained. 

‘When stimulated by the parasympathetic nervous system (sometimes known as the “rest and digest” system), it contracts to close down the pupil.

‘On the outside of the sphincter, another muscle acts like the springs holding the trampoline mat.

‘When stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system (the “fight or flight” system), it shortens to enlarge the pupil.’

Your pupils usually dilate in response to six triggers, dubbed the ‘six fs’.

These are: fight, flee, feed, fornicate, get a ‘fix’ (of illicit drugs), or focus. 

However, how your pupils respond to someone you fancy will depend on your gender. 

According to Amanda Meyer and Monika Zimanyi, experts in anatomy at James Cook University, if someone is sexually aroused, their pupils will grow larger (stock image)

The researchers cite a 2021 study, which found that men’s pupils dilate strictly according to their sexual preferences, while women’s pupils dilate more variably. 

For example, in response to erotic images of women, heterosexual men’s pupils get bigger, while homosexual men’s eyes respond to erotic images of men. 

However, women are more complicated. 

‘Lesbian women’s pupils also dilated more in response to erotic imagery of men, and heterosexual women’s pupils dilated for erotic imagery of men and women,’ the experts added. 

According to the pair, what might be more important than your date’s pupils dilating is how your eyes act in response. 

‘Pupil dilation synchrony between people has been linked to better teamwork and mutual attraction, reflecting shared arousal states,’ they explained.

‘This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as “pupil mimicry” or “pupil contagion”, aligns with other autonomic synchronisations such as heart rate.

‘It all goes to show that so much of connection and attraction is subconscious.’

However, the researchers emphasise that the context of the encounter is crucial to consider before you jump to any conclusions. 

They added: ‘It is crucial to emphasise pupil dilation doesn’t automatically mean someone is aroused. 

‘Anticipation of rewards, emotional conflict, and processing of emotionally charged stimuli – such as scary movies or certain trigger sounds – also lead to increased pupil size.’

HOW DOES THE PUPIL WORK?

The pupil is the opening in the centre of the iris (the structure that gives our eyes their colour). 

The function of the pupil is to allow light to enter the eye where it is then focused on the retina.   

The black colour of the pupil is because light that passes through it and is then absorbed by the retina – meaning no light is reflected.   

The size of the pupil and how much light enters it is controlled by muscles in the iris.

One muscle constricts the pupil opening and another iris muscle dilates the pupil.  

In low-light conditions, the pupil dilates so more light can reach the retina to improve night vision. 

In bright conditions, the pupil constricts to limit how much light enters the eye.

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For most of the AI boom, Nvidia has been a clear winner. Its GPUs have become the default hardware powering large language models. But over the last few years, a problem has been surfacing throughout the industry: inference, the step where an AI generates responses in real time, was proving slower, more expensive, and more power-hungry than expected.

For consumers, this bottleneck shows up as laggy AI assistants, higher subscription prices, and tools that work well in demos but struggle at scale.

How Groq Entered the Picture

This is where Groq, a startup chip maker, entered the picture. Early this month, reports had surfaced that Nvidia had agreed to pay about $20 billion in cash to buy key assets from Groq. Officially, Nvidia had labelled this deal as a non-exclusive licensing agreement and not as an acquisition.

This means Groq will continue as an independent company, but the arrangement comes with caveats: Groq founder Jonathan Ross, its president, senior engineers, and the company’s core inference technology are set to be folded into Nvidia’s platform.

Rather than allow Groq to become a potential rival in the future, Nvidia chose to pull Groq’s strongest ideas and talent inside the tent.

Why Nvidia Is Fixated on Inference

GPUs remain central to Nvidia’s strategy, but inference is now the bottleneck holding AI companies back. Jensen Huang framed the deal internally as a way to extend Nvidia’s “AI factory” to support more real-time workloads. In practice, it ensures that customers looking for faster inference won’t need to leave Nvidia’s ecosystem to get it.

For everyday users, this is about whether AI features feel instant or frustrating. Faster inference means chatbots that respond immediately, image tools that don’t stall, and productivity apps that don’t burn through battery life or data.

A Quiet Strategy Taking Shape

This follows a pattern of what Nvidia has been doing across the AI landscape. Instead of buying entire companies and triggering regulatory scrutiny, it’s licensing technology, hiring founders, and tightening its grip quietly. The Enfabrica deal earlier this year followed the same script. So have similar talent-driven moves by Google, Meta, and Microsoft.

On the surface, nothing changes for users. Under the hood, however, more of the AI products people use are being routed through the same few platforms.

What Developers Gain — And What Users Risk Losing

For developers, the upside is simplicity. One dominant platform, fewer hard bets. The downside is concentration. Groq’s ideas live on, but no longer as an independent pressure on the market.

For consumers, that concentration could decide how expensive AI tools become, how fast features roll out, and how much choice remains in the ecosystem.

The Bigger Signal

Long-term, this deal signals where the AI race is headed. Training grabs headlines. Inference decides who actually ships usable products. NVIDIA knows that, and it’s moving early to make sure even its most promising challengers end up reinforcing its lead.

And for the people using AI every day, that could shape not just how smart their tools are — but how affordable, responsive, and accessible they become.

Nvidia in talks to acquire Israeli AI platform Run:ai for close to $1 billion

Nvidia plans to use Run:ai’s orchestration and virtualization software layer technology to ensure its AI chips function more optimally and effectively.

Updated

December 25, 2025

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PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC
Have you ever wanted to romance your record player? Date Everything! offers players the chance to develop relationships with everyday objects around your house, in a fully voiced sandbox romp featuring over 100 anthropomorphised characters. Wonderfully meta; you can put the moves on the textbox, or even “Michael Transaction” (microtransaction – get it?) himself. Meghan Ellis

Sorry We’re Closed

PS4/5, Xbox, Switch, PC
A raucous debut by indie studio à la mode games, Sorry We’re Closed is a survival horror where the monster is love and the dungeon is a dingy London neighbourhood. Fight demons, fend off unwanted admirers and survive work shifts in this queer, neon homage to 1990s PlayStation-era horror. ME

Clues by Sam

Web browser
The trick of this daily logic puzzle is that you can’t guess, or make wrong answers. Presented with a grid of characters, you must identify the “innocent” and the “criminal” based on clues revealed with each correct answer. But the game will only accept an answer if it’s sure you know it for a fact. An idealistic vision of a criminal justice system. Duncan Fyfe

Blippo+

Switch, Playdate, PC
Blippo+ is a channel surfing simulator that rides the line between video game and absurd cable subscription service. Experienced entirely by trawling through the interface of a virtual TV guide, you can tune into intergalactic music videos, curious cooking shows, and psychic weather reports, learning an alien culture through charming live-action skits that evoke the sketch comedy of Tim and Eric. Sarah Thwaites

Out of this world … Blippo+. Photograph: Panic

Stray Children

Switch, PC
A sequel in all but name to Love-de-Lic’s 1997 role-playing game satire Moon, Stray Children is a monster-taming adventure where you whisper away the worries of troubled “Olders” that have come to dominate the inhabitants of an unfinished video game. Finessed by a crunchy pixel art style and a combat system inspired by Undertale, this nostalgic odyssey will pull on your heartstrings while testing your reflexes at the same time. ST

BALL x PIT

PS5, Xbox, Switch, Switch 2, PC
A fiendish, almost cruelly addictive mashup of Vampire Survivors-esque monster horde control and Breakout-style ball-bouncing. Descend into a pit full of demons and shoot a continuous stream of richocheting, burning, poisonous and otherwise deadly balls at them until the screen is just a brain-melting confusion of visual effects. Keza MacDonald

To a T

PS5, Xbox, PC
You are a cheerful pubescent boy with a unique problem: your arms are stuck out in a T-pose. How do you navigate school, family, friendships and brushing your teeth when you can’t bend your arms? A sweet, family friendly slice-of-life physical comedy game with an unexpectedly affecting message, and excellent songs sung by a gourmand giraffe. KM

PS5, Xbox, PC
Just a chill bike-racing game where your ride is possessed by an ancient speed spirit. Wheel around a soothingly minimalist island of cycling obsessives, picking up new swappable bike parts and blasting past local gangs of racers on downhill courses. Uncomplicated, good looking and thoughtfully put together. KM

A wheely good time … Wheel World. Photograph: Annapurna Interactive

The Drifter

PC
Powerhoof’s excellent pixelated point-and-click game teases its dystopian plot throughout, mixing influences such as The Thing, Michael Crichton’s Coma and Total Recall. It’s an intriguing mix: combined with a heartfelt story full of painful human emotions and some fantastic audio, it’s a tense yet warming tale, guaranteed to coil its way around your heart. Graeme Mason

Xbox, PC
While the combat mechanics are familiar, it’s South of Midnight’s evocative backdrop that marks it apart. Set in an overgrown and misty American deep south, it stars Hazel, a young woman thrust into the aftermath of a hurricane and forced to battle the evil manifestations of deep-rooted sorrows. Beautiful and engaging, its soundtrack is also wonderful, perfectly complementing the uncanny scenery. GM

PC
Your task is simple in the brilliantly silly Skin Deep: save a bunch of talking cats from marauding space pirates. The execution is anything but as you crouch in vents, pull glass from your feet, and deploy sneezing powder and slippery soap bars to incapacitate your foes. Like Metal Gear Solid meets a Looney Tunes cartoon, the pleasure here lies in pushing the game’s miniature sandboxes to their slapstick limit. Lewis Gordon

Out of the bag … Skin Deep. Photograph: Annapurna Interactive

PS5, PC
Casting you as a knight with a hoverboard, Sword of the Sea is a mystical journey through a desert which roils like an ocean. You pull grab tricks and get big air on cresting dunes, but the greater enjoyment stems from simply soaking up the game’s breathtaking, nature-infused landscapes at high speed. A gorgeously dreamy, new age take on extreme sport. LG

The Roottrees Are Dead

PC
If ancestry.com has yet to reveal your hidden royal lineage, try digging into the Roottree clan instead. Armed with a 1998 web browser, you have to deduce the loves, losses and lies of a sprawling candy dynasty (no relation to Rowntree). A compelling blend of Her Story and Who Do You Think You Are? Matthew Castle

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles

PS4/5, Xbox, Switch, Switch 2, PC
Shakespearean dialogue, bruising boss battles and a tale steeped in class struggle make this a refreshingly different Final Fantasy. As you command a troupe of society’s most downtrodden, excellent voice acting lends this once silent PlayStation 1 game new life. As rewarding to play as it is affecting, in 2025, Yasumi Matsuno’s tale of inequality and division has never felt more relevant. Tom Regan

Absolum

PS4/5, Switch, PC
Combining the best parts of Hades with the immediacy of Streets of Rage, this colourful co-operative caper is an endless delight. As you roam Talamh’s lived-in fantasy world, this roguelike rewards you with satisfying new powers and beguiling side quests. With precise combat and varied movesets, Absolum adds some much-needed depth to the oft shallow beat ’em up genre. A co-op classic. TR

Promise Mascot Agency

PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC
If the prospect of a disgraced mobster tooling around small-town Japan accompanied by a giant depraved thumb doesn’t intrigue you, keep moving. But give Promise Mascot Agency some time and you’ll discover this compact open-world adventure is filled with chaotic charm. At its heart it’s a story of redemption, as you manage a gang of weirdo mascots and restore a dilapidated community, all while driving the best pickup truck in any video game. Christian Donlan

Eternal Strands

PS5, Xbox, PC
Here’s a fantasy role-playing game that’s happy to embrace elemental powers, even if it leads to pinwheeling chaos. In a world where fire attacks can spread uncontrollably and ice can lead to giant dragons dropping out of the sky as their wings freeze up, this colourful piece of whimsy offers fun that genuinely scales to your own imagination. CD

Elemental … Eternal Strands. Photograph: PR

Lushfoil Photography Sim

PS5, Xbox, PC
Matt Newell’s hymn to photography is also a gorgeous investigation into the creative power of solitude and of paying attention to your surroundings. Learn your way around a beautifully simulated digital camera, but also explore the visual potential of a range of exquisitely crafted 3D landscapes. There are no puzzles and not much in the way of scoring, just you and your ever-developing eye. CD

PS5, Xbox, PC
A football game that’s closer to the likes of Rocket League than it is Fifa, Rematch has you feeling as if you’re playing an actual match of five-a-side: developer Sloclap have utterly mastered the sensation and pace of charging up a field and passing between your mates before knocking the ball into the back of the net. Daniella Lucas

PS5, PC
Proof that love and hate can be two sides of the same coin, this ridiculous adventure has you taking control of a grown man in a onesie trying to remember how to walk. You have to separately control each of your legs over a series of obstacles that lead to some absurdly funny moments, but equally has you kneeling in despair as you fall, yet again, off a wooden plank while trying to get a stupid hat. Worth it though. DL

Baby Steps. Photograph: Devolver Digital

While Waiting

Switch, PC
A game all about slowing life down, While Waiting takes mundane situations – from breaking down in your car to waiting for a delayed train – and gives you multiple choices on how to handle them. Due to the way it rewards experimentation, and squeezing the fun out of everyday moments, While Waiting has taught me how to be more patient – and that wasting time by fiddling around with things is the key to a healthy life-balance. Thomas Hobbs

Strange Antiquities

Switch, PC
One for the Halloween-loving girlies and ghoulies, this companion to Strange Horticulture has you dealing in occult objects rather than plants. Explore gothic Cumbrian locales to find artefacts, identify them via vague tomes, solve puzzles and occasionally divert the plot by giving a customer something other than what they wanted. Jordan Erica Webber

Shop of horrors … Strange Antiquities. Photograph: Iceberg interactive

Old Skies

Switch, PC
Developer Wadjet Eye keeps the point-and-click adventure genre alive in an apt tale of time-travelling tourism. As punters pay to revisit lost loves and settle scores, it’s your job to protect the timeline. From a timeloop farce to an urgent visit to pre-9/11 New York, Old Skies unfolds like a short story anthology. A surprise on every page. MC

Is This Seat Taken?

Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Sudoku meets speed dating. This charming puzzle game sees you play matchmaker via seating plans, seating cute little characters together based on their hilarious pet peeves and preferences in a host of fun settings. Its puzzles are cosy, relaxing and never frustrating. Bex April May

Look Outside

PC
What if your friendly neighbourhood turned into a waking nightmare? That’s the premise of this RPG-style survival horror set in an apartment complex where unspeakable horrors are going on right outside your window – but whatever you do, you mustn’t look at them, or you risk mutating like your poor, revolting neighbours. Best enjoyed with the curtains drawn. BAM

Deltarune

PS4/5, Switch, Switch 2, PC
From its tongue-in-cheek writing to its ridiculous creatures, Toby Fox’s episodic role-playing game is charming and witty. Like Undertale before it, Deltarune flips the genre on its head with humour and heart, leaving you itching for more. (The game’s next chapter isn’t until the second half of 2026 at the earliest.) We dare you not to crack a smile at this one. Vic Hood

Luto

PS5, Xbox, PC
This psychological horror immediately tells you what to expect: “This is a story about death.” As Sam, you attempt to escape your home, an increasingly twisted labyrinth of puzzles and memories. Channelling the unsettling atmosphere of Hideo Kojima’s PT, Luto delivers a powerful message about grief and life after loss. VH

PS5, Switch, PC
You play as a fly in Time Flies, buzzing around different environments – a home or a museum, for instance – doing fly things, such as tickling people’s feet or avoiding lightbulbs. The time you have to complete the fly’s bucket list depends on your actual location, leaving just minutes or seconds to get everything done. Who knew speedrunning a fly’s life could be so delightful? Nicole Carpenter

When you’re having fun … Time Flies. Photograph: Playables / Panic

And Roger

Switch, PC
And Roger is disorienting, devastating and one of the most emotional games to be released this year. From developer TearyHand Studio, And Roger’s evocative story and simple-yet-distinct art is reminiscent of Mountains’ 2018 release Florence. Within three chapters, a mystery unfolds: Who is this man in the house? Where’s my father? The answers reveal a tragic, beautiful story of love and family. NC

Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To

Xbox, PC
Soft Not Weak’s Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To is a visual novel, dating simulator, and match-three game all in one. While it’s driven by its classic puzzle gameplay,this is a masterclass in characters and character design: Each individual you meetis just as interesting and well-developed as the last. It’s a must-play for both puzzle fanatics and visual novel lovers. NC

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British children are unknowingly incorporating ‘Americanisms’ into their vocabulary, experts from language learning app Preply have revealed. 

From ‘period’ to ‘for real’, these words and phrases are hugely popular across the pond. 

Now, they’re becoming mainstream in classrooms across the UK, thanks to American TV shows, YouTube channels, and video games. 

‘The expansion of the English language is a natural part of how vocabulary evolves. Right now, American media dominates much of what children consume,’ explained the experts at Preply. 

‘From popular Netflix shows like Cocomelon to YouTube channels such as MrBeast and games like Fortnite and Minecraft, which bring together players from around the world, children are constantly exposed to American slang and humour. 

‘This exposure is likely why so many are adopting certain words into their everyday speech.’

If you hear your child spouting these Americanisms, there’s no need to panic – the experts reassure these changes are ‘usually temporary and harmless’. 

So, how many of these US words and phrases do you know the British equivalent of?

British children are unknowingly incorporating ‘Americanisms’ into their vocabulary, experts from language learning app Preply have revealed

Preply highlights several of the most common Americanisms creeping into British children’s vocabulary. 

‘Period’ is typically used to show finality or to end a discussion. 

For example, you might hear your child saying something like: ‘No, I’m not tidying my room, period.’

The closest British equivalent would be ‘end of’, according to Preply. 

‘I’m good’ is often used as a polite refusal, in place of ‘no thanks’. 

Meanwhile, ‘my bad’ is typically used to admit responsibility or to apologise for a mistake. 

Finally, ‘for real’ is a term usually used in American English to express sincerity or surprise. 

‘”You had teeth out? For real?” in British English [would be] something like “are you serious?”.’ Preply’s experts said.  

When kids spend time watching American TV shows and YouTube channels, or playing American video games, they subconsciously begin to mirror what they hear (stock image)

Americanisms – and what they really mean

1. Period: Used to show finality or to end a discussion, meaning that’s it.
2. I’m good: Often used as a polite refusal, often instead of saying ‘no thanks’.
3. That’s on me/my bad: Used to admit responsibility or to apologise for a mistake.
4. For real: Used to express sincerity or surprise, similar to ‘really?’ or ‘seriously?’.
5. Quit it: Used to tell someone to stop doing something.

When kids spend time watching American TV shows and YouTube channels, or playing American video games, they subconsciously begin to mirror what they hear. 

This is through a process known as ‘linguistic convergence’, according to Preply. 

‘It happens when our brains adjust our speech and vocabulary to match the people we hear regularly,’ the experts explained. 

‘It is something humans have done for generations. It helps us feel accepted and part of a group.

‘For children, whose sense of belonging is still developing, this kind of language mirroring can be especially strong.’

While it might seem like your child is rejecting British English, the experts say this is not the case.    

‘It simply reflects the media they are surrounded by, much like how we all adapt to new environments,’ they added. 

Thankfully, the adoption Americanisms is usually only fleeting, and will likely fade away as their interests change. 

‘What is important to remember is that parents do not need to correct or tell children off for using Americanisms,’ the experts said. 

‘Instead, it helps to understand why these words are being used in place of what came before. 

‘We often see words fade from use because of shifts in culture or values, particularly in a modern, interconnected society where language changes all the time.

‘This is especially true with children’s exposure to social media and the slang they pick up. 

‘Young people are leading the way in how language evolves, and it is not something we can change or stop by simply telling them off for it.’

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If you tried logging into Fortnite on Christmas Eve and got hit with a wall of error messages instead of a Victory Royale, you’re not alone.

Fortnite is currently experiencing a major outage, with players across PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch reporting widespread login failures. The issue is affecting gamers globally and has come at one of the worst possible times, peak holiday gaming hours.

Players are being blocked at the sign-in screen, receiving error messages like “An error occurred while connecting to Epic Servers” and “Unable to login to Fortnite Servers. Please try again later.” For many, that means no access to Battle Royale, Zero Build, Creative modes, or any in-game events at all.

According to outage-tracking platforms and community forums, reports began surging on Christmas Eve, with over 700 confirmed complaints within a short period. Epic Games has since acknowledged the problem on its Public Status page, confirming that its team is actively investigating an authentication failure impacting Epic Online Services (EOS) the system that handles logins across Epic’s ecosystem.

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What’s actually happening

Players across all platforms console, PC, and mobile are experiencing the exact same issue, making it clear that this is a server-side failure, not a local device issue. While Fortnite’s core game servers seem to be operational, the login and authentication layer is where things are breaking down.

As a result, typical troubleshooting steps like restarting your console, power-cycling your router, clearing cache, or verifying game files on PC haven’t made any difference for most users.

Why this outage stings more than usual

This outage hits especially hard because it lands right in the middle of a holiday, when millions of players worldwide finally have time off school or work and are jumping online together.

Fortnite isn’t just a game at this point it’s a social space, an event platform, and for many people, a big part of their holiday plans. When the login doors close, entire communities are left hanging.

This isn’t the first time recently. Just days ago, on December 21, 2025, Fortnite and other Epic titles experienced similar authentication issues. Although that disruption was resolved, today’s problems suggest that the underlying infrastructure is still under heavy strain.

Fortnite is coming to Xbox PC Store

Players can now play fortnite games on Xbox using the Xbox Game Pass

What players can do right now

Unfortunately, there’s no instant fix until Epic resolves the issue on their end. However, players can stay informed and avoid making things worse by:

• Monitoring the Epic Games Status page and enabling notifications for real-time updates.
• Avoiding repeated login attempts, which can overload the authentication servers.
• Ensuring their internet connection and platform network services are stable. Console users should also perform a full power cycle.
• For PC and Mac users, verifying game files through the Epic Games Launcher.

Even with all that, the reality is that this outage will only be fixed once Epic stabilizes its authentication services.

Epic Games has confirmed its teams are actively working on the problem, though no official restoration time has been shared yet.

The Takeaway

This outage is a reminder of just how dependent modern gaming has become on centralised online infrastructure. When authentication systems fail, even the world’s biggest games grind to a halt no matter how powerful your console or how fast your internet is.

Until Epic fixes the authentication layer, Fortnite remains effectively offline for a huge part of its global community and on Christmas Eve of all days, that sting is especially real gamers.

How an AWS Outage Froze Gamers Out of Fortnite and Roblox

What happens when a few hours of downtime erases millions in revenue, and exposes just how dependent gaming is on a single cloud provider?

Updated

December 25, 2025

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In 2025, Nigerians used AI for far more than drafting emails or summarising PDFs. Chatbots became makeshift therapists, romantic intermediaries, and personal consultants.

As we wrap up the year, one thing is clear: while much of the world was worried about AI taking over jobs, Nigerians were teaching chatbots to navigate the treacherous waters of the “talking stage” and the fallout of heartbreak.

I spoke with seven Nigerians about the most ridiculous things they used AI for this year. Here’s what they told me.

The automated heartbreak recovery and emotional auditing

AI chatbots became a mirror for Lagos-based UI designer Obaloluwa Olaniyi’s fractured relationship, serving as a forensic tool to dissect past traumas.

“I used it to go through a heartbreak,” Olaniyi says, adding that AI helped run scenarios to identify “behaviours I was blind to see and [provided] advice on how to heal [without] repeating the same mistakes.”

This trend of emotional auditing wasn’t just for the post-mortem phase of a breakup. Mark*, a content editor, used AI as a moral compass during conflicts with his partner, relying on the technology for “soundboarding my relationship messages for empathy check.” 

To avoid being labelled a manipulator, Mark used AI as a check, ensuring his messages didn’t come off as offensive to his partner.

Victor Ilo, a public relations consultant, admitted to using AI for “therapy to heal from a relationship,” proving that, for many Nigerians, a prompt was more accessible, less intimidating (and maybe less expensive) than a traditional therapist’s couch.

The pivot toward digital intimacy is not localised but reflects a massive global shift in mental health care. The “AI-as-therapist” phenomenon ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry in 2025, with millions of users globally opting for the non-judgmental ear of a machine over human practitioners. In high-income countries, including the UK, the trend was driven by the prohibitive cost of private sessions, while in emerging markets, it was the sheer anonymity that appealed most. Digital companion apps and specialised therapy bots became the first line of defence for a generation grappling with loneliness, offering 24/7 availability that no human clinic could match. 

The most vulnerable conversations of a significant portion of the global population are now happening in a chat bubble. A 2025 study by Kantar, an AI-native marketing data and analytics business, which surveyed over 10,000 consumers across ten global markets, including South Africa, India, and the UK, revealed that 54% of global consumers have now used AI for at least one emotional or mental well-being purpose. 

Navigating the delicate art of the breakup

For many people, AI has become a strategic consultant for the most awkward social transition known to man: the death of the talking stage.

Ending a “talking stage” has always been a social minefield, particularly when the other person is genuinely kind. Product marketer Iyanu Hunye found herself in this exact predicament with a partner she described as a “nice guy and a softie.” Rather than ghosting or sending a blunt text, she outsourced the emotional labour to AI. 

“I wanted to break things up in a way that doesn’t invalidate his feelings,” she says. 

Using AI as a buffer for social awkwardness highlights a shift in how people communicate. People now use machines to ensure they remain humanely empathetic, even when we are checking out of a situation. 

For Chioma Nwandiko, a product designer, AI serves as a lie detector, asking it to “analyse a text” specifically to check for “any underlying manipulation,” effectively turning her smartphone into a digital shield against “red flags” in her interaction with people.

The suburban shaman for retail and aesthetics

Away from the drama of the heart, AI found a home in the mundane but essential tasks of personal grooming and consumerism. 

Nwandiko’s usage patterns suggest that AI has become the ultimate “bestie” for shopping and styling. She used the technology to “colour-code my hair if I want to mix extensions,” turning a complex visual task into a data-driven decision. 

AI was a highly specialised personal assistant for Nwandiko in 2025. She says she also took photos of two competing products to ask AI which was superior, and asked a bot to track down “random episodes of series I like when I want to binge watch.”

Academic shortcuts and the simulation of corporate excellence

Of course, the professional and academic spaces were not left out. David Idam, an IT support specialist, took a group work to its logical automated conclusion by “writing a full term paper for my whole group using Claude,” a move that likely saved dozens of hours of collaborative friction.

Idam’s AI use mirrors a nationwide explosion in AI adoption. In Nigeria, Google Search data from late 2025 revealed that searches for “AI + studying” surged by over 200% compared to the previous year, with interest in “AI + Chemistry” and “AI + Maths” leading the charge.

Nigerian students are using AI for academic tasks, ranging from simplifying complex jargon to generating complete project drafts. This has raised concerns in the academic community, evidenced by a 290% increase in searches for “AI detection” by worried lecturers. As a result, Nigerian universities like UNILAG made moves earlier in the year to draft formal “Ethical AI” policies as faculty reported a sharp rise in plagiarism. 

In the professional world, the desire to project high-level competence led Tope*, a corporate communications officer, to transform a chatbot into an elite advisor. He used AI to “act as a MBB management consultant, used to describe the three top-tier strategy consulting firms: McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group. Tope used AI to deliver a “detailed project management plan for a website revamp project.” 

AI use in the workforce and corporate space has had quite the impact: A World Economic Forum report shows that while AI has automated 30% of routine corporate tasks, it has also created 1.6 million unfilled AI positions globally. 

Cultural pivot

Nigerians were busy operationalising AI in 2025 to solve the immediate and somewhat messy problems of life. This is a cultural pivot where chatbots have become a primary intermediary for our most intimate and professional vulnerabilities.

However, as we move into 2026, the stakes are rising. The same tools helping a student write a term paper are contributing to a gap that the labour market is only just beginning to quantify. We are witnessing the birth of a new social trend, one where we are no longer just users of technology, but orchestrators of a digital consciousness that mirrors us.

If anything, Nigerians have mastered the art of the prompt to survive the chaotic, beautiful, and often confusing realities of modern love and life.

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Everyone’s in recap mode right now, reflecting on the past 12 months, celebrating what worked, and laughing at what flopped. From the top tech gadget lists to music playlists, the year-end ritual is everywhere. 
 
At Techloy, we decided to ask the editorial team about the apps that made their lives easier in 2025. Some of their answers were exciting discoveries, others delivered memorable experiences, a few truly stuck because they made them more productive.  
Here’s what the Techloy team had to say about their favourite apps of 2025, and why they stood out. 

Favourite app: Duolingo

Photo by appshunter.io / Unsplash

Why: This year, I used quite a few apps, but this language learning app stood out for me. During one of my vacations to Spain and France earlier this year, Duolingo helped me a lot with communicating while I was there.  

Although I’m not at a native level yet, it boosted my confidence enough to hold basic conversations. Without it, the language barrier would have been a real dilemma, but thanks to Duolingo, I never had to worry. 

Among all the apps I used, this one tops my list because it’s practical and fun. It makes learning a new language feel achievable and not overwhelming.

Favourite apps: Spotify, SoundCloud, and Untitled Stream

Why: This year, I spent most of my time on social media and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, X, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. I also relied heavily on productivity tools such as Google Docs, Canva, and ChatGPT, along with streaming apps like Spotify and Audiomack. 

Honestly, it’s hard to pick just one app that stood out because each played a role in my day-to-day life, whether for work, relaxation, or staying connected. All of them contribute to my day. 

But if I had to choose the ones that truly shaped both my work life and personal life, it would be streaming platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, and Untitled Stream. Most of what I do revolves around them, and they’ve become an essential part of my routine.

Favourite app: TikTok

Photo by Solen Feyissa / Unsplash

Why: Among all the apps I used this year, TikTok stands out as my most used and has slowly become my favourite. It’s easily my biggest source of entertainment on the internet right now. I enjoy the feeds, the rewards system during live sessions, and even the little things like digital high-fives.  

It’s the kind of app you open for a few minutes and end up staying much longer, not because you planned to, but because it keeps giving you something worth watching.

Favourite app: YouTube

Photo by Szabo Viktor / Unsplash

Why: Not sure I can put a number on how many apps I used this year, but one thing I can say is I made it a mission to try out a ton of new apps and games this year, so it was all very experimental. 

But among all the things I tried, YouTube remained my one true app since the first time I had access to a phone with internet connection, so I can’t say it’s surprising that till now, my screentime for YouTube alone is like 6-7 hours a day.  

I consider myself a visual learner and someone who just likes premium entertainment and storytelling at my fingertips. And YouTube provides that.

Kelechi Edeh (Senior Creative Associate)

Favourite app: ChatGPT

Photo by Solen Feyissa / Unsplash

Why: I know I used TikTok, IG, and X a lot this year, but ChatGPT easily took the top spot. It’s obvious there’s a lot of scepticism around AI right now, especially in creative spaces, but I’ve found ChatGPT genuinely helpful, and it has changed the way I approach ideas and shape stories.  

As someone who writes fiction and works with video, I use it less as a shortcut and more as a thinking partner. It helps me break through creative blocks, test story ideas, sharpen drafts, and think through concepts before they become visuals. It doesn’t replace the work, but it makes the process less lonely and a lot more fluid. 

Aside from ChatGPT, I’d say Instagram and maybe Letterboxd deserve a mention, mostly because they kept me sane (and a little delusional) while the world fell apart in 2025.

Favourite apps: X, ManagPlus, Tachiyomi

Photo by Daddy Mohlala / Unsplash

Why: I’ve curated X to the point where it feels personal. It’s where I get gists, stories, and sharp takes from people I actually like and learn from. Once you clean up your timeline, it becomes a really good place to keep up with conversations that matter to you. Then there’s MangaPlus and Tachiyomi, which are my go-to apps for manga. They’re how I keep up with new chapters, discover new series, and unwind.  

Between quick reads on X and long manga sessions, those apps were a big part of my daily routine this year and, of course, the way I approach writing as a whole. The constant exposure to different voices, ideas, and storytelling styles shapes how I think, what I pay attention to, and how I put my own words together.

Dennis Da-ala Mirilla (Managing Editor)

Favourite app: Substack

Image from Substack

Why: There were only a few meaningful apps I used this year, like Substack. I have had the app for a long time, but this year it became my go-to. On any given subject, you would find some of the smartest takes on Substack. I like the app particularly because it feels like social media for people looking for the real deal and not just noise. It has broadened my interests. I have become so into China only because of this app.

I love scrolling and then going back to my history and just reading on the weekend. So much debate is happening in the world. I learnt about an anti-modernity group living in rural parts of Ireland this year. That is very fascinating, even just knowing that people are protecting themselves like that. I am so grateful for it.

Favourite app: Chrome

Photo by Zulfugar Karimov / Unsplash

Why: Chrome was my favourite app this year because I use it for almost everything I do. I like how it just syncs across all my devices, so I can start something on my laptop and pick it up on my phone or tablet without missing a thing.  

The desktop version is really useful too; it makes managing my tabs, passwords, and little tasks so much easier. For me, it’s one of those apps that doesn’t get in the way and makes my whole day run smoother.

Favourite app: Instagram

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson / Unsplash

Why: Now that I think about it, I didn’t really try that many apps this year, but I can say for a fact that I use productivity tools like Google Docs and Canva almost every day for work, alongside apps like Instagram, X, and comic apps like Manga Zone. However, Instagram stands out because it’s my go-to when I need to take a break, and second, as a reliable source for consumer tech content. 

It takes the No. 1 spot as my favourite because it helps me find topics to focus on for tech guides, discover trending conversations, and learn about upcoming consumer tech products to compare. Beyond that, Instagram has given me fresh perspectives on video scripting and content creation. For me, Instagram is a creative toolkit that fuels my work and keeps me ahead of the curve.

Favourite app: TikTok

Photo by Olivier Bergeron / Unsplash

Why: Well, if I had to put a number on it, I used roughly around 50 apps this year alone, but TikTok was just it for me. All in one, if you’d like to call it that. It’s how I get most of my news and insightful content because it really has the best algorithm for picking up exactly what I like. I type in what I want, and somehow it just nails it every single time. 

TikTok has completely changed the way I search for content, which is why it’s my favourite pick for 2025. And when it comes to entertainment, it’s on another level compared to Instagram and Facebook. Nothing else even comes close. 

The Winners of the 2025 Techloy Readers’ Choice Smartphone Awards

The people have spoken and the results are in.

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The row between Europe and Washington about what you can do online just ramped up.

On Christmas Eve, the White House imposed visa bans on five public figures in Europe.

It’s all about what European officials describe as the regulation of online harm and what America’s officials consider censorship.

“If you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil,” said Sarah Rogers, the US under secretary of state for public diplomacy, as the bans were announced.

The highest profile figure facing travel restrictions is Thierry Breton, a former EU commissioner responsible for regulating social media and a key architect of the Digital Services Act (DSA) – a piece of legislation that is very unpopular in the White House.

The Trump administration has accused the EU of placing “undue” restrictions on freedom of expression in its efforts to combat hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation.

It argues the DSA unfairly targets US companies and cities, who it is not elected to represent.

Mr Breton has already had some fiery spats with Elon Musk, the owner of X and former Trump adviser.

Image:
File pic: AP

Earlier this year, Musk called him a “tyrant of Europe” and Mr Breton accused Musk of “lying like hell” about online restrictions he was facing.

“Is McCarthy’s witch hunt back?” he posted on X after the bans were announced.

The other four people facing visa bans are from the UK and Germany and work in disinformation organisations.

They are the UK’s Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index and Germany’s Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg from HateAid.

Although this is the first time Washington has put visa bans in place, it is an argument that’s been brewing for years.

Europe and the UK have much stricter controls over what you can do online compared to America.

In Europe, there is the Digital Services Act which regulates online activity. In the UK, we now have the Online Safety Act that began being fully enforced in July.

We also have a number of other laws that govern what you can say and can lead to jail time if you breach them.

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Joey Barton avoids jail over X posts

Just this month, ex-footballer Joey Barton was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for “grossly offensive” posts he sent on X.

Under both of those acts, platforms hosting harmful content can be fined significant amounts, even if they’re based in the US.

Musk’s platform X, for example, was recently fined €120m (£104m) by the EU over issues relating to transparency.

Fines like that are what annoy the Trump administration so much. It sees rules like the Digital Services Act as governments in Europe undermining Americans’ right to freedom of speech.

Ironically, that’s exactly what European leaders are now accusing Washington of – overreach.

The EU commission has strongly condemned the visa bans and the UK government said it “supports the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content”.

The politician who replaced Breton in his EU commissioner role, Stephane Sejourne, said: “No sanction will silence the sovereignty of the European peoples. Total solidarity with him and all the people of Europe affected by this.”

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By DAVID OLASEINDE

Published: 02:06 GMT, 25 December 2025 | Updated: 02:08 GMT, 25 December 2025

As people prepare to carve into their Christmas Day turkeys, some may wonder why the birds’ eggs never make it onto the holiday menu.

Turkey eggs are almost never found on grocery shelves or holiday plates.

The reasons lie in biology, economics and practicality, experts said.

Unlike chickens, which reliably lay about one egg every 24 hours, turkeys produce only one or two per week.

Kimmon Williams, of the National Turkey Federation, told ModernFarmer: ‘Turkeys have a longer life cycle, so they need to get to about seven months before they are able to produce laying eggs.’

Chickens, on the other hand, only have to reach about five months before they lay eggs.

Raising turkeys is also more expensive, as they require significantly more feed and larger housing, both of which drive up production costs.

As a result, farmers would need to charge at least £2.22 per turkey egg, meaning a dozen would cost around £26.64.

Unlike chickens, which reliably lay about one egg every 24 hours, turkeys produce only one or two per week

Some cooking professionals have said that turkey eggs are better for sauces because their yolks are creamier and richer, Slate reported.

But the recommendations are not enough to get them on menus.

Turkeys are indigenous to North America, making them a staple among Native American tribes, while chickens arrived in the UK during the Iron Age.

Native Americans introduced turkeys to early European settlers in the 1600s.

The large, wild birds were exotic animals to Europeans who became instant fans.

Early Spanish explorers to the New World even returned home with turkeys, but rumours quickly spread that the eggs were linked to outbreaks of leprosy.

The suspicions were largely among the French, who were wary about the birds’ foreign origins.

In medieval Europe, diseases like leprosy were often seen as divine punishment or the result of moral failings.

And new foods from a land deemed dangerous did not align with the established norms of the time.

Technological advancements allowed farmers to specialize in chickens for egg production or meat, making chicken eggs more cost-efficient and readily available.

Today, turkey eggs are a rarity, sought mainly by food enthusiasts or farmers looking to meet England’s demand for Christmas.

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Revealed: Why we DON’T eat turkey eggs at Christmas

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By SHIVALI BEST, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Published: 23:54 GMT, 24 December 2025 | Updated: 23:54 GMT, 24 December 2025

From the cigar nestled in the brickwork to ‘The Dress’, many optical illusions have left viewers around the world baffled over the years. 

But the latest illusion is arguably one of the most bizarre yet. 

Dr Dean Jackson, a biologist and BBC presenter, has shared a strange illusion on TikTok, which tricks your brain into seeing two eyes as different colours.

In the video, a cartoon face is split down the middle, with the left half coloured red, and the right half coloured blue. 

While the two eyes appear to be different colours, Dr Jackson explains that they’re actually identical. 

‘This girl’s eyes are the same colour as each other,’ he says.

‘You are seeing the same colour too, but your brain is treating the background as two separate filters and cleverly working out what the eyes would be under those filters.

‘But it’s actually being too clever for its own good.’

Dr Dean Jackson , a biologist and BBC presenter, has shared a strange illusion on TikTok , which tricks your brain into seeing two eyes as different colours

In the video, Dr Jackson brings up a grey square on screen, and explains that this is actually the colour of both eyes. 

‘Both of her eyes are that shade of grey, but your brain is telling you otherwise,’ he explains. 

To prove that this is the case, Dr Jackson covers the coloured background with grey bars which are the same colour as the girl’s eyes. 

‘I’m not changing the colour of the girl’s eyes, I absolutely promise you of that,’ he reassures. 

As the grey bars are placed over the coloured background, it immediately becomes clear that Dr Jackson is telling the truth – the eyes really are identical. 

The baffling optical illusion has garnered huge interest on TikTok, with hundreds of confused viewers taking to the comments. 

‘I saw her left eye as blue and her right eye as yellow! I love your content but I’m now finding it difficult to trust my own brain!!!!’ one user commented. 

Another wrote: ‘THE EYES ARE NOT GREY! HELLPPP.’

This isn’t the first time that Dr Jackson has amazed viewers with his color-based optical illusions. Earlier this year, he posted a video showing a picture of a red fire truck on a road, before adding a cyan filter, and asking what colour you think the fire truck is 

And one joked: ‘My brain is not my friend, pranking me like this.’ 

This isn’t the first time that Dr Jackson has amazed viewers with his color-based optical illusions. 

Earlier this year, he posted a video showing a picture of a red fire truck on a road, before adding a cyan filter, and asking what colour you think the fire truck is. 

While your inital reaction is likely ‘red’, Dr Jackson explains that the fire truck is actually now grey.  

‘Red light cannot pass through a cyan filter, it just can’t,’ he explained. 

‘So now there is no red light in that picture, I can promise you. And yet your brain is still telling you that it’s red.’ 

WHAT IS THE CAFÉ WALL OPTICAL ILLUSION?

The café wall optical illusion was first described by Richard Gregory, professor of neuropsychology at the University of Bristol, in 1979.

When alternating columns of dark and light tiles are placed out of line vertically, they can create the illusion that the rows of horizontal lines taper at one end.

The effect depends on the presence of a visible line of gray mortar between the tiles. 

When alternating columns of dark and light tiles are placed out of line vertically, they can create the illusion that the rows of horizontal lines taper at one end. The effect depends on the presence of a visible line of gray mortar between the tiles

The illusion was first observed when a member of Professor Gregory’s lab noticed an unusual visual effect created by the tiling pattern on the wall of a café at the bottom of St Michael’s Hill in Bristol.

The café, close to the university, was tiled with alternate rows of offset black and white tiles, with visible mortar lines in between. 

Diagonal lines are perceived because of the way neurons in the brain interact. 

Different types of neurons react to the perception of dark and light colours, and because of the placement of the dark and light tiles, different parts of the grout lines are dimmed or brightened in the retina. 

Where there is a brightness contrast across the grout line, a small scale asymmetry occurs whereby half the dark and light tiles move toward each other forming small wedges. 

The café wall optical illusion was first described by Richard Gregory, professor of neuropsychology at the University of Bristol, in 1979. The unusual visual effect was noticed in the tiling pattern on the wall of a nearby café. Both are shown in this image

These little wedges are then integrated into long wedges with the brain interpreting the grout line as a sloping line.

Professor Gregory’s findings surrounding the café wall illusion were first published in a 1979 edition of the journal Perception.

The café wall illusion has helped neuropsychologists study the way in which visual information is processed by the brain. 

The illusion has also been used in graphic design and art applications, as well as architectural applications.

The effect is also known as the Munsterberg illusion, as it was previously reported in 1897 by Hugo Munsterberg who referred to it as the ‘shifted chequerboard figure.’

It has also been called the ‘illusion of kindergarten patterns’, because it was often seen in the weaving of kindergarten students. 

The illusion has been used in graphic design and art applications, as well as architectural applications, like the Port 1010 building in the Docklands region of Melbourne, Australia

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Mind-boggling optical illusion tricks your brain into thinking these eyes are different colours – but they’re actually identical

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Nvidia has struck a non-exclusive licensing agreement with AI chip competitor Groq. As part of the deal, Nvidia will hire Groq founder Jonathan Ross, president Sunny Madra, and other employees.

CNBC reported that Nvidia is acquiring assets from Groq for $20 billion; Nvidia told TechCrunch that this is not an acquisition of the company and did not comment on the scope of the deal. But if CNBC’s numbers are accurate, this purchase is expected to be Nvidia’s largest ever, and with Groq on its side, Nvidia is poised to become even more dominant in chip manufacturing.

As tech companies compete to grow their AI capabilities, they need computing power, and Nvidia’s GPUs have emerged as the industry standard. But Groq has been working on a different type of chip called an LPU (language processing unit), which it has claimed can run LLMs at 10 times faster and using one-tenth the energy. Groq’s CEO Jonathan Ross is known for this sort of innovation — when he worked for Google, he helped invent the TPU (tensor processing unit), a custom AI accelerator chip.

In September, Groq raised $750 million at a $6.9 billion valuation. Its growth has been quick and significant — the company said that it powers the AI apps of more than 2 million developers, up from about 356,000 last year.

Updated, 12/24/25 at 5:40 p.m. ET, with clarification from Nvidia about the nature of the deal.

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There was a time when most Americans had little to no knowledge about their local data center. Long the invisible but critical backbone of the internet, server farms have rarely been a point of interest for folks outside of the tech industry, let alone an issue of particularly captivating political resonance.

Well, as of 2025, it would appear those days are officially over.

Over the past 12 months, data centers have inspired protests in dozens of states, as regional activists have sought to combat America’s ever-increasing compute buildup. Data Center Watch, an organization tracking anti-data center activism, writes that there are currently 142 different activist groups across 24 states that are organizing against data center developments.

Activists have a variety of concerns: the environmental and potential health impacts of these projects, the controversial ways in which AI is being used, and, most importantly, the fact that so many new additions to America’s power grid may be driving up local electricity bills.

Such a sudden populist uprising appears to be a natural response to an industry that has grown so quickly that it’s now showing up in people’s backyards. Indeed, as the AI industry has swelled to dizzying heights, so, too, has the cloud computing business. Recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows that, since 2021, construction spending on data centers has skyrocketed a stunning 331%. Spending on these projects totals in the hundreds of billions of dollars. So many new data centers have been proposed in recent months that many experts believe that a majority of them will not — and, indeed, could not possibly — be built.

This buildout shows no signs of slowing down in the meantime. Major tech giants — including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon — have all announced significant capital expenditure projections for the new year, a majority of which will likely go toward such projects.

New AI infrastructure isn’t just being pushed by Silicon Valley but by Washington, D.C., where the Trump administration has made artificial intelligence a central plank of its agenda. The Stargate Project, announced in January, set the stage for 2025’s massive AI infrastructure buildout by heralding a supposed “re-industrialization of the United States.”

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October 13-15, 2026

In the process of scaling itself exponentially, an industry that once had little public exposure has suddenly been thrust into the limelight — and is now suffering backlash. Danny Cendejas, an activist with the nonprofit MediaJustice, has been personally involved in a number of actions against data centers, including a protest that took place in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this year, where locals came out to decry the expansion of Colossus, a project from Elon Musk’s startup, xAI.

Cendejas told TechCrunch that he meets new people every week who express interest in organizing against a data center in their community. “I don’t think this is going to stop anytime soon,” he said. “I think it’s going to keep building, and we’re going to see more wins — more projects are going to be stopped.”

Evidence in support of Cendejas’ assessment is everywhere you look. Across the country, communities have reacted to newly announced server farms in much the same way the average person might react to the presence of a highly contagious plague. In Michigan, for instance, where developers are currently eyeing 16 different locations for potential data center construction, protesters recently descended upon the state’s capitol, saying things like: “Michiganders do not want data centers in our yards, in our communities.” Meanwhile, in Wisconsin — another development hot spot — angry locals appear to have recently dissuaded Microsoft from using their town as a headquarters for a new 244-acre data center. In Southern California, the tiny city of Imperial Valley recently filed a lawsuit to overturn its county’s approval of a data center project, expressing environmental concerns as the rationale.

The discontent surrounding these projects has gotten so intense that politicians believe it could make or break particular candidates at the ballot box. In November, it was reported that rising electricity costs — which many believe are being driven by the AI boom — could become a critical issue that determines the 2026 midterm elections.

“The whole connection to everybody’s energy bills going up — I think that’s what’s really made this an issue that is so stark for people,” Cendejas told TechCrunch. “So many of us are struggling month to month. Meanwhile, there’s this huge expansion of data centers…[People are wondering] Where is all that money coming from? How are our local governments giving away subsidies and public funds to incentivize these projects, when there’s so much need in our communities?”

In some cases, protests appear to be working and even halting (if only temporarily) planned developments. Data Center Watch claims that some $64 billion worth of developments have been blocked or delayed as the result of grassroots opposition. Cendejas is certainly a believer in the idea that organized action can halt companies in their tracks. “All this public pressure is working,” he said, noting that he could sense a “very palpable anger” around the issue.

Unsurprisingly, the tech industry is fighting back. Earlier this month, Politico reported that a relatively new trade group, the National Artificial Intelligence Association (NAIA), has been “distributing talking points to members of Congress and organizing local data center field trips to better pitch voters on their value.” Tech companies, including Meta, have been taking out ad campaigns to sell voters on the economic benefits of data centers, the outlet wrote. In short: The tech industry’s AI hopes are pegged to a compute buildout of epic proportions, so for now it’s safe to say that in 2026 the server surge will continue, as will the backlash and polarization that surround it.

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Photo by Traxer / Unsplash

Automating crypto payments on your website is becoming essential as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and especially stablecoins gain massive popularity in everyday transactions. E-commerce stores, SaaS platforms, freelance marketplaces – everyone’s looking for ways to accept crypto quickly, securely, and without eating up hours of manual work.

Manual processing is slow and error-prone — you have to track wallets, rates, and confirmations. Automation handles all of that in the background, keeping payments accurate and instant. This guide explains how to set up a smooth, reliable crypto payment flow on your website with minimal technical effort.

Why automating crypto payments became essential

Picture an online store processing hundreds of orders daily. Every Bitcoin payment needs to be checked: did the transaction come through, does the amount match current exchange rates, how many network confirmations have we got. Business owners figure out fast: you can’t do this manually.

Coinbase Commerce claims that companies that have implemented automated crypto solutions have significantly reduced order processing times. Errors from human oversight dropped to nearly zero. Customers get instant payment confirmation, the system automatically converts cryptocurrency to fiat or stores it in stablecoins – whatever you’ve configured.

Speed aside, there’s another argument: global reach. Traditional payment systems impose geographic restrictions, hefty fees for international transfers, delays stretching several days. Crypto operates 24/7 with no weekends or borders. A business in London can sell services to a client in Buenos Aires, and funds arrive within minutes.

How cryptocurrency payment automation works

The technical chain looks simpler than you’d think. When a customer chooses crypto payment, the gateway generates a unique wallet address or QR code specifically for that transaction. The buyer scans the code or copies the address, sends funds from their crypto wallet.

A monitoring system tracks the blockchain in real-time. The moment a transaction appears on the network, the platform logs it and starts counting confirmations. For Bitcoin, three to six confirmations usually suffice, for Ethereum – twelve. Once you’ve hit the required number, the order automatically switches to “paid” status, and the customer receives their product or service access.

Conversion happens simultaneously. If the seller doesn’t want to hold cryptocurrency due to volatility, the system instantly exchanges received funds for dollars, euros, or pounds at current market rates. Money then transfers to the business’s bank account according to the payout schedule – daily, weekly, or on demand.

Choosing a provider for accepting crypto payments

The payment gateway market for cryptocurrencies is crowded. There are giants, startups, specialized solutions for specific niches. Sorting through this variety matters because your choice affects work comfort for years ahead.

BitPay – one of the oldest players, operating since 2011. Supports Bitcoin, Bitcoin cash, Ethereum, and several stablecoins. Their fee runs 1% per transaction, competitive compared to traditional merchant services. Clients include Microsoft, AT&T, Newegg.

Coinbase Commerce positions itself as a plug-and-play solution. Integration takes literally 15 minutes through ready-made plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento. They don’t charge processing fees, only standard blockchain network costs. Important detail: funds go straight to the merchant’s wallet, no intermediaries.

CoinGate offers over 70 cryptocurrencies for acceptance – from Bitcoin to exotic altcoins like Dogecoin or Litecoin. Fees start at 1%, depending on your pricing plan. The hook – you can configure automatic conversion to euros with SEPA account payouts, handy for European companies.

NOWPayments specializes in mass payouts and subscriptions. If your business model involves recurring payments – monthly service subscriptions, club memberships – their API lets you set this up without additional coding.

Worth mentioning separately: platforms like Inqud that allow you to accept payments in cryptocurrency with enhanced customization capabilities. They target businesses needing flexible configurations for specific requirements – multi-currency settlements, CRM system integration, detailed transaction analytics.

Technical integration: step by step

Let’s say you’re running a WordPress site with WooCommerce plugin. Here’s a realistic crypto payment integration scenario.

You register with your chosen provider, go through verification. Most services just need email confirmation and basic company information. You create an API key in your dashboard – this secret code connects your site to the payment system.

Install the provider’s plugin from the official WordPress repository. Usually takes a couple clicks: Plugins → Add New → search by name → Install → Activate. In WooCommerce settings, a new Payment Gateways tab appears where you enter your API key.

Configure parameters: which cryptocurrencies to accept, whether to auto-convert to fiat, how much time to give customers for payment. Most gateways offer a 15-minute window – enough to send the transaction, but not so long that rates shift dramatically.

Test in sandbox mode. Nearly all serious providers offer test environments where you can run fake transactions, verify order statuses update correctly, check email notifications arrive. Only after successful tests do you switch to production.

Security and compliance: what you can’t forget

Crypto gets associated with freedom, but that doesn’t mean anarchy. Regulators in the European Union are passing legislation requiring businesses to follow certain rules.

In 2024, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation came into full effect. Companies accepting cryptocurrency must register as crypto asset service providers if volumes exceed certain thresholds. This involves KYC procedures for customers, reporting to financial authorities, adherence to AML rules.

Practically speaking, many payment gateways shoulder this burden themselves. They already hold licenses, conduct proper transaction screening for suspicious activity, maintain necessary documentation. Merchants just need to integrate their service and work peacefully.

Technical security – the other side of the coin. Private keys for crypto wallets should be stored in cold storage or hardware devices like Ledger or Trezor. If you use a hot wallet for daily operations, keep minimal amounts there – only what you need for current transactions.

Two-factor authentication, database encryption, regular backups – standard practices that become critical when money’s involved. One breach can cost the entire business.

Conversion optimization: making crypto payments convenient

Customers often fear cryptocurrency because they don’t understand it. The website owner’s job – make the process as simple and clear as possible.

Visual clarity: the “Pay with Crypto” button should be noticeable but not aggressive. Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT icons immediately signal which currencies work. Coinbase ran A/B testing and found adding the phrase “Instant confirmation” next to the crypto option increased conversion by 23%.

QR codes simplify life for mobile users. Instead of copying a long wallet address and risking mistakes, customers just point their phone camera, scan the code – their crypto app automatically fills all fields.

A countdown timer shows how much time remains for payment. This isn’t pressure, it’s help: customers understand the rate is locked for 15 minutes and can calmly complete the transaction without risking overpayment from price swings.

An FAQ section right on the payment page answers typical questions: “What if I sent the wrong amount?”, “How long does confirmation take?”, “Can I get a refund?”. This reduces anxiety and builds trust.

Analytics and reporting in crypto operations

Financial transparency isn’t optional, it’s necessary for any serious business. Payment gateways provide detailed dashboards with metrics: how many transactions processed per day, average ticket size, which currencies are most popular with customers.

BTCPay Server – an open-source solution for those wanting full data control. Deploy it on your own server, integrate with your site, and get all analytics without third-party involvement. Fees are zero because there’s no middleman. Downside – you need technical skills for setup and maintenance.

Data export in CSV or JSON format lets you download all transaction history and import it into accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, or Sage.

The future of crypto payments: Lightning Network and Layer 2

Bitcoin often gets criticized for slowness and high fees during network congestion periods. Lightning Network solves this through payment channels off the main blockchain. Transactions go through almost instantly, fees measure in satoshis – fractions of a cent.

Strike, Phoenix Wallet, Wallet of Satoshi – apps supporting Lightning. Website integration still requires more technical knowledge, but providers like OpenNode already offer turnkey solutions. El Salvador, the first country adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, massively uses Lightning specifically for daily transactions.

Ethereum Layer 2 – Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism – allow processing thousands of transactions per second with minimal costs. This proves especially valuable for NFT marketplaces, Web3 games, DeFi services. Integration happens through the same payment gateways, but with network selection during configuration.

Real cases: who already automated crypto settlements

Overstock.com started accepting Bitcoin back in 2014 through partnership with Coinbase. First month they processed over a million dollars in transactions. Today their crypto strategy includes automatic conversion, support for multiple currencies, and seamless integration with existing IT infrastructure.

Travala – a travel platform where you can book hotels with cryptocurrency. They accept over 90 different coins, the process fully automated from room search to booking confirmation. Their audience – crypto enthusiasts traveling the world who don’t want to convert assets to fiat.

Inqud provides infrastructure for various e-commerce projects across Europe. Electronics stores, clothing retailers, even food delivery services have integrated their gateway. The fintech company reports merchant numbers growing 300% over the past year – demand is obvious.

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