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It’s France’s turn to get in on the AI boom. On Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron announced private investments into the country’s AI ecosystem totaling €109 billion ($112.5 billion). The announcement came ahead of Paris hosting the AI Action Summit on Monday and Tuesday. 

“I can tell you this evening, Europe is going to speed up, France is going to speed up,” Macron stated during a TV interview on France 2 and India’s First Post. He further explained that the investment is “exactly the equivalent for France of what the United States announced with Stargate — $500 billion — it’s the same ratio,” when accounting for France’s significantly smaller population. 

Today, France will also reportedly pledge a gigawatt of nuclear power to create an AI computing project, the The Wall Street Journal reports. France has nuclear power to spare, with 57 reactors in 18 plants and exporting about a fifth of the electricity it produced last year — despite using nuclear power for over two-thirds of its electricity. 

The project’s lead, FluidStack, aims to start work in the third quarter of 2024. By the end of 2026, the goal is to have 250 megawatts of power linked to AI-computing chips. Most of these chips are made by Nvidia, which FluidStack claims will send chips over when they need them. It also states that there’s potential to expand to a 10 gigawatt facility by 2030. 

The news follows Macron and United Arab Emirates leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s February 6 announcement to put between €30 million and €50 million ($31 million to $51.6 million) towards a one-gigawatt AI center. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/france-pledges-to-build-one-gigawatt-of-new-nuclear-to-speed-up-its-ai-ambitions-140021069.html?src=rss 

Apple currently has four different Apple Pencil models, and if you aren’t sure which one to get, try reading this guide first. But if the USB-C Apple Pencil seems like the best option for your needs, it’s now back on sale for $69 from its list price of $79. That’s only $4 more expensive than the lowest price we’ve seen it listed for.

The USB-C Apple Pencil is currently the most affordable Apple Pencil that you can use with all current-generation iPads, like the M2 iPad Air, M4 iPad Pro, 10th gen iPad and 6th gen iPad mini. It also works with some older devices, like the 3rd to 6th gen 12.9-inch iPad Pros, 1st to 4th gen iPad Pros and 4th and 5th gen iPad Airs. Whew, what a mouthful.

It’s a standard stylus and has low-latency input, perfect for artists who prefer drawing using an iPad. Unlike the Apple Pencil Pro, it doesn’t have pressure sensitivity or wireless charging capabilities, though you can also connect the pen to the iPad using a cable. However, it does support the hover feature if you own an M2-powered iPad.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-usb-c-apple-pencil-is-back-on-sale-for-69-140710599.html?src=rss 

Social platform Discord announced a new feature today called Ignore. This allows a person to hide any new messages, DMs, server notifications, profiles and activity from selected users without alerting them. In unveiling the update, Discord noted that this type of softer approach to limiting interactions had been requested by its community. It’s a less stark way to tune out a person compared with blocking them.

In practice, DMs received from an Ignored person will appear in the inbox with an icon and a grayed-out name, so they are available if the ignorer chooses to look at them. The same applies to messages in a If somebody who chose to Ignore an account joins a voice or video chat where that ignored person is present, Discord will show a warning alerting them before they hop into the call.

Ignore can be activated from several places, including the drop-down menu that appears when clicking on an account’s avatar. A list of all ignored and blocked accounts is visible within the Content & Social tab of User Settings. You can stop ignoring a profile from that full list, from your Friends list or by going to the person’s profile. Discord has complete details about using the Ignore feature in a Help Center article for any additional information.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/discord-introduces-a-feature-to-ignore-rather-than-block-users-125515521.html?src=rss 

T-Mobile’s Starlink satellite texting feature is now available in beta for anyone with a compatible iPhone or Android device to try out, the company announced in a Super Bowl ad. The new feature provides mobile 4G or 5G coverage in areas not covered by regular cell phone towers, and you can sign up for it even if you’re on another carrier like Verizon or AT&T. 

The service will be available for free until July to approved beta testers, though limited spots are available. After that, customers of T-Mobile’s high-end offerings like the $180 Go5G Next plan will receive the feature at no cost. Other T-Mobile customers can add the service for $15 per month, or $10 per month if they sign up before the end of February. Users of other carriers will be charged $20 per month starting in July (T-Mobile didn’t explain exactly how that would work). 

In August last year, T-Mobile and Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced a collaboration that would allow the carrier’s subscribers to connect to Starlink’s second-gen satellites for coverage even from the most remote locations. The service works with standard mobile phones, but only recent, compatible models including the Apple iPhone 14 series and later, all Google Pixel 9 models, the Samsung Galaxy S21 and later, Galaxy Flip3 and Fold3 or later and others. 

If you have such a device, are enrolled in the T-Mobile Starlink beta and find yourself in an area of the US without regular cell phone coverage, you should be able to connect to a satellite and send someone a simple text message. Starlink support for voice calls and data is coming later, T-Mobile said. 

T-Mobile and Starlink sent and received the first text messages using satellites back in January 2024. In the months that followed, the FCC had given them permission to enable satellite texting in certain locations so that people could stay connected in hurricane-hit areas. Now, anyone can try it, but it would be best to apply soon given the limited spots. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/t-mobile-is-offering-its-starlink-satellite-texting-feature-for-free-until-july-130044054.html?src=rss 

Civilization VII is getting a VR port soon, but it’ll be exclusive to Meta’s most recent headsets. Meta, 2K and Firaxis Games announced this weekend that the franchise’s latest entry will be available on Meta Quest 3 and 3S in Spring 2025. Players will have the option to “freely switch” between virtual and mixed reality as they wish. Per the release:

In virtual reality, players are transported to an ornate museum as they look out onto a vista personalized to their leader; in mixed reality, the Command Table adapts to its placement in a player’s physical space. Detailed dioramas can be viewed in The Archives, a room in your museum dedicated to your gameplay achievements displayed in both virtual and mixed reality.

There’s no exact release date or price just yet, but you can wishlist it on the Meta Horizon Store. Civilization VII became available for Advanced Access buyers on PC and consoles a few days ago, and reviews have so far been pretty rough. It opens up for everyone else on February 11.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/civilization-7-is-coming-to-meta-quest-3-and-3s-this-spring-221250061.html?src=rss