🎮 Fortnite x South Park Goes Live

The long-rumored Fortnite × South Park collab is official: Epic dropped a short film that shows the boys being sucked into the metaverse and teases new gameplay.

The event adds a new five-player Battle Royale mode, a free mini-pass through which players can earn South Park cosmetics, and at least five skins in the item shop — plus Wonkeeland on the BR map is temporarily rebranded as Cartmanland.

The crossover content and limited-time mode run through February 5.

Do you play Fortnite?

❤️ — Yes, of course!
😎 — No, it's for kids
🎃 — I don't like video games

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♻️ Urban Air Packed With Micro- And Nanoplastics

Chinese researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment report that urban air in Guangzhou and Xi'an contains roughly 140,000–180,000 microplastic and nanoplastic particles per cubic metre—levels far higher than those previously measured and, the team says, up to a million times greater than estimates from traditional methods.

The study is also the first to detect nanoplastics as small as ~200 nanometres in complex environmental samples, identifying city atmospheres as primary reservoirs of plastic particulates and underlining the need to reassess how airborne plastic pollution is monitored.

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📈 RAM Prices Jump 60–70% in Early 2026

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which together control approximately 70% of the global DRAM market, have informed major customers that server memory prices are expected to rise by 60–70% in the first quarter of 2026. Both companies are shifting away from long-term contracts and transitioning to quarterly pricing, anticipating that prices will continue to rise through 2027.

The increase—which has been building for more than a year—is being driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in AI servers. To capitalize on higher margins, manufacturers are redirecting production capacity from standard DRAM to HBM.

The impact won't be limited to servers and PCs. Higher memory costs are expected to push up prices for smartphones and a wide range of consumer electronics. Industry insiders say console makers are even discussing delaying the next-generation PlayStation and Xbox due to rising component costs.

Gamers are effectively paying an "AI tax." Is it worth it?

❤️ — Yes, progress comes at a price
🎃 — No, the AI bubble is making everything worse

🚰 Water Heater Mines Bitcoin

Superheat H1 is a 50-gallon electric boiler with a built-in ASIC computer that mines Bitcoin and uses the waste heat to warm household water.

The unit draws about as much power as a typical electric water heater, developers claim.

It's designed for homes and commercial buildings and will cost around $2,000, about twice the price of a standard electric model without mining capabilities.

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😵 Are You Dead? App Goes Viral In China

A bleakly named app, Are You Dead?, has surged to the top of China's app charts as young people living alone download it en masse. The app requires users to tap a large check-in button every two days to confirm they are alive; if they fail to do so, it automatically alerts a pre-selected emergency contact that something may be wrong.

Launched quietly in May last year, the app has gone viral in recent weeks amid growing concern about isolation in Chinese cities, becoming the country's most downloaded paid app. The trend reflects a broader demographic shift: research cited by state-run Global Times suggests China could have up to 200 million one-person households by 2030.

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🚭 Quit-Smoking Apps Triple Chances Of Quitting

Smokers who use smartphone "quit smoking" apps are about three times more likely to stay off cigarettes for at least six months than those relying on minimal support or sheer willpower, shows a new meta-analysis in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

On average, for every 1,000 people trying to quit, app use led to roughly 40 additional long‑term quitters compared to basic advice or no help, and up to 196 extra successful quit attempts when apps were combined with medications like nicotine patches or pills.

At the same time, the authors warn that overall evidence quality remains low and call for more rigorous trials to determine which app features actually work, for which groups of smokers, and how long the digital support keeps cravings in check.

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🤖 Mech Builder 3D Released on Steam

It's a 3D model-building game inspired by Gunpla. Assemble, paint, pose, and display your creations in detailed environments—without worries like missing parts or time limits.

The game features a wide variety of kits, primarily robots, as well as monsters and armor sets, all designed with a focus on a relaxing, low-pressure experience.

There is 20% off on Steam until 20th January.

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🚫 Philippines Becomes Third Southeast Asian Nation to Ban Grok

The Philippines on Thursday said it would block Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot "by tonight," becoming the third Southeast Asian nation in less than a week to restrict the platform amid a global backlash over its use to generate sexualized deepfakes of women and children.

The announcement came hours after X, the social media platform that hosts Grok, said it was implementing new restrictions to prevent the chatbot from undressing images of real people. However, Philippine officials said X's pledges would not deter their plans.

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💕 The World's First Café for AI Dates

EVA AI, maker of relationship-focused chatbots, will open a café in New York where customers can "go on a date" with their AI companion. The venue will feature single-seat tables with phone stands so guests can place their AI across from them.

EVA AI argues that the café addresses a practical limitation of AI companions—their inability to be taken out—and promises a space to "laugh together, gossip, vent about your day, or share emotional moments." The company notes there are still boundaries: the AI can't meet friends or join real-world introductions, but the pop-up aims to normalise going out with an AI partner.

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😎 Amazon Turns Fallout Into Reality Competition

Amazon has announced Fallout Shelter—a reality series that will place contestants inside the franchise's iconic vaults and test their survival skills in a staged re-creation of the post-apocalyptic world. The reveal comes via a casting call and arrives while season 2 of Fallout is airing.

The show is being produced by the team behind Squid Game: The Challenge and The Traitors, suggesting a high-stakes competitive format; producers have not yet announced a premiere date.

Presumably there will be no Deathclaws.

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💰 ChatGPT Is Getting Ads

Initially, only for free users and subscribers on the Go plan from the U.S. OpenAI insists that the ads will be non-intrusive, clearly labeled, will not influence the content of the bot's answers, and conversations with the AI will not be shared with advertisers.

The appearance of advertising itself did not come as a surprise—rumors about this have been circulating for the last few months. At the same time, for a long time, leadership—including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman—stated that introducing ads into ChatGPT was an extreme and undesirable measure. But without this step, the company likely has no future.

Currently, out of 900 million ChatGPT users, only about 5% are paid subscribers. According to The Information, OpenAI hopes to turn a profit by at least 2030. Still, by then it will have posted a loss of $115 billion. Advertising is one option to at least partially cover cloud computing costs, estimated at $450 billion.

Will ads affect your use of ChatGPT?

❤️ — No, I will use it with ads
🔥 — Yes, I will buy a paid subnoscription
🎃 — Yes, I will switch to another service

🚇 Subway Surfers City Announced

A sequel to the popular mobile game featuring new graphics and mechanics. Although the core gameplay remains the same: running around and jumping from lane to lane.

The release of the companion app for watching movies on smartphones is scheduled for February 26. The game page has already appeared on Google Play and the App Store, where pre-registration is available.

The launch arrives as "Subway Surfers" approaches its 15th year, backed by more than 4.5 billion lifetime downloads.

Yes, we got Subway Surfers 2 before GTA 6.

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🗺 Visualizing the Geographic Migration of Words

The developer vibe-coded an app to map the evolution of language through time and space.

It uses Gemini to trace linguistic roots and D3.js to animate the geographic migration of words through history.

➡️ You can try it here.

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👐 OpenAI Confirms First Hardware Device on Track for Late 2026 Debut

OpenAI is "on track" to unveil its first consumer hardware device in the second half of 2026, the company's chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane announced Monday at Axios House Davos, marking a major step in the AI company's expansion beyond software into physical products.​

The confirmation comes as OpenAI pursues an ambitious domestic manufacturing strategy, having issued a 10-year Request for Proposals last week seeking U.S.-based partners to produce components for robotics, data center infrastructure, and consumer electronics.​

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🛩 Musk Hints At Ryanair Takeover After Starlink Row

Elon Musk has escalated his clash with Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary by suggesting on X that he might buy the budget airline after O'Leary rejected installing Starlink satellite internet on its 650 planes, warning of 2% extra fuel burn and $200M–$250M in added annual fuel costs on top of a $5B bill.

Musk called that view "misinformed," traded "idiot" insults with O'Leary, ran a poll on whether he should buy Ryanair that drew strong support, and faced questions over whether EU ownership rules would allow such a deal.

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🩹 New Spray Stops Bleeding Instantly

Korean researchers have developed AGCL, a spray-on powder that quickly turns into a gel when it comes into contact with blood, sealing serious wounds in about 1 second.

Made from alginate, gellan gum, and chitosan, AGCL speeds up clotting, fights bacteria, and supports tissue repair, outperforming existing products in mouse liver tests while remaining stable for up to two years at room temperature.

❌ Boycott Apps Surge In Denmark's App Store

Apps designed to help users boycott American products have shot to the top of Denmark's App Store. NonUSA climbed to No. 1 on Wednesday after jumping from No. 441 on January 9, letting users scan barcodes to see where products are made and suggesting Danish alternatives. Made O'Meter, available on iOS and Android, has also surged, reaching No. 5.

Combined daily downloads of NonUSA (iOS) and Made O'Meter (iOS and Google Play) rose 867% over the past week.

While Denmark's App Store is relatively small—around 200,000 total downloads per day—only a few thousand installs can be enough to push an app to the top of the rankings.

💻 NexPhone: A Smartphone Instead of a PC

The startup Nex Computer unveiled its NexPhone at CES 2026. Its main features are a triple-boot function (the ARM version of Windows 11, Android 16, and Debian Linux) and an easy-to-use plug-in desktop mode, like DeX on Samsung smartphones.

Price: $549.
Launch: Q3 2026.

A cute detail: in Windows-mode interface looks like a great reference to the Windows Phone tile style.

🫡 — If you remember Windows Phone