Articles for category: Software (Tech & Development)

PSA: The Longer You Wait To File Your Taxes Online, The More You’ll Pay

Our Tax Software Picks See at Cash App A free option that’s great for confident filers Cash App Taxes See at TaxSlayer Best tax filing service for freelancers, gig workers and sole proprietors TaxSlayer Tax season kicks off each year when the IRS startes accepting tax returns at the end of January. But a little-known open secret that I’ve learned as a tax editor is that the early weeks of tax season are also when taxpayers can expect the best deals for filing their taxes online. When the calendar shifts to late February and early March, popular services like TurboTax,

Retroid offered very limited returns for its unfixable handheld

The Retroid Pocket Mini has an unfixable issue that’s causing certain graphical effects for emulated games not to work properly. Retroid, the China-based company that makes the Pocket Mini, announced on Discord that it will accept returns of the device but only during a limited March 8th to March 14th window — and capped at just 200 returns from owners who live outside of China, as RetroHandhelds reports. Earlier in the week, the outlet says Retroid acknowledged it couldn’t fix the issue, which affects how the screen shows scanline and pixel grid shaders used to give classic emulated games the

You can now play Donkey Kong ‘94 through Nintendo Switch Online

Nintendo added an absolute gem to its Switch Online library of classic titles this week: the 1994 Game Boy game, Donkey Kong. The beloved game arrives alongside the 1995 puzzle game, Mario’s Picross. Both are available now for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, right in time for Mario Day (March 10). Donkey Kong built upon the arcade game that came before it, and features roughly 100 stages. The story should feel pretty familiar even to those who don’t have a nostalgic connection to it — Donkey Kong has kidnapped a beautiful woman (Pauline) and Mario is in hot pursuit to rescue

New research shows bigger animals get more cancer, defying decades-old belief

The answer lies in how quickly body size evolves. We found that birds and mammals that reached large sizes more rapidly have reduced cancer prevalence. For example, the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis evolved to reach its large body size—along with most other whales and dolphins (referred to as cetaceans) about three times faster than other mammals. However, cetaceans tend to have less cancer than expected. Larger species face higher cancer risks but those that reached that size rapidly evolved mechanisms for mitigating it, such as lower mutation rates or enhanced DNA repair mechanisms. So rather than contradicting Cope’s rule, our

Snack Makers Are Removing Fake Colors From Processed Foods

“PepsiCo is launching a new product, Simply Ruffles Hot & Spicy, which uses natural ingredients like tomato powder and red chile pepper instead of artificial dyes,” reports Bloomberg. But it’s part of a larger trend: In one of the final acts of President Joe Biden’s administration, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned Red No. 3, effective in January 2027 for food, one of a handful of synthetic colors that have become something of a symbol of all that is wrong with the American food system and the ultraprocessed foods that dominate it. Putting Red No. 3 aside, the rest

Common Pitfalls That Can Make Your AWS Cloud Bill Balloon

Cloud Services are a fantastic tool for businesses to grow and innovate. But if you’re not careful, its flexibility can lead to some surprises when the bill arrives. Many people end up paying way more than they expected because of simple mistakes or oversights. Some of the most common mistakes that can cause your Cloud bill to balloon and how you can avoid them, with a focus on AWS. Unmonitored and Unused Resources One of the biggest culprits behind a high AWS bill is leaving resources running when they’re not being used. Think about it: if you forget to turn

New VS Code Release Polishes Experimental GitHub Copilot Agent Mode — Visual Studio Magazine

News New VS Code Release Polishes Experimental GitHub Copilot Agent Mode Since Microsoft-owned GitHub introduced the experimental Agent Mode for GitHub Copilot, the original “AI pair programmer” description of the tool advanced to “autonomous peer programmer” en route to the possible end goal of simply, “AI programmer.” The tech has been polished in the latest update to Visual Studio Code, the February update taking it to v1.98. When GitHub announced Agent Mode and other advanced GenAI tech, CEO Thomas Dohmke said : “Developer teams will soon be joined by teams of intelligent, increasingly advanced AI agents that act as peer-programmers

February’s IT job market in the US shows mixed signals; unemployment ticks up – Computerworld

The jobs report shows a market trying to balance itself amid falling consumer confidence and ongoing economic uncertaintyr\, according to Ger Doyle, US country manager for staffing firm ManpowerGroup. While the labor market remains resilient, job seekers face challenges, and signs of cooling indicate cautious employer behavior. “This year, our real-time data shows that demand is down 6%,” Doyle said in a statement. “We’re also seeing month-over-month declines in areas tied to consumer confidence and goods production — particularly with retail managers, where demand has dropped 16% — and in wholesale and manufacturing, down 20%. These declines are noticeable and

Microsoft reportedly struggling to build its own reasoning models to rival OpenAI

Different priorities Jason Andersen, vice president and principal analyst, Moor Insights & Strategy, noted that the two companies have different priorities. “OpenAI focuses on delivering the best models in service of the mission of achieving AGI [artificial general intelligence]. There are not many (or any) multi-billion dollar revenue engines with that level of single-mindedness. I believe that Microsoft is dealing with a wide range of AI priorities and that’s precisely why [Microsoft AI CEO] Suleyman was brought in to balance these efforts,” he said. “This range of priorities is also why we have seen Microsoft partner with other LLM [large

Key Phases and Best Practices

Coding has become one of the most common tasks in modern society. With computers now central to almost every field, more people are designing algorithms and writing code to solve various problems. From healthcare to finance, robust software systems power our daily operations, making good software design essential to avoid inefficiencies and bottlenecks. This involves not just writing code but also designing systems that are easy to scale, maintain, and debug, while allowing others to contribute effectively. Inefficient or ineffective software design can lead to significant issues, like scope creep, miscommunication within teams, project delays, resource misallocation, and complex systems