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When to make LODs: Understanding model costs

When to make LODs Jason Booth 3 min read · Dec 26, 2021 -- Listen Share Understanding model costs I’m always amazed at how often I hear people talk about “poly counts” in modern rendering, as if that’s even a thing. But lore has a way of sticking around forever, far past its point of being useful. And quite frankly, I’m constantly seeing artwork created in substandard ways because of this lore. First, the cost of rendering something doesn’t really have much relation to how many polygons it ha

NotebookLM now lets you chat with expert guides from top publishers, and Shakespeare - here's how

Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET Google announced Monday that it is expanding the repertoire of NotebookLM, its AI-powered note-taking and research platform, to include the works of some prominent publishing names. Also: NotebookLM now lets you share your notebooks with anyone with a single link. Here's how The company is collaborating with a cohort of scientists, nonprofits, authors, and news publishers to deliver a series of featured notebooks for NotebookLM users. These notebooks cove

I replaced my Ring doorbell with this subscription-free option - with one concern

ZDNET's key takeaways The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $189. The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage to bypass subscription fees. Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look distorted. $199.99 at Amazon Video doorbells are among the best ways to start your smart home journey. They are easy to use and often easy to install, and provide much-

This portable battery station powered my home for two weeks

ZDNET's key takeaways The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus expands up to 24,000 Wh, powering a home for two weeks. Built-in wheels and handle make the Explorer 2000 Plus easy to move. The Explorer 2000 Plus delivers 3,000W power, fast charging, and rugged durability. View now at Amazon If you see the sun regularly, solar generators are the way forward. They allow you to capture and store the free energy that's beaming down from the sun, convert it into electricity, and store it in batteries. Solar

This portable battery station powered my home for two weeks - and it's $600 off for Prime Day

ZDNET's key takeaways The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus expands up to 24,000 Wh, powering a home for two weeks. Built-in wheels and handle make the Explorer 2000 Plus easy to move. The Explorer 2000 Plus delivers 3,000W power, fast charging, and rugged durability. View now at Amazon Find the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus on sale for up to 50% off ahead of Amazon Prime Day. You can save more or less depending on the accessories you bundle with the power station. Also: The 55+ best Prime Day deals w

This subscription-less video doorbell easily replaced my Ring - and it's $50 off right now

ZDNET's key takeaways The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $150. The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage so you can bypass subscription fees. Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look distorted. $149.99 at Amazon For a limited time, Lorex has the 2K Wi-Fi Battery Video Doorbell discounted by $50 on Amazon, making it more affordable than ever.

This portable battery station kept my home powered for two weeks - and it's 50% off right now

ZDNET's key takeaways The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus expands up to 24,000 Wh, powering a home for two weeks. Built-in wheels and handle make the Explorer 2000 Plus easy to move. The Explorer 2000 Plus delivers 3,000W power, fast charging, and rugged durability. View now at Amazon Find the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus on sale for up to 50% off ahead of Amazon Prime Day. You can save more or less depending on the accessories you bundle with the power station. Also: The 55+ best Prime Day deals w

If You’re a Prime Member Only, This Jackery 1500W Power Station Is Going for Peanuts on Prime Day

Amazon has kicked off Prime Day early this year, and even this Monday, there are already tons of impressive deals across the entire Electronics category. Among the most popular products is the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Portable Power Station, a device that has become a go-to solution for outdoor enthusiasts and people looking for a reliable backup power for emergencies or off-grid living. This Prime Day, the Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is available at an all-time low price of $448, down from its us

This portable battery station powered my home for two weeks - and it's on sale for Prime Day

ZDNET's key takeaways The Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus expands up to 24,000 Wh, powering a home for two weeks. Built-in wheels and handle make the Explorer 2000 Plus easy to move. The Explorer 2000 Plus delivers 3,000W power, fast charging, and rugged durability. View now at Amazon Find the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus on sale for up to 50% off ahead of Amazon Prime Day. You can save more or less depending on the accessories you bundle with the power station. Also: The 55+ best Prime Day deals w

How generative AI could help make construction sites safer

To combat the shortcuts and risk-taking, Lorenzo is working on a tool for the San Francisco–based company DroneDeploy, which sells software that creates daily digital models of work progress from videos and images, known in the trade as “reality capture.” The tool, called Safety AI, analyzes each day’s reality capture imagery and flags conditions that violate Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules, with what he claims is 95% accuracy. That means that for any safety risk the

Jackery’s capable, solar-powered generator is nearly half off

A summer camping trip is the perfect excuse to stop staring at screens, but it doesn’t mean you need to go completely off the grid. Jackery’s Explorer 1000 Power Station V2 lets you charge your gadgets and have more fun while you’re camping. For instance, you can plug in a projector, speakers, or a space heater. In other words, it’s great for entertainment and for maintaining a certain quality of life you may not be willing to give up while camping. This charging station, which also includes a S

Finally, a video security doorbell that has similar features as Ring but no monthly fees

ZDNET's key takeaways The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $200. The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage so you can bypass subscription fees. Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look distorted. $149.99 at Amazon Video doorbells are among the best ways to start your smart home journey. They are easy to use and often easy to install, and provi

Show HN: I Built AskMedically – Get Research-Backed Answers to Medical Queries

Hi HN, I’ve built AskMedically – an AI-powered assistant that answers health and medical questions using real research papers from trusted medical sources like PubMed, Cochrane, etc. Whether you’re a healthcare enthusiast, patient, student, or professional – AskMedically helps you explore trusted medical knowledge without needing a medical degree or slogging through dozens of PDFs. Examples: • “Does intermittent fasting improve insulin sensitivity?” • “What are the benefits of creatine for

Veloretti just made one of the best e-bikes lighter and cheaper

is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years. Dutch bicycle brand Veloretti just announced a slimmed-down version of its excellent Electric Two series of electric bikes for European commuters. The step-over Ace Two Lite is a lighter and less expensive version of the very heavy Ace Two e-bike I reviewed back in 2023, which ditches the sublime Enviolo automatic shifter in favor of a

New FileFix attack weaponizes Windows File Explorer for stealthy commands

A cybersecurity researcher has developed FileFix, a variant of the ClickFix social engineering attack that tricks users into executing malicious commands via the File Explorer address bar in Windows. FileFix, a variation of the social-engineering attack called ClickFix, allows threat actors to execute commands on the victim system through the File Explorer address bar in Windows. Cybersecurity researcher mr.d0x discovered the new method and demonstrated that it could be used in attacks targeti

Better than Ring? This video security doorbell has similar features and no monthly fees

ZDNET's key takeaways The Lorex 2K Wi-Fi video doorbell is available for $180. The doorbell comes in wired and wireless installations, communicates reliably, and includes a preinstalled 32GB microSD card for local storage so you can bypass subscription fees. Although it has a 2K resolution, the image is so wide angle that objects look distorted. $199.99 at Amazon Video doorbells are among the best ways to start your smart home journey. They are easy to use and often easy to install, and provi

How to turn AI into your own research assistant with this free Google tool

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET When I need to research a topic these days, I often turn to AI, at least as a starting point. But depending on my questions and which chatbot I use, the response may not always be satisfying -- it can be too brief or canned. In that case, I find myself wanting more. That's when I turn to Google's Learn About experiment. Also: 8 ways to write better ChatGPT prompts - and get the results you want faster As the name implies, Learn About is more than just a way t

This free Google tool turns AI into your research assistant

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET When I need to research a topic these days, I often turn to AI, at least as a starting point. But depending on my questions and which chatbot I use, the response may not always be satisfying -- it can be too brief or canned. In that case, I find myself wanting more. That's when I turn to Google's Learn About experiment. Also: 8 ways to write better ChatGPT prompts - and get the results you want faster As the name implies, Learn About is more than just a way t

I took my e-book library back from Amazon with this self-hosted app

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority If you’ve ever bought an e-book from Amazon, you already know you don’t really own it. Sure, it’s in your Kindle library and you can read it in the app. But try moving it to another device or archiving it somewhere else, and you’ll quickly run into walls. In fact, Amazon has been doubling down on its attempts to curtail access to the books you’ve bought from the Kindle store. Between DRM, proprietary file formats, and a complete lack of export tools, you are s

Unpacking AI Agents

In the past six months, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and others have released web-browsing agents that are designed to complete tasks independently, with only minimal input from humans. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has even called AI agents “the next giant breakthrough.” On today’s episode, we'll dive into what makes these agents different from other forms of machine intelligence, and whether their capabilities can live up to the hype. You can follow Michael Calore on Bluesky at @snackfight, Lauren Good

Show HN: WinCse – Integrating AWS S3 with Windows Explorer

WinCse · Windows Cloud Storage Explorer WinCse is an application that integrates AWS S3 buckets with Windows Explorer, allowing you to treat S3 buckets as if they were part of your local file system. Features Displays S3 buckets in Windows Explorer Simple interface for easy file management Requirements Installation Install WinFsp Download WinCse (which includes AWS SDK for C++) from the release page Usage Run setup/install-aws-s3.bat (requires administrator privileges). When the form sc