Microsoft is in the midst of a deal that would bring the infamous Three Mile Island nuclear power plant back to life, according to reporting by The Washington Post. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Pennsylvania plant was home to a partial meltdown of one of its reactors back in 1979.

The deal would make Microsoft the plant’s sole customer for 20 years, meaning it’ll hoover up 100 percent of the power all for itself. Why does the company need so much juice? You can guess. It’s for AI, which is notoriously power hungry. Look, if it takes an entire nuclear power plant so we can ask Bing to whip up an image of Steve Urkel in space riding a skateboard, then we gotta do it. It’s the future… or whatever.

Let’s break it down further. If this deal is approved by regulators, Three Mile Island will provide Microsoft with enough energy to power 800,000 homes. Again, no homes will be getting that energy, but don’t worry. Microsoft will be able to hold a live streaming event to show off some ghoulish new AI video generation tools or something.

I know I’m coming off as a real troglodyte here, but there is a silver lining. This could help Microsoft meet its pledge to power AI development with zero emissions electricity. It’s not as if these companies would give up on AI if there wasn’t a decommissioned nuclear power plant sitting around, so this move could help alleviate some of the strain that’s already being placed on our power grid due to ye olde artificial intelligence.

If approved, this would be a first-of-its-kind deal for a couple of reasons. A commercial power plant has never worked exclusively for one client before. It’ll also be the very first time a decommissioned power plant has come back online. It’s worth noting that the plant shut down five years ago for economic reasons, which has nothing to do with the partial meltdown from 1979. The current plan is for it to resume operations by 2028.

“The energy industry cannot be the reason China or Russia beats us in AI,” said Joseph Dominguez, chief executive of Constellation, the company that owns the plant. I’d take his jingoistic language with a grain of salt, however, as Constellation stands to make an absolute boatload of cash from this deal.

Let’s do some math. Yearly profits from a nuclear power plant averages $470 million. Microsoft will be the exclusive buyer of this energy for 20 years, which totals $9.4 billion. Constellation is spending $1.6 billion to get the plant going again, along with federal subsidies and tax breaks provided by the Inflation Recovery Act. This leaves $7.8 billion in sweet, sweet profit. That’s just a guesstimate, but you get the gist. The company does promise $1 million in “philanthropic giving to the region” over the next five years. That’s $200,000 a year.

This isn’t a done deal. There are many regulatory hurdles that Constellation will have to jump over. This includes intensive safety inspections from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has never authorized a plant reopening. There’s also likely to be an inquiry into those aforementioned tax breaks, as all of the energy is going to one private company and not serving entire communities. But come on. Steve Urkel on a skateboard in space.

On the plus side, Constellation will need around 600 employees to run the plant, according to the New York Times. Jobs are good. Also, the company says it won’t be seeking any additional subsidies from Pennsylvania. The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan is also looking to reopen for business, but it plans on servicing the local grid and not the gaping maw of AI.

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now nearly 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

Last week, police in Pakistan charged a man with cyberterrorism in connection with a misleading news article blamed for inciting riots in the UK. The article falsely claimed that the killing of three girls in Southport, UK, was carried out by an asylum seeker and the misinformation spread rapidly on social media, fuelling anger over immigration.

The threat of online disinformation stirring up real-world trouble is a major worry for governments around the world, and it can be especially hard to…

Support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) is one of the lesser-known features in iOS 18, which is now available for everyone. RCS is an enhanced version of SMS for text messaging, and its implementation will enable Apple users to communicate with Android users in a similar way to how they do with other Apple users.

In doing so, you will be able to use read receipts with your friends and family on Android. You can also send high-quality images and videos, view typing indicators, and enjoy enhanced group messaging capabilities.

Getting started with RCS as an iPhone user is a pain-free process. Let’s take a look.

How to enable RCS messaging in iOS 18

Luckily, RCS should be activated on your iPhone with iOS 18 installed automatically. To be sure, follow these directions.

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone.

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Step 2: Scroll down and choose Apps.

Step 3: Select Messages.

Step 4: Scroll down, under Text messaging and select RCS messaging.

Step 5: Toggle RCS messaging to the on position if it is not already enabled. You can also disable RCS messaging by toggling off the feature.

How to tell you are using RCS

There are a few ways you can tell that you are sending a message in iMessage via RCS.

Step 1: First, even without sending a message, you’ll see “RCS” at the top of the message box as soon as you type in the number of someone not using an Apple device.

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Step 2: You can also recognize the use of RCS when someone sends you something beyond regular text. For example, there’s congratulations confetti, as seen in the example below. That wouldn’t be possible in iOS 17 or older.

What to do if RCS isn’t working on your iPhone

So again, if you don’t see the RCS messaging option after completing the steps above on your iPhone with iOS 18 installed, then it’s because the carrier needs to get on board with supporting it. The fix for that is unfortunately just waiting it out. You can check Apple’s wireless carrier support page to check if your carrier supports RCS.

It’s only been a few days since Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 series. The company just began shipping the units to the early buyers yesterday. However, it hasn’t stopped the rumors around the iPhone 17 series from pouring in. Ross Young of Display Supply Chain Consultants has already shared some details regarding the displays of 2017 iPhones. Young predicts the iPhone 17 and the slimmer model, presumably called iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Pro, will have 120Hz displays.

It’s worth mentioning that most of the information about the iPhones from Young before launch has been true in the past. Notably, he was the first to reveal that the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max would offer 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch screens, respectively.

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air (or iPhone 17 Slim) will finally get a 120Hz refresh rate

In a post on X, Young said that the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air, or whatever Apple ends up calling will finally get a 120Hz refresh rate. Both iPhones will flaunt the ProMotion technology, which will allow them to deliver a 120Hz screen refresh rate. The newly launched standard iPhone 16 and 16 Plus can still only offer up to a 60Hz screen refresh rate.

Thanks to the higher refresh rate, the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be able to provide smoother scrolling and videos. They will also be able to switch to a more power-efficient refresh rate, thanks to the ProMotion tech. This will allow for the always-on display functionality. It will allow the next year’s iPhones to provide various Lock Screen elements, even when they are locked.

The iPhone 13 Pro can ramp down to 10Hz, while the iPhone 14 Pro through 16 Pro can reduce to 1Hz. But, it’s not clear if it would ramp down to 10Hz or 1Hz on the iPhone 17 series.

iPhone 17 Pro will not offer under-display Face ID tech

In the now-deleted X post, Young was also replying to some queries regarding the iPhone 17 series via comments. He also responded to questions regarding the presence of the under-display Face ID tech on the regular iPhone 17 Pro models. Some misinterpreted the information and reported that the standard iPhone 17 Pro would also have under-display Face ID. However, in a comment later, Young clarified that this tech is not expected on the iPhone 17 Pro.

You can save big today on the Elgato Stream Deck+ with $30 off the control panel on Amazon. Great for streamers or anyone who wants tactile shortcuts and dials for their workflow, the Stream Deck+ drops from its usual $200 to $170 with a discount and a clickable coupon.

Although the Stream Deck+ sacrifices some buttons compared to the cheaper Stream Deck MK.2, this model makes up for it with four dials and a touch strip. Each dial is customizable and clickable, allowing you to layer different dial shortcuts with each press inward. You can twist them to adjust things like volume, smart lights and in-game settings.

Elgato

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Save $30 on Elgato’s Stream Deck model that adds dials and a touch strip.

Save $30 with clickable coupon

$170 at Amazon

Its eight buttons are backlit and fully customizable. Streamers can use the Stream Deck desktop app to assign functions for things like muting mics, activating effects or triggering transitions. But you don’t need to be a YouTuber or Twitch streamer for it to be helpful. For example, I’m neither and use a Stream Deck daily to toggle preset macOS window arrangements through the third-party app Moom. It’s also handy for text expansion shortcuts or emojis.

The 4.2 x 0.5-inch touch strip displays labels and levels for each knob, giving you a clear visual cue about what you’re controlling with each twist. The touch-sensitive bar also supports custom long presses and page swipes.

Amazon’s sale covers both the black and white Stream Deck+ models. Make sure you click on the $10 coupon box on the product page to bring it down to $170.

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