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Showing posts from February, 2025

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy

Automation Leverage in Turnaround Strategy Turnaround work is often described as a crisis discipline: reduce costs, preserve cash, stabilize operations and buy time. Those moves matter, but they are not enough. A durable turnaround also needs leverage: better systems, clearer information flows and repeatable execution. For Livio Andrea Acerbo , AI automation is useful in turnaround strategy when it improves the operating rhythm of a company. The point is not to add tools. The point is to remove friction from decisions that must happen every week. From cost control to operating clarity Cost control can stop the bleeding, but operating clarity creates the next phase. Teams need to know which products are profitable, which customers deserve attention, where working capital is trapped and which workflows create avoidable delay. Automation helps when it turns scattered data into a management cadence. Dashboards, exception reports, document summaries, pipeline reviews and cash visibi...

Use Apple Invites to Organize Your Next Event

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Apple’s new event planning app lets you gather friends and family in one place—even if they’re on Android. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Grok 3’s Unhinged Voice Mode: Elon Musk’s AI Just Rewrote the Rulebook

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In the ever-evolving world of artificial intelligence, there’s disruptive—and then there’s Grok 3. Elon Musk’s xAI has once again decided that boundaries are made to be broken, and this time,... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025

After kickstarting the market for making calls over the internet 23 years ago, Skype is closing down. Microsoft, which acquired the messaging and calling app 14 years ago, said it will be retiring it from active duty on May 5 to double down on Teams. Skype users have 10 weeks to decide what they want © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Intel delays its Ohio chip factory to 2030

Intel’s first chip fabrication plant in Ohio may not open until 2030 at the earliest. According to a report in The Columbus Dispatch, Intel has slowed the building of its promised $28 billion semiconductor project in central Ohio for the second time this year. Construction won’t be completed until 2030, the chipmaker told the publication, © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The USAID Emergency Waivers Aren’t Working, From Ebola to AIDS

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Elon Musk claims he mistakenly fired Ebola prevention workers, then quickly fixed the error. But Ebola programs are still in tatters, along with other livesaving efforts like AIDS treatments for children. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

EA releases source code for Command & Conquer to modders

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EA has released the source code for Command & Conquer to a community of modders who like designing new levels for the vintage RTS game. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Owlchemy’s Dimensional Double Shift hits 500k download milestone

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Owlchemy celebrates a new milestone for its hand-tracking VR title, Dimensional Double Shift, which has passed 500,000 downloads. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Hoto’s 48-in-1 electric screwdriver set hits a record low $70

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Many years ago, I built my first PC inside a repurposed Gateway chassis with just a regular old screwdriver and a grounding bracelet. I’ll spare you the ugly details, but let’s just say I wish I had tools specially made for the job. If you want to avoid pain in your own projects, you should Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shrugs off DeepSeek as sales soar

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is more bullish about Nvidia's sales than ever, despite a market panic last month induced by China's DeepSeek. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Shadow of Mordor’s innovative Nemesis system is locked behind a patent until 2036

Warner Bros Discovery recently shut down a trio of game studios, including the well-regarded Monolith Productions. This has put one of the coolest game mechanics of the 2010s in limbo. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's excellent Nemesis system is locked behind a patent owned by Warner Bros all the way until 2036, according to reporting by Eurogamer. The Nemesis system was featured in both 2014’s Shadow of Mordor and the follow-up Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Simply put, it’s a gameplay mechanic in which enemies remember previous encounters with the protagonist. These antagonists, typically orcs in the LOTR games, would use these humiliating memories to fuel their thirst for revenge as they rose through the ranks. This mechanic also worked both ways, so enemies would remember besting you in a previous encounter.  It was the best part of those two titles and Monolith had planned on bringing back the mechanic for a now-cancelled Wonder Woman game. Now the system is lying unused, locked...

Framework’s first desktop PC is optimized for gaming and local AI inference

Framework, the company that is better known for its modular, repairable laptops, just released its first desktop computer. It’s a small desktop PC that punches above its weight. The most interesting part is what’s inside the device. Framework is one of the first companies to use AMD’s recently announced Strix Halo architecture, also known as © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Google is making it even easier to remove your personal information on Search

Google has been offering the Results About You tool since 2022 and updated it once in 2023. A part of Google Search, the tool looks for your personal information online and lets you request its removal. Today, the tech giant is announcing the latest changes, including a redesigned hub and the ability to update outdated search results to reflect the latest changes. The redesign isn’t only for show. You can now submit removal requests directly from Search with fewer actions by clicking or tapping the three dots beside a search result. If you manage to have content about you deleted or changed from a website but Google Search hasn’t caught up, you can refresh the search, which will ”recrawl the page and obtain the latest information.” In other words, you can always see the most up-to-date results about you. While these updates are helpful, they don’t introduce any major changes. The 2023 update to Results About You was more substantial, introducing proactive searches containing your info ...

Pixel Watch 3 gets FDA clearance for Loss of Pulse alerts

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Google just announced it’s received FDA clearance for the Pixel Watch 3’s Loss of Pulse Detection feature. It will start rolling out to US devices sometime at the end of March. The Loss of Pulse Detection feature is exactly what it sounds like: if the Pixel Watch 3 senses that you’ve lost your pulse through Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

 Marvel’s Thunderbolts: Uniting Antiheroes for a New Era

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As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues to expand, anticipation builds for its upcoming projects. One of the most intriguing additions is “Thunderbolts,” slated for release on May 2, 2025.... Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Framework unveils new repairable and upgradeable laptops and desktop

Framework launched new versions of its 12-inch and 13-inch laptops as well as a new desktop computer today -- all with repairable and upgradeable options. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

German startup wins accolade for its fusion reactor design

Proxima Fusion, a two-year-old, German nuclear fusion startup, has published plans for a working fusion power plant in a peer-reviewed journal, in what is being touted as a step-change in the race to generate limitless energy. Today’s nuclear fission reactors create radioactive waste, whereas nuclear fusion releases vast amounts of energy, with zero carbon emissions and © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Anker’s new USB-C HDMI cable supports 140W fast charging

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Anker has released a new HDMI to USB-C cable that allows you to connect a mobile device to an external display without draining its battery. The Anker Nano USB-C to HDMI Cable Adapter, now available through Amazon for $28.99, is Thunderbolt 5 compatible and includes a USB-C port on the HDMI connector so you can Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Sonos speakers and soundbars are 25 percent off for existing customers

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Since its app fiasco last year, Sonos has been busy slowly rebuilding its reputation with customers. This latest sale, which is exclusive to existing customers, seems to be a part of that strategy — and we’re not complaining, because the deals are solid. Through March 2nd, Sonos is taking 25 percent off one select Sonos Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Web Summit attendees aren’t buying Scale AI CEO’s push for America ‘to win the AI war’

In a bold move last month, Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang took out a full-page ad in the Washington Post, telling President Trump that “America must win the AI war.” The statement sparked mixed reactions, as seen during Wang’s appearance Sunday during the opening night of Web Summit Qatar. When Wang’s interviewer Axios’s Felix Salmon © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Automattic-owned Beeper is releasing redesigned desktop and iOS apps

WordPress.com owner Automattic last year acquired the multi-service messaging app Beeper for $125 million and said it would merge it with Texts.com, an earlier acquisition in the same category. Now, Beeper is releasing the first set of redesigned apps for iOS and desktop in beta after the merger. In a blog post, Beeper said that © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Tron: Catalyst hits consoles and PC on June 17

Tron: Catalyst, the follow-up to Tron: Identity and the next game from Bithell Games, is set to launch on June 17, 2025. The game is technically standalone, but builds on Identity's narrative and tackles the world of Tron from a new isometric perspective. Paired with the release date, Bithell Games and publisher Big Fan also showed off a new trailer at the ID@Xbox Showcase that offers a glimpse of how combat and narrative work in the game. You play as Exo, a program from the "Arq Grid" with an ability called "The Glitch," that lets you exploit time loops in the game, replaying levels with new knowledge to uncover secret and shortcuts. Exo will of course be challenged by the leaders of the Grid throughout, forcing you to fight through enemies on foot or a Light Cycle. As Engadget learned in an early preview of the game, you'll also be able to upgrade your combat abilities to suit your preferred style of play. Tron: Identity is a visual novel, so Catalyst rep...

Chegg sues Google over AI search summaries

Edtech company Chegg has sued Google claiming that the tech giant’s AI summaries of search results have hurt Chegg’s traffic and revenue. In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Chegg accuses Google of unfair competition — specifically reciprocal dealing, monopoly maintenance, and unjust enrichment. Google, Chegg claims, forces © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Yope is sparking GenZ (and VC) interest with an Instagram-like app for private groups

Photo and video apps targeting young adults with social hooks are a dime a dozen these days, so those that show traction with 18-twentysomethings tend to catch the attention of investors looking for the next Instagram or TikTok. In the latest example, photo-sharing app Yope, which lets you share still images to private groups, says © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The lesson of Larry Ellison’s misadventures in farming

Larry Ellison’s leap into farming with his company, Sensei Farms, serves up a classic reminder: being a genius in one arena doesn’t mean success in another. As the WSJ reports, the Oracle co-founder set out to reinvent agriculture on Hawaii’s Lāna‘i Island, which he scooped up for $300 million back in 2012. Eight years and © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Grok 3 appears to have briefly censored unflattering mentions of Trump and Musk

When billionaire Elon Musk introduced Grok 3, his AI company xAI’s latest flagship model, in a live stream last Monday, he described it as a “maximally truth-seeking AI.” Yet it appears that Grok 3 was briefly censoring unflattering facts about President Donald Trump — and Musk himself. Over the weekend, users on social media reported © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple reportedly plans to combine its modem with future processors as a single package

Apple introduced its first in-house cellular modem, the C1, last week with the announcement of the not-so-budget iPhone 16e, and while it didn’t get into too much detail about it, the company reportedly has some big plans for future iterations. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, “Apple intends to eventually meld the modem component into the main processor.” Integrating the modem into the main processor could have energy and cost benefits, but that design is still a ways off. We’ll likely see the C2 and C3 without it first, which the company is already testing according to Gurman, and the integrated design won’t follow until “2028 at the earliest During its unveiling, Apple called the new C1 modem its “most power-efficient modem ever in an iPhone.” The $599 iPhone 16e also has an A18 chip (but with four GPU cores) and supports Apple Intelligence, even if that’s not what people actually wanted out of it. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/s...

BYD’s Free Self-Driving Tech Might Not Be Such a Boon After All

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Aside from unfavorable comparisons to rival advanced driver systems, calling it God’s Eye could be as misleading a moniker as Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Grok blocked results saying Musk and Trump “spread misinformation”

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Grok, Elon Musk’s ChatGPT competitor, temporarily refused to respond with “sources that mention Elon Musk/Donald Trump spread misinformation,” according to xAI’s head of engineering, Igor Babuschkin. After Grok users noticed that the chatbot had been given instructions to not respond with those results, Babuschkin blamed an unnamed, ex-OpenAI employee at xAI for updating Grok’s system Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DOGE Email Throws Federal Agencies Into Chaos and Confusion

Across the US government, workers failed to get clear guidance on whether or how to respond to an email asking what they did this week, despite Elon Musk’s claim that their jobs are at risk. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DOGE Email Throws Federal Agencies Into Chaos and Confusion

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Across the US government, workers failed to get clear guidance on whether or how to respond to an email asking what they did this week, despite Elon Musk’s claim that their jobs are at risk. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Can Tech Save Small Ski Resorts From Extinction?

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The small Colorado company Entabeni Systems is quietly working to upend the ski industry with a business model built on handshake deals made in ski resort parking lots. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Microsoft’s New Majorana 1 Processor Could Transform Quantum Computing

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The processor uses qubits that can be measured without error and are resistant to outside interference, which the company says marks a “transformative leap toward practical quantum computing.” Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Layer Your Clothes to Stay Comfortable in Any Weather (2025)

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Learn how to use base layers, mid layers, and a shell to be comfortable no matter what nature throws at you. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk Threatens FBI Agents and Air Traffic Controllers With Forced Resignation If They Don’t Respond to an Email

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Employees throughout the federal government have until 11:59pm ET Monday to detail five things they accomplished in the last week. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Sana Grain Mill Review: Makes Specialty Flours a Piece of Cake

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This user-friendly countertop stone mill grinds dried wheat berries, quinoa, and more with the flip of a switch. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

US AI Safety Institute could face big cuts

The National Institute of Standards and Technology could fire as many as 500 staffers, according to multiple reports — cuts that further threaten a fledgling AI safety organization. Axios reported this week that the US AI Safety Institute (AISI) and Chips for America, both part of NIST, would be “gutted” by layoffs targeting probationary employees © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The creator of My Friend Pedro has a new game on the way, and it looks amazingly weird

There’s a lot to take in in the announcement trailer for Shotgun Cop Man: the wide-bodied, thumb-headed protagonist; Satan in the style of Handsome Squidward; a demon boss with a lethal fart(?) stream; intense, action-heavy platforming with shotgun-based movement. The upcoming new game from DeadToast Entertainment, the solo developer behind My Friend Pedro, looks absolutely unhinged. Its hero’s core mission? “Go to Hell, arrest Satan.” Publisher Devolver Digital dropped the trailer on Friday, and while there’s no firm release date just yet, it’s slated to come out sometime this year. The game is described as a “punchy, crunchy, son-of-a-gun precision platformer.” But rather than jumping between platforms, players will rely on shotgun blasts to propel themselves and mow down enemies. The main campaign has about 150 levels, and there will be a built-in level editor so players can create and share custom levels. Shotgun Cop Man will be available for PC and Nintendo Switch once it’s relea...

The secretive X-37B space plane snapped this picture of Earth from orbit

It’s not every day that we get to see a glimpse of what a mysterious space plane is up to in orbit. This week, the US Space Force shared a picture it says was snapped last year by the X-37B, showing Earth in the distance and a bit of the craft itself. X-37B launched on its seventh mission at the end of 2023, though not much is known about what that mission entails. Its previous flight, which wrapped up in 2022, set a new endurance record for the space plane, logging 908 days in orbit. There isn't too much information to glean from the photo, but it does offer a rare look at X-37B in space. “An X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024,” the Space Force wrote. An X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024.The X-37B executed a series of first-of-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking,...

$1.4 Billion Stolen From ByBit in Biggest Crypto Theft Ever

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Plus: Apple turns off end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups in the UK after pressure to install a backdoor, and two spyware apps expose victim data—and the identities of people who installed the apps. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The best robot vacuums

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Robot vacuums are impressive devices that will clean your floors well without complaining (much). As prices have dropped, these busy little bots have become less of a luxury and more of a necessity. They can reach places most standup vacs never see (under beds and sofas) and, thanks to better batteries and robot brains, they Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Reddit is experiencing outages again

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Following some apparent outages yesterday, Reddit is dealing with more issues Friday evening. When logged in on my desktop browser, Reddit won’t load at all — I just run into error pages. In an incognito window, the site loads, though it seems to load slower than usual. I was also able to load the site Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple is adding tens of thousands of recipes to News+

Apple is set to give News+ subscribers more than a soupçon of fresh material. When iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4 arrive in April, the company will add a Food section to News+. This will include tens of thousands of recipes, along with stories curated by Apple News editors about healthy eating, restaurants, kitchen essentials and so on. Apple says "the world's top food publishers" — including Allrecipes, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Good Food and Serious Eats — will supply the recipes and stories. One notable omission from that list is The New York Times, which has a separate subscription for its famed Cooking app. As such, it seems Apple is trying to go toe-to-toe with one of the country's papers of record on another front after it added games for News+ subscribers. Of course, there are plenty of other places you can go on the web for recipes and cooking tips. Non-News+ subscribers will have access to a limited number of stories and recipes. An appetizer, if you will, to ...

The real reason why oil and gas companies are bullish on carbon capture

Occidental CEO Vicki Hollub compared using CO2 in enhanced oil recovery to fracking, the technology that sent U.S. oil and gas production skyrocketing. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk’s CPAC appearance was

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Elon Musk spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, giving a strange and often inarticulate on-stage interview to Newsmax presenter Rob Schmitt. Schmitt was all smiles and enthusiasm, and managed to steer Musk through the half hour, never pausing to look back on the obvious logical inconsistencies, various falsehoods, and mathematical errors Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

DOGE Sparks Surveillance Fear Across the US Government

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The US government has increased the use of monitoring tools over the past decade. But President Donald Trump’s employee purges are making workers worry about how their data could be abused. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

How test-time scaling unlocks hidden reasoning abilities in small language models (and allows them to outperform LLMs)

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A 1B small language model can beat a 405B large language model in reasoning tasks if provided with the right test-time scaling strategy. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

OpenAI rolls out its AI agent, Operator, in several countries

OpenAI said on Friday that it is rolling out Operator, its so-called AI agent that can perform tasks on behalf of users, for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, the U.K., and more countries. OpenAI said Operator will be available in most places where ChatGPT is available, apart from © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Together AI’s $305M bet: Reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 are increasing, not decreasing, GPU demand

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The demands of DeepSeek's advanced reasoning capabilities are pushing enterprises toward Together AI's optimized infrastructure platform. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Canon’s new PowerShot V1 puts video first

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Canon has announced a new point-and-shoot compact camera called the PowerShot V1 designed to appeal more to video content creators. The V1 pairs a wide-angle lens with a new sensor from the company, and it’s the first PowerShot model to introduce “moods” that customize the look and feel of videos, plus a product demo mode Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Oppo’s new foldable can remote control a Mac

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Today Oppo launched the Find N5, the thinnest book-style foldable phone yet, but there’s more to the phone than a slim design: it’s capable of connecting to a Mac for file transfers and even remote control. It’s not quite the first Android phone to do so, but it is the only one you can buy Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Rivian reports first quarter of ‘positive gross profit’

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Rivian announced a significant milestone today, reporting its first “positive gross profit” in its fourth quarter earnings for 2024. It was a sign that the struggling company’s efforts to slash costs through the gut overhaul of its R1 electric vehicles is starting to yield some positive results. But dark clouds loom ahead, as the company Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Leaked details reveal potential pricing for Lego’s Nintendo Game Boy

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Aside from an October 2025 release, the teaser Lego and Nintendo released in January for their upcoming Game Boy collaboration was light on details. But according to an Instagram account that Video Games Chronicle says has a reliable track record for sharing accurate details about new sets before Lego does, the brick-built Game Boy will Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Apple announces the iPhone 16e with Apple Intelligence for $599

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After three years, Apple has finally unveiled its next entry-level iPhone. The iPhone 16e takes over for the iPhone SE in the company's lineup. It borrows the blueprint of the iPhone 14 and spices it up with (among other changes) an updated processor that's ready for Apple Intelligence. At $599, it's the cheapest AI-equipped iPhone by $200. As leaks suggested, the fourth-generation iPhone 16e resembles the iPhone 14, the company's 2023 standard (non-Pro) model. This is the first entry-level model to adopt the iPhone’s modern full-screen design. That means it's also the first with Face ID. At 6.1 inches, this is the biggest screen yet on an entry-level model. (The 2022 iPhone SE is only 4.7 inches.) But like Apple's 2017 to 2022 flagships, it has the notch at the top of the display, so you’ll still have to pay for a more expensive model to get Dynamic Island. Some external details differ from those of the iPhone 14. It has a USB-C port instead of Lightning, and...

Spore.Bio raises $23M to apply machine learning to microbiology testing

Recalls in the food and beverage industry due to contamination incidents can have catastrophic effects. Not only do companies have to pay fines and damages, but the impacts on the brand’s reputation can be long-lasting. That’s why Spore.Bio, a Paris-based deeptech startup, is trying to reinvent microbiology testing to avoid the next PR crisis in © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Tether backs stablecoin liquidity provider Mansa in $10M seed round

As payment companies increasingly explore stablecoins for cross-border payments and real-time settlement, some startups are tapping into the zeitgeist by providing liquidity via a revolving line of credit in stablecoins. One of them is Dubai-based but Africa-focused Mansa, whose offering allows payments companies to settle transactions and fund customer accounts instantly. The startup has raised © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

These researchers used NPR Sunday Puzzle questions to benchmark AI ‘reasoning’ models

Every Sunday, NPR host Will Shortz, The New York Times’ crossword puzzle guru, gets to quiz thousands of listeners in a long-running segment called the Sunday Puzzle. While written to be solvable without too much foreknowledge, the brainteasers are usually challenging even for skilled contestants. That’s why some experts think they’re a promising way to © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

South Korea blocks downloads of DeepSeek from local app stores

South Korean officials on Saturday temporarily restricted Chinese AI Lab DeepSeek’s app from being downloaded from app stores in the country pending an assessment of how the Chinese company handles user data. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said the Chinese app would be available to be downloaded once it complies with Korean privacy laws © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Like it or not, AI is learning how to influence you

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AI agents will soon be deployed that are tasked with decoding your personality so they can use those insights to optimally influence you. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Vision Pro will reportedly get Apple Intelligence as soon as April

Apple Vision Pro may soon get an update bringing Apple Intelligence to the headset, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The first Apple Intelligence features started rolling out to iPhone, iPad and Mac in the fall, bringing features like notification summaries, ChatGPT integration for Siri and Genmoji over the last few months. But Apple’s AI hasn’t yet made it to the Vision Pro. According to Mark Gurman, that may change with the visionOS 2.4 update, which sources said may arrive in April with Apple Intelligence and a new app for viewing spatial media like 3D images and panoramas. The first Apple Intelligence features to come to Vision Pro will reportedly include Writing Tools, Genmoji and Image Playground. Gurman reports that developers may get access to these features in beta “as soon as this week.” Don’t expect any major changes to Siri on Vision Pro just yet, though. According to Gurman, a “major AI overhaul” the company had been planning for the assistant has been delayed. Th...

‘TeslaTakeover’ protests are small, but numerous

Today marked a second weekend of scattered protests at Tesla showrooms, following a “TeslaTakeover” hashtag that has been trending on Twitter alternative Bluesky this week. Protestors’ messages largely focused on the divisive efforts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency since the start of Donald Trump’s Presidency. The Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Perplexity has its own ‘Deep Research’ tool now too

In a blog post on Friday, Perplexity introduced a new tool called Deep Research that it says can conduct “in-depth research and analysis” to deliver detailed reports in response to your questions, and it’s free for limited use. It comes just a couple of weeks after OpenAI announced its own Deep Research feature for ChatGPT Pro users… which itself followed Google’s December announcement of Deep Research for Gemini. Perplexity’s tool is available only on the web to start, but it will hit the iOS, Android and Mac apps soon too. Introducing Deep Research on Perplexity.Deep Research lets you generate in-depth research reports on any topic.Available to everyone for free—up to 5 queries per day for non-subscribers and 500 queries per day for Pro users. pic.twitter.com/obovx7YEUF— Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) February 14, 2025 Perplexity says its Deep Research “excels at a range of expert-level tasks — from finance and marketing to product research” and takes about 2-4 minutes to come up wi...

Death of OpenAI whistleblower deemed suicide in new autopsy report

Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI employee, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26; on Friday, the city’s medical examiner ruled his death a suicide, countering suspicions by his family that had fueled widespread speculation online. Balaji made headlines in October when he accused OpenAI of illegally using copyrighted material to train © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The best Presidents Day sales you can already shop

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Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day fall in the same week this year, meaning there are plenty of sales to take advantage of between the two of them. Thankfully, if you’re looking to get ahead, Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers are already discounting plenty of tech, including some of the items we fawn over at Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Nintendo DS Drastic emulator is gone from Google Play

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The popular Nintendo DS emulator Drastic has disappeared from the Google Play store, reports Android Authority. It’s not clear at the moment why the app is now gone, but it seems likely that it was the developer, not Nintendo, that prompted its removal. Developer Exophase made Drastic free-to-download last year and indicated that it planned Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Figure AI is in talks to raise $1.5B at 15x its last valuation

Robotics startup Figure AI is raising $1.5 billion at a $39.5 billion valuation, a whopping 15 times higher than before. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The games industry’s growth potential is shrinking | MIDiA

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The games industry's days of double-digit growth are behind it, according to MIDiA's sobering new Global Forecast report for 2025. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Top US Election Security Watchdog Forced to Stop Election Security Work

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The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has frozen efforts to aid states in securing elections, according to an internal memo viewed by WIRED. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Instagram tests a ‘dislike’ button for comments

After users noticed a new button on Instagram to downvote or dislike comments, the company confirmed that it is testing a way for users to signal that they either didn’t like the comment or don’t think it’s relevant. The feature will appear across both Feed posts and Reels. Instagram head Adam Mosseri said in a © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Open-source code repository says ‘far-right forces’ are behind massive spam attacks

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The open-source code repository Codeberg has blamed the far right for a recent campaign of abuse and harassment across its systems. “Projects advocating tolerance and equal rights” were subjected to spam campaigns using abusive messages, which escalated to spam emails sent to users via Codeberg’s own automated systems. Codeberg says it stands strong “against hate Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Guardian is the latest news organization to partner with OpenAI

The Guardian Media Group, owner of The Guardian and The Observer newspapers, is partnering with OpenAI. The deal will see reporting from The Guardian appear as a news source within ChatGPT, alongside article extracts and short summaries. In return, OpenAI will provide the Guardian Media Group with access to ChatGPT Enterprise, which the company says it will use to develop new products, features and tools.       "This new partnership with OpenAI reflects the intellectual property rights and value associated with our award-winning journalism, expanding our reach and impact to new audiences and innovative platform services," said Keith Underwood, chief financial and operating officer of the Guardian Media Group. The Guardian Media Group joins a growing list of news publishers that are now working with OpenAI after an initial period of uncertainty over the company and its business model. What started as a trickle with The Associated Press in 2023 has since become a flood, with ma...

Astro Bot wins Game of the Year | Dice Awards

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Astro Bot from Team Asobi took home five major awards at the Dice Awards, including Game of the Year. The game, which Sony said last night sold 1.5 million copies, also won awards for Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Technical Achievement, Family Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Game Design. Solo game developer LocalThunk  Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Square Enix shuts down Final Fantasy iOS game due to irreparable bug

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Developers beware of the haunting downsides of changes to a game’s in-app purchase models. It turns out they can be so catastrophic that they can take the entire game down with them. Such is the case with the iOS version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, itself a remaster of a 2003 GameCube game then ported  Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk will withdraw bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit if its board agrees to terms

In a court filing on Wednesday, a lawyer for Elon Musk said the billionaire will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit if the ChatGPT maker’s board of directors “preserve the charity’s mission” and halt its conversion to a for-profit corporation. The filing, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

CrowdStrike just killed 40 hours of SOC pain: Here’s how they did it

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CrowdStrike is launching Charlotte AI Detection Triage, saving SOC teams over 40 hours a week and delivering over 98% accuracy. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

China’s Salt Typhoon hackers continue to breach telecom firms despite US sanctions

Threat intelligence firm Recorded Future said it had observed Salt Typhoon breaching 5 telcos between December 2024 and January 2025. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Yamaha made a boat remote

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Yamaha has announced a new handheld controller that gives a captain full control of a boat from anywhere onboard. It’s compatible with Yamaha’s Helm Master EX control system, which is designed to make boating more accessible. The Helm Master EX Wireless Control — which looks like an upgraded version of the Nunchuk controller used with Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns of ‘race’ to understand AI as it becomes more powerful

Right after the end of the AI Action Summit in Paris, Anthropic’s co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei called the event a “missed opportunity.” He added that “greater focus and urgency is needed on several topics given the pace at which the technology is progressing” in the statement released on Tuesday. The AI company held a © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Titan’s implosion: the latest news on the Titanic wreckage tourist sub

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On June 18th, 2023, a small sub called the Titan was lost about an hour and forty-five minutes into its voyage carrying five people on a tourist visit to the wreckage of the Titanic. After days of searching in the North Atlantic, the Coast Guard confirmed it found debris showing the sub suffered a “catastrophic Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Dozens of CFPB Workers Fired in After-Hours Blitz

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Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division]. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

CES 2025: all the news, gadgets, and surprises

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CES 2025 was a wild ride, and The Verge was on the ground in Las Vegas to cover the biggest gadgets, press conferences, and surprises of the show. You can follow along below for all the news, impressions, and takeaways from the biggest tech event of the year. Throughout the week, we saw a lot: Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The 5 Best Travel Pillows (2025), Tested and Reviewed

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It can be hard to catch a nap while traveling, but these pillows can help. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

The Sky Glass Gen 2 offers a brighter display and better sound

Sky Glass, an all-in-one TV with a six-speaker sound bar and 4K Quantum Dot Display, came out in late 2021. Now the system is getting its successor: the Sky Glass Gen 2. One of the biggest improvements is sound quality, with a seven-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system, including a new dual sub-woofer.  The second gen Sky Glass model also has a brighter 4K Quantum Dot display, a wider viewing angle and a better contrast. It gets a newly designed stand, which just slots right into the TV without any nuts and bolts. The TV also now fits on universal wall mounts.  A lot of things do remain the same between the new and older model. The TV's core offerings remain the same, filled with Sky Originals, Sky Exclusives and access to apps like BBC iPlayer and Netflix. The new model also keeps Playlist, a feature that lets you add your favorite shows and movies to their own tab. Plus, it's still available in 43-inch, 55-inch and 65-inch models. However, the Gen 2 comes in three new colors: Vol...

YouTube AI updates to include expansion of auto dubbing, age-identifying tech and more

In his annual letter, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan dubbed AI as one of the company’s four “big bets” for 2025, pointing to the company’s investments in AI tools for creators, like those that help them come up with video ideas, thumbnails, or those that help translate their content into other languages. The latter feature will © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Sam Altman Dismisses Elon Musk’s Bid to Buy OpenAI in Letter to Staff

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OpenAI’s CEO claims the company has yet to receive an official offer from Elon Musk’s team, sources say. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

AI investments surged 62% to $110B in 2024 while startup funding declined 12%, says Dealroom

Venture capitalists are gobbling up term sheets for startups peddling artificial intelligence, but they’re remaining picky when it comes to funding the wider spectrum of technology.  According to new figures from analytics firm Dealroom, AI startups raised $110 billion last year, 62% more than the year before. At the same time, privately-backed companies (startups and © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Two senior partners are leaving Peak XV amid strategy shift

Two senior partners are leaving Peak XV, the largest India-focused venture capital firm, four sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.  Shailesh Lakhani, a 17-year veteran of the firm, and Abheek Anand, who co-led Southeast Asian investments, are departing, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The exits follow Peak © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

These are the investors funding Musk’s $97 billion OpenAI take over attempt

As if Elon Musk doesn’t have enough going on, a consortium of investors led by him announced plans Monday for what appears to be a hostile takeover of OpenAI. The investor group offered nearly $97.4 billion to buy all of OpenAI’s assets and is “prepared to consider matching or exceeding higher bids,” it said in © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk’s rapid unscheduled disassembly of the US government

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Almost 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, America has gotten herself a new king. His name is Elon Musk. “Wait a minute,” you may be saying. “What about President Donald Trump?” Trump ran, much like Silvio Berlusconi before him, primarily to avoid prosecutions. He has never liked being president and he has already gotten Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Who’s using AI the most? The Anthropic Economic Index breaks down the data

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New Anthropic study uncovers AI's true impact on modern workforce: 57% augmentation vs 43% automation across industries, based on analysis of 4 million Claude interactions. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Perplexity’s Super Bowl ‘tweet’ increased app installs by 50%

Perplexity’s Super Bowl contest managed to move the needle on its app’s downloads. Unlike OpenAI and Google, the AI search engine chose to forgo an expensive Super Bowl ad in favor of a tweet — sorry, an X post — encouraging users to download its app and enter a contest that could result in a © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Elon Musk wants to buy OpenAI for $97.4 billion

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Elon Musk has launched a $97.4 billion bid to take control of OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal reports a group of investors led by Musk's xAI submitted an unsolicited offer to the company's board of directors on Monday. The group wants to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI's for-profit arm.  When asked for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson pointed Engadget to an X post from CEO Sam Altman. "No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want," Altman wrote on the social media platform Musk owns.   no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want— Sam Altman (@sama) February 10, 2025 "It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Musk said in a statement his attorney shared with The Journal. "We will make sure that happens." OpenAI It's hard to say how serious this bid from Musk is and what — if any — chance it has to succeed. OpenAI is not a traditional c...

OnePlus Watch 3 arrives next week with five days of battery

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OnePlus has announced that the Watch 3 will launch in the US and Europe on February 18th. It features even better battery life than the OnePlus Watch 2, running for up to five days without needing a charge. It also introduces a new digital crown, which unlike the last one can rotate to navigate Wear Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .

Inside OpenAI’s $14 million Super Bowl debut

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OpenAI just made its Super Bowl debut with a 60-second spot that positions AI alongside humanity’s greatest innovations. The commercial traces humanity’s technological evolution through a distinctive pointillism-inspired animation style, transforming abstract dots into iconic images of progress – from early tools like fire and the wheel to modern breakthroughs like DNA sequencing and space Posted from: this blog via Microsoft Flow .