Monday, November 15, 2021

2022 Mazda CX-50 debuts with rugged looks, off-road focused performance - Roadshow

The new CX-50 takes Mazda's family of SUVs in a completely different direction and off the beaten path.

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IRS child tax credit payment problems? Here's what you can do - CNET

With only one monthly check remaining now, what should you do if you haven't received any payments? We'll explain.

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First job out of college? Here are 5 smart financial moves - CNET

Some simple steps to set you on the right track.

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These US states are the most vulnerable to climate change - CNET

Climate change causes devastating effects on public health and personal property. These states have some of the highest risks.

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Interest rates bottomed out once COVID hit, but most homeowners still haven't refinanced - CNET

A Bankrate survey shows that millions of homeowners haven't taken advantage of historically low rates.

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Latest Tech News

The US and Israel have established a new bilateral partnership that will see both countries work together to combat ransomware and other pressing cyber threats.

This new partnership builds on the longstanding relationship between the US Treasury Department and the Israeli Ministry of Finance. In addition to working together to disrupt ransomware operations, the two countries will create a joint task force to address cybersecurity.

In a press release announcing the new partnership, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo explained how the US and Israel will work together to safeguard the global economy from ransomware and cyberattacks, saying:

“Harnessing both the power of international cooperation and of technology innovation will position us to support economic competitiveness, prosperity, and to combat global threats including ransomware. As the global economy recovers and ransomware and other illicit finance threats present a grave challenge to Israel and the United States, increased information exchanges, joint work, and collaboration on policy, regulation, and enforcement are critical to our economic and national security objectives.”

Joint task force

As its first order of business, the new task force will begin working to develop a Memorandum of Understanding which will cover sharing information related to the financial sector, staff training and study visits to promote cooperation and competency-building activities such as cross-border cybersecurity exercises.

However, the task force will also launch a series of expert technical exchanges on policy, regulation and outreach to support innovation in the fintech sector which both the US and Israel have agreed to encourage. The two countries want to help the fintech sector develop robust cybersecurity protections that can advance compliance on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing and countering the financing of proliferation.

As part of the new partnership, the US Treasury also plans to participate in the CyberTech Global Tel Aviv conference which will be held in Israel in January of next year.

Countering ransomware and other cyber threats has been a top priority for the Biden administration and this new partnership with Israel will help advance this goal further.

Looking to further protect yourself online? Check out our roundups of the best endpoint protection softwarebest identity theft protection and best malware removal software

Via Reuters



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Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: How to get a free Manaphy - CNET

Buy the upcoming Pokemon remakes before Feb. 21 and you can receive a free Manaphy egg as an early purchase bonus.

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Best tower fan of 2021 - CNET

Tower fans are the unsung heroes of hot, stuffy homes everywhere, so we tested several models to find our favorites. Here's what we recommend.

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Best TV deals for Black Friday 2021: $150 off TCL Roku TVs, upcoming 65-inch TV for $300 and more - CNET

The biggest shopping day of the year is coming up fast, and some of our favorite TVs are on sale now.

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How to rewatch Adele's two-hour concert special and Oprah interview - CNET

On Adele: One Night Only, the singer performs her biggest hits, plus four songs from her upcoming album. And it's not too late to tune in.

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Pokemon Go November 2021 events: Raids, Spotlight Pokemon and more - CNET

A lot is happening in Pokemon Go in November 2021. Here are the biggest events.

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Latest Tech News

The world's oldest and most popular cryptocurrency has received its first update in several years and with its new Taproot code upgrade, Bitcoin will now offer improved security and privacy.

Bitcoin's Taproot went into effect over the weekend when the cryptocurrency reached block 709,632 and this is its first major upgrade since 2017.

By introducing a new type of signature called Schnorr signatures, Taproot will help Bitcoin transactions become more private, efficient and cost less. At the same time though, this new upgrade will make it easier for smart contracts to be executed on the blockchain using Bitcoin.

Rival cryptocurrency Ethereum has gained notoriety in recent years in part due to the fact that it is easier to create smart contracts using its blockchain. While Ethereum will likely still be the go to cryptocurrency for smart contracts, Bitcoin's Taproot upgrade will help narrow the gap between the two when it comes to creating smart contracts.

Taproot upgrade

According to a new report from CNBC, the Taproot upgrade is a collection of three separate upgrade proposals for Bitcoin.

In addition to helping facilitate smart contracts over Bitcoin's blockchain, the new upgrade will increase privacy for certain transactions because Schnorr signatures will allow for multi-signature transactions. These transactions, which involve multiple addresses, will now appear as a standard, single transaction giving those involved greater anonymity and privacy.

Scnorr signatures will also reduce the amount of data needed for multi-signature transactions despite the fact that they are more complicated to process when compared to standard transactions. Not only will this make transactions cheaper but as less data is involved, transactions will become more efficient in terms of how much energy and time is used to complete them.

Now that Bitcoin has undergone its Taproot upgrade, the cryptocurrency will likely see a new wave of innovation since it can be used as an alternative to Ethereum when putting together smart contracts.

We've also featured the best bitcoin wallets

Via CNBC



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Latest Tech News

Halo Infinite's multiplayer Season 1 is now available. Tom French, Multiplayer Associate Creative Director for Halo Infinite, made the announcement during the Xbox 20th Anniversary Livestream on November 15.

"On behalf of the entire Halo team," French said, "it's my honor and privilege to announce that your Spartan journey begins today. Right now you can download and start playing Season One of Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer beta on Xbox One, Series S, [Series] X, and PC.

"This is the kick off of our season and you'll have access to all the maps, core modes, academy features, and the full Battle Pass to unlock, and your progression will carry over when we officially release the game on December 8."

Described by its developer 343 Industries as a spiritual reboot of the series, Halo Infinite's campaign mode will continue the ongoing story of the franchise and Xbox Series X players will enjoy "up to 4k resolution at 60fps in the campaign and greatly reduced load times creating seamless gameplay that ushers in the next generation of gaming".

The multiplayer mode saw a couple of initial beta previews earlier this year, with the most recent being just last month. The multiplayer mode will also see the return of split-screen co-op, which was cut from Halo 5 in favor of an online only multiplayer mode – a creative decision that caused considerable controversy among the Halo fanbase.

Bonnie Ross, head of 343 Industries said in 2017 that the removal of split-screen co-op from Halo 5 was "painful" and that "it erodes trust with the community. [We’ve had a] lot of learnings from that, and I would say for any FPS going out forward we will always have split-screen going forward."

This story is developing...



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Latest Tech News

One of the big drawbacks of electric cars is the time they take to top-up, but a joint project between Purdue University and Ford Motor Company has made a breakthrough to address this.

Major corporations have long partnered with the brightest minds in academia to solve complex business problems that have widespread benefits beyond the boardroom. 

Purdue University and Ford Motor Company have teamed up to solve a problem that could make electric vehicle ownership much easier. 

Purdue's engineer's working on the Ford-funded project have devised a prototype charging cable that can recharge an EV battery in five minutes.

The promise of Purdue's technology is that it can deliver charging times that are far closer to the traditional experience of stopping at a gas station to refill a fuel tank.

Today’s charging times range wildly because of a few factors, mainly relating to the charging cable and the car battery's power input rating. Current cooling systems just aren't up to the task.

Even on superfast chargers, EV owners a generally looking at over 30 minutes to fully replenish their battery.

The new cable can handle a current that is 4.6 times that of the most powerful EV chargers today. It's able to deliver that current because of its ability to remove up to 24.22 kilowatts of heat.


Analysis: a major step, but still a way to go

It's worth noting that the updated charging cable is a major step forward down the path toward faster charging, but it's far from the only step. 

The prototype charging cable hasn't been tested on an EV yet, because there aren't any electric vehicle batteries around capable of the input speeds required. 

Purdue says that even with the cable, real-world charging times will depend heavily on the power output ratings of the power supply and charging cable, along with the power input rating of the battery. All three must be rated to 2,500 amperes.

A series of advancements have been made in the EV battery space that focus on safety, efficiency, and charging speeds. 

The fastest charging batteries promise 100 miles of charge in five minutes, but they are still years away from any commercial applications.

Via Purdue



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Sunday, November 14, 2021

All the new Marvel shows coming to Disney Plus: Agatha Harkness, X-Men and more - CNET

Plus, get a first look at Moon Knight, She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel on Disney Plus right now.

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Made by Google Event Invites Show an Aug. 12 Launch for the Pixel 11 Series

Google's next Pixel phones and watch are right around the corner. from CNET https://ift.tt/zSx8gHG