Wednesday, November 9, 2022

What Is Mastodon? The Twitter Alternative for People Flying the Coop - CNET

As Twitter transitions to Elon Musk's ownership, some users are flocking to an open-source social media option.

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Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly worried about cyberattacks and would love to increase the budgets set aside for protecting their endpoints

However, they worry that due to economic uncertainty and inflation, they will have to change their plans and leave their virtual premises vulnerable to malware, hackers and criminals, a new report from OpenText has found.

It found the majority of SMBs (67%) have a cybersecurity budget of less than $50,000 a year. While more than half (59%) plan on upping the ante next year, 57% fear inflation will force them to change their plans and actually cut their cybersecurity budgets.

Growing fears

Things are difficult as they are, the report further suggests. Two-thirds (68%) have fewer than five people in their security team, supported by external security teams (in 58% of cases). Most SMBs (65%) that don’t use a managed service provider (MSP) for cybersecurity are considering their options for next year, too.

Cybercriminals won’t be cutting SMBs any slack, either. The number of successful attacks, resulting in painful additional costs for the victims, is growing by the minute. Almost half (46%) of OpenText’s respondents experienced a ransomware attack in the last year, with 66% not being confident in their ability to defend against such attacks in the first place. 

All of this has made most firms (88%) super worried about a possible cybercrime incident. As a matter of fact, 52% feel more at risk of a cyberattack today, due to everything that’s going on in the world, with both the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, to name a few.

To defend against cyberattacks, SMBs are advised to educate their employees on the dangers of phishing, business email compromise, and other forms of social engineering, as that’s where the majority of incidents start.



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Google’s redesign of Gmail, which became available for testing earlier in 2022, will now become the default for users everywhere.

The company has announced that the visual update to its email service “is becoming the standard experience” starting in November after several months of opening up opt-in.

Google says that there will be “no option” to revert back to the classic view, with users now having to make do with the refreshed UI that features Chat, Spaces, and Meet integration, alongside a more general visual overhaul.

Gmail 2022 update

With so many companies turning to Google Workspace to provide their productivity tools, the plethora of communications channels can be somewhat overwhelming.

 With this update, the company hopes to make it easier for its users to flick between sending emails and more personal messages through its Chat and Spaces, as well as joining Meet video conferencing calls.

For many, this update may be neither here nor there, as users will still be able to navigate to the separate Chat and Meet web pages for more detailed views of the respective services, however this deeper integration could be a sign of things to come, and potentially a single and more rounded platform for all communications channels. 

For now, and just like on previous versions of the Gmail web app, the right sidebar still has shortcuts to other Google services like Calendar, Tasks, and Keep.

Rapid Release domains have already started to see the effects, while Scheduled Release domains will have to wait a further two weeks.

Other recent Gmail updates have placed a heavy emphasis on curating better search results, with machine learning helping to surface more relevant information and contacts.



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Anycubic's Black Friday Deals Make It a Perfect Time to Stock Up on 3D Printing Materials - CNET

These mystery bundles are a fantastic savings on both filament and resin.

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Intel has launched the NUC 13 Extreme - codenamed the ‘Raptor Canyon’ - which is their most powerful mini PC to date. The new Raptor Canyon PC will offer 13th-gen Core CPUs and space for up to 12-inch triple-slot graphics cards. The mini-kit is aimed at enthusiast gamers and content creators looking to declutter their desks. 

The chassis for the Raptor Canyon has been redesigned to reduce noise and optimize airflow while keeping the NUC series’ signature compact size. We're sad to see the iconic RGB skull frontplate leave this new tower PC, even if a smaller skull design can now be found on the inside.  

The new gaming NUC features unlocked 13th-gen i9, i7, or i5 processors which employ new hybrid core architecture to try to get streaming and gaming to perform at the highest possible levels. The highest-spec model packs the awesomely fast Intel Core i9-13900K.

The Intel NUC 13 Extreme will be launched in China first, with availability to wider audiences in early 2023. Prices for the kit will start at $760 (around £667 or AU$1,180) for the entry-level i5 model and goes up to $1,179 (about £1,030 or AU$1,830) depending on the configuration you’re after.

Analysis: NUCs are a great doorway into PC-building for beginners

The Intel NUCs are all about giving people who may not be confident in building their own gaming PC a smaller and less complex canvas. This is why they’re so cool. They’re a great option for people like us who don’t have a lot of desk space and don’t need something especially pricey.

Since the Intel NUC 13 Extreme has support for triple-slot 12-inch graphics cards, you can purchase a new GPU or slot in an older card and upgrade it when you have the cash. Don't expect to fit any beefy RTX 3090 Ti or 4090 models inside, though. You'll also need an SSD and some RAM, but mercifully those aren't so expensive.

The hybrid core architecture we mentioned above is a nifty bit of tech that is new to the 13th-gen processors that split cores into two halves: performance cores and efficient cores. The P-cores are there to handle the heavy workload, the main thing that you’re running on your PC - like a game or a resource-intensive program. Meanwhile, the E-cores are optimized to handle background processes.

So, say you’ve got a game up and running on one monitor but a music player or Discord chat open on another, your processor is not trying to single-handedly focus and control both workloads. This is a boon for streamers in particular, since the E-cores can keep your streaming software running smoothly in the background while the P-cores give you optimal gaming performance.



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Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Please Let Me Talk to a Person: Automated Phone Menus Are the Worst - CNET

Commentary: Four reasons automated phone menus are their own brand of hell, and five ways they can be improved.

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Medicare Price Changes for 2023: Part B Premiums Will Be Cheaper - CNET

The cost of Medicare premiums is changing next year. We'll explain how much.

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Election Day 2022: These 5 States Are Voting on Abortion Rights - CNET

The 2022 midterms include the highest number of abortion-related referendums in history.

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Apple appears to have started tracking user activities while in the App Store, making some suspect the company significantly deviated from its “privacy is a human right” ideals. 

Two researchers going by the alias Mysk discovered iOS was sending Apple a detailed log of how users interact with the App Store, including where they tap while interacting with the store. The information is being delivered to the company in real-time via a JSON file, it was said.

This newly discovered tracking feature could be connected to Apple recently introducing new ad placements to the mobile app repository, some believe, with others suggesting that Apple has been tracking user behavior this way since the release of iOS 14.6 back in May 2021. 

New ad placements

Apple has not commented on the matter just yet, but some researchers have noted that these findings seem to be linked with new ad positions being introduced to the App Store.

In late October 2022, the company emailed iOS developers of new app-related ads being rolled out in the marketplace's main Today tab, as well as in the “You Might Also Like” section at the bottom of individual app listings. 

9to5Mac also reminds that developers now have access to some statistics about how their ads are performing, which this data being sent even when the Personalizerd Ads option is turned off.

Apple’s had a relatively rough start with its new ad placements, with recent reports claiming unethical or irrelevant content (for example gambling, or dating apps) was making its way to these new placement, sparking outrage among the wider community. 

Apple responded by temporarily suspending ads for these types of ads, but whether or not that changes in the future is anyone’s guess. If media reports are anything to go by, Apple will introduce even more ads in the future. 

TechRadar Pro has contacted Apple for comment.

Via: 9to5Mac



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Which Apps Are Draining Your Mac's Battery the Most? Here's How to Find Out - CNET

It only takes a click to check.

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Zoom and AMC have linked up for a partnership that will turn movie theater locations throughout the United States into video conferencing venues.

Users will be able to book their preferred theater online, and will then receive a three-hour block of time to virtually host their event as a Zoom Rooms across selected theaters across the country.

AMC and Zoom will provide the necessary equipment for the entire Zoom Rooms experience, as well as providing the option of snacks and beverage offerings, movie viewings, and concierge-style personalized handling of the meetings. 

Zoom cinemas

The collaboration is set to launch in 17 major US markets some time in 2023, and typical auditorium sizes are expected to range between 75 and 150 seats, depending upon the theater.

These innovative attempts to drum up new revenue shouldn’t really come as that much of a surprise, both companies' fortunes have been uneven as of late.

Wall Street analysts have predicted a loss per share of 25 cents for AMC's upcoming Q3 financial results, with factors such as high sanitation costs eating into its earnings, though these have recovered substantially since the pandemic devastated the cinema industry.

Zoom's valuation has also seen better days, its stock price is more than 80% down from its October 2020 peak.

“Now through this partnership of Zoom and AMC, we have the best of both worlds — the spectacular communications platform of Zoom combined with the comfort, size, scale, and state-of-the-art sight and sound capabilities of AMC’s centrally located theatres,” said Adam Aron, Chairman and CEO of AMC Theatres.

”This creates an all-new product in major cities across the U.S. for companies and meeting planners.”



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Monday, November 7, 2022

Gears of War Film, Animated Series in the Works at Netflix - CNET

Will Marcus Fenix finally get his screen debut?

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Ahead of the official PC Gaming Show 2023, Future and Intel announced a preview event called the PC Gaming Show: 2023 Preview which will happen later this November.

The PC Gaming Show: 2023 Preview event is the second time the larger show got a preview, and the new preview will happen on Thursday, November 17 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET / 6PM BT through Twitch, YouTube, and Steam. It will also air a mix of both trailers and gameplay from upcoming global titles currently in development.

Some of the games set to be announced during the event include Kerbal Space Program 2, a new game from League of Geeks (the creators of Armello and the recently announced reboot of Solium Infernum), Shadows of Doubt, and The Great War: Western Front. There will also be a ‘The Top 5 Most-Wanted Games of 2023,’ which will be selected by PC Gamer.

The preview event will be hosted by Frankie Ward, who’s been with PC Gaming Show since 2018. Along with Intel, the show is also supported by Starry Studio, Team Miaozi, Plaion, Ravenage, Fireshine Games, Frontier, SEGA, tinyBuild, Fatshark, Hashbane, Wired Productions, Top Hat Studios, and Avalanche Studios Group.



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I Bonds: How to Buy the Best Low-Risk Investment Right Now - CNET

The new rate for Series I savings bonds still beats other comparable investments.

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There have already been tons of rumors and conjectures surrounding the existence of an Nvidia RTX 4090 Ti in development. But now it seems the tech grapevine might have some new intel on the supposed GPU, as well as the RTX 4080 16GB version.

According to new leaks that were reported on by Neowin, we may have some early benchmark scores for the RTX 4090 Ti. In the Blender 3.3 test, there’s a mysterious ‘Nvidia Graphics Device’ listed alongside the 4080 and other GPUs. The unnamed card scored 12,906.07 points, which puts it 6.6% higher than even the RTX 4090 and lends to the rumor that this could be the 4090 Ti. Meanwhile, the 4080 scored 9,478.64 points, which is about 22.5% lower than the 4090’s score of 12,107.64.

For the Geekbench 5 benchmark, there were leaked scores for the 4080 OpenCL, CUDA, and Vulkan tests for the RTX 4080. The GPU scored 258,372, 300,728, and 148,838, respectively. Compared to the scores for the 3080, which was also tested, the score increases are quite high. 

Finally, there’s the 3DMark Time Spy benchmark, in which the 4080 scored 28,599 points for the 1440p test and 14,178 points for the 4K test. These are significant gains compared to the RTX 3080, the AMD RX 6950 XT, and the AMD RX 6900 XT.

Putting these benchmark scores into perspective 

The RTX 4090 Ti’s supposed existence is rather interesting since rumors seem to swing wildly between the Nvidia RTX 4090 Ti reportedly being canned due to sky-high power consumption and it being almost definitely a thing that’s releasing eventually. In fact, the source of the former rumor, Moore’s Law is Dead, explained that the 4090 Ti could actually be a new RTX Titan Ada. Titans are massively expensive graphics cards that are aimed more at creative professionals.

But judging from this most recent leaked benchmark, it seems like the performance matches better to it being a 4090 Ti rather than a super professional GPU.

Meanwhile, the leaked benchmarks for the RTX 4080 16GB are quite impressive, showing off significant gains over older GPU models from both Nvidia and AMD. This is a major improvement over the former RTX 4080 12GB version, which had to be officially ‘uncancelled’ by Nvidia due to its lackluster specs.

So far it seems that these upcoming next-gen cards might actually be a huge leap from their predecessors, though the prices are still a little too steep for them to be affordable to all but the most hardcore of gamers.



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The all-new Google Fitbit Air is now available to preorder, so you can find incredible deals on top-rated Fitb...