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Like so many companies operating in the AI space, Literal Labs wants to revolutionize artificial intelligence, but it may stand a better chance than most.

The startup is working on a piece of technology known as the Tsetlin machine which it claims offers an AI approach that is up to 10,000 times more energy-efficient and up to 1,000 times faster than traditional GPU training.

Named after Soviet mathematician Michael Lvovitch Tsetlin, the Tsetlin machine is a pattern learning automaton based on propositional logic. This means it can perform tasks such as classification, regression, and convolution, and produce interpretable and explainable results. Unlike neural networks, a Tsetlin Machine has lower computational complexity, uses fewer resources, and does not suffer from local optima or vanishing gradients.

Recruitments from Arm

Literal Labs, previously known as Mignon Technologies Ltd., was founded by Professor Alex Yakovlev and Rishad Shafik, both from the University of Newcastle. The company's technology focuses on developing and training Tsetlin machine models specific to customer datasets, resulting in an optimized machine model that can be deployed onto target hardware. The output is a Tsetlin machine model that can run on industry-standard hardware or can be accelerated using Literal Labs processors. 

EE News Europe reports that the company recently recruited two industry veterans, Noel Hurley, former vice president at processor IP licensor Arm, and Jem Davies, who led the graphics and AI business groups at Arm. Hurley has joined Literal Labs as its CEO, while Davies has taken a position as a non-executive director. 

While Literal Labs' business model has not been disclosed yet, it could potentially license software and hardware IP, similar to Arm, or sell its own chiplets or packaged ICs as a fabless chip company. Regardless, the success of the startup will hinge on proving the claimed efficiency of Tsetlin machines in performing various tasks. 

With the recruitment of Hurley and Davies, Literal Labs seems to be moving closer to commercial conversations, indicating a potentially bright future for the Tseltin machine.

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Layla Hybrid Mattress Review: A Supportive Bed With a Flippable Design - CNET

Editor's Choice: Boasting two firmness levels, this the Layla Hybrid mattress offers comfort and versatility. But is it worth the money? Here's our verdict.

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You couldn’t swing a virtual cat without hitting an MWC 2024 exhibitor going on about generative AI; from Samsung and Google touting AI-powered photo editing and searching, to Qualcomm wanting to put AI in cars and Humane making AI wearable. 

Sure, a lot of the tech on display was cool, but I don’t think the real game-changing potential of generative AI is in the obvious things. A skilled photographer and editor will almost certainly want to do their own edits – or simply nail a shot in the first place – rather than rely on AI manipulation. And writers like myself would rather tap out an article than try and make sense of something written by ChatGPT.

Instead, from the various talks and roundtables I participated in at MWC, I reckon AI will be at its most useful when it’s helping people with things they can’t easily do, learn or even find out about. 

An easy example of this is how Qualcomm continues to push AI use in its modem chips, with the latest Snapdragon X80 leaning on a dedicated AI tensor accelerator to boost connectivity speeds, optimize power use, and generally improve latency and coverage. Hardly the sexiest of tech products, but in consumer terms, that means more effective Wi-Fi and mobile internet connectivity with reduced power consumption in smartphones and other 5G-enabled devices; given Qualcomm supplies modem chips for all the big phone brands, you can expect the Snapdragon X80 to pop up in future Galaxy S-series phones and the iPhone 16. 

(Image credit: Future)

Equally, the Snapdragon X80 can be used in so-called Internet of Things (IoT) devices and applications, which could improve the performance of smart sensors and networks in smart cities. You may not see or notice this going on but it could mean things like smart traffic monitoring feeding back into apps like Google Maps. Or simply speedy and reliable mmWave 5G connectivity; basically things that all ease one’s daily life while functioning in the background. 

Live translation, already a generative AI feature on the Google Pixel 8 series and Samsung Galaxy S24 family, is an obvious example of AI being used to help us deal with things we don’t know, though I’ve yet to try it out.

Then there’s the use of generative AI in cars, which is particularly interesting as it would allow people to talk to their cars. Qualcomm showed off its Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform where people can pose questions to a car-based Generative AI ranging from where to eat nearby to what a specific warning light on the dashboard means. 

(Image credit: Qualcomm)

Getting recommendations is nothing special given Google Maps already does that and it’s built into Android Auto. But getting information on what might be wrong with your car without the driver needing to search a manual or go to a garage might just be a fantastic next step for car tech. Furthermore, generative AI could supercharge voice commands and make it a lot easier for drivers to activate various settings and options without taking their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. 

Generative AI in robots also caught my eye, with the almost-uncanny Ameca robot popping up at MWC to delight attendees who threw all manner of questions at the humanoid bot. 

Here, AI isn't necessarily being used to help with one specific thing, but rather power a smart machine that could be useful with all manner of tasks. I could see Ameca being used to provide a 24-hour concierge service at hotels and airports – not to replace humans but to fill the gaps between shift changes and during quiet times. 

Or perhaps a next-generation Ameca could be used as a companion for people who are in social care or need care but still want their independence. At a time when there’s a shortage of social care workers (in the UK at least), an AI-powered robot could at least aid with a shortfall of staff. 

I have no doubt we’ll keep hearing about AI in consumer tech, and I’d bet a healthy sum that a next-generation iPhone will have some generative AI tools. But I’m keen to see how generative AI can quietly improve life with better efficiency of services, easier ways of surfacing difficult information, and helping people out, rather than simply whipping up photos of dogs on the moon or producing overly pristine images. 

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Researchers are still exploring the relationship between our health and our gut microbiome, but that doesn't mean you have to wait to start healing your gut.

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Spotify has launched a new standalone subscription service in the US for people who just want to listen to audiobooks, the aptly named Audiobooks Access Tier.

For $9.99 a month, you’ll be given 15 hours of listening time for a catalog of over 200,000 Spotify audiobooks. These include notable series like A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin to standalone titles like The Khan by Saima Mir. Music and podcasts can still be listened to, according to the announcement. They will, however, retain commercial interruptions. Those ads aren’t going away. To get rid of them, you will need to purchase a separate Spotify Premium plan for $11 a month.  

Paying for a subscription

What’s interesting about the tier is it doesn’t appear you can sign up on the Spotify app on mobile or desktop. We checked both and it wasn’t in either one. Instead, you’ll have to go to a separate audiobook page on the company website. If you scroll down to about the midway point, you’ll find the subscription button. There isn’t a free trial period, by the way. Once you buy the plan, you’re in it until you cancel.

It’s a bit strange not having a more direct way to subscribe on the app, although Spotify says it’s for a good reason. A company representative told us doing it this way allows them to avoid passing App Store fees down to users. If you’re not aware, Spotify dropped support for App Store subscriptions back in 2016. They even booted legacy subscribers last year. 

It seems that had the platform allowed iOS users to buy directly on the app, they would’ve had to force people to pay for the Apple tax. And to make it fair for everybody, Android owners have to go through the same process – at least, that’s how we understand it. In our opinion, their explanation leaves a lot of important details out.

Missing details

As you can guess, we have several questions like will there be a way to increase listening hours? 15 hours may be okay for the casual listener, but that may be too short for the power user. The Premium plan does offer a way to add an extra 10 hours of listening time for $9.99, however this isn’t available on Audiobooks Access Tier. 

Of course, the elephant in the room here is we still don’t have Spotify Supremium which is supposed to deliver lossless audio streaming. There were some rumors hinting at an imminent launch back in September 2023, but it’s March 2024 now and people are still waiting.

So we reached out to the platform asking for more details as well as if they have plans on rolling out Audiobooks Access Tier to other countries. This story will be updated at a later time.

You can't listen to audiobooks without a good pair of headphones. For recommendations, check out TechRadar's list of the best headphones for 2024.

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Hackers are using complex social engineering campaigns and calendar invites to distribute Mac malware.

The hackers are abusing calendar scheduling tool Calendly to distribute meeting invites as part of their attempts to fool the best Mac antivirus.

The narrative behind this campaign is far more complex than the usual email spam you might be used to, so here is how they did it, and how to keep yourself safe if you get targeted.

Shady investments

Disclosed by a reader of Krebs On Security, the campaign saw hackers go after cryptocurrency by posing as investors looking for their next startup to provide with funding. In this case, the victim was originally contacted via Telegram looking for an investment opportunity.

The scammer wanted to organize a meeting to discuss the potential investment options, and so the victims sent over their Calendly details in order to organize a video call. The fateful day approached, but nothing happened when the victim attempted to open the meeting link. Low and behold, the scammers’ ‘IT team’ fixed the issue by sending out a new meeting link.

Alas, the second link opened up a technical error message instead of the meeting, with a message displaying that there was an error with the video service. Luckily the message had a handy little script that could fix the issue and allow the victim to finally get some facetime with the potential investors.

Rather than being graced with the face of the generous benefactor, the script installed a trojan with the ability to steal sensitive information from the victims Mac device. The victim, realizing the error of their ways, then changed their passwords and installed a fresh version of macOS. 

While this was a good choice on the victims part, it unfortunately means that there is no evidence to suggest exactly what strain of malware was used.

In order to keep your device safe, always have a healthy amount of suspicion when receiving and clicking on any links sent from a stranger, and be sure to keep your device up to date with the latest updates, or take a look at some of the best firewalls to keep your device secure.

Via TomsGuide

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The Oscar-nominated movie Poor Things is coming to Hulu in the US on March 7. This means you'll have just enough time to watch it before the Oscars air on March 10. If you're elsewhere in the world, you can already rent or purchase Poor Things via Amazon's Prime Video or Apple TV Plus. It'll also be landing on Disney Plus in other regions, but there's no official confirmation about when that will be.

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite), Poor Things is based on a  1992 novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray. It follows the story of Bella Baxter (played by Emma Stone), a woman who lives in Victorian London who is given a brain transplant by scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) and later begins a journey of self-discovery with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) to assert her independence.

The film has been nominated in 11 categories at the 96th Academy Awards, including best picture, lead actress and director. It already won the Golden Globe for best motion picture – musical or comedy back in January, when Emma Stone also bagged a trophy for best actress in a musical or comedy.

Where can you watch the rest of the Oscar nominees?

If you want to catch up with the rest of the Oscar Best Picture nominees before March 10 rolls around, here are the best streaming services where you can find a few of our favorites right now.

American Fiction is one of our top picks in this year's line-up of Best Picture nominees. It follows the story of a frustrated writer and professor who writes a harsh satire of stereotypically "Black" fiction. However, the stereotypes he creates end up being taken seriously and highly praised. You can currently buy American Fiction on Prime Video and Apple TV Plus in the US and stream it on Prime Video in Australia. Sorry UK viewers, you can't get your hands on it yet.

Barbie is currently streaming on Max in the US and you can rent or buy it elsewhere on Prime Video. Although the Golden Globes snubbed Greta Gerwig's Barbie, it was an incredibly fun movie that sneaked in some smart, barbed observations about our patriarchal culture amongst its entertaining adventure.

You'll find Killers of the Flower Moon on Apple TV Plus. This epic tale from Martin Scorsese follows the story of the brutal murders of Osage Nation members and the subsequent cover-up in a dark and violent movie that's western-meets-crime drama.

For the rest, take a look at our guide: where to watch the Oscar Best Picture nominees.

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In an effort to meet the ever-growing data demands, a team of Chinese photonic engineers has developed a high-capacity optical disc capable of holding up to 200TB of data. The team's groundbreaking work, published in Nature, has the potential to revolutionize storage technologies, particularly in data centers where space is at a premium.

Traditional DVDs, used for storing movies and data, have a capacity of 4.5GB - enough to store approximately two hours of video. Data is written onto the disc's surface using a laser to etch a series of ones and zeros. However, Tech Xplore reports that this new technology developed by the Chinese team takes an entirely different approach.

The engineers claim to have found a way to store data in three dimensions, as opposed to a single layer, enabling them to create an optical disc with up to 100 layers.

Challenges ahead

This new breakthrough was achieved by developing a special coating and using unique patterns of light and a dye in the coating that allowed for etching at the nanoparticle scale. This process has enabled the team to store data at an unprecedented level.

However, the team acknowledges that there are still challenges to overcome before these “super DVDs” can be commercialized. The current process of writing data to the disc is slow and energy-intensive, issues the team believes can be rectified. Furthermore, the cost of manufacturing such DVDs and the potential retail price for consumers remains unclear.

Despite these obstacles, the Chinese research team remains optimistic. They believe they are on the right path to selling DVDs capable of storing massive amounts of data, not only to consumers but also to data storage facilities, businesses, and media companies.

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---

• iOS 18 tipped to be compatible with the same models as iOS 17
• That would mean support for iPhones from the XR onwards
• Major software update expected to be announced in June

---

With iOS 18 expected to be one of the biggest updates in iPhone history, the obvious follow-up question is – which models will support it? Well, we now have a good idea thanks to a new rumor from a credible source.

A now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) from MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris says that iOS 18 will be compatible with models from the iPhone XR onwards. The XR was released in 2018 and has an A12 bionic chip, which means the rumor suggests that the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max will also be compatible.

If true, that means the iOS 18 compatibility list would match the one for last year's iOS 17 update. And that'd be good news, as Apple usually drops support for older devices with each new iteration of iOS. For example, iOS 17 dropped support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X.

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18: rumored compatibility

(Image credit: Apple)

iOS 18
iPhone XR, XS and XS Max or later

iPadOS 18
iPad Pro (2018 or later)
iPad Air (2019 or later)
iPad mini (2019 or later)
iPad (2020 or later)

The three latter phones all ran on the A11 Bionic chip, but it seems that the A12 has a longer shelf life for software updates. If the rumor is correct, then Apple will have given the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max six years of software updates (and counting).

However, the news could be less positive for owners of older iPads. According to the same MacRumors source, iPadOS 18 could drop support for iPads running on the A10X and A10 Fusion chips. 

If so, these incompatible models would include the iPad Pros launched in 2017 (including the iPad Pro 10.5 2017 and iPad Pro 12.9 2017), plus the standard iPad 9.7 (2018) and iPad 10.2 (2019). iPadOS 18 is likely to arrive at WWDC 2024, which typically runs every June – although we're yet to get a confirmed date for the event.

Which phones will get AI features?

(Image credit: Apple)

While it's good news that iOS 18 potentially won't see Apple drop software support for older models, that doesn't mean the iPhone XR will get exactly the same experience as the iPhone 15.

As we've seen before, older iPhones can hit a performance ceiling when running the latest versions of iOS, even if they technically support all of the latest features. And given that some of the biggest iOS 18 changes are expected to be AI-powered, some new tricks may still be restricted to more recent models (in reality).

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple's senior management has called its next operating system "ambitious and compelling" with some "major new features and designs".

What kind of features? Reliable leaker Revegnus has suggested that Apple is using a proprietary LLM (large language model) to “completely revamp Siri into the ultimate virtual assistant", while Messages, Apple Music and Pages are also expected to get major AI upgrades.

The question is how many of these new features will run on-device or via the cloud. Given Apple's privacy-focused stance, it seems likely that it'll err towards the former, but we'll likely find out for sure in June. For now at least, your iPhone XR, iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max will live on to see another year, it seems.

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The iconic Canadian national police force, also known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), suffered a recent data breach which temporarily knocked its website offline - but its operations, as well as citizens, should not be affected by the incident, it said.

CBC says the RCMP sent a breach notification letter to its employees following the attack, explaining what had happened, with a spokesperson for the law enforcement organization confirming the news to media shortly afterwards.

"The situation is evolving quickly but at this time, there is no impact on RCMP operations and no known threat to the safety and security of Canadians," the RCMP spokesperson said.

Missing details

"While a breach of this magnitude is alarming, the quick work and mitigation strategies put in place demonstrate the significant steps the RCMP has taken to detect and prevent these types of threats."

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) was reportedly notified of the attack, which knocked the RCMP website offline, but was already up and running again by press time.

Other details are not known at this time, but this could very well be a ransomware attack - possibly even LockBit, given that the group promised retaliation against law enforcement, for the disruption it experienced last week. 

More than two dozen servers, plenty of stolen data, and a number of encryptors were seized recently during an international effort against LockBit, dubbed Operation Cronos.

Initial reports state that data on police investigations, as well as on Canadian citizens, is secure. However, data on RCMP employees could still have been compromised, and later used for blackmail or advanced spear-phishing attacks.

Usually, ransomware operators refrain from targeting critical infrastructure organizations, healthcare firms, or law enforcement, as this allows them to remain undetected for longer and avoid becoming a target themselves.

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Dog Essentials List: 13 Necessities for New Dog Owners - CNET

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The design elements in iOS don't often change – and when they do, it's not usually by much – but the upcoming iOS 18 software could indeed have a significantly updated look, according to one well-placed source.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman (via 9to5Mac), Apple "is indeed working to update the design of iOS as early as this year". That doesn't give us much detail to work with, but it does suggest there will be noticeably different visuals.

Gurman – usually reliable when it comes to predicting Apple's moves – was in part responding to rumors that iOS 18 would borrow some design inspiration from visionOS on the Apple Vision Pro. That "total overhaul" isn't happening, says Gurman, though it sounds as though Apple may get part of the way there in 2024.

New versions of iOS are usually unveiled at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, so we don't have too long to wait to see what Apple's been working on – and how much different in style it is to iOS 17.

An "ambitious and compelling" update

iOS 18 will be coming to the iPhone 15 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The biggest visual overhaul we've ever seen for iOS came with iOS 7, launched back in 2013: skeuomorphism (where digital elements are designed like their real world equivalents) was out, and a much more modern look was in.

In the decade since, app icons and menus have been tweaked and adjusted, but there hasn't been what you would describe as a full-scale redesign. We'll have to wait and see what iOS 18 brings when WWDC 2024 gets underway.

Gurman has previously gone on record as saying that iOS 18 is going to be an "ambitious and compelling" upgrade, so it sounds as though there's a lot to look forward to. As with everything else in tech lately, generative AI is likely to play an important role – with Siri and iOS set to be updated with some big new AI-driven capabilities.

According to Gurman, a visual refresh is also coming to macOS, though it'll lag behind iOS: the updates Apple is planning to the macOS design are apparently still in the early stages, and won't be completed until 2025 or 2026.

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If you're a My Best Buy Total or Plus member, you can use your membership to find a ton of excellent deals across various product categories.

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It's hard to imagine the notch on the iPhone 14 or the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 15 looking any different than they currently do, but of course there will have been a full design and review process behind them – and some unused ideas just leaked out.

According to information obtained by MacRumors, a variety of different designs were explored before the ones that we now have got finalized. Some mockup images have also been put together to show how the rejected ideas would've looked.

One of the ideas apparently under consideration was a pop-up sidebar down the right of the screen, to go alongside the notch – a sidebar that would be used to show the time, signal strength, battery level, and other bits of key information.

Apple also reportedly thought about extending the notch all the way across the top of the screen – so less a notch, more an Android-style status bar – which may have had the added benefit of giving users a little bit more battery life.

A design for life

Dynamic Island ideas that didn't make it (Image credit: MacRumors)

Apple's design team was busy when it came to introducing the Dynamic Island too, which first appeared on the iPhone 14 Pro and the iPhone 14 Pro Max. One of the rejected ideas here was a full row of status icons underneath the selfie camera.

It seems that Apple designers also toyed with the idea of having a Dynamic Island that was permanently elongated – so just an island, in that case – before deciding that it should change shape and size depending on context.

Head over to MacRumors to see the full set of mockups and imagine what might have been. It's possible that some of these ideas might appear again in the future, as Apple continues to tweak the look of its iPhone series.

It's also possible that both the notch and the Dynamic Island will eventually disappear altogether, if Apple can figure out how to get the selfie camera and the sensors next to it to sit under the display somehow (as Samsung has with the Galaxy Z Fold 5).

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