Latest Tech News

Microsoft is looking to set new standards for PC hardware specs, as the tech giant is apparently planning to set a 16GB RAM requirement for any AI PCs.

This comes from a TrendForce market research report (reported on by TechPowerUp), with the reason most likely being to push AI PCs – PCs that use built-in AI acceleration for several AI features native to Windows 11 23H2. 

This is especially true of Copilot, an AI chatbot that automates and generates work. Microsoft has been pushing this feature especially hard, including a dedicated Copilot key on Windows keyboards similar to the Windows key. 

Copilot and Microsoft’s other AI tools will require certain hardware requirements for local acceleration, with the first being the NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that’s used for dedicated processing and the second being memory. Hence why Microsoft needs AI PCs to have at least 16GB of RAM at a minimum for both native and cloud-based Copilot features to function.

16GB should be the standard going forward

There are plenty of other Copilot announcements like the dedicated Copilot key, the Copilot Pro subscription service that adds additional AI tools such as ChatGPT Plus, as well as a feature currently being tested that would tailor Copilot’s chat responses based on previous chats by saving them. 

And though the aforementioned reveals have been on the controversial side, the 16GB of RAM requirement for all Windows AI PCs is easily one of the best announcements related to Copilot and Windows AI in general. 

In fact, 16GB should be a RAM standard for any Windows laptops and desktops going forward. With the rising costs of laptops that started during the pandemic and haven’t shown any sign of slowing down, it’s honestly unbelievable that any PC could be released with 8GB or even an abysmal 4GB of RAM.

Hopefully, not only will AI laptops and desktops see a baseline of 16GB in 2024 and beyond (with commercial PCs seeing 32GB or even 64GB standards), but this requirement will spread to non-AI PCs in general.  As manufacturers see customers expect computers to have such a standard, the shift could very likely happen.

Fingers crossed that this reported initiative from Microsoft will be the kick the PC industry needs to stop releasing machines with such low RAM, as it directly harms the performance of said machines.

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Latest Tech News

Iran hackers are trying hard to discover exactly what researchers and academia in the West are working on and discussing, especially about Palestine and Israel - so much so that they’ve launched a new, hard-to-detect phishing campaign against such individuals, aiming to install information-stealing malware.

This is according to Microsoft, whose security researchers recently sounded the alarm on the campaign.

As per the report, a subgroup of a known state-sponsored threat actor APT35 (AKA Charming Kitten, or Phosphorus) is engaged in phishing attacks against high-profile employees of research organizations and universities in Europe and the United States. The emails are custom-made and often make it past email security services.

Middle East in focus

"Since November 2023, Microsoft has observed a distinct subset of Mint Sandstorm (PHOSPHORUS) targeting high-profile individuals working on Middle Eastern affairs at universities and research organizations in Belgium, France, Gaza, Israel, the United Kingdom, and the United States," Microsoft said in the report. "In this campaign, Mint Sandstorm used bespoke phishing lures in an attempt to socially engineer targets into downloading malicious files. In a handful of cases, Microsoft observed new post-intrusion tradecraft including the use of a new, custom backdoor called MediaPl."

Besides MediaPI, which seems to be designed to open up an encrypted communications channel with the operators and the compromised endpoints, APT35 is also dropping MischiefTut, a backdoor allowing them to run commands and mount reconnaissance activity. 

"These individuals, who work with or who have the potential to influence the intelligence and policy communities, are attractive targets for adversaries seeking to collect intelligence for the states that sponsor their activity, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran," Microsoft said. "Based on the identities of the targets observed in this campaign and the use of lures related to the Israel-Hamas war, it's possible this campaign is an attempt to gather perspectives on events related to the war from individuals across the ideological spectrum.

Via BleepingComputer

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Latest Tech News

In a world quickly becoming more reliant on artificial intelligence, spurred on by the immense popularity of ChatGPT and subsequent AI tools, a new Workday study has revealed a significant AI trust gap in the workplace.

Employees continue to see AI tools in a sceptical light compared with their bosses, who are more likely to value the opportunities when it comes to business transformation.

Even so, there’s still a large number of workers from all levels that still need convincing. Only six in 10 (62%) C-suite execs welcome AI, but that figure stands even lower among employees, at 52%.

AI trust gap calls for responsible implementation

The findings also expose the degree to which workers lack confidence in their employers when it comes to job security – one-fifth (23%) aren’t confident that their organization puts employee interests above its own when implementing AI, giving them the sense of being out of control.

Business leaders oppose this thought, though. Nearly three-quarters (70%) say that AI should be developed in a way that easily allows for human review and intervention. Clearly, bosses see artificial intelligence more as a human aid.

Workday CTO Jim Stratton its research, "shows that leaders and employees lack confidence in, and understanding of, their organisations’ intentions around AI deployment within the workplace.”

Stratton added: “To help close this trust gap, organisations must adopt a comprehensive approach to AI responsibility and governance, with a lens on policy advocacy to help strike the right balance between innovation and trust.”

Currently, four in five of the 4,000 employees from 15 countries surveyed by Workday say their company has not yet shared guidelines on responsible AI use.

Moving forward, it’s clear that policies need to be put in place that not only protect employees, but also cater to their wants and needs in the workplace. The research signals the importance of building ethical standards in AI, which forms part of a multifaceted approach to closing the trust gap that currently stands.

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Latest Tech News

Job evalutation site Glassdoor has released its list of the "best places to work" for 2024, with a number of tech firms managing to break into the top spots.

There was particular interest for Nvidia, which was named as the second best company overall, and Apple, which managed to claim a spot in the list after falling out in 2023.

Management consulting giant Bain & Company took the top spot, but there were high rankings for other notable tech firms, including Service Now (#3), Procore Technologies (#5), VMware (#7) and Deltek (#8).

Glassdoor Best Places to Work

Outside of the top 10, there were also high placings for the likes of Adobe (#15), Microsoft (#18) and Google (#26), with 31 tech firms making up the top 100 in total - a fall from 41 in 2023.

9to5Mac noted that Salesforce, Intel, Netflix, and Yahoo dropped out of the top 100 list in 2024, and there was once again no place for Meta. Among the tech newcomers in the list were Lenovo and Samsara.

Nvidia took second place overall thanks to its average 4.7/5 rating over the past year, just 0.1 behind Bain.

“Worklife is rapidly changing, and professionals are turning to Glassdoor to share their experiences about working for some of the most competitive employers in the world,” said Christian Sutherland-Wong, Glassdoor Chief Executive Officer. 

“The Best Places to Work award is a stark reminder of the power of Glassdoor, from arming professionals with career insights and real-time conversations about all things work and life, to providing employers with feedback to improve. Glassdoor has evolved to make sure that transparency isn’t a fad, but rather, a foundational component in the future of work.”

The study comes following recent figures showing layoffs in the technology space have continued at pace. In 2022, around 165,000 tech workers were laid off, followed by over 262,000 in 2023, and more than 3,000 in the first two weeks of January 2024 alone (via layoffs.fyi).

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Smart telescopes are all the rage in the stargazing world, and they're probably the future of astrophotography. Now Unistellar has cemented its position in this field with the dual launch of the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro at CES 2024. 

They're strikingly similar to the Celestron smart telescope that was also announced at CES, and what’s neat about Unistellar’s Odyssey and Odyssey Pro is that they're controlled remotely using a newly developed Unistellar app. 

From the comfort of your sofa you can view what your Odyssey telescope sees on your smart device, and control which part of the night sky it's aimed at, using the telescope’s ‘autonomous field detection technology’, which Odyssey also calls a ‘smart star finder’. 

The makers say the new GPS-equipped smart telescopes can “autonomously point towards and track any desired celestial object from the moment they are turned on, so you can be admiring outer space in just a couple of minutes.“ In short, it’s stargazing made easy.

Unistellar innovation meets Nikon optics

Unistellar is a familiar name in the astrophotography world – it launched the Unistellar eQuinox 2 at last year’s CES, and also makes the mighty eVscope 2. This year’s models are much smaller and lighter and have a wider appeal, thanks in part to what Unistellar calls ‘Multi-Depth Technology’, which enables you to instantly switch between viewing nearby planets and faraway galaxies and nebulae.

You can easily choose what to look at via the Unistellar app for iOS and Android, with handy info about each of the 5000-plus planets and nebulae in the app database for newbies and enthusiasts to absorb, too.

Nikon has got in on the action with these new smart telescopes too, designing the high-precision autofocus optics used in both models, and the electronic eyepiece found in the Pro model only – ideal for those who prefer to get hands on with their telescope. On the technical front, both models have a field of view of 34 x 45 arcmin, an 85mm mirror diameter and a 320mm focal length. There's more info on the Unistellar website.

At 4kg, the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are much lighter than Unistellar’s previous offerings, and come supplied with a sturdy tripod, although their five-hour battery life doesn’t compare. Both models are available from the Unistellar website or camera retailers – the Odyssey will set you back $2,499 / £2,199 (about AU$3,750) while the pricier Odyssey Pro costs $3,999 / £3,499 (about AU$6,000). That’ll count out most people, but Unistellar has nonetheless transformed the experience of getting lost among the stars.

We’re covering all of the latest CES news from the show as it happens. Stick with us for the big stories on everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

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