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04.12.2024 16:00 There's a chill in the air, lights have been strung through the trees and winter coats are a daily need. All this can only mean one thing: it's Spotify Wrapped season. Today, Spotify Wrapped begins rolling out to users across the globe with a slew of new features powered by Google's AI-powered NotebookLM. To be honest, some of it is, let's say, interesting. Notably, Spotify is releasing a My Wrapped AI Podcast with two hosts discussing all your listening preferences for the year. These hosts in question are powered by the same technology that NotebookLM uses to make audio overviews. The podcasts should last three to six minutes, are shareable and available for free and premium users in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Sweden for a limited time. If you love listening to AI then maybe this is exciting for you but, personally, I'm happy with my usual roundup. Spotify does caveat that it might not "provide a comprehensive overview" and could mispronounce words or use inappropriate language if its in a song title, for example. Then there's the AI DJ, which brings you through the music you listened to and provides commentary. Yes, this sounds a bit like the AI podcast, but it should focus more on the actual music and how you used the DJ. It should also touch on aspects like your top artists and most listened to songs. However, this feature and a wrapped version of Spotify's AI Playlist are only available to premium subscribers. As always, you can also see how your listening choices measure up against other users. Spoiler that's not really a spoiler: Taylor Swift and her album The Tortured Poet's Department took the most streamed spots for artist and album, respectively, both in the US and globally. Women took the top five spots for most streamed albums globally, while Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter held the title of most streamed song for the US and world. Other categories of interest include the top podcasts and most viral songs, plus one interesting addition: audiobooks. Spotify has leaned heavily into audiobooks this year, rolling out a subscription solely for the medium and new tools like a sleep timer and detailed author pages. So, it's no surprise that the platform has released its first ever year-end top charts for audiobooks. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas was the top audiobook for premium users in both the US and globally — a near inevitably for anyone paying even a little attention to book trends this year. Also new this year: Authors will join creators, artists, podcasters and advertisers in receiving a Wrapped all about how their readers listened to their books in 2024. As always, Spotify Wrapped is shaping up to be a bit cringe and the usual burst of fun. You can explore these features and more on your Spotify Wrapped or, if this has all been irrelevant to you, maybe on the just announced Amazon Music Delivered or through Apple Music Replay.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-wrapped-2024-includes-ai-hosted-podcasts-discussing-your-listening-habits-130002140.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 16:00 Apple has wrapped up all your listening stats in a bow with its annual recap of your entire year in music streaming. This time, you can view the full Replay experience in the Apple Music app via the home, new and search tab — yes, no need to go to a microsite for your vital listening statistics. You can save a playlist of your most-played songs in 2024, though that and your stats will be cemented in January — if you’re looking to kick out a particularly embarrassing song that’s wormed its way into your head, you could spam other tracks? You can even access your Replays from previous years . More widely, the most-listened-to song on Apple Music overall this year was Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” his most recent Drake-diss track. Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” meanwhile, was the most identified song on Shazam. Beautifully hard to identify. — Mat Smith Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! The biggest tech stories you missed Walmart completes its $2.3 billion purchase of Vizio China has banned certain metal exports in retaliation for the US chip restrictions Jaguar unveils polarizing concept EV as part of its rebrand MSI’s new Claw gaming handhelds have Lunar Lake processors Intel unveils its budget Battlemage Arc GPUs The $249 Arc B580 is reportedly faster than NVIDIA’s RTX 4060. Intel Who cares if Intel doesn’t have a boss! The company’s second-generation Xe2 Arc GPUs are real, and once again, they could be compelling options for gamers looking for capable video cards under $250. Confirming leaks from the past week, Intel today unveiled the $249 Arc B580 and the slightly less capable $219 B570, both of which target 1,440p gaming. We liked Intel’s last cards, but that hasn’t stopped its overall GPU market share from falling to zero percent. The Arc B580 cards will be available on December 13 for $249, while Arc B570 models will arrive next month, on January 16, for $219. Continue reading. Firing Pat Gelsinger doesn’t solve Intel’s problems Turning around 20 years of bad decisions. As Intel searches for a new boss, Daniel Cooper explores the state of things at the chip manufacturer, the missteps made by the outgoing CEO — including a disastrous aside about Taiwan — and where Intel goes from here. Continue reading. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-intels-ceo-just-suddenly-retired-121513539.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 16:00 The connected fitness boom of pandemic-era lockdowns is long behind us , but Growl, a new startup, is still looking to bolt a workout to the wall of your home. Think of Tonal, except instead of resistance training, it's a boxing-inspired heavy bag session. The wall-mounted Growl is, according to the company, powered by AI and Unreal Engine and appears to have overhead projectors, which beam the image of a life-sized coach onto the convex punching surface. 3D motion tracking technology claims to gather information about your form and technique and provide insights. Besides the projection, the bag has an interactive coaching system to help motivate users. It also supposedly supports side-by-side training, which works great for training partners. Growl isn't available yet, but pre-sales are likely to open in April 2025. Pricing is projected to be between $150 and $190 a month, putting it on the steeper end of fitness devices, if it ever ships. And keep in mind you'll need to install this thing into a wall that can withstand hours of punching.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/this-new-startup-wants-to-be-your-ai-powered-boxing-coach-120022634.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 11:41 As with any overly marketed products, the claims around virtual private networks can be fishy. Phrases like “military-grade encryption” or “total anonymity” aren’t verifiable, and certainly won’t help you decide which services suit your browsing needs best. As more of these companies embrace influencer marketing to sell their products, the obscure lingo has only grown, making it a confusing field to navigate, despite VPNs’ importance for online security.We tested nine of the most popular VPN services available now to come up with our top picks, and lay out what you should know before paying for one. Our top pick remains ProtonVPN thanks to its easy-to-use interface, no-logs policy and open-source framework. While we think that's the best VPN for most people, there are other good options you can consider, too. Table of contents Best VPNs of 2024 What is a VPN? Are VPNs worth it? How we tested VPNs Other VPN services our experts tested VPN FAQs Best VPNs of 2024 What is a VPN? VPNs, or virtual private networks, mask your IP address and the identity of your computer or mobile device on the network and creating an encrypted "tunnel" that prevents your internet service provider from accessing data about your browsing history. VPNs are not a one-size-fits-all security solution, though. Instead, they’re just one part of keeping your data private and secure. Roya Ensafi, assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, told Engadget that VPNs don’t protect against common threats like phishing attacks, nor do they protect your data from being stolen. Much of the data or information is stored with the VPN provider instead of your ISP, which means that using a poorly designed or unprotected network can still undermine your security. But they do come in handy for online privacy when you’re connecting to an untrusted network somewhere public because they tunnel and encrypt your traffic to the next hop. That means sweeping claims that seem promising, like military-grade encryption or total digital invisibility, may not be totally accurate. Instead, Yael Grauer, program manager of Consumer Reports’ online security guide, recommends looking for security features like open-source software with reproducible builds, up-to-date support for industry-standard protocols like WireGuard or IPsec, and the ability to defend against attack vectors like brute force. Read more: How to use a VPN on your iPhone How to stream video to your TV using a VPN How to stream using a VPN on your Google TV or Chromecast How to stream via a VPN on Roku Understanding VPNs and your needs Before considering a VPN, make sure your online security is up to date in other ways. That means complex passwords, multi-factor authentication methods and locking down your data sharing preferences. Even then, you probably don’t need to be using a VPN all the time. “If you're just worried about somebody sitting there passively and looking at your data then a VPN is great,” Jed Crandall, an associate professor at Arizona State University, told Engadget. That brings us to some of the most common uses cases for VPNs. If you use public WiFi networks a lot, like while working at a coffee shop, then VPN usage can help give you private internet access. They’re also helpful for hiding information from other people on your ISP if you don’t want members of your household to know what you’re up to online. Geoblocking has also become a popular use case as it helps you reach services in other parts of the world. For example, you can access shows that are only available on streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime, in other countries, or play online games with people located all over the globe. There are also a few common VPN features that you should consider before deciding if you want to use one, and which is best for you: What is split tunneling? Split tunneling allows you to route some traffic through your VPN, while other traffic has direct access to the internet. This can come in handy when you want to protect certain activity online without losing access to local network devices, or services that work best with location sharing enabled. What is a double VPN? A double VPN, otherwise known as multi-hop VPN or a VPN chain, passes your online activity through two different VPN servers one right after the other. For VPN services that support this, users are typically able to choose which two servers they want their traffic to pass through. As you might expect, this provides an extra layer of security. Are VPNs worth it? Whether or not VPNs are worth it depends how often you could use it for the above use cases. If you travel a lot and rely on public WiFi or hotspots, are looking to browse outside of your home country or want to keep your traffic hidden from your ISP, then investing in a VPN will be useful. But, keep in mind that even the best VPN services often slow down your internet connection speed, so they may not be ideal all the time. In today's world, we recommend not relying on a VPN connection as your main cybersecurity tool. VPN use can provide a false sense of security, leaving you vulnerable to attack. Plus, if you choose just any VPN, it may not be as secure as just relying on your ISP. That’s because the VPN could be based in a country with weaker data privacy regulation, obligated to hand information over to law enforcement or linked to weak user data protection policies. For VPN users working in professions like activism or journalism that want to really strengthen their internet security, options like the Tor browser may be a worthwhile alternative, according to Crandall. Tor is free, and while it's less user-friendly, it’s built for anonymity and privacy. How we tested VPNs To test the security specs of different VPNs and name our top picks, we relied on pre-existing academic work through Consumer Reports, VPNalyzer and other sources. We referenced privacy policies, transparency reports and security audits made available to the public. We also considered past security incidents like data breaches. We looked at price, usage limits, effects on internet speed, possible use cases, ease of use, general functionality and additional “extra” VPN features like multihop. The VPNs were tested across iOS, Android and Mac devices so we could see the state of the mobile apps across various platforms . We used the “quick connect” feature on the VPN apps to connect to the “fastest” provider available when testing internet speed, access to IP address data and DNS and WebRTC leaks or when a fault in the encrypted tunnel reveals requests to an ISP. Otherwise, we conducted a test of geoblocking content by accessing Canada-exclusive Netflix releases, a streaming test by watching a news livestream on YouTube via a Hong Kong-based VPN and a gaming test by playing on servers in the United Kingdom. By performing these tests at the same time, it also allowed us to test claims about simultaneous device use. Here are the VPN services we tested: ExpressVPN NordVPN Surfshark Proton VPN TunnelBear Bitdefender VPN CyberGhost Windscribe Atlas VPN Read more: The best password managers for 2023 Other VPN services our experts tested NordVPN NordVPN didn’t quite make the cut because it’s overhyped, and underwhelming. As I've written in our full review of NordVPN, the pricing, up to $14.49 for a “complete” subscription, seemed high compared to other services, and its free or lower cost plans just didn’t have the same wide variety of features as its competitors. TunnelBear Despite the cute graphics and user friendliness, TunnelBear wasn’t a top choice. It failed numerous basic security tests from Consumer Reports, and had limited availability across platforms like Linux. It did, however, get a major security boost in July when it updated to support WireGuard protocol across more of its platforms. Bitdefender VPN Bitdefender doesn’t offer support for devices like routers, which limits its cross-platform accessibility. It also lacked a transparency report or third-party audit to confirm security specs. Atlas VPN Atlas ranked lower on our speed tests compared to the other VPNs tested, with a notably slower difference on web browsing and streaming tests. It was a good option otherwise, but could easily cause headaches for those chasing high speed connections. Security-wise, an Atlas VPN vulnerability leaked Linux users’ real IP addresses. VPN FAQs What are some things VPNs are used for? VPNs are traditionally used to protect your internet traffic. If you’re connected to an untrusted network like public WiFi in a cafe, using a VPN hides what you do from the internet service provider. Then, the owner of the WiFi or hackers trying to get into the system can’t see the identity of your computer or your browsing history. A common non-textbook use case for VPNs has been accessing geographically restricted content. VPNs can mask your location, so even if you’re based in the United States, they can make it appear as if you’re browsing abroad and unblock access. This is especially useful for streaming content that’s often limited to certain countries, like if you want to watch Canadian Netflix from the US. What information does a VPN hide? A VPN doesn’t hide all of your data. It only hides information like your IP address, location and browser history. A common misconception is that VPNs can make you totally invisible online. But keep in mind that the VPN provider often still has access to all of this information, so it doesn’t grant you total anonymity. You’re also still vulnerable to phishing attacks, hacking and other cyberthreats that you should be mindful of by implementing strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. Are VPNs safe? Generally, yes. VPNs are a safe and reliable way to encrypt and protect your internet data. But like most online services, the safety specifics vary from provider to provider. You can use resources like third-party audits, Consumer Reports reviews, transparency reports and privacy policies to understand the specifics of your chosen provider. What about Google’s One VPN? Google One subscriptions include access to the company’s VPN, which works similarly to other VPNs on our list, hiding your online activity from network operators. However, Google announced recently that it plans to shut down the One VPN because "people simply weren’t using it." There's no specific date for the shutdown, with Google simply saying it will discontinue the service sometime later in 2024. Pixel phone owners, however, will continue to have access to the free VPN available on their devices. Recent updates October 2024: Added a "read more" section with links to additional VPN content. June 2024: Updated to include table of contents.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/best-vpn-130004396.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 01:40 MSI has two new versions of the MSI Claw after the original landed with a thud earlier this year. The company’s $900 MSI Claw 8 AI+ and $800 Claw 7 AI+ have Lunar Lake Intel processing, better battery life and quality-of-life improvements like redesigned sticks, bumpers and triggers. The previous model launched “a touch late and a bit too pricey,” according to Engadget’s Sam Rutherford in our review. He said its performance was underwhelming compared to cheaper rivals, its software was too clunky, and it was plagued by an overabundance of optimization updates . We haven’t handled the new models, but their switch to Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7 processor should lead to better performance and lower power consumption — two of the biggest marks against the A1M. The Claw 8 AI+ has an 8-inch display, and the Claw 7 AI+ has a 7-inch one. Both devices support a 120Hz refresh rate. However, they’re LCD panels; you still won’t find an OLED option here, like in Valve and Lenovo’s alternatives. It... floats, too? MSI The Claw 8 has an 80Wh battery, while the 7-inch model has a 54.5Wh battery. It uses MSI’s Cooler Boost HyperFlow tech, which includes dual fans and heat pipes. The company claims it outperforms “competitors” when running at a power-efficient 17W. Each handheld has a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, so you could plug the handheld into a monitor and use it as a makeshift Windows PC. They even have CoPilot+ support built-in. MSI redesigned the new generation’s joysticks, bumpers, D-pad and triggers for this generation. Although the last model had Hall effect sticks, the new ones also have it in their triggers. Ergonomics were a rare highlight in the previous model, and MSI touts the new handhelds as being “tailored to fit the natural contours of the hand.” As for the AI in the handheld’s branding, MSI presumably refers to the XeSS upscaling tech in the Intel chip. However, the previous model also used XeSS, so maybe the company just wanted to scream to customers and investors that it uses AI. The new handhelds arrive on December 25. GameRant notes that their pre-order pages are listed without available stock . Regardless, once you can buy them, the Claw 7 AI+ costs $800, and the Claw 8 AI+ will set you back $900. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/msis-new-claw-gaming-handhelds-have-lunar-lake-processors-and-nondescript-ai-powers-230028563.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 01:40 Meta has confirmed its plans to use nuclear power to fuel US data centers. The company announced that it’s accepting proposals from nuclear energy developers to work on the project, with the goal of adding between one and four gigawatts of nuclear energy capacity “starting in the early 2030s.” The company’s request for proposals states that Meta is seeking partners that have experience with “either Small Modular Reactors or larger nuclear reactors.” Axios reports that the company is “geographically agnostic” about the location of potential nuclear sites. The company previously had plans to build a nuclear-powered data center, The Financial Times reported earlier this year, but the plans were scuttled after the discovery of a rare species of bees near the site. “As new innovations bring impactful technological advancements across sectors and support economic growth, we believe that nuclear energy can help provide firm, baseload power to support the growth needs of the electric grids that power both our data centers as well as the communities around them,” the company wrote in a statement. Meta isn’t the only major tech company looking to nuclear power to help power its AI ambitions. Google recently announced a deal to build multiple reactors in the US, with the goal of adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power from SMRs. Microsoft also said this year it wants to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to fuel its AI development.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-wants-to-use-nuclear-power-for-its-data-centers-225051671.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 01:40 Former cryptocurrency leader Alex Mashinsky has pleaded guilty to two fraud charges. The founder and CEO of Celsius Network was indicted on seven criminal counts in 2023, including charges of fraud, conspiracy and market manipulation. He entered a not guilty plea at the time, but in a hearing today, Mashinsky pled guilty to two of those original counts. The first is commodities fraud and the second is a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of his company's in-house crypto token CEL. Reuters reported that as part of a plea deal, Mashinsky has agreed not to appeal any sentence of 30 years or less. Mashinsky's case is one of several fraud cases being pursued against leaders of cryptocurrency operations. The most well-publicized charges are those brought against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was found guilty on seven counts of fraud in 2023. National agencies began a push into fraud charges for cryptocurrency schemes in 2022, when several notable companies filed for bankruptcy as token prices plummeted in response to rising interest rates and high inflation. That year, the Federal Trade Commission said that victims of crypto schemes had lost more than $1 billion since 2021.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/former-celsius-ceo-pleads-guilty-to-two-fraud-charges-224046043.html?src=rss

04.12.2024 01:40 Vizio is now a member of the Walmart corporate empire. The retail company announced the completion of its $2.3 billion acquisition of the TV manufacturer on Tuesday. Walmart didn’t just buy a TV brand. It now owns a new advertising platform. Vizio’s SmartCast OS collects huge amounts of data from its 19 million active accounts, and the company makes the majority of its money from the platform. Walmart’s new partnership with Vizio and its other smart TV brand Onn is sure to stir up the lucrative competition for advertising revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal. Walmart officially announced its plans to buy Vizio in February following early reports about its deal. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/walmart-completes-its-23-billion-purchase-of-vizio-222449239.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 This is not a drill, people: Tetris for the NES will join the Nintendo Switch Online library on December 12. Nintendo of America announced this exciting arrival out of the blue today on X. The NES port of Tetris initially launched all the way back in 1989, so it's been a very long time coming for this classic title to return to Nintendo hardware. That's not to say there haven't been many other ways to get your tetrimino fix. Tetris is a perennially popular puzzle game, with many official releases and plenty of knockoffs. And plenty of them, like the dazzling Tetris Effect, are extremely good. But the NES version is the one most frequently hailed as the best of the bunch. It's the iteration primarily used in the fascinating competitive Tetris circuit, and even after more than three decades, a player only just managed to 'beat' the game by, well, breaking its little computer brain. For those of us who missed out on the NES era, or those whose NES hardware bit the dust long ago, finally having a modern-day way to play this iconic version of Tetris is very exciting news. The Switch Online service has gotten a couple notable updates in the past few weeks. A trio of Sega Genesis games joined the online Switch library, and Nintendo also released a music streaming app for members of the subscription plan. While that's all well and good, the really exciting development will be the hotly anticipated announcement of the Switch 2, expected in March.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nes-tetris-is-coming-to-the-nintendo-switch-online-library-this-month-194523784.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 When an established company enters a new product category, there’s a lot of pressure on it to immediately impress the masses, especially when it has a proven track record in its industry. That’s what Cambridge Audio faced this year when it debuted its first wireless headphones, the Melomania P100 . It had already made the Melomania M100 wireless earbuds, but with a reputation largely built on hi-fi amplifiers, digital-to-analog converters and speakers, the company was entering uncharted waters. With the P100, Cambridge Audio managed to leave a lasting first impression right out of the box. Starting with the refined look, it’s evident that the company is serious about taking aim at the best in the category. It partnered aesthetics with long battery life, user-friendly maintenance options and a crisp, clear sound profile for a very compelling package on its first attempt. What’s good about the Melomania P100? The P100 certainly looks like a set of flagship headphones. In an age when a lot of companies opt for plastic-heavy builds, even for their high-end models, it’s nice to see a polished design for less than $300. Cambridge Audio combined aluminum accents with vegan leather and soft memory foam ear cups to do most of the heavy lifting here. There’s also cross-hatched fabric on the underside of the headband that offers a textural contrast while maintaining the color scheme. Cambridge Audio didn’t make any sacrifices on battery life with the P100, promising up to 60 hours of use with active noise cancellation turned on. What’s more, the company says you can eke out up to 100 hours of play time with ANC disabled, depending on volume levels and other settings. I had no trouble hitting 60 hours during my battery tests, which I run almost entirely while employing noise cancellation. And to keep the P100 running longer than some headphones would, the company allows users to replace the battery themselves when performance dips . The P100 uses the same Class AB amplification that powers Cambridge Audio’s CX series hi-fi amps. This provides sound performance that’s “audibly better” than what’s found in nearly all wireless headphones, according to the company. Three-layer 40mm drivers complete the audio platform, which is tuned for “precise highs and dynamic lows.” During my tests, the P100 excelled at reproducing crisp, clean details across every genre I threw at it. Even in the heaviest parts of Sleep Token’s “Vore,” the snare hits remained punchy, cutting through distorted guitar riffs with vocals layered in. Prominence is given to treble and mids though, as bass-heavy tracks like that one don’t quite have the booming punch they typically do. As such, the P100 was at its best for styles that demanded less low-end growl — genres like country, jazz and ‘90s grunge. What’s not so good about the Melomania P100? Billy Steele for Engadget My notes on the overall sound profile of the P100 aren’t great news for those who crave a bombastic blast when listening to music by Kendrick Lamar, Kaytranada and other bass-heavy tunes. Cambridge Audio does offer a selection of presets to alter the tuning, as well as a full EQ for custom profiles. The changes were more subtle for the EQ sliders, so they didn’t deliver the thump I was after. But, unlike a lot of equalizer options from other companies, none of these muddied the sound or made things worse. Despite the soft touch of the P100’s ear pads, they don’t offer enough buffer from the ridges of the ear cups during longer listening sessions. I used these on a cross-country trip that involved a full day of air travel and wearing headphones for a solid six hours. After about 30 minutes, I could start to feel those edges. And while they never became painful, this kept the P100 from competing with the likes of the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Sony’s WH-1000XM5 in terms of overall comfort. Cambridge Audio did well to cover all the basics on the P100. There’s reliable, easy-to-use physical controls, solid adaptive ANC performance and support for aptX Lossless. Wear detection and multipoint Bluetooth are also in tow, as is wired listening at 24-bit/96kHz quality and a five-minute quick charge tool. What you won’t find are things like speech detection, any mention of spatial audio or some of the automated features the competition offers. Sure, I can excuse the omissions on the P100 given the price, but these are the types of conveniences that are increasingly becoming core specs, so one or two would’ve been nice to have. Final verdict on the Melomania P100 I’m impressed by what Cambridge Audio has built for its first set of wireless headphones. It’s obvious the company knows how to produce clear, balanced audio, even if the P100 could use a smidge more low-end tone. The combination of design, sound, repairability and battery life make this a compelling option at well under $300. And now that the company has a solid foundation to build on, I expect to be blown away by whatever comes next. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/cambridge-audio-melomania-p100-review-an-impressive-headphone-debut-192412530.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 Despite Intel’s recent woes, I didn’t expect to see CEO Pat Gelsinger joining 15,000 or so of his colleagues being shown the door. Gelsinger is a storied engineer and business success who laid down an exhaustive rescue plan when he took the helm of the beleaguered chipmaker in 2021. It was never going to be a quick fix, given the company’s long legacy of missteps. Gelsinger may be the public face of Intel’s current malaise, but the problems started long before his tenure and will likely keep going. How Intel got here Gelsinger was tasked with addressing almost two decades’ worth of bad decisions, all of which have compounded. Intel became an industry-swallowing behemoth as one half of the Wintel alliance, producing chips that went hand-in-glove with Microsoft Windows. The vast profits that flowed from this partnership meant there was an institutional reluctance to look too hard at new business ventures that could distract from its golden goose, still going strong all these years later. In 2005, then-CEO Paul Ottellini turned down the chance to make the iPhone’s system-on-chip. It would have been easy for Intel, since it already made XScale ARM chips for mobile devices. You could find an Intel ARM chip inside popular phones like the BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and Palm Treo 650. A year later, it would sell XScale to Marvell, believing it would be able to shrink its x86 chips to work on smartphones. The first Intel Atom handsets showed some degree of promise, but the Snapdragons of the day — produced by considerably smaller rival Qualcomm — beat them pretty easily. At the same time, Intel was working on Larrabee, its own discrete GPU platform based on the x86 architecture. Despite several years of marketing bravado and suggestions it would “kill” AMD/ATI and NVIDIA, Intel axed it in 2010 in favor of bundling integrated graphics into its regular processor products. The decision would hand the bulk of the GPU market to NVIDIA, making it the go-to name for gaming, supercomputers, crypto and AI, posting quarterly revenues of $35.1 billion on November 20. Could Intel have foreseen the meteoric rise of AI? Maybe not. But Reuters reported former Intel CEO Bob Swan turned down the chance to invest in OpenAI in 2017. It was looking for a hardware partner to reduce its reliance on NVIDIA, offering a generous deal in the process. Swan, however, reportedly said he couldn’t see a future for generative AI, and Intel’s data center unit refused to sell the hardware at a discount. Intel’s core strength was in the quality of its engineering, the solidity of its product and that it always kept close to the cutting edge. Sadly Intel’s bread-and-butter business hit the skids after the company failed to produce 10-nanometer chips by its planned 2015 deadline. The company’s famous “tick, tock” strategy of launching a new chip process one year and a refined version the next ground to a halt. These issues enabled Intel’s competitors to step in and steal a march, harnessing more modern chip architectures. AMD, which held a little over 10 percent of the chip market for much of the 2010s, has seen its market share double in the last few years. The biggest beneficiary, of course, was TSMC, the Taiwanese chip factory that has become the envy of the world. Even if Intel controls the bulk of the x86 processor market, it’s TSMC that makes the chips for Apple, Qualcomm, NVIDIA and AMD, among others. Intel, meanwhile, was saddled with an older chip manufacturing process that it couldn’t use to catch up with its rivals. The Gelsinger doctrine Gelsinger was as close to an Intel “lifer” as you could imagine, joining the company at 18 and rising to the position of Chief Technology Officer by 2001. In 2009, he left Intel to become COO at EMC and held the position as CEO of VMWare for almost a decade. After taking the reins at Intel, he laid down a detailed plan to mastermind its glorious comeback. Step one would be to separate Intel’s design and manufacturing business into two distinct entities. With one eye on US subsidies through the Biden administration's CHIPS and Science Act, Gelsinger pledged to build two new chip factories harnessing the same EUV technology used by TSMC. Gelsinger was also determined to reestablish discipline in Intel’s chip business and get back to the “tick, tock” structure. Unfortunately, the production delays that had been building up since 2015 meant that Gelsinger’s target was just to get back to parity. In the interim, Intel would also get TSMC to manufacture some of its newest chips which, while costly, would help address any concerns the company was lagging even further behind. Nobody had any doubts as to the size of the task facing Gelsinger, but there was plenty of room for optimism. Gelsinger was humble enough to accept Intel couldn’t simply stay on its current course, and had to embrace its new status. He proposed Intel could grin and bear the short-term pain for the company's eventual benefit. If it could build for the future, harness its rivals to keep it in the game and restore faith in its processes, Intel would emerge from this as the winner. All it needed was for nothing to get worse. Things got worse At the end of October, Reuters reported Gelsinger made a colossal faux-pas when speaking about TSMC. The CEO was quoted saying “You don’t want all of our eggs in the basket of a Taiwan fab,” and that “Taiwan is not a stable place.” This offended TSMC to such an extent that it ended a discount Intel had taken advantage of for years Sadly, Gelsinger’s desire to restore discipline to the chip division would also backfire, with the latest Core processors blighted by voltage instability issues. Intel was forced to extend those chips’ warranties, which came at an additional cost it couldn't really afford. In August, it posted a loss of $1.6 billion and pledged to cut 15,000 employees in an attempt to right the ship. But it was forced to post the biggest quarterly loss in its history three months later, losing $16.6 billion, albeit much of that tied to revaluing company assets and paying for the layoffs. Worse, Intel’s new production process, 18A, reportedly failed crucial tests ahead of its 2025 debut. Perhaps the lowest point in Intel’s year was when its stock price fell low enough that it became a takeover target. Rumors suggested Qualcomm was potentially eyeing a takeover while others indicated ARM had made inquiries about purchasing Intel’s product unit. Where does this leave Intel? The New York Times reports Intel’s board grew frustrated with Gelsinger as his rescue plan was “not showing results quickly enough.” But Intel wasn’t going to hire Gelsinger in 2021 and suddenly bounce back in 2024. Building large and complex chip factories isn’t easy. Nor is getting thousands of engineers to solve difficult problems around chip yields. And obviously reversing a slide that started in 2015 was never going to happen overnight. Intel’s board is presently looking for a full-time successor to Gelsinger but it’s hard to see what someone else would do differently. After all, the company still needs to build those factories in order to own and control its future, and it still needs to fix its processes. Unless, of course, the next CEO is going to be told to just stanch the bleeding and keep the money rolling in. Even in its deeply-wounded state after a few bad quarters, Intel is still the biggest name in the x86 chip world and will keep making money for years to come. You could easily imagine Intel’s board sitting around, prioritizing a few years of healthy profits at the cost of the company’s long-term future. It can keep selling modified versions of its existing desktop chips, ceding the technological leadership to AMD, Qualcomm and others. There’s probably a decade or two of big industrial clients who would be happy using Intel processors for their hardware for as long as they’re still using Windows. Perhaps that would be fitting given how big and ossified Intel has become, admitting that it can’t move fast enough to evolve. It’s likely that scenario won’t be allowed to happen given Intel’s broader role in the global tech space. Even if the incoming administration criticized the CHIPS Act — Intel is still set to be its largest funding recipient — having a domestic manufacturer of Intel’s scale will be an asset few sane governments would allow to fall. But just switching CEOs won’t suddenly fix the company’s big, hard-to-solve problems. It wasn’t Pat Gelsinger who screwed up power design for Raptor Lake, nor did he pass on the opportunity to make the iPhone CPU all those years ago. The TSMC stuff, he can own that, but while a CEO sets the direction of travel, he can’t micromanage every process in a company of Intel’s scale. So whoever replaces him will have the same big stack of issues to tackle, knowing that the board’s patience will be even shorter this time out.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/firing-pat-gelsinger-doesnt-solve-intels-problems-173420381.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 Indonesia’s investment minister, Rosan Roeslani, said that the country is expecting $1 billion from Apple as an investment. It’s important to note that Indonesia has banned iPhone 16 sales locally because the smartphones must contain at least 40 percent locally-made parts. Apple doesn’t have any manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, so it cannot meet this requirement. Roeslani further said that Apple should invest even more in the future if it intends to make Indonesia a part of its supply chain. He also remarked on how an Indonesian Apple plant can create jobs. Previously, Apple had proposed to invest $100 million in building an accessory and component plant in Indonesia. The Indonesian government rejected it due to not meeting “principles of fairness.” While Apple still doesn’t have local plants to meet the 40 percent local content requirement, it does have application developer academies in Indonesia. That was why older iPhone models could be sold in the country. They remain on sale as of now, and there’s been no indication that Indonesia is looking to ban them currently. Reuters had contacted Apple for comment on the situation but has yet to receive a reply.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/indonesia-expects-apple-to-invest-1-billion-to-get-the-iphone-16-back-on-sale-162906748.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 It’s that festive time of year again. All of the algorithm elves living inside our favorite music-streaming apps have begun cranking out personalized “best of” lists in the vein of Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay. This year, however, there’s a new kid on the block. Amazon Music just rolled out its own version of a yearly recap. It’s called Amazon Music Delivered, which I guess is a play on the fact that the company delivers lots of packages in real life? In any event, the yearly recap displays all of your favorite songs, artists and podcasts from throughout the year. The tool will even show off “the top request you’ve made with Alexa.” Uh oh. I asked Alexa to sing that horrible, yet catchy, song about cats like 25 times this year. Will that count? The feature is available to all Amazon Music customers. This includes Prime members who use the basic version and those who sprang for the monthly Unlimited subscription. Just head to the Library page and tap on the banner that says “2024 Delivered.” You can access a playlist by asking good ole Alexa about your top songs of 2024. Amazon also says that Alexa might play “an exclusive, special message” from one of your top artists, though the company didn’t note how many artists took part in this promotion. It just says that “eligible customers will see a flashing yellow light on their Alexa devices” if a message is waiting. Amazon Just like the other streamers, Amazon Music has also revealed its most popular artists and songs of the year. Taylor Swift took the top artist spot while “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone snagged the top song prize. The various Amazon Music tiers can be a bit confusing, as with most of the company’s digital offerings. Prime members automatically get something called Amazon Music Prime, which allows access to a catalog of 100 million songs and podcasts. There are no ads for this tier, but members are tied to playlists and shuffles, which is kind of like how the free Spotify tier works. Amazon Music Unlimited removes all restrictions, but costs $10 per month for Prime members and $11 for non-members. Finally, there’s Amazon Music with Ads, which is an ad-filled version of the standard Prime-based tier. It doesn’t cost anything and is available to everyone, even people not interested in free and expedited shipping.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/amazon-music-now-has-its-own-version-of-spotify-wrapped-162216481.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 Apple Music users have had access to the Replay feature throughout 2024, but now Apple has wrapped up all of your stats in a bow with its annual recap of your entire year in streaming. This time, you’ll be able to view the full Replay experience in the Apple Music app via the home, new and search tabs. You'll need to be on iOS 18.1 or later to see it there. In previous years, you had to go to a microsite to get the Replay lowdown, though that’s still an option on the web. As always, you can save a playlist of your most-played songs in 2024, though that and your stats will be finalized in January. Also, if you missed them or want a point of comparison, you can still access your Replays from previous years . Along with the usual details about your top artists, songs, albums, genres and playlists — as well as the total number of minutes you’ve listened to Apple Music — there are some new features this year. You’ll now see if you’re in an artist’s top 500 or 1,000 listeners, expanding beyond the top 100 limit from previous years. You can check out the longest streak of consecutive days you’ve streamed from Apple Music. There’s the option to view your top song, artist and album by month. You’ll also see the first date that you listened to your top artist, song and album of the year. Artists, meanwhile, have access to their own version of Replay for the first time. Via the dashboard, they can see the total number of minutes that subscribers have listened to their music, total listeners, top cities and most-shazamed song. The most-listened to song on Apple Music overall this year was Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” the hook-laden diss track that utterly ethered Drake. Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” meanwhile, was the most identified song on Shazam. For what it's worth, I've had 55,265 minutes of Apple Music listening time so far this year. To my complete lack of surprise, Chappell Roan is my top artist and "Pink Pony Club" is my most-listened-to song. My other top three artists are Charlotte Cardin and Queens of the Stone Age, which I'm completely happy with because I have impeccable music taste. I won't mention who's in fourth place or the fact her Eras Tour wraps up this weekend.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/apple-music-replay-is-here-to-highlight-your-impeccable-or-terrible-taste-161402068.html?src=rss

03.12.2024 21:10 Remember when it was nearly impossible to get your hands on a PS5? Those days are over now, which is only a good thing for gamers and those looking to get the console for the first time. Cyber Monday may be over, but discounts on the PS5 are still around. You can still get the PS5 Slim for $75 off at Amazon, Walmart, Target, Sony and other retailers. You can get the digital edition for $374, or the disc-based model for $424. While we wouldn’t call this a budget console, these deals make it just a bit more affordable and an ideal time to see what all the PS5 fuss is about if you don’t have one yet. Despite the moniker, there’s nothing slim about the specs. This is a regular PS5, with the same horsepower as the original unit. However, the PS5 Slim is 30 percent smaller and around 25 percent lighter. When it comes to tech, smaller is typically a good thing. Both versions ship with a DualSense controller and a 1TB SSD. These consoles also come with Astro’s Playroom pre-installed, which is the precursor to the incredible Astro Bot. They don’t, however, come with a vertical stand. That’ll cost extra. The digital-only model, obviously, doesn’t ship with a disc drive, though there’s a standalone drive available for those who would rather make that decision later. Otherwise, this is a PS5. There’s no other way to play games like Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. It also runs cross-platform hits like Star Wars Outlaws and Elden Ring, in addition to pseudo-exclusives that made their way to PC like God of War Ragnarök. This sale is not for the recently-released PS5 Pro, so you won’t get all of those graphical upscaling bells and whistles. However, that new console is a whopping $700, whereas these PS5 Slim consoles are just over half that. And we'd be remiss if we didn't also mention the sale happening on DualSense Wireless Controllers that work with PS5 consoles; you can pick them up starting at just $54 a piece at Amazon and Sony. Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/playstation-cyber-monday-deals-still-available-include-75-off-ps5-slim-consoles-080645807.html?src=rss