Choose your location
TechSpot
Microsoft claims new Game Pass pricing offers better value, fires back at FTC's "degraded" label
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: The FTC is once again looking into Microsoft's conduct following its Activision acquisition. The regulators filed a motion flagging its recent price hike and service restructuring as "hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger," calling the new Game Pass Standard tier a "degraded" product. Microsoft has now fired back in a letter to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
CrowdStrike also broke Debian and Rocky Linux earlier this year – hackers are taking advantage of Friday's chaos
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: A glitch with CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor agent caused havoc across the globe last week, and the chaos continues as malicious actors rush to take advantage. Amid the turmoil, it is instructive to consider a little-noticed event earlier this year when a CrowdStrike update caused all Debian Linux servers to crash simultaneously and refuse to boot. It took the cybersecurity provider weeks to provide a root cause analysis, revealing that the update was incompatible with the latest stable version of Debian.
Starlink's mobile gateway tech achieves 8Gbps download speeds in offshore test
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: SpaceX is banking on Starlink to generate more revenues from its commercial and remote government applications. The recent increase in performance of a new mobile community gateway will likely help deliver that. It is now preparing to use the technology on naval ships or airplanes. It won't come cheap, however.
FCC proposes 60-day unlock rule after T-Mobile doubles its prepaid lock-in to 365 days
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: The FCC has proposed a 60-day unlocking requirement for all wireless providers to address consumer frustration with inconsistent phone unlocking policies among mobile carriers. The regulation aims to standardize policies and enhance consumer choice and competition. Federal Communications Commissioner Geoffrey...
Google is set to remove low-quality Android apps with "limited functionality" soon
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In brief: Google has gradually tightened its requirements for Play Store apps over the last few years. While these regulations are ostensibly to protect Android users from malware, as the company has removed millions of fraudulent apps over the years, benign software that isn't regularly updated is likely to be caught in the dragnet.
AMD shares Zen 5 chip size ahead of July 31 launch
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: When AMD announced its new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs in June, the company promised a "sweeping update" that'd be more significant than previous, iterative architectural updates. A subsequent teaser only helped to further whet the appetite but still left some unanswered questions. Now, we have a few more pieces of the puzzle to work with.
OpenAI is replacing GPT-3.5 with new GPT-4o mini model for free users
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? OpenAI is ready to deprecate GPT 3.5, the AI model it released to the public in late 2022 alongside the popular ChatGPT service. The LLM will be replaced by GPT-4o mini, a smaller model that the company claims outperforms industry-leading compact offerings from the same category in various reasoning tasks involving text and visuals.
Massive Team Fortress 2 update lands to fix all your nagging complaints
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: Most Team Fortress 2 players would agree that it's been a rough year so far. The iconic class-based shooter has made headlines recently, but for all the wrong reasons. Fans are fed up with Valve's silence on major issues plaguing the game, especially the out-of-control bot problem.
The $75 Orange Pi 5 Max is a Raspberry Pi alternative with 6 TOPS NPU and up to 16GB RAM
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? Shenzhen Xunlong Software has launched its latest single-board computer, the Orange Pi 5 Max. Designed as an alternative to the Raspberry Pi 5, the new development board offers a few minor hardware and software upgrades over its Orange Pi 5 Pro predecessor that was announced a few months ago.
Micron launches "industry's fastest" 2230 consumer SSD, targets gaming handhelds and mini PCs
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? Micron's latest storage offering is here for gaming handhelds, mini PCs, and ultraportables. The company just unleashed the Crucial P310 2230 Gen4 NVMe SSD, and they're making some bold claims about its speed and capacities in that tight little M.2 package.
How to produce liquid nitrogen at home for $1.29 per liter using salvaged AC parts
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. WTF?! Folks who are into extreme overclocking and cryogenic experiments swear by liquid nitrogen. With a boiling point of -320°F, this super-chilled liquid can push computer components to blistering speeds. But getting your hands on liquid nitrogen isn't exactly easy; you typically need specialized equipment or a direct supplier. That is, until now.
3 programming languages that will help you land a job in finance
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. If you're looking for a job in finance, it pays to be strategic about the programming languages you learn. And when it comes to in-demand languages in banking and finance, there's a clear trio that are head and shoulders above the rest. It...
Businesses around the world hit by 'Blue Screen of Death' following faulty CrowdStrike update
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? The dreaded Blue Screen of Death has been hitting Windows machines across the world as they boot up, impacting banks, airlines, media outlets, food chains, and many other businesses. It's been confirmed that the problem stems from security firm CrowdStrike and an issue with its Falcon Sensor agent. There's also been an apparent separate issue with Microsoft 365 apps and services.
This $45 dock adds six ports to the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, or Legion Go
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Why it matters: Valve didn't design the Steam Deck to serve as a desktop PC, but it might become a workable backup with the right equipment. Numerous companies, including Valve, provide docks with multiple ports for connecting handheld gaming PCs to monitors and other devices. However, JSAUX's newest variant might be one of the best value models available.
Intel laptop CPUs are crashing, too, as the company remains silent
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Facepalm: The instability issues plaguing the 13th and 14th-generation Intel Core CPUs were initially only reported in high-end consumer desktops. However, recent information suggests that processors from these series are also crashing at alarming rates in other devices, such as laptops. Chipzilla is investigating the issue but hasn't released an official statement in over a month.
Gigabyte stuffs 48 DDR5 memory slots onto a standard server board
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In brief: Computex 2024 is well in the rearview but with a show that size, it's inevitable that some interesting hardware will slip through the coverage cracks. Case in point is the Gigabyte R283-ZK0, a server board sporting a whopping 48 DDR5 RDIMM slots in a standard 2U form factor.
Costs associated with ransomware attacks are skyrocketing
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: Sophos has released its latest report on the state of ransomware, surveying thousands of professionals and critical national infrastructure organizations across 14 countries and 15 industries. According to the British security company, file-encrypting threats have become more complex and sophisticated. According...
Opinion: The rapidly evolving world of AI PCs
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Something to look forward to: Even though it's only been two months since they were first announced and just a month since they've shipped, Copilot+ PCs are already having a noticeable impact on the PC market. Major OEMs like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft's Surface group have released slick new NPU-accelerated "AI PCs." Other vendors such as Samsung, Acer, and Asus have also joined with impressive new devices.
Windows developer shares origin story of the iconic NT Start Menu banner
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: If you were a Windows user in the '90s, you're likely to be intimately familiar with the iconic Start Menu that shipped with Windows NT. That signature vertical banner proclaiming "Windows NT Workstation," or whichever variant you were running, is an image seared into the minds of many PC users from the era, and we have programmer Dave Plummer to thank for bringing the branding element to life.
This solar-powered drone weighs less than a nickel
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Forward-looking: Battery-powered drones that are popular with consumers can typically fly for around 30 minutes before requiring a recharge. Solar power could extend this duration significantly as long as sunlight is available, and researchers are also finding ways to make such devices extremely small and light.
TechSpot
18K+
Posts
28M+
Views
TechSpot is a computer and technology publication established in 1998. Read daily by thousands of power users, tech enthusiasts, IT decision makers and gamers, TechSpot is home to over 8 million readers every month.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.