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Showing posts from January, 2024

YouTube TV could soon get some big upgrades for sports fans

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Improvements are being made to YouTube TV ensuring sports fans can watch multiple games with little to no interruptions. The annoying thing about watching sports online is there can sometimes be broadcast delays. This results in laggy streams and it's awful. Back in December 2023, YouTube introduced a way to temporarily reduce latency for up to 48 hours at a time. It ensures interference or fluctuating internet speeds don’t cause streams to freeze. But now, according to CordCuttersNews , the latency reduction option can be enabled permanently.  Images on a 9To5Google report reveal text mentioning the 48-hour time limit is no longer present on Decreased Delay. What's more, it applies to all channels on the service. The publication states enabling the tool will only go into effect after closing and then reopening the app on Android TV. What’s interesting is that Decreased Delay is still labeled as an experimental feature so there could be
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OM System OM-1 II is a refresh of one of the world’s best wildlife photography cameras

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support In our Olympus OM-1 review , we labelled the flagship mirrorless camera for photographers "the best Micro Four Thirds camera you can buy", and said it proved that computational tricks are the future of mirrorless cameras . Almost two years later, it has a successor with a different name etched on its body – the OM System OM-1 II. Olympus had already been bought by OM Digital Solutions when the OM-1 was launched in March 2022. Since then, there's been little activity from the fledgling name in cameras besides whacking its OM System brand on updated Olympus models that are mere minor refreshes. Sadly, the same is true here. We have virtually the same OM-1 hardware in the new OM-1 II; a 20MP back-illuminated stacked sensor with 1053-point AF system, 50fps with continuous autofocus and autoexposure, plus the rugged IP53-rated dustproof, splashproof and freezeproof body. Those specs still read well today, but fans of the MFT system would
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Sony Xperia 1 VI leak suggests it could get a major camera and zoom boost

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The launch of Sony’s next-gen Xperia 1 VI may just be around the corner as marketing material for the flagship smartphone recently leaked. Posted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) by notable leaker Insider Sony , images show the upcoming device will see a major camera upgrade when compared to Xperia 1 V . It’ll have not one, not two, but three 48MP lenses on the back, enabling high-resolution photography for the entire trio. Each of the three will have an Exmor T for mobile image sensor; the same kind found on the Xperia 1 V’s main lens. What’s unique about the tech is it allows the phone to take in more light when taking a picture while also “significantly [reducing] image noise.” Now that high level of quality is being spread to the rest of the group.   Hardware specs In a follow-up post, Insider Sony details the specifications of each camera. The main lens houses an Exmor T 1/1.4-inch sensor with a “large aperture of f/1.4”. Th
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Philips's newest 5K monitor comes with three features that all display vendors should copy — shame it doesn't offer a higher resolution for enhanced productivity

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Philips’ most recent business monitor , the 49B2U6900CH, offers a trio of handy features for the modern digital workspace. The 48.8-inch SuperWide display sports a curved frame and boasts a 5K (5120 x 1440) Double QHD resolution, providing a wide viewing angle that would usually require two separate screens. It incorporates low blue mode with flicker-free technology and sits on a height-adjustable stand. One of the new monitor's key features is an adjustable webcam with auto-framing. This adjusts to include all team members in the frame during video calls, and can tilt 30 degrees to accommodate users of different heights. There’s a noise-cancelling microphone, and for added convenience, the 49B2U6900CH includes an earphone hook on the bezel, offering a tidy storage solution for headsets. Busylight The Busylight, positioned above the webcam, is our favorite addition and is designed to communicate the user's working status. When a user is
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I can't believe I love this Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra downgrade

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support As I’ve gotten older, I've developed an appreciation for simple and refined design that eschews flair for practicality. And the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a great example of that.  For years, Galaxy Ultra models and their Galaxy Edge predecessors have come with curved edges to their displays. Over the years, refinements on display panels have led to gentle curved edges that make for very usable bezel-less screens. And curved displays came to the likes of the Google Pixel phones and flagship OnePlus models.  But like the Google Pixel 8 Pro , the Galaxy S24 Ultra has dropped the curved edges of its predecessors and gone for flat screen edges. I’d normally consider this an off-putting downgrade; what can I say, I like curves.  There’s always been something pleasing about seeing a screen neatly bleed into the phone’s chassis, as to my eyes they've always felt a little sci-fi-esque – in the vein of Star Trek rather than the rugged aestheti
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Seagate's newest hard disk drive has a feature that could save you thousands of dollars — shame other HDD vendors do not offer it yet

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Seagate has unveiled a new, large capacity hard drive designed to cater to the ever-growing data demands of SMBs and NAS environments. The latest Seagate IronWolf Pro drive offers a whopping 24TB of storage. With sustained transfer rates of 285MB/s, a user workload rating of up to 550TB per year, and 2.5 million hours mean time between failures (MTBF), Seagate says its new drive promises 24/7 performance, reliability, and dependability in multi-user collaborative environments and multi-bay systems. The IronWolf Pro 24TB comes equipped with Seagate’s AgileArray technology, optimizing them for NAS systems. This technology uses dual-plane balancing and time-limited error recovery (TLER) to deliver top-tier performance in multi-bay systems. Seagate Rescue Data Recovery Services A standout feature of the Seagate IronWolf Pro 24TB is its IronWolf Health Management system. This system aids in data protection by providing prevention, intervention, an
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One of the world's biggest web hosting companies revealed that it eradicated nearly 500 million malware threats in 2023 - a staggering 250 instances per customer

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Top web hosting company Hostinger says that 2023 proved to be a particular bumper year for malware, as its Monarx powered scanner service successfully identified and cleaned close to 500 million threats through the year, which equates to 250 instances per customer. While this figure is half of what it was in 2022, this is largely due to the company's successful efforts to combat Phoenix, an uploader notorious for delivering other malware to systems.  When Phoenix's influence is removed from the equation, there was an obvious, and significant increase in the number of unique malware pieces across 2023, a rise Hostinger expects to see continue this year.  DDoS attacks incoming Hostinger noted that malicious activities peaked during sales periods when more people are online and potentially less cautious about security. The company's malware scanner was particularly active during major sales in November and December, and minor spikes
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Ex-Hololens engineer launches AR headset that's the antithesis of Apple Vision Pro — and bags remote assistance partnership with Manchester United's shirt sponsor

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support A former Microsoft's HoloLens engineer, Sebastian Beetschen, has launched an augmented reality (AR) headset that is a stark contrast to Apple's upcoming Vision Pro. The headset, Almer Arc 2, is the latest product from AR startup Almer, co-founded by Beetschen and ex-jet fighter pilot Timon Binder in 2021. Weighing just 138 grams, the Almer Arc 2 is four times lighter than Apple's Vision Pro, which will come as welcome news considering many of the people who have so far tried the latter headset have complained about its weight. The Arc 2 features a 25MP camera, beamforming microphones, built-in speakers, and a holographic see-through screen, and offers an 8-hour battery life. Its transparent display can be used in dynamic environments, unlike the Vision Pro, which is designed for static indoor settings. TeamViewer remote support Almer's announcement coincides with a strategic partnership with TeamViewer, the global leader in remo
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Good sleep could mean you live up to 4.7 years longer, study finds

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Our bodies get up to a lot while we sleep, even if it might seem like nothing much is going on. Your cells, metabolism, and hormones all use your shut-eye to refresh and prepare for the next day. With that in mind, it's little surprise that good sleep and good health are so closely linked. However, for many of us, sleep remains low-priority. From 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' to 'I'll catch up at the weekend', getting high-quality and consistent sleep is rarely top of the to-do list. But it turns out, not going to bed might be doing more than just ruining your morning: it might be shortening your lifespan. A recent survey has found a strong link between an increased lifespan and consistent high-quality sleep. Researchers inspected data provided by 172,321 participants to the National Health Interview Survey between 2013 and 2018, then compared the information to the National Death Index up until December 2019.  Base
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Leaked AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G APU benchmarks are substantially faster than Ryzen 7 5700G

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Both the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G APU Geekbench benchmark results have been leaked, showcasing single and multithread performance.  The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G tested is the highest Hawk Point APU with eight cores, 16 threads, 16 MB of L3 and eight MB of L2 cache. It also has a base clock speed of 4.2 GHz, a boost clock speed of 5.1 GHz, and a TDP of 65W. According to the report from Wccftech , it scored on the single-core 2,720 and on the multi-core 14,326. Meanwhile, the AMD Ryzen 5 8600G is a six-core and 12-thread APU with 16 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 cache. It has a base clock speed of 4.3 GHz and a boost clock speed of 5.0 GHz with a 65W TDP as well. On the single-core it received 2,474 and on the multi-core 11,453. Compared to the AMD Ryzen 5700G’s performance, the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G has a 64% boost in multi-core and a 37% boost in single-core performance. Compared to the same CPU, the Ryzen 5 8600G has a 50% increase in multi-threaded
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The Joker will be a free playable character in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's Season 1

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Rocksteady Studios, the devs behind Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League , have shared an update on the game's first season and what players can expect - and fortunately, it's a character many players will be keen to see. As announced during Rocksteady's latest Suicide Squad Insider video on YouTube, it was announced that The Joker would be the next member to join the suicide squad when the first season rolls in March.  Each season intends to theme itself around a different DC character, and The Joker has taken the beacon for the first round, offering an alternate variant of the character to echo the Elseworlds theme of the pass. Alongside adding the character, players will unlock a Joker-themed playable environment, two new episodes, new missions, a boss battle, and new Riddler content. So, enough to fill your boots. And, the best part is - it's entirely free.  In fact, Rocksteady has confirmed that no playable content will b
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Philips Hue brightens up your January with new outdoor and indoor lights

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Smart home lighting brand Signify will be launching new lighting fixtures under the Philip Hue name to help you personalize the outside and inside of your house. Chief among these is the Dymera, a device that goes up on a wall emitting two beams of light from the top and bottom. Both sides can be configured individually so you can have the top light shine in color while the bottom one emits white light. Signify states users can configure the fixture’s brightness level via the Philip Hue mobile app. It’s also on the app where you can adjust the color of the lighting as well as set scenes via the gallery section.  These are distinct lighting arrays and can, for example, be used to have the device’s beams slowly transition from one shade of color to another. Philips offers a variety of pre-made scenes on its website or you can make your own to suit your needs. (Image credit: Signify/Phillips Hue) Notable features include support for Blue
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No, the Samsung Galaxy S22 isn’t getting Galaxy AI features – here’s why

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The Samsung Galaxy S24 series launched last week with several AI-powered features in tow, and we now know that a select group of existing Samsung devices – including the Galaxy S23 , Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 – will benefit from Galaxy AI upgrades in the coming months. But what about the Samsung Galaxy S22 line?  The Samsung Galaxy S22 , Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra are all less than two years old, but according to Samsung’s Head of Customer Experience, Patrick Chomet, none of the company’s 2022 devices are expected to benefit from its cutting-edge Galaxy AI features – at least not any time soon. Speaking to TechRadar following Galaxy Unpacked 2024, Chomet told us: “First of all, to get [these features] on the Galaxy S24 series was so much work. I’m exhausted. And actually, TM Roh [President of Samsung’s mobile division] wanted to announce [at Unpacked] that we can support Galaxy S23 devices with Galaxy AI
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Drift off to rainfall and wake up to sizzling bacon – is crafting your own ASMR soundscape the key to good sleep?

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support How much control do we have over our sleep environment? We might be able to pick the best mattress and best pillow , but when it comes to disruptive nighttime noises, we often have to put up with whatever our local environment wants to deliver. If I could dictate my sleep soundscape, I would get the Alaskan Malamute that lives next door not to howl mournfully between 12am and 7am.  But just because we can't put a stop to ambient noise, it doesn't mean we can't take some control over what we hear at night. A survey commissioned by hotel chain Premier Inn found that 50 per cent of people use white noise to fall asleep at least some of the time, with 26 per cent listening to it every night. And it turns out we're all dreaming of rainy evenings, with 40 per cent of white noise listeners picking rainfall as their top soothing sound.  But is a wet night really what we want to picture as we drift off? With the launch of its new white
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You can now run Windows 11 seamlessly on Apple silicon Macs with Microsoft's stamp of approval

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support You can now virtually run Windows 11 on the newest Apple Mac devices (those with Apple’s own ARM-based M1 , M2 , or M3 chips) using Microsoft-authorized methods. The MacBook maker s witched from Intel processors in its devices to its own new line of Apple silicon ARM  processors in 2020 , and that change meant Mac users who wanted to use Microsoft’s Windows operating systems (or Windows-only apps) were left out in the cold.. For Mac devices with Intel processors, users could turn to the multi-boot utility program, Boot Camp , which enabled users to install and run Windows on their Macs as their chosen operating system (OS) - rather than the default macOS.  Users with Apple silicon processor devices can’t use Boot Camp, as it’s incompatible and would have to turn to other ways of running Windows operating systems, such as emulators and virtualization programs . There are many virtualization programs out there, but now, Microsoft has chimed in o
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One of the world's most powerful supercomputers could one day heat your home — UK researchers plan to use abandoned coal mines to bring warmth to millions of households

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support UK researchers are testing a groundbreaking system to repurpose waste heat from a supercomputing facility, potentially providing warmth to millions of homes.  The system, a first in the UK, aims to store excess heat generated by the University of Edinburgh's Advanced Computing Facility (ACF) in disused mine workings. The ACF, housing the national supercomputer, currently emits up to 70 GWh of waste heat annually, a figure expected to increase to 272 GWh with the installation of the government's forthcoming Exascale supercomputer. The £2.6 million feasibility study will investigate how to harness the water in old mine workings to heat homes. The cooling process for the supercomputers will be adapted to transfer heat into the mine water, which will then be distributed to households via heat pump technology. Heating up to 7 million homes If successful, this study could provide a global blueprint for repurposing abandoned coal, shale, and m
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AI helps the world's biggest tech firms smash $10 trillion market capitalization ceiling — Nvidia replaces Facebook as the new kid on the block while Microsoft displaces Apple at the helm

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The world's biggest tech giants have swelled more than $1 trillion in valuation, thanks in part to investments and advancements in generative AI – collectively exceeding $10 trillion in valuation.  But it's not good news for everyone, as Meta, which has only just pivoted to AI after misfiring on its metaverse bet, is yet to hit $1 trillion – specifically, $937.85 billion at the time of writing. The companies – including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon and Nvidia – are all worth more than $1 trillion, according to the latest market capitalization figures on Google Finance, which was something incredibly rare before Apple became the first Silicon Valley giant to break this threshold in 2018 .  AI boom Apple also became the world's first $2 trillion US company , and the country's first $3 trillion company , but is now valued at $2.81 trillion – just shy of Microsoft. While it hasn't yet announced concrete AI integrations yet,
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Amazon tests a new AI assistant to answer your questions while you shop

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support Amazon is reportedly testing a new AI assistant on its mobile app that can answer customer questions about specific products. This feature appears to have been initially discovered by e-commerce research firm Marketplace Pulse . According to the firm, the AI can be found under the “Looking for specific info?” section on product pages. The LLM (large language model) powering the feature relies on listing details provided by companies and user reviews to generate responses to inquiries. For example, you can ask if a particular workout shirt is good for running or if it fits well on a tall person. Marketplace Pulse states its main purpose is to save people the trouble of having to read individual reviews by summarizing all the information present into a succinct block of text.  (Image credit: Marketplace Pulse/Amazon) Because it’s in the early stages, the AI assistant is limited in what it can do. You can’t command it to compare two items o
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