I was harsh on the original Asus ROG Ally. Maybe a little too harsh, since many of the problems I had with it are inherent to the very concept of a Windows-based handheld gaming console. So, when I got my hands on the new ROG Ally X, I tried to be a bit more open-minded. It wasn’t hard, because the …
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UK Regulator Checking Microsoft and Inflection AI Hires for ‘Merger Situation’
Inflection AI co-founder Mustafa Suleyman joined Microsoft as CEO of Microsoft AI in March, and took “several” coworkers with him. Now, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened an inquiry into whether this and Microsoft’s other deals with Inflection should be considered anti-competitive. The CMA has until Sept. 11, 2024 to decide whether to continue the investigation. Why …
Read More »Returned Amazon packages create a retail nightmare for workers at Staples, UPS, Kohl’s
PLEASANT HILL, Calif. — Outstretched arms laden with packages, they stagger in from the parking lot and wander the aisles, searching for the returns counter. At Staples, Kohl’s and The UPS Store, they’re known as the “Amazombies” — Amazon customers who show up each day with hundreds of packages to return, turning store associates’ jobs into a retail horror story. …
Read More »Corvette Bucked a Sports Cars Decline. Can It Thrive in an E.V. Era?
The General Motors sports car, which enjoyed strong sales after a big design change, now has a hybrid version and may get a fully electric model that may turn off some gas-loving customers.
Read More »Google Messages to be new default on Galaxy phones
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung has reportedly announced that it will drop Samsung Messages as its default texting app in favor of Google Messages. The change affects the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Z Fold 6, and newer devices, but users can still download Samsung Messages. It looks like this change only affects devices in the US for now, …
Read More »Open Secrets: ~80% of donations from internet companies have gone to Democrats so far this US election cycle, down from 90% in 2020, as support for Trump grows (Financial Times)
Financial Times: Open Secrets: ~80% of donations from internet companies have gone to Democrats so far this US election cycle, down from 90% in 2020, as support for Trump grows — Some of America’s wealthiest tech investors have come out for Trump. But most Big Tech leaders are staying silent, for now
Read More »The 12 Games We’re Still Most Looking Forward to in 2024 (and Beyond)
In 2023, it felt like the new hit games were just never going to stop coming. In a way, they didn’t. Midway through 2024 we’re still excited for new titles. From sequels like Hades II to interesting new titles like The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, here are the games we’re most excited about this year. Since game release …
Read More »Microsoft Researchers Are Teaching AI to Read Spreadsheets
It can be difficult to make a generative AI model understand a spreadsheet. In order to try to solve this problem, Microsoft researchers published a paper on July 12 on Arxiv describing SpreadsheetLLM, an encoding framework to enable large language models to “read” spreadsheets. SpreadsheetLLM could “transform spreadsheet data management and analysis, paving the way for more intelligent and efficient …
Read More »What caused the Microsoft Windows, CrowdStrike outage disrupting flights
Mass IT outages have caused disruptions around the world, with thousands of flights canceled or delayed and online services down at airports, hospitals, banks and businesses. Many Microsoft users started their day with an error screen — dubbed the “blue screen of death,” or BSOD error. The company says it is aware of an issue affecting Windows programs running technology …
Read More »After CrowdStrike Causes Outage, Are U.S. Networks Safe?
With each cascade of digital disaster, new vulnerabilities emerge. The latest chaos wasn’t caused by an adversary, but it provided a road map of American vulnerabilities at a critical moment.
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