techspot

In May 2021, during an I/O event, Google announced an array of features that would improve privacy controls for its ecosystem of apps. One of these was a setting that would allow users to delete the most recent 15 minutes of their search history from the Google Search app. The option came out for iOS in mid-2021, but its release date on Google’s own operating system was still up in the air for a long time....

The upcoming iOS 15.4 release, which is currently available for public beta testing, looks to bring several highly anticipated features and updates. iPhone users interested in installing the update and taking part in the beta can enroll on Apple’s Beta Software Program. Users should keep in mind that while the update supports devices as far back as the iPhone SE and iPod Touch, some key features are only compatible with iPhone 12 and above....

Bloomberg described the subscription service as Apple’s biggest push to date into automatically recurring sales. The program is being actively developed though no other specifics were mentioned. The service could make Apple products accessible to more buyers, especially those with lower incomes that can’t afford to buy Apple devices outright or those who don’t have good enough credit to qualify for financing or the Apple Card. We also don’t know how the service would impact the dynamic between Apple and wireless carriers....

For its first-quarter earnings of 2022, which covers last October to December for Apple, quarterly revenue jumped 11% year-on-year to an all-time high of $123.9 billion, smashing analysts’ average estimate of $118.7 billion. Net income reached $34.63 billion as gross margins increased around 43.8%, while sales in China grew 20%. It’s especially good news for Apple after CEO Tim Cook said during its previous financial results announcement that supply constraints stemming from the chip shortage had cost the company an estimated $6 billion....

The Financial Times writes that EU investigators led by competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager will accuse Apple of blocking third-party service providers, such as PayPal and leading banks, from accessing its mobile wallet system. The case, which was opened in 2020, specifically relates to Apple’s Near Field Communication (NFC) payment technology in iPhones. The company keeps seamless contactless payments exclusively for its Apple Pay service. This means the likes of PayPal, Venmo, and banks can’t offer a similar NFC experience to iPhone users via their own apps....

The new Apple Studio Display is a 27" 5K retina screen with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels at 218 pixels per inch. While it isn’t as big as the 32" Pro Display XDR released in 2019, nor does it offer HDR, the Studio Display starts at $1,600 as opposed to the Pro Display’s $5,000. Another aspect of the Pro Display’s infamous sticker shock is that its stand comes separately as an optional $1,000 add-on....

Blue Tiger’s Solare headset uses a Powerfoyle solar cell headband to stay continually charged under indoor and outdoor lighting. Blue Tiger designed it for constant use while driving. According to Exeger, Urbanista and Adidas also have solar-powered headphones that use its Powerfoyle technology. Cycling apparel company POC uses Powerfoyle for the solar-powered integrated lights in its bicycle helmet as well. The Solare features 97 percent noise canceling, can operate at between minus-40 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and uses Bluetooth 5....

The ransomware encryption speed test conducted by Splunk involved ten samples from ten ransomware families, which were run on four different ‘victim’ profiles. From a total of 400 test runs, a sample from LockBit running on a Windows Server 2019 machine emerged as the fastest ransomware, encrypting all 53GB of test data in just four minutes and nine seconds. This test data consisted of 98,561 files, comprising pdfs, and excel and word documents....

The Felicity Ace was transporting almost 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles from Germany to a port in Rhode Island when a fire broke out on February 16. The 22-person crew was evacuated, and the fire was eventually put out on February 25. But what remained of the Felicity Ace never made it to shore. The ship sank around 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands yesterday while being towed to safety by salvage crews after being hit by rough seas and leaning 45 degrees to its starboard side....

This week Nvidia confirmed Ghostwire: Tokyo will feature ray traced shadows and reflections along with DLSS with its latest graphics drivers. While the company didn’t provide the kind of detailed benchmark chart it has used in the past to explain DLSS performance improvements, Nvidia says the feature can double Ghostwire’s framerate. Bethesda recently revealed a new set of system requirements for the first-person action-adventure game from Tango Gameworks, which adds three tiers of recommended specs for playing the game with ray tracing enabled....

This week, Intel introduced a new wave of 12th-gen Alder Lake mobile CPUs with support for the latest memory and connectivity standards, overclocking, and the vPro management platform. These will power several workstation laptops from brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo, MSI, and Gigabyte. The new processors aren’t the only products to make an appearance at Intel’s Vision 2022 event. The company showed off two different CPUs from the 14th-gen Core series that carry the “Meteor Lake” moniker....

When the Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019 was signed into law, it included a clause that prevented internet service providers from forcing customers to pay rental fees. Subscribers who already owned modems and routers, which fall into the “covered equipment” category, could opt out of using rented network devices. Before the law, most ISPs had contracts that forced hardware rentals on their customers, so this was a welcome change....

As much fun as GoldenEye 007 was to play in local multiplayer mode, the split screen held it back somewhat. At the time, some complained about screen cheating, but since everyone could see all of the screens, it was still a level playing field and eliminated annoying tactics like camping. The main problem was reducing the already small screen you were likely playing on by a factor of four. In the current age of multiplayer games, this is not a problem as everyone plays via the internet....

To help MIRI reach its target operating temperature, engineers developed an electrically powered cryocooler. When activated, the system is able to bring the instrument down to its final operating temperature below 7 kelvins (minus 447 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 266 degrees Celsius). On April 7, MIRI successfully achieved its final operating temperature. “The team was both excited and nervous going into the critical activity. In the end it was a textbook execution of the procedure, and the cooler performance is even better than expected,” said Analyn Schneider, project manager for MIRI at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California....

Onkyo was established in 1946 and eventually became a well-respected name in the audiophile community, largely due to its AV receivers. Japanese brands including Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony surged in the 90s with the popularity of tower-style, component stereo systems. The market started shifting in the 2000s, however, with the advent of MP3s, the recently discontinued Apple iPod and later, smartphones and streaming music services. Large home stereo systems fell out of favor with consumers who were now more interested in sleeker systems like soundbars and mobile solutions....

Netflix’s upcoming live-action Resident Evil series will premiere on July 14, 2022. The streaming giant shared the date on Twitter along with three pieces of key art, each featuring a bright yellow background with contrasting red blood. A closer inspection of the vial in one of the photos notes the sample has tested positive for the T-Virus. There’s also a QR code which leads to this landing page when scanned....

Microsoft Edge has become a capable browser since becoming Chromium-based in 2019. It even recently overtook Safari as the second most popular desktop browser, albeit Microsoft’s decision to make it a headache to switch to an alternative in Windows 11 might have played a part in that. On a recently discovered support page, Microsoft details a new feature coming to the browser that it hopes will give it a leg up over Google Chrome....

‘The Future of Work in Financial Services: Remote or In-Office?’ is a collaboration between market researcher Atomik Research and enterprise video platform maker Vidyard. It uses data gathered from 503 financial service professionals working in sales, marketing, human resources, and client services, focusing on their work-from-home opinions. The survey reveals that a massive 96% of people would be willing to give up a percentage of their salary to work from home permanently....

The sandbox game from Mojang Studios was formally released in 2011 and a few years later, Microsoft scooped up Mojang for $2.5 billion. Today, Minecraft is the best-selling video game in history with over 238 million copies sold. In related news, sources told Deadline that Sega is lending another of its popular franchises to Hollywood. John Wick screenwriter Derek Kolstad has reportedly written a script for a film adaptation of beat ’em up game Streets of Rage....

On Wednesday, Remedy Entertainment revealed the “Max Payne 1&2 Project.” The studio plans to remake the first two Max Payne games for PC and current-generation consoles. The project is undergoing concept development and currently has no release date. However, Remedy has shared a few details. Publisher Rockstar Games approached Remedy about remaking Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, even offering to finance the endeavor. The production is shooting for a AAA production, running on Remedy’s Northlight engine, which powered Quantum Break, Control, and Crossfire X....