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Showing posts from January, 2024

Japan finally gives up on 1.44MB floppy disk drives, 50 years after they went on sale — but there's no sign of Microsoft removing the iconic 'Save' floppy icon from Office just yet

Even though floppy disks have long since gone the way of the dodo , the ghost of the ancient recording media still haunts the digital world. As a great example, when you go to save a file in Microsoft Office, you'll see the save icon still appears as a floppy disk, even though there’s a good chance you’ll be saving your content in cloud storage , rather than to a slow, clunky plastic square with extremely limited storage capacity. Japan is known for being at the forefront of technology, but the country's government is still somewhat reliant on floppy disks . As reported by Tom’s Hardware , there were about 1,900 official governmental application procedures that stipulated businesses must submit floppies or CD-Roms (specifically) containing supplementary data until last week. Finally, however, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is looking to abandon this outdated practice. Updating the rules METI has issued a "Ministerial Ordinance to Amend Some of

This giant, 27-inch digital calendar is here to organize your family’s life

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Smart frame brand Skylight is expanding beyond digital photo frames by launching a new 27-inch calendar monitor, aptly named the Calendar Max or Cal Max for short. It functions similarly to the older 10-inch and 15-inch models with several key differences. The biggest change is its size, and with size comes a higher resolution. The Cal Max outputs a Quad HD resolution (2,560 x 1,440 pixel) image, making it easy to quickly glance at everyone’s schedules for the week. It can be placed horizontally on a wall, or if space is tight, vertically thanks to Portrait Mode. Additionally, the screen is covered in an anti-glare coating ensuring its viewability even under direct sunlight.  (Image credit: Skylight) Design-wise, the Cal Max resembles the previous 10-inch model due to its rounded corners. This time, however, the frame surrounding the screen can be swapped out. Interested customers can choose between a plastic frame in either black or white and an aluminum Shadow Box frame.

LIfe's beyond consumers for Life's Good — LG is looking to transform itself into a B2B giant as it eyes smart factories for its future growth

LG  is set to expand beyond consumer goods, transforming itself into a business-to-business (B2B) giant as it eyes smart factories for future growth. According to The Korea Economic Daily , LG recently launched a smart factory business division under its research and development center, signaling a significant shift from its traditional home appliances brand. The South Korean giant has identified B2B services, specifically for smart factories, as its new growth area. It aims to leverage its domestic and overseas plants in conjunction with its operating expertise. Smart factories offer the promise of fully automated production processes, from assembly to packaging, while also utilizing big data and deep learning technology to enhance work and power usage efficiency. Turnkey services The company's smart factory division, comprising dozens of employees, will spearhead automated technology development. This includes mobile robot systems to manage the sales process, from automated

Scam for gold — the FBI is warning tech support criminals are now sending couriers to your house in brazen attempt

“Tech support” scammers are getting more audacious, and are now even sending couriers to victims’ houses to pick up the cash and various precious metals, the FBI has warned. In its alert , the FBI says the scammers mostly target the elderly and other technologically unsavvy people, sometimes impersonating a bank, sometimes a major IT company, sometimes the US government, and sometimes all of the above (in a multi-layered attack).  The victims would be informed that their financial accounts were either targeted, or already compromised, and that their money wasn’t safe any more. To protect their funds, the victims were enticed to liquidate all, and either withdraw the cash, or acquire precious metals such as gold or silver. Millions of dollars in damages The attackers would convince the victims that they can keep their belongings safe, and should the victims agree, the attackers would send a courier to pick up the belongings. They would even direct their victims to authenticate the

A video of GitHub's extraordinary deep-freeze archiving project has emerged — millions of projects were saved on 02/02/2020 and there's a good reason why that date was chosen

The idea of preserving Earth's most essential elements to keep them safe in the event of a catastrophe is not new - the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, for example, serves as a backup for over a million seeds to prevent their extinction.  Not far from there, another crucial backup exists: the Arctic World Archive (AWA), a joint initiative between Norwegian state-owned mining company Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK) and very-long-term digital preservation provider Piql AS. The AWA is a collection of data-filled containers stored inside a sealed chamber within a decommissioned coal mine, about 250 to 300 meters underground. These containers resemble film reels, except they are filled with data not movies. A lucky date On 02/02/2020, GitHub captured a snapshot of every active public repository and preserved that data in the Arctic Code Vault within the AWA. This capture includes every repo with any commits between the announcement at GitHub Universe on November 13th 20

Microsoft’s Copilot obsession strikes again when sharing Word documents - but it could actually be useful

A new feature is coming to Microsoft Word for people using Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365. It will soon allow users to add an AI-generated summary to their documents when sharing them via OneDrive.  Microsoft’s file-hosting service is widely used within businesses and by consumers to allow people to share documents, large files, and presentations straight from the Microsoft 365 software suite . According to MSPowerser , the feature will be exclusively available to users with Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, for which you need a specific paid license (unlike OneDrive itself). While this might be disappointing for those who wish to try the feature out without having to pay for it, there is some hope that we may see it trickle down to Microsoft’s free Office for Web suite (formerly known as Office Online), which includes Microsoft Word and 5GB of OneDrive storage. Quick and Easy It may seem like quite a basic addition to Copilot’s nifty AI-powered skill set , but the new fe

Quordle today – hints and answers for Monday, January 29 (game #735)

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It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off.  Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around two years after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently.  But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer , you'll probably need some hints for this game too.  I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #735 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence.  SPOILER WARNING: In

"An AI Stephen Hawking would look like him": Holographic avatars of long-dead celebrity scientists could work with — or compete with living university lecturers

It used to be when popstars died, or retired from performing, that you could no longer see them live, but holographic technology has changed all that.  A growing number of deceased celebrities, from Tupac to Elvis, have been brought back to life as holograms, and the technology firms may also be set to enliven the education sector. Loughborough University in the UK is pioneering the use of holographic technology, with plans to introduce holograms of renowned scientists, such as the late Stephen Hawking, into the curriculum by 2025. AI Stephen Hawking This revolutionary approach aims to engage students more effectively than traditional 2D presentations or video calls. The university has been exploring the use of holography in various fields, from sports science to fashion and the technology, provided by LA-based firm Proto, allows for a more immersive and interactive learning experience. Proto's founder, David Nussbaum, explained that the technology could resurrect some of th

Two of the best RTX 4060 gaming laptops you can buy are $500 off right now

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Best Buy's most recent sale has yielded some superb gaming laptop deals - so many, in fact, that I'm having trouble deciding which is the best right now. There are two deals in particular that have caught my eye - this MSI Stealth 14 for $999 (was $1,499) and this Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 for $1,049 (was $1,599) .  Both of these gaming laptops are at least $500 off right now, feature speedy RTX 4060 graphics cards, and come in bag-friendly 14-inch form factors. Put simply, they're both fantastic choices if you're looking for a sleek machine that won't weigh you down too much. Which is best? Well, it's close - first, let's take a look at each model in full, including the components each one is featuring: RTX 4060 gaming laptop deals MSI Stealth 14 gaming laptop: was $1,499 now $999 at Best Buy Processor:  Intel Core i7-13620H Graphics card:  RTX 4060 RAM:  16GB SSD:  1TB With a powerful configuration of components wrapped in a sleek, light

Asus ROG Phone 8 Series Goes on Sale in India via Vijay Sales: Price, Specifications

Asus ROG Phone 8 and Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro are available for purchase in India via Vijay Sales retail outlets. Days after the Asus ROG Phone 8 series was launched in the country, customers can now purchase the phones that are equipped with Qualcomm's latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor paired with up to 24GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. from Gadgets 360 https://ift.tt/sVKk4HM

Quordle today – hints and answers for Sunday, January 28 (game #734)

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It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off.  Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around two years after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also keeping it fresh in the form of a variant called the Daily Sequence, which sees you complete four puzzles consecutively, rather than concurrently.  But Quordle is tough, so if you already find yourself searching for today's Wordle answer , you'll probably need some hints for this game too.  I'm a Quordle and Wordle fanatic who's been playing since December 2021, so I can definitely help you solve Quordle today and improve your game for tomorrow. Read on for my Quordle hints to game #734 and the answers to the main game and Daily Sequence.  SPOILER WARNING: In

France vs Denmark live stream: watch men's EHF Euro 2024 handball final online

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It all comes down to this. After two frantic semi-finals, France and Denmark will play each other in the EHF Euro 2024 handball final. It has been a while since both these sides have made it to this showpiece game. Neither will want to leave empty-handed. Read on as we explain how to watch a FREE Handball EURO 2024 live stream – no matter where you are in the world. Just want to get watching? Watch FREE on EHFTV (may require a VPN ) EHF EURO 2024 live stream: France vs Denmark Date:  Sunday, January 28 Time: 4.45pm GMT / 11.45pm ET / 8.45am PT / 3.45am AEDT (Jan 29)  Venue: Lanxess-Arena Cologne Live stream: watch FREE on EHFTV Watch anywhere: try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free France needed extra time to see off Sweden. Elohim Prandi converted a free throw at the end of normal time and his side went on to win 34:40. It means they remain unbeaten in this year’s EHF Euro. Denmark, meanwhile were two goals down at half-time in their semi-final against hosts Germany but

Sony's excellent free cloud storage service for creators gets some outstanding upgrades — support for Dolby Atmos and a snazzy desktop app to accelerate transfers

Sony has announced significant upgrades to its Ci Media Cloud platform, a cloud-based media management and collaboration service. The updates include a new plan tailored for small and medium businesses, the introduction of a desktop file transfer app, and enhanced support for Dolby Atmos audio files. The new Ci Transfer desktop app (available to download for free for all Ci users) allows for high-speed transfer of files and folders to and from the Ci Media Cloud platform.  Available for both Mac and PC, the app supports multi-gig speed transfers, retries transfers after interruptions, and is optimized to handle hundreds of files. It also features pause and resume functions, transfer reports, and can be paired with a new sidecar ingest workflow for larger organizations migrating archive libraries. Enhanced Dolby Atmos support In addition to the Free, Pro, and Team online plans, there's a new Business Plan for small and medium organizations which Sony says is a step up from Ci

Google’s upcoming Chrome release could be good for Windows on ARM devices taking on MacBooks and Chromebooks

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Google Chrome is coming to Windows 11 devices running on ARM processors. A new version of the browser has been released through the Canary release channel which will allow users with ARM-based devices to run Chrome natively - rather than having to use an emulator (which brings its own complexities and performance issues).  ARM-based mobile devices are very common already, and ARM processors and ARM-based chips (like Apple’s M1 , M2 , and M3 silicon chips) are becoming more commonplace in devices like PCs. Unfortunately, those running Windows on a device with an ARM chip couldn’t use Chrome natively and would have to use a workaround like running Chrome in emulation mode.  This isn’t the end of the world, but if you’re emulating a virtual device within your device, you’re relying on the processing constraints of the virtual device. This limited how well Chrome performed on ARM-64 processor devices, until now, thanks to the latest release in the Canary channel, which is for very ea

Dell XPS 13 crashes to record-low price: save $300 on one of the best laptops of 2024

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The Dell XPS 13 is down to just $799 at the official Dell site today with a whopping $300 discount on the mid-range Core i7 model. While you can also pick up the entry-level Core i5 model for just $599 right now , we'd single out the Core i7 configuration in particular as a better buy of the two. Not only do you get a comparatively beefy chipset with this one (more than enough for most tasks), but this config also comes with a full 16GB set of RAM. We'd consider 16GB of RAM as almost essential if you're planning on tackling heavier workloads with your laptop.  Of course, the main selling point for the Dell XPS 13 remains its exceptional design, high-end build quality, and extremely thin form factor. Our Dell XPS 13 (2022) review praised all these factors, awarding this model a healthy four stars out of five. The almost-unbeatable slimness does come with a trade-off, however, in the form of a slightly more limited port selection with the two sole USB-C Thunderbolt 4 por

Think Windows 11 is too bloated? This 100MB version could be worth a try - or drive you bananas

NTDEV, the team behind the Tiny11 , is back and has achieved an incredible feat - compressing Windows 11 down to just 100MB. While impressive, we wouldn’t recommend trying to run the developer's latest take on Microsoft’s latest operating software because well - it's a bit bare, to say the least. To shrink Windows 11 to such a size they’ve had to strip away much of what we’re familiar with and reduce it down to a text-only version.    In a YouTube video posted by NTDEV (via PC gamer ) you can get a better idea of what it looks like. Gone is the normal GUI (graphical user interface) that we all know and love (well, depending on who you ask) and it has been replaced with an almost entirely black background and lines of white text - essentially turning Windows 11 into a command-line operating system like DOS (an old PC operating system which was popular before Windows 3.1 arguably killed it off). So, there’s no windows, no colorful greeting screen, and no desktop. You won’t ha

Amazon's massive winter sale is still live: shop the 21 best deals still available

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Amazon launched a massive winter sale at the beginning of this month with deals on tech gadgets, vacuums, kitchen appliances, smart home devices, TVs, and more. The sale is still live, and surprisingly, there are still some really good deals available. I've listed the 21 best offers below. • Shop Amazon's full winter sale Amazon's winter sale includes clearance prices on last year's best-selling tech and home items, allowing you to score a record-low price from brands like Apple, Roomba, Ninja, LG, Bissell, Keurig, and Beats. Some standout offers include the popular AirPods Pro 2 on sale for $189 , the top-rated iRobot Roomba 694 robot vacuum for $159.97 , and this TCL 65-inch 4K QLED TV on sale for a fantastic price of $499.99 . Below, I've listed links to the most popular categories from Amazon's winter sale, followed by more of the top deals. As we get closer to February, we expect Amazon's winter sale to end, so you should shop these limited-time