As great as large-scale entertainment subscription services can be, over time, price hikes tend to occur. Those who use Spotify in the UK and Europe are about to be hit by one such price hike, raising the monthly fee across all tiers. As reported by Android Police this afternoon, Spotify …
Read More »Someone modded a Commodore 64 to mine Bitcoin
Bitcoin mining fever has some severe symptoms. While some think it's a good idea to mod a Gameboy to mine Bitcoin, others prefer the more retro Commodore 64 for that purpose. It certainly won't rival any ASIC miner out there, but it still is an achievement worthy of being shared. …
Read More »Apple faces lawsuit for telling users they can “buy” content on iTunes
It looks like Apple will have another legal battle on its hands soon. Currently, the company is facing a class action lawsuit over the iTunes store, with customers taking issue with the company's handling of purchased content. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter this week, Apple is facing a putative …
Read More »Seagate’s new FireCuda gaming drives offer up to 16TB of portable storage
Seagate is expanding its range of external storage solutions for PC gaming. There are two new external HDDs coming – the FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive and the FireCuda Gaming Hub, both designed to allow users to install their games and take them on the go. The FireCuda Hard Drive features …
Read More »Microsoft no longer acquiring Discord
Over the last few weeks, there has been a persistent rumour that Microsoft is in discussions to acquire popular chat app, Discord. The buyout offer is said to have been in the $10 billion to $12 billion range, but now, it reported that Discord is dropping negotiations and looking at …
Read More »Performance Mode for Microsoft Edge cuts down on CPU and RAM usage
Microsoft's Edge browser picked up a lot of new users when it made the big jump to Chromium and soon, the browser will make some more big improvements. Microsoft is currently testing out a new performance mode for Edge, which aims to improve CPU, RAM and battery usage. In a …
Read More »UK government intervenes in Nvidia acquisition of ARM
The UK government is intervening with Nvidia's planned acquisition of ARM. While Nvidia remains confident that the deal will close sometime in 2022, the UK government is claiming concerns over national security. UK Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, stated today that the government has officially issued an intervention notice. The UK's …
Read More »VESA confirms DisplayHDR 2000 doesn’t exist
Over the last couple of weeks, we've seen two monitors listed at Chinese retail sites advertised with a ‘DisplayHDR 2000' logo. At the time, it was assumed that a higher tier was being added to the VESA HDR certification programme, but as it turns out, the logo is fake. In …
Read More »Nvidia remains confident that ARM acquisition will complete in 2022
In September last year, Nvidia announced that it reached a deal to acquire ARM for $40 billion. A number of tech companies have raised concerns over this and regulators are investigating the deal, but Nvidia remains confident that approval will be gained and the deal will go through in 2022.
Read More »Nvidia’s GANverse3D uses AI to create textured 3D models from 2D images
For the final day of GTC 2021, Nvidia revealed its latest AI developments. Utilising the Nvidia Omniverse platform and a new tool called GANverse3D, users can create 3D models, complete with mesh and textures, from a single 2D image, all using a trained AI. To showcase this tech in action, …
Read More »TSMC sees growth in Q1 but warns chip shortages could last into 2022
There is good news and bad news from TSMC this week. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has seen a rise in revenue and profits in Q1, but unfortunately, we are no closer to the current chip shortage being over. TSMC revealed this week that it saw a 19.4 percent rise …
Read More »Nvidia “Atlan” SoC to combine Grace-Next CPU and Ampere-Next GPU
With GTC just a few hours away, details on an Nvidia 'Atlan' SoC have appeared, combining next-gen CPU and GPU technology.
Read More »Update: Microsoft acquires Apple’s Siri partner for $19.7 billion
Update (12/04/21): While we only just heard about Microsoft's negotiations to acquire Nuance in the last 48 hours, things have moved quickly. This afternoon, Microsoft officially announced that it is acquiring Nuance in a deal worth $19.7 billion – the second largest acquisition in the company's history. As expected, this …
Read More »AMD’s $35 billion Xilinx acquisition approved by shareholders
Back in October 2020, AMD announced plans to acquire Xilinx for $35 billion in an effort to create “the industry's strongest portfolio of high performance processor technologies”. We finally have an update on the acquisition this week, with AMD and Xilinx share holders approving the deal. AMD and Xilinx announced …
Read More »Apple facing production delays for MacBooks and iPads
While Apple has mostly managed to maintain its production through the pandemic, the global chip shortage is finally starting to have an impact on the company. According to a new report, Apple is facing production delays for MacBooks and iPads due to component shortages. According to Nikkei, “a portion of …
Read More »Shortage of display driver chips severely impacting multiple industries
The worldwide chip shortage has been obvious to PC buyers over the last six months, but the situation is also having a major impact on other industries too. At this point, there is also a shortage of display drivers, impacting the production of LCD panels and therefore causing delays for …
Read More »Airpulse launches new A80 speakers with ribbon tweeters
Renowned audio engineer Phil Jones and AirPulse are teaming up again in 2021 with a new pair of speakers. The new Airpulse A80 offer a new entry-level price point without sacrificing quality. The Airpulse A80 speakers come loaded with the company's signature horn-loaded aluminium ribbon tweeter and a proprietary 4.5-inch …
Read More »Hong Kong customs reportedly seized 300 Nvidia CMP 30HX mining cards
Around three hundred Nvidia CMP 30HX mining cards have been seized by Hong Kong Customs. The new GPUs are intended to be used for cryptocurrency mining, but there is a ban on crypto mining farms in some Chinese regions. The initial news came from MyDrivers, which reported the seizure of …
Read More »Quantum computing breakthrough could greatly accelerate production and research
It looks like Quantum Computing could arrive sooner than expected, as a UK-based company has discovered a method for manufacturing quantum chips at scale using existing processes – something that could greatly accelerate research. Quantum Motion, a startup founded by UCL and Oxford University students, have been able to create …
Read More »TSMC reportedly investing $100 billion to expand chip making capacity
Late last month, Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion to build new foundries to produce chips for other companies and compete with the likes of TSMC. It seems that TSMC has some major plans of its own, with the semiconductor company reportedly set to invest $100 billion in expanding …
Read More »Microsoft is selling over $21 billion worth of custom HoloLens headsets to US Army
Back in 2018, Microsoft found itself in the middle of a controversy after selling $480 million worth of HoloLens headsets to the US Army. Employees spoke out against the decision at the time, but Microsoft stood its ground. Now, Microsoft has signed a much bigger contract with the military, selling …
Read More »Microsoft ends support for Cortana digital assistant on iOS and Android
While Microsoft initially had lofty goals for its digital assistant ‘Cortana', the company has been slowly backing away over the last few years. During that time, we've seen support for Cortana dropped for a variety of products, including smart speakers. Now, the dedicated iOS and Android Cortana apps are also …
Read More »LG to shut down its smartphone business
We learned back in January that LG was considering shutting down or selling off its smartphone business. Now, it seems that the company has made a decision, with reports indicating that LG is indeed done with smartphones. According to sources speaking with The Korea Times, LG is pulling out of …
Read More »Google and other big names dropping out of Mobile World Congress 2021
Despite concerns about COVID-19, Mobile World Congress is pushing ahead with plans to hold a physical event this year. If it does end up taking place as planned, then MWC 2021 will have less industry presence compared to previous years, as a number of big companies have dropped out, including …
Read More »Computex 2021 exhibition cancelled, digital events will take place instead
Computex won't be returning to its normal format this year after all...
Read More »Save up to 25% on WD SSDs, HDDs and portable storage for World Backup Day
It is officially World Backup Day and to mark the occasion. If you're in need of a storage upgrade, then this week is a good time to shop around, as Western Digital is having a sale on a number of hard drives, SSDs and portable storage offerings, with discounts of …
Read More »The FTC is dropping its case against Qualcomm after four-year legal battle
Back in 2017, Apple attempted to break away from Qualcomm, filing a $1 billion lawsuit and accusing the company of anti-competitive practices with its licensing agreements. Following Apple's lead, the FTC also filed a case against Qualcomm, alleging anti-competitive behaviour. Apple dropped its side of the legal battle in 2019 …
Read More »Niantic is working on its own Augmented Reality glasses
A few weeks ago, Niantic head, John Hanke, appeared at Microsoft Ignite to discuss the HoloLens, Augmented Reality and showcase a small Pokémon AR demo. As it turns out, Niantic has bigger plans beyond partnering with Microsoft, as Hanke is now teasing Niantic Augmented Reality glasses. This week, Hanke took …
Read More »Original Game Boy can now be used to mine Bitcoin
Every once in a while, we see tech used for something it was absolutely not designed for, whether it be running Doom on every device imaginable, or getting Windows running on a smart watch, it is always interesting to see. This week's big thing appears to be an original Game …
Read More »Microsoft reportedly finalising Discord acquisition, will be announced in April
It seems like Discord will have new ownership soon. Several companies were engaged in negotiations but a new report suggests that Microsoft is indeed the frontrunner and should have the deal finalised sometime next month. According to sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is now in “exclusive” negotiations …
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