Brian Fagioli

AVerMedia has expanded its GO series with the launch of the VERSATI go (AM310G2), a USB cardioid microphone designed to meet the needs of creators seeking high-quality sound. The microphone offers a balance between mobility, versatility, and ease of use, perfect for those who need professional-grade audio for streaming, podcasting, or other content creation.

The VERSATI go (AM310G2) captures audio at an enhanced 96kHz/24-bit sample rate, delivering clear, rich, and natural sound. Its cardioid pickup pattern is specially designed to focus on the user's voice while minimizing background noise. Additionally, the microphone includes a mute button with an LED indicator for easy control during live recordings, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack for real-time monitoring.

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Meta has introduced the Quest 3S, a more budget-friendly addition to its mixed reality headset lineup. Announced at the Connect event, the Quest 3S offers the same performance and mixed reality capabilities as the Quest 3, but at a lower price. Starting at $299.99, the device targets newcomers to mixed reality or users seeking an affordable upgrade from earlier models like Quest or Quest 2.

The Quest 3S includes features such as watching TV on a virtual large screen, personal fitness training, and multitasking capabilities. The headset builds on the Quest 3’s foundation, which introduced full-color Passthrough for blending the virtual and physical worlds. Meta continues to make improvements to its mixed reality ecosystem, with the Quest 3S benefiting from updates like enhanced spatial audio and improved contrast and color for a more realistic Passthrough experience.

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Samsung has announced its latest solid state drive -- the 990 EVO Plus. This SSD features PCIe 4.0 support and advanced NAND technology. Built for gamers, content creators, and business users alike, the 990 EVO Plus provides a balance of speed and efficiency.

The new SSD offers sequential read speeds of up to 7,250MB/s and write speeds of 6,300MB/s, marking a substantial 50 percent increase in performance over the previous 990 EVO model. This performance boost is powered by Samsung’s 8th-generation V-NAND technology and a 5-nanometer controller. The innovative nickel-coated heat shield helps keep the SSD cool, improving power efficiency by 73 percent compared to its predecessor.

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Reolink has officially launched the Altas PT Ultra, a new 4K battery-powered camera offering continuous recording. This security camera combines 4K UHD resolution with auto-tracking and color vision for day and night monitoring.

The camera is designed to address common issues in home security cameras, such as missing events and limited battery life. It comes equipped with a 20,000mAh battery, offering up to 12 hours of 4K recording per day for eight days on a single charge. In standby mode, it can last up to 500 days.

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The New York Times is introducing paid podcast subscriptions on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, giving listeners the ability to subscribe directly through these platforms. This expansion builds on the success of The Times’ audio journalism efforts, which began with the launch of “The Daily” in 2017. The Times’ podcasts now reach millions of listeners, offering in-depth reporting and analysis on a range of topics.

In addition to The Times’ stand-alone Audio app and the Listen tab in The New York Times app, this partnership with Apple Podcasts and Spotify is aimed at making its subscription service more accessible. Users with an existing subscription through The Times app will have their accounts automatically connected when using Apple Podcasts. Those without a subscription can sign up through the New York Times channel on both platforms.

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Marshall has teamed up with Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong to launch the Monitor III A.N.C. wireless headphones. The headphones feature 70 hours of playtime with active noise cancellation (ANC) enabled, or 100 hours without ANC. Marshall’s new Soundstage spatial audio technology promises an immersive experience, while Adaptive Loudness adjusts sound levels based on environmental noise without compromising quality.

Weighing just 250 grams, the headphones offer long-lasting comfort thanks to redesigned cushions and a lighter frame. They also feature a 2.5-hour charge time via USB-C, ensuring you get back to listening quickly. The rugged and foldable design offers optimal portability, and the customizable M-button allows for personalized control over EQ settings, voice assistants, and Spotify.

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NETGEAR has expanded its Nighthawk Wi-Fi 7 router lineup with three new models -- the RS600, RS500, and RS200 - offering a range of options for different home sizes and budgets. These routers bring the power of Wi-Fi 7, which is 2.4 times faster than Wi-Fi 6, to more households, delivering ultra-fast speeds, low latency, and advanced network security.

The RS600 is the top-tier model, covering up to 3,300 square feet with speeds up to 18Gbps. It supports up to 150 concurrent devices, making it ideal for homes with multi-gig internet speeds over 1Gbps. This router features tri-band WiFi 7 technology, offering 10 simultaneous Wi-Fi streams, and comes equipped with two 10GbE ports and three 1GbE ports for wired connectivity. It also includes state-of-the-art security with WPA3 encryption, VPN support, and automatic firmware updates. For added protection, the RS600 comes with a 30-day trial of NETGEAR Armor, powered by Bitdefender, providing real-time threat detection and protection for all connected devices.

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Samsung Electronics has revealed its development of the first PCIe 4.0 automotive SSD built on eighth-generation vertical NAND (V-NAND). The new SSD, AM9C1, is designed to provide enhanced speed and reliability for automotive applications, particularly supporting on-device AI capabilities.

The AM9C1 SSD reportedly offers a 50 percent improvement in power efficiency compared to the previous model, the AM991, with sequential read speeds reaching 4,400MB/s and write speeds up to 400MB/s. This is intended to improve the handling of large amounts of data in vehicles, particularly for autonomous systems.

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Transcend has unveiled its first industrial-grade PCIe M.2 22110 SSD, the MTE730P, designed for a range of industrial environments. The SSD includes Power Loss Protection (PLP) technology, which maintains data integrity during power fluctuations. With PCIe Gen 4 support and capacities up to 4TB, the MTE730P is suited for use in automation, data centers, blade servers, and other modern storage needs.

The SSD delivers sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,500MB/s and 6,700MB/s, respectively, thanks to 112-layer 3D NAND flash and an 8-channel controller. It also features components such as 30µ” PCB gold finger, Corner Bond, and anti-sulfur resistors for durability. The MTE730P is built to operate in temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C, ensuring performance in harsh conditions.

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Cloudflare has introduced AI Audit, a new set of tools aimed at helping websites manage how artificial intelligence (AI) models access and use their content. AI Audit allows content creators to see how their content is being used by AI models and take steps to control access. Additionally, Cloudflare is working on a pricing feature that will enable creators to set a price for AI companies using their content for model training and retrieval augmented generation (RAG).

Many website owners may not be aware that AI bots are scanning their content frequently, often without the creator’s knowledge or compensation. AI Audit is designed to give control back to content owners, allowing them to block AI bots, access analytics on content usage, and negotiate agreements for the use of their content by AI models.

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Plugable has launched its first-ever portable monitor, the 15.6-inch USB-C Portable Display (USBC-PDMON). This display boasts a 1920x1080 Full HD IPS panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. It features integrated folding cover and stand, 85W pass-through charging, and two downstream 10Gbps USB-C ports for added versatility.

According to Plugable's CTO, Bernie Thompson, "We've created a portable display that is more powerful, flexible, and useful by getting rid of confusing legacy connectors and adapters and making the most of USB-C. IT managers and buyers can deploy this same portable monitor at scale in the office, for their hybrid and mobile staff, and in public spaces and trade shows."

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Canonical has announced the availability of the Beta release for Ubuntu 24.10, codenamed "Oracular Oriole." This release includes Ubuntu Desktop, Server, and Cloud products, as well as various official flavors. The final version is expected to be released on October 10, 2024.

Ubuntu 24.10 Beta includes updated core packages, including the Linux 6.11 kernel. The Beta is considered stable enough for general testing, though users may encounter bugs, and feedback is encouraged to improve the final release.

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Constellation has entered into a bold 20-year power purchase agreement with Microsoft to relaunch the infamous Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear reactor under a new name -- the Crane Clean Energy Center (CCEC). The announcement comes just five years after the plant was shut down, with concerns about the economic viability and safety of nuclear power hanging over the decision. Microsoft’s involvement, part of its effort to decarbonize the grid, raises questions about whether nuclear energy is truly the solution.

The decision to restart Unit 1 brings up long-standing fears about nuclear energy -- especially given that the reactor is located next to the infamous Unit 2, the site of the 1979 partial meltdown. While Unit 1 was not directly affected by the disaster, many are likely to question whether restarting a decades-old nuclear reactor is the right move in an age of increasing renewable energy options.

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SparkyLinux, a lightweight Linux distribution based on Debian, has released its latest point update, Sparky 7.5, codenamed "Orion Belt." This is the fifth update to the Sparky 7 series and focuses on improving stability and performance. As with previous versions, Sparky 7.5 is built upon Debian 12 "Bookworm," maintaining full compatibility with its parent distro.

For this release, Sparky 7.5 has updated its core components and applications. Notably, it ships with the Linux kernel 6.1.106 LTS for PCs, with other kernel versions, such as 6.11.0 and 5.15.167-LTS, available in Sparky repositories. ARM devices running Sparky can utilize the 6.6.47 LTS kernel. LibreOffice remains a central part of the productivity suite, though users can find newer versions in the backports repo. Other software updates include KDE Plasma 5.27.5, LXQt 1.2.0, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.18, and Openbox 3.6.1.

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Google has made a move toward a passwordless future by expanding its passkey support to desktop devices. Until now, passkeys could only be saved to Google Password Manager on Android devices, requiring users to scan a QR code from an Android phone to access them on other platforms. However, thanks to a new update, passkeys can now be saved and managed directly on desktop systems running Windows, macOS, and Linux. ChromeOS is also available for testing in the Beta channel.

Passkeys are designed to offer a more secure and user-friendly way of signing in to websites and apps by using biometric methods like fingerprints, facial recognition, or a screen lock instead of traditional passwords. This makes logging in as simple as unlocking your device.

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