Brian Fagioli

Sabrent’s latest addition to its lineup of USB hubs, the Sabrent 7-Port Hub with Switches (HB-3A4C), offers an expanded solution for users needing additional USB ports for their laptops, desktops, or portable devices. This new hub is an upgrade from Sabrent’s popular 4-port switchable hubs, providing a total of seven ports for enhanced connectivity options.

The HB-3A4C features three USB-A ports with 5Gbps data transfer speeds (USB 3.2 Gen 1x1) and a power output of 5V/500mA, suitable for basic accessories. Additionally, it boasts four USB-C ports, three of which offer 5V/900mA of power, while the fourth provides a robust 20W of power delivery (PD), capable of charging devices and hosting multiple accessories simultaneously. To support this, a power adapter is included, allowing the hub to deliver up to 48W of total input power, ensuring reliable connections.

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Lenovo has announced the expansion of its ThinkSmart portfolio with two new solutions designed to transform meeting spaces into managed video conferencing spaces and Microsoft Teams Rooms. The ThinkSmart Tiny Kit and the ThinkPad Universal USB-C Smart Dock – ThinkSmart Edition aim to facilitate smart collaboration and provide IT managers with enhanced control over meeting spaces.

The ThinkSmart Tiny Kit includes the ThinkCentre M70q Gen 4 compute module and ThinkSmart Controller, enabling a Microsoft Teams meeting experience with a single front-of-room display and external audio/video. The kit is designed to transition from BYOD meeting experiences to a more managed Microsoft Teams Rooms experience. It supports features like one-touch join and Front Row, and customers can add certified peripherals like the ThinkSmart Bar 180 and ThinkSmart Cam to optimize room experiences.

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Linus Torvalds has officially announced the release of Linux 6.9-rc1, marking the end of the merge window for this version. As usual, the update brings a ton of changes, with a significant portion attributed to AMD GPU header files. But let's not get bogged down by the sheer volume of these updates; the real excitement lies in the core improvements that promise to enhance the kernel's performance.

Two major updates steal the spotlight in this release: the timer subsystem and the workqueue subsystem. The timer subsystem has undergone a substantial rewrite, introducing per-CPU timer wheels. This enhancement is poised to boost the performance of timers, which is especially crucial for networking operations. On the other hand, the workqueue subsystem now supports BH workqueue support, providing a much-needed alternative to the long-deprecated tasklet interface.

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As tax season reaches its peak, a new study by McAfee sheds light on the alarming rise of online tax scams in the US. The 2024 Tax Scams Study, which surveyed 2,500 American adults, reveals that a staggering 25% have fallen victim to these scams, with losses running into thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars.

The study highlights the growing sophistication of cybercriminals who are now leveraging artificial intelligence to craft more convincing scams. AI-powered messages, deepfake videos, and AI-generated audio are becoming increasingly common tools in the scammer's arsenal. Despite these advancements, the study found that less than half of Americans feel confident in their ability to spot such fraudulent content.

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At the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024, AMD revealed the latest update to its FidelityFX Super Resolution technology, FSR 3.1. This announcement follows the release of AMD FSR 3 in September 2023, which introduced advanced frame generation technology and a new "Native AA" quality mode, supported across a wide range of graphics cards from AMD and other vendors.

FSR 3 has seen rapid adoption in the gaming industry, with 40 games now available or soon to be released with FSR 3 support. Key titles include "Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora," "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth," "Starfield," and "The Last of Us Part I."

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Google Research has made a significant breakthrough in global flood forecasting, utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to expand access to reliable flood forecasts, particularly in regions where data is scarce. Floods, being the most common natural disaster, inflict approximately $50 billion in financial damages annually and affect nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide. The advent of this AI-based system marks a crucial step in improving early warning systems, potentially saving thousands of lives each year.

The research showcases the use of machine learning (ML) technologies to enhance flood forecasting on a global scale. This advancement has extended the reliability of nowcasts from zero to five days on average and has improved forecasts across Africa and Asia to levels comparable to those in Europe. The evaluation of these models was conducted in collaboration with the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF).

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The GNOME project has announced the release of GNOME 46, codenamed “Kathmandu.” This latest version of the Linux desktop environment brings a host of enhancements and new features. There are even five new apps: Letterpress, Switcheroo, Decibels, Fretboard, and Railway.

The Files app has received significant updates, including improved feedback for long-running file operations, a dynamic progress section, and instant switching between list and grid views. Other improvements include searchable preferences, detailed date and time display, quick access to the location entry, and better network discovery.

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Regata OS, the Linux-based operating system known for its user-friendly approach and focus on gaming, has released its latest version, 24 "Arctic Fox." This update introduces several significant enhancements and new features aimed at improving the user experience and compatibility with modern hardware.

One of the key highlights of this release is the integration of KDE Plasma 6, the latest iteration of the popular Linux graphical environment. KDE Plasma 6 brings a refreshed look with increased margins, reduced frames, and a new default sound theme called "Ocean." Improvements have been made to the Wayland session, task switcher, and System Settings application, along with faster and more customizable Plasma Search.

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Logitech has launched the Mevo Core -- the latest addition to its Mevo live streaming camera lineup. The Mevo Core is a 4K camera designed for live streaming and content creation, offering intuitive control from a smartphone or tablet. Its compact and sleek design, along with versatile mounting options, makes it ideal for streamers seeking high-quality results.

Otto Cedeno, the head of Mevo, emphasized the camera's ease of use, stating, "Mevo Core embodies our value of democratizing live content creation by delivering DSLR-level quality in a more accessible package. Adjusting optical zoom and focus is as simple as a few taps, making it a pro-level camera even for beginners."

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Microsoft is deepening its partnership with NVIDIA to harness the power of generative AI, cloud computing, and accelerated computing for the healthcare and life sciences sectors. This collaboration aims to merge Microsoft Azure's extensive capabilities with NVIDIA DGX Cloud and the NVIDIA Clara suite to spur innovation and enhance patient care in these fields.

The collaboration is set to provide healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device developers with the tools to rapidly innovate across various domains, including clinical research and drug discovery, with increased efficiency and effectiveness.

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NVIDIA has unveiled the Blackwell platform, a new advancement in computing that enables organizations to build and run real-time generative AI on trillion-parameter large language models, all while reducing costs and energy consumption by up to 25 times compared to its predecessor.

The Blackwell GPU architecture introduces six transformative technologies for accelerated computing, aimed at unlocking breakthroughs in various fields including data processing, engineering simulation, electronic design automation, computer-aided drug design, quantum computing, and generative AI.

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MAINGEAR and Phison have announced the launch of the new MAINGEAR PRO AI workstations. These workstations are equipped with Phison's aiDAPTIV+ technology, specifically designed to make Large Language Model (LLM) development and training more accessible and affordable for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The MAINGEAR PRO AI Shodan Workstations offer supercomputer-level LLM training capabilities without the hefty price tag associated with traditional AI training servers. As the complexity and demand for large-scale generative AI models continue to grow, the need for more powerful hardware has become apparent. Unfortunately, this has made model training costly and out of reach for many SMBs.

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Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has officially announced the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Mobile Platform, which is primarily designed for premium Android smartphones. This latest addition to the Snapdragon 8 series is tailored to bring the most coveted capabilities to a broader range of future flagship smartphones, ensuring high quality performance across various aspects, including generative AI, photography, and gaming.

The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 platform is designed to deliver an array of premium features, such as support for on-device generative AI, an always-sensing ISP, hyper-realistic mobile gaming, state-of-the-art connectivity, and lossless high-definition sound. It also supports a wide range of AI models, including popular large language models (LLMs) like Baichuan-7B, Llama 2, Gemini Nano, and Zhipu ChatGLM.

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The 4MLinux project has announced the stable release of its 45.0 series (download here), delivering a ton of updates and new features. This lightweight Linux distribution continues to offer a quality experience for both desktop and server environments.

In this latest release, users can edit documents with the updated LibreOffice 24.2.1 and GNOME Office suite, including AbiWord 3.0.5, GIMP 2.10.36, and Gnumeric 1.12.56. Web browsing is covered with the latest versions of Firefox 123.0.1 and Chrome 122.0.6261.128, while Thunderbird 115.8.1 caters to email needs.

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Guess what? Walmart has begun selling the MacBook Air with the M1 chip! This is significant, as it is the first time customers can purchase a Mac directly from that retail giant.

The MacBook Air with the M1 chip, known for its exceptional performance and long battery life, will be available on Walmart.com and soon in select Walmart stores for only $699. This price point is particularly noteworthy, as it brings a high-quality Apple product within reach of a broader audience.

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