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As anticipated just last week, Google had started to properly roll out the updated version of Find My Device to Android users in the US and Canada.

Described as a "new, crowdsourced network of over a billion Android devices", Find My Device is comparable to the Find My device-locating system from Apple. Initially, there is support for locating phones and tablets -- including, in some instances, when they have no power or are offline -- but starting next month, third-party Bluetooth tracker tags will be made available as well.

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I’m sorry to share some very sad news today. According to a new official blog post, EndeavourOS ARM has been discontinued. This loss is not just tragic because of its negative impact on the ARM Linux community but also for what it represents in the broader open-source ecosystem.

EndeavourOS, a popular Linux distribution, expanded its reach to ARM devices in 2019, thanks to the efforts of a community member known as “Pudge.” His initial scripts for making EndeavourOS compatible with ARM hardware evolved into an official ARM branch, showcasing the collaborative nature of open-source projects.

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No technology, especially in its early adoption phase, is without fault. Even with the popularity generative AI has gained in both the eyes of businesses and consumers alike, its imperfections cannot be glossed over. Hallucinations and biases in training data, among other issues, are leading business owners to hesitate when considering adoption.

While some early adopters have found ways to adopt large language models (LLMs) as they exist today, many feel they are left with essentially two options. Wait until improvements come or governmental guidelines are put in place to ensure the safe use of the technology, potentially being left behind, or adopt now and without letting AI touch business-critical systems. Neither of these options is truly viable, so where can businesses go from here? Diving below the surface coverage of gen AI to understand both its pros and cons will help modern businesses to determine where they can safely implement LLMs tomorrow.

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Samsung today unveiled the latest versions of its EVO Select and EVO Plus microSD cards, targeting mobile devices and handheld gaming consoles. The new cards feature enhanced transfer speeds of up to 160 MB/s, marking a 23 percent improvement over their predecessors.

Jose Hernandez, Senior Director of Memory Product Marketing at Samsung, stated, “With the mobile and handheld gaming market on the rise, we aimed to accelerate data transfers on these devices with our updated EVO Select and EVO Plus lines. We also recognized the demand for larger storage options, such as a 1TB memory card, for digital files like games, video footage, and photos. With these new additions, users can enjoy ample space, swift speeds, and the durability to last for years.”

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Spotify's new AI Playlist feature adds an AI component to the creation of playlists on the site. All it takes is to feed the AI some text and it does the rest.

Feed it "sing along songs while riding on a pony in Colorado", "songs while waiting for the microwave to go 'ping'", or "songs for boring bus rides in downtown LA", and you should get a list of matching music almost instantly.

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Despite what some might think, no, bots probably won't come looking for your job, but they may well attack your intellectual property. Generative AI (GenAI) has become a transformative technology for businesses in more ways than one.

In 2024, its widespread adoption will undoubtedly have an impact on organizations across all industries, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency. However, GenAI can be a double-edged sword. Organizations need to tread carefully when assessing organization security risk, especially when it comes to data protection.

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As an IT solutions provider or Managed Service Provider (MSP), the industry landscape can be daunting, with demands for services continually on the rise and client preferences constantly evolving. In fact, according to recent projections, one in four MSPs anticipates revenue growth exceeding 20 percent in 2024, while 30 percent expect growth between 11 percent and 30 percent.

Amidst this rapid growth, MSPs are actively seeking ways to efficiently manage operations while meeting changing client expectations, taking into consideration different types of partners and vendors that can support them as they work to keep pace with the rapidly changing market.

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Zero trust is no longer a 'nice to have' for cybersecurity leaders. As organizations embrace hybrid and remote workforces, the volume of cyberattacks and data breaches involving unauthorized access to networks, applications and systems has surged.

In response, cybersecurity leaders are striving to adopt a zero trust approach to security to reduce the risk of data breaches, ransomware and insider threats. However, the success of these efforts are being undermined by a variety of factors.

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Game emulators have long proved popular, but they are something that Apple as balked at. Until now. In an update to its App Review Guidelines, the company has introduced changes that will be welcomed by fans of retro gaming.

The new rules mean that game emulators are now permitted in the App Store on a global basis and, more than this, developers can give users the ability to download games from within the apps. Things are not as free-and-easy as they are for Android users, with Apple stressing that developers must ensure that copyright is respected.

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Microsoft has a vision for the look of Windows 11, and it does not want users to deviate from it. This is shown by the fact that the latest version of Windows is by far the least customizable out of the box.

With many people keen to make Windows 11 look like Windows 10, there has been an explosion in the number of third-party tweaking and customization tools; this is something Microsoft is not happy about. With the release of Windows 11 version 24H2 the company is blocking a number of utilities including the popular StartAllBack and ExplorerPatcher.

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Microsoft has acknowledged that update released for Windows 10 this year may have resulted in unwanted side effects for some users. Specifically, enterprise users may have found that update released in 2024 have results in an inability to use Microsoft Connected Cache.

This affects how updates for Windows are delivered across networks and means that sysadmin may well have noticed spikes in download traffic as a result. For now, Microsoft has a workaround that those affected can try.

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There is good news for Windows 10 users who have been experiencing 0x80073cf2 errors when using the System Preparation Tool. Microsoft has published details of a work around as well as releasing an update that addresses the issue.

The problem was actually fixed a few days ago, although Microsoft made little noise about it at the time. The preview of the KB5035941 update released late last month not only brought new features to Windows 10, but also resolved the Sysprep issue.

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It’s been a long time coming, but Kodi 21 ‘Omega’ is here, and ready for prime time. The latest incarnation of the hugely popular home theater software comes with a number of big new features and improvements.

The Kodi Foundation says there have been over 3,750 commits made since Kodi 20 'Nexus' was released to a waiting world on January 15, 2023.

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Does it seem like your Python projects are getting bigger and bigger?

Are you feeling the pain as your codebase expands and gets tougher to debug and maintain? Python is an easy language to learn and use, but that also means systems can quickly grow beyond comprehension. Thankfully, Python has features to help developers overcome maintainability woes.

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Over the years, I have seen many tech companies go through various regulatory hurdles. With that said, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Google’s recent complaints regarding the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The act, designed to promote competition in the digital market, has seemingly ruffled some feathers at the tech giant.

Adam Cohen, Google’s Director of Economic Policy, has taken to the company’s blog to air grievances about the DMA’s impact on their services. In a bid to comply with the new regulations, Google has had to strip down some of its useful search features, particularly those related to flights, hotels, and local businesses. Cohen argues that this move benefits only a select few online travel aggregators while disadvantaging a broader range of businesses, from airlines to small firms, who now find it harder to directly reach customers.

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