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Back in the day, when personal computers were first making their way into homes, buying a desktop was often a massive investment. The price tags on those early machines were no joke, especially in the ’80s and ’90s. Dropping a couple of thousand dollars on a beige box humming with potential was considered normal. Fast forward to today, and times have certainly changed -- computers, including the powerful M-series Mac minis, have become more affordable, while flagship smartphones have skyrocketed in price.

I recently bought Apple’s new base-model M4 Mac mini, which set me back $500 with the education discount ($600 regularly). For those keeping tabs, that’s for a fully functional, highly efficient desktop computer. Not too long ago, such a price would have barely covered the cost of an average, bare-bones PC tower. This particular Mac mini runs circles around most mainstream computers from just a few years ago, delivering top-notch performance at a budget-friendly price.

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SHARGE has introduced the ICEMAG 2 MagSafe power bank (soon available here). It includes a new active cooling system (a fan) and an aluminum backplate to support effective heat management and maintain charging performance. It supports 15W Qi2 wireless charging, aimed at delivering faster speeds compared to traditional MagSafe batteries and improving on the previous ICEMAG model.

Visually, the ICEMAG 2 features a transparent design with RGB lighting for added aesthetic appeal. The power bank also includes a foldable kickstand, allowing for hands-free use and adjustable viewing angles.

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Practical Cyber Intelligence provides a thorough and practical introduction to the different tactics, techniques, and procedures that exist in the field of cyber investigation and cyber forensics to collect, preserve, and analyze digital evidence, enabling readers to understand the digital landscape and analyze legacy devices, current models, and models that may be created in the future. Readers will learn how to determine what evidence exists and how to find it on a device, as well as what story it tells about the activities on the device.

Over 100 images and tables are included to aid in reader comprehension, and case studies are included at the end of the book to elucidate core concepts throughout the text.

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Rightly or wrongly, GIMP is perhaps best known for being the app that is first mentioned when people ask for a free alternative to Photoshop. The open-source image editing tool has a large and devoted following, but it is a very long time since it received a significant update.

Now GIMP 3.0 is on the horizon, and ahead of the launch of this massive, long-awaited update, the first release candidate has landed. GIMP 3.0 RC1 is the first major update in around 6 years and it includes a range of new features such as non-destructive filters, numerous updates to the interface, and much more.

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Many in the industry believe that AI is degrading because it's being starved of human-generated data. This leads to models being trained on the output of older models which increases the risk of hallucinations and errors.

But how big an issue is this and what can we do to fix it? We spoke to Persona CEO and co-founder, Rick Song to find out.

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Belkin just expanded its Apple Vision Pro accessories line-up, adding a head strap and a travel bag to its offerings. These new accessories are designed to make the Apple Vision Pro experience even more seamless and versatile.

The head strap for Apple Vision Pro aims to provide users with enhanced comfort and stability. With an ergonomic, adjustable design, the strap features reinforced seams, a locking mechanism, and multiple stabilization points, ensuring the Vision Pro stays secure and comfortable on a wide range of head sizes. This makes extended use of Apple’s spatial computing device a lot more manageable.

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AOC has introduced the AGON PRO AG346UCD, a 34-inch curved monitor designed for gaming and content creation. Part of the AGON Pro Series, this model features a QD-OLED display with a 3440x1440 resolution, a 175Hz refresh rate, and a 0.03ms GtG response time.

The QD-OLED panel supports HDR400 True Black, offering enhanced color accuracy, deeper blacks, and vibrant highlights. NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility is included to minimize screen tearing and stuttering during gameplay. The ergonomic design allows for tilt, swivel, and height adjustments, enhancing user comfort during long sessions.

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NVIDIA’s upcoming changes to its GeForce NOW service might come as a disappointment to many gamers, particularly with the introduction of a 100-hour monthly playtime cap for the Performance and Ultimate memberships. Starting in 2025, members will face this limit, which seems like a step backward for a service that has marketed itself as offering seamless and unrestricted cloud gaming. For those accustomed to extensive play sessions, this change could be a serious drawback, raising questions about the true value of the paid tiers.

While NVIDIA claims that 94 percent of current users won’t be impacted by the cap, it’s a shift that feels restrictive and may leave the more dedicated gamers feeling constrained. For those who push beyond the 100-hour mark, the company offers the option to buy 15 extra hours at $2.99 for the Performance tier and $5.99 for the Ultimate tier -- essentially putting a meter on premium gaming.

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PNY has expanded its flash memory lineup with the release of the PRO Elite Prime and Performance Prime product lines. The PRO Elite Prime microSD flash cards and Performance Prime microSD card reader are designed for users needing high-capacity storage and fast transfer speeds.

The PRO Elite Prime microSD cards offer capacities from 64GB up to 1.5TB, featuring read speeds of up to 200MB/s and write speeds up to 150MB/s. Classified as Class 10 U3 V30, these cards support 4K Ultra HD video recording and are optimized with an A2 rating for app performance. The cards are suitable for a variety of devices, including cameras, drones, and mobile devices.

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A new survey from HackerOne shows 67 percent of respondents believe an external, unbiased review of GenAI is the most effective way to uncover AI safety and security issues as AI red teaming gathers momentum.

Nearly 10 percent of security researchers now specialize in AI technology as 48 percent of security leaders consider AI to be one of the greatest risks to their organizations, according to the report -- based on data from 500 global security leaders, and more than 2,000 hackers on the HackerOne platform.

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Plugable has launched its new USB-C multiport hub, the USBC-9IN1E, designed for professionals and hybrid workers seeking expanded connectivity and efficient power management. This 9-in-1 hub features 140W power delivery pass-through (125W to the host), making it suitable for high-performance laptops, including the latest Apple MacBooks.

The USBC-9IN1E supports PD 3.1 EPR for up to 140W (28V 5A) power delivery, allowing devices to stay powered during use. The hub includes a 10Gbps USB-C data port, HDMI 2.0 with 4K 60Hz support, SD and MicroSD UHS-II card slots, two 10Gbps USB ports (one with BC 1.2 charging), a USB 2.0 port, and Gigabit Ethernet.

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Streamline data preprocessing and feature engineering in your machine learning project with this third edition of the Python Feature Engineering Cookbook to make your data preparation more efficient. This guide addresses common challenges, such as imputing missing values and encoding categorical variables using practical solutions and open source Python libraries.

You’ll learn advanced techniques for transforming numerical variables, discretizing variables, and dealing with outliers. Each chapter offers step-by-step instructions and real-world examples, helping you understand when and how to apply various transformations for well-prepared data.

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Today marks the official launch of the PlayStation 5 Pro, Sony’s most powerful console to date. Previously announced and now available for purchase here, the PS5 Pro is designed to appeal to dedicated gamers and developers looking for enhanced performance and advanced gaming technology. And yes, it will make the perfect Christmas gift for the gamer in your life.

The PS5 Pro features a huge upgrade in its GPU, with 67 percent more Compute Units compared to the original PS5 and 28 percent faster memory, resulting in up to 45 percent faster rendering. This enables smoother gameplay and improved responsiveness. The console also boasts advanced ray tracing capabilities, allowing for more realistic light reflections and refractions, performing at double or triple the speeds of the current PS5 model.

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A new report reveals that 54 percent of cybersecurity professionals believe cybercriminals will benefit more from AI than the security industry.

The report by The Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec), based on a survey of over 300 cybersecurity professionals, finds 51 percent) of those surveyed believe that AI and machine learning will be the most influential technology in the cybersecurity industry over the coming year.

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It seems that even legacy apps are not immune to artificial intelligence. Microsoft has just rolled out a new Insider build of Windows 11 that sees the arrival of AI-powered features in Paint and Notepad.

While these are both stalwarts of the Windows app arena, they also feel like unusual targets for updating with such cutting-edge features. But this is precisely what Microsoft is doing, furnishing Notepad with a handy AI-driven Rewrite feature, and Paint with clever fill and erase options.

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