Latest Technology News

CachyOS has announced the release of its seventh update of the year, bringing a range of new features and improvements. This latest version (download here) is noteworthy for users looking to switch from Microsoft Windows 11, offering robust support for various devices, including the T2 MacBook and handheld gaming devices.

The June 2024 release adds support for the MacBooks with a T2 security chip. While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth do not work out of the box due to proprietary firmware from Apple, CachyOS provides detailed instructions to get these features working post-installation. This makes it an appealing option for Mac users transitioning to a more open-source platform while still using their existing hardware.

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Kubuntu Focus has unveiled its latest offerings, the Focus Ir14 GEN 2 and Ir16 GEN 2 laptops, now available with the latest enhancements from Kubuntu 24.04 LTS. Developed in collaboration with Carbon Systems, these laptops combine high-quality hardware with Kubuntu's renowned tuning and support to ensure optimal performance and user experience.

The new Ir16 GEN 2 is designed for enduring the demands of long workdays. It is equipped with a powerful 80Wh battery, encased in a robust magnesium alloy body. The laptop features a 16-inch 100 percent sRGB LED IPS display, offering a resolution of 2560×1600 at a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a brightness of 450 nits. With a 90Hz refresh rate, the visuals are not only vibrant but also buttery smooth. The inclusion of a 10-key numpad further enhances its functionality, making it an excellent choice for professionals.

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Microsoft is responding proactively to user feedback on its upcoming Recall feature for Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs, enhancing privacy controls ahead of its release. This move comes as part of an ongoing effort to balance powerful AI functionalities with user privacy and security, a critical focus as the tech giant pushes forward with innovative new features designed to redefine personal computing.

Introduced on May 20, the Recall feature aims to transform the way users interact with their PCs by enabling them to retrieve previously viewed content through an AI-powered visual timeline. This system captures and encrypts snapshots of the user's screen, storing them locally to maintain privacy. Users can manage, pause, or delete these snapshots at their discretion, ensuring control over their digital footprint.

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The super-fast evolution of the JDK between versions 12 and 21 has made the learning curve of modern Java steeper, and increased the time needed to learn it.

Java Coding Problems will make your learning journey quicker and increase your willingness to try Java’s new features by explaining the correct practices and decisions related to complexity, performance, readability, and more. The book takes you through Java’s latest features but doesn’t always advocate the use of new solutions -- instead, it focuses on revealing the trade-offs involved in deciding what the best solution is for a certain problem.

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New research from Top10VPN has captured and analyzed the network traffic of the 100 most popular free VPNs on Google's Play Store and reviewed their source code.

The findings are rather worrying, showing that 88 percent suffer some kind of data leak (IP, DNS, WebRTC) with 17 percent affected by multiple leaks.

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Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 19 beta 3, and the video editing software now supports Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor, optimized for Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs. This powerful integration is designed specifically for Windows ARM platform.

The Snapdragon X Elite, an all-in-one CPU, NPU, and GPU, promises to transform the video editing landscape by boosting the performance of DaVinci’s Neural AI Engine. This upgrade leads to a notable increase in efficiency, with AI-driven tasks like the magic mask seeing performance speeds up to 4.7 times faster, and smart reframe functionalities doubling in speed.

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Five-hundred-and-ninety-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft has reopened the Windows 10 beta channel after nearly three years of inactivity. It has done so to test new features before they land in Windows 10 Stable. No word on those features though.

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Regulation, compliance, and security always entwine themselves into modern day discussions around the latest innovations and technological advancements. Most recently, the fanfare around AI has quickly given rise to conversations about how it is impacting companies’ ability to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

GDPR demands that companies stick within data guardrails, yet 100 percent compliance can often seem like a thin tightrope on which companies must balance.  Fortunately, various technologies exist that can help with this, such as Data Loss Prevention (DLP).

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A new AI technology is emerging alongside LLMs -- Large graphical models (LGMs). An LGM is a probabilistic model that uses a graph to represent the conditional dependence structure between a set of random variables.

Organizations can use LGMs to model the likelihood of different outcomes based on many internal and external variables.

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In order to comply with the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure (PSTI) Act in the UK, Apple says it will provide security updates for iPhones for a minimum of five years.

While Apple has not previously abandoned iPhone users and left them with insecure devices -- in fact, the company has been known to release updates for very old handsets in extraordinary circumstances -- it has never previously committed to any particular period of support.

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For all of the excitement currently surrounding artificial intelligence, there are also a lot of concerns. Not only are people worried about the power of AIs, but there is also a great deal of apprehension about the privacy and security of ChatGPT and other tools of its ilk.

Stepping up with a solution is privacy-centric firm DuckDuckGo. With the newly launched DuckDuckGo AI Chat, it offers "anonymous access to popular AI models, including GPT-3.5, Claude 3, and open-source Llama 3 and Mixtral". There is also the promise that chats will not be used to train AI models.

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In a recent Facebook post, HTC Taiwan has stirred up excitement among Android enthusiasts with a teaser for its upcoming smartphone. The post hints at a significant unveiling slated for June 12, 2024, at 8 AM, encouraging fans to "lock htc.com" for the latest updates. On X (formerly Twitter), the company also shares a hashtag of #ALLFORU.

The brief yet suggestive announcement has left many speculating about the features and advancements the "new HTC 2024" might offer. While details remain scarce, the anticipation builds as HTC aims to regain its foothold in the competitive smartphone market. Historically known for pioneering features in the smartphone realm, industry watchers are eager to see what innovative elements HTC will introduce next.

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Google has launched a new feature in Google Messages that enables users to text 911 using Rich Communication Services (RCS). This functionality will first be available in U.S. regions that currently lack text-to-911 capabilities, in collaboration with emergency technology company RapidSOS.

Elmar Weber, General Manager at Android and Business Communications, emphasized the utility of this feature, stating, "Calling 911 in emergency situations isn’t always possible. This is why, in partnership with RapidSOS, we're rolling out the ability to text 911 with RCS."

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Python Essentials For Dummies is a quick reference to all the core concepts in Python, the multifaceted general-purpose language used for everything from building websites to creating apps.

This book gets right to the point, with no excess review, wordy explanations, or fluff, making it perfect as a desk reference on the job or as a brush-up as you expand your skills in related areas. Focusing on just the essential topics you need to know to brush up or level up your Python skill, this is the reliable little book you can always turn to for answers.

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As the summer travel season ramps up, with over 212 million American adults planning vacations, Verizon Wireless introduces a new travel partner: the TCL TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G tablet.

The TAB 10 NXTPAPER 5G sports a 10-inch nano-etched display that minimizes glare through adaptive brightness and color tone adjustments, ensuring a comfortable viewing experience. Here are more reasons that TCL says makes this tablet is a must-have for summer travelers:

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