Shipments of personal computers grew in 2024, fueled by businesses replacing old hardware and Microsoft’s looming end of support for its Windows 10 operating system. According to market research firm Canalys, PC shipments climbed 3.8% in 2024 to 255.5 million units from 246.3 million in 2023. IDC, another research firm, pegged 2024 shipments higher — 262.7 million — but it also had higher 2023 … [Read more...]

An eleventh-hour move by the Biden Administration to regulate how American AI technology is shared with the world is coming under fire from the nation’s tech sector. According to the White House, the Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion (IFR) streamlines licensing hurdles for both large and small chip orders, bolsters U.S. AI leadership, and provides clarity to allied and … [Read more...]

CES has always been a place to find new cool toys and gadgets. Even though the timing of this show sucks because it comes so soon after the holidays and steals vacations from those that have to prepare for it, I have to admit I look forward to this event every year. This year was heavy in AI, exercise and health equipment, PCs, and robotics. I won’t do a Product of the Week this week because each … [Read more...]

Fact-checkers are headed to the dustbin of history at Meta. “We will end the current third-party fact-checking program in the United States and instead begin moving to a Community Notes program,” Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan announced in a company blog on Tuesday. Kaplan added that Meta would also be addressing the “mission creep” that has made the rules governing the company’s … [Read more...]

When it comes to cybersecurity in 2025, artificial intelligence is top of mind for many analysts and professionals. Artificial intelligence will be deployed by both adversaries and defenders, but attackers will benefit more from it, maintained Willy Leichter, CMO of AppSOC, an application security and vulnerability management provider in San Jose, Calif. “We know that AI will be used increasingly … [Read more...]

Quantum computing made significant strides in 2024, but it’s yet to demonstrate a practical advantage over classical digital computers, according to a recent trends report released by Forrester Research. “Despite improvements in qubit count, coherence time, and gate fidelity, the technology remains experimental, with broad-scale applications likely still a decade away,” maintained the report … [Read more...]

In the ever-evolving world of technology, 2024 brought some exciting innovations alongside an alarming number of trends that expose the pitfalls of our current tech culture. From overhyped AI gimmicks to privacy erosion and unsustainable hardware practices, here are some of the worst tech trends of 2024 that have frustrated consumers and industry leaders and are unlikely to abate next year. 1. … [Read more...]

While artificial intelligence has juiced the marketing departments of smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung, it isn’t generating much enthusiasm among users, according to a survey released Monday by a used electronics selling site. The survey by SellCell of more than 2,000 iPhone and Samsung users found that 73% of iPhone and 87% of Samsung users said that the AI features on their phones added … [Read more...]

Many amazing products launched this year, and we’ll cover some of them. However, unlike most years when the decision was difficult, one product stood out well above the rest as revolutionary. What made it particularly special was that it was a bold bet that paid off and helped its manufacturer become one of, and for a time, the most valuable company in the world. Typically, I don’t do a Product of … [Read more...]

As a lifelong New York Giants fan, it’s been hard to suffer through the 2024 season, culminating last weekend in the Giants’ most recent debacle, losing to the below-average New Orleans Saints on a botched field goal in the last seconds of the game. In my disgust in the aftermath of the game, it occurred to me: Is present-day Intel the equivalent of the 2024 Giants? It sounds like a ridiculous … [Read more...]

Google announced a major step forward in the development of a commercial quantum computer on Tuesday, releasing test results for its Willow quantum chip. Those results show that the more qubits Google used in Willow, the more errors it reduced and the more quantum the system became. “Google’s achievement in quantum error correction is a significant milestone toward practical quantum computing,” … [Read more...]

A sophisticated mobile phishing campaign targeting job seekers intended to install dangerous malicious software on their phones was revealed Tuesday by security researchers. The campaign discovered by Zimperium zLabs targets Android mobile phones and aims to distribute a variant of the Antidot banking trojan that the researchers have dubbed AppLite Banker. “The AppLite banking trojan’s ability to … [Read more...]

Well, it’s that time of year again. Like you, I’m working through the gift-giving part of the holidays. I used to send out Amazon gift cards until one was stolen. I didn’t get sympathy or a refund from Amazon, so I’ve decided to steer clear of store gift cards altogether. So, I’m back to sending people things I think they might want, and this week, I’ll share my list of tech gadgets that make … [Read more...]

AI-driven systems have become prime targets for sophisticated cyberattacks, exposing critical vulnerabilities across industries. As organizations increasingly embed AI and machine learning (ML) into their operations, the stakes for securing these systems have never been higher. From data poisoning to adversarial attacks that can mislead AI decision-making, the challenge extends across the entire … [Read more...]

As a longtime user of the original Sonos Arc, I approached the new Sonos Arc Ultra with excitement and skepticism. The original Arc has been a staple in my home entertainment setup. It delivers impressive Dolby Atmos sound and effortlessly integrates with the Sonos ecosystem. With the Arc Ultra promising upgrades in sound quality, design, and connectivity, I was eager to see if it could live up to … [Read more...]

A near-production model of a solar-powered car will be on display at CES 2025. Aptera Motors has announced that a “production intent” version of its eponymously named solar-powered vehicle will be displayed at the mammoth consumer electronics show, which will be held January 7-10 in Las Vegas. The Aptera offers up to 40 miles of solar-powered driving per day, a three-wheel futuristic design, … [Read more...]

Schools and organizations that deploy vast numbers of computers have a much-needed computing edge against cybersecurity risks with enterprise-grade Chromebooks. Consumer-grade Chromebooks come with what Google calls “defense in depth,” which provides multiple layers of protection. If attackers succeed in bypassing one layer, others remain in effect. The networked Chromebooks deployed in school … [Read more...]

High-powered computer chip maker Nvidia on Monday unveiled a new AI model developed by its researchers that can generate or transform any mix of music, voices and sounds described with prompts using any combination of text and audio files. The new AI model called Fugatto — for Foundational Generative Audio Transformer Opus — can create a music snippet based on a text prompt, remove or add … [Read more...]

Nvidia has faced scrutiny this month because some servers with a whopping 72 Blackwell processors were overheating. The issue arose because some initial OEM deployments were not properly water-cooled, which Lenovo aggressively identified and mitigated with its Neptune warm water-cooling solutions. As AI advances, we’ll need more highly dense, incredibly powerful AI processors, which suggests that … [Read more...]

This week’s Microsoft Ignite 2024 event in Chicago served as a platform to showcase Microsoft’s vision and strategies aimed squarely at corporate and enterprise customers. The keynote highlighted transformative technological shifts and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving these changes. This year’s theme revolved around Microsoft’s commitment to empowering businesses through … [Read more...]