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Don't you just love spare or backup computers? It's sad but true that I'm currently rocking an AMD quad-core and 4GB of DDR2 RAM thanks to my main desktop motherboard recently dieing after 4 years of long hard service.

In comes QNAP to make me feel really inadequate with its new AMD-powered TS-563 NAS. Sporting an "AMD Embedded G-Series quad-core 2.0GHz SoC processor and up to 16GB RAM," this 5-bay NAS was announced in a recently issued press release.

QNAP's senior director of marketing Dilip Ramachandran says that the AMD G-Series SOC has been chosen because it "offers a low power solution delivering high performance at attractive cost levels," with the release further explaining that this 64-bit AMD Embedded chip is coupled with SATA 6Gb/s support, 2x 1GbE LAN ports and more.

The use of virtual reality can help medical patients suffering from strokes and other major brain conditions regain control over themselves, researchers believe.

The Virtual Reality Medical Center is using VR to help medical patients re-learn motor functions, such as walking, sitting, or holding an item. Letting patients work in a virtual environment is a great first step, helping ease embarrassment or discomfort before they physically try to move again.

"What we do first is teach a person how to control their body and thought process," said Brenda Wiederhold, EVP of the Virtual Reality Medical Center, in a statement to CNBC. "Then we put them in VR and have them practice those skills in the virtual world so they feel confident they can use them in the real-world."

The Apple Watch is expected to help propel smartwatches and the wearables to the next level, but it still seems to be nothing more than a want over an actual need, according to a recent survey.

Although 39 percent of Apple Watch owners report being "very satisfied," 36 percent are neutral on the device, and 25 percent of users reported being disappointed. However, the Wristly survey only asked 59 Apple Watch owners, so future studies will likely use significantly larger sample sizes.

One owner's comment stood out: "I think the watch is good, but I feel that it is not a technological need but a technological want. I feel like your life will be fine either way. It's fun to have, it's a conversation starter, it does make a few things a little bit easier, but it's not a necessary thing to own."

It's possible 47 percent of jobs in the United States could be at risk because of robotics taking over, according to a report from Citigroup and the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford. Trying to find solutions to better train and educate employees will be required, and humans in the workforce must be willing to expand their skills.

The education system's poor preparation of workers transitioning from high school or university in the workforce has to be changed. Automation is expected to displace even more workers in the future, according to Joe Seydl, senior associate of the Citi Global Economics Team.

"This time, bigger portions of our economy are being disrupted by new technology," Seydl said in a statement to the Christian Science Monitor. "I think it's going to come down to policy: supply-side and demand-side policies. Supply-side means making sure workers have the skills to compete for jobs in the 21st century. This is going to come down to education and whether we can upgrade workers' skills fast enough."

During the ATAP session at Google I/O, the company's ATAP team showed off the latest prototype of Project Ara. For those of you who don't know what Project Ara is, or may have forgotten, it's the world's first modular smartphone.

The company has demoed Project Ara previously, but other attempts have had issues, with the latest demo proving that Project Ara works. Google engineer Rafa Camargo built a Project Ara modular smartphone on stage, adding modules to the frame, turned it on, booted it up with the latest version of Android, and took a picture of the audience. If that's not proof that Project Ara works, I don't know what is.

Project Ara will allow consumers to customize every single aspect of their smartphone: the processor, camera, RAM, battery, and countless other components of the smartphone. For those who don't use a front facing camera, don't install one! This space can be used for an SD card slot, or a bigger battery. Project Ara is aiming to hit a point where you won't need to buy an entire new phone when you want to upgrade, as you'll be able to upgrade just the components you want.

The United States reportedly attempted to launch a Stuxnet-like cyberattack aimed at the nuclear weapons program in North Korea, but the cyberespionage attempt failed. Launched at the same time when Stuxnet hit Iran in 2009 and 2010, the US wanted to also set North Korea's nuclear efforts back, according to a recent Reuters report.

US cybersecurity specialists couldn't directly access systems responsible for controlling nuclear ambitions in Pyongyang - and the reclusive country's extreme secrecy and isolation helped make the attack more difficult. Similar to Iran, North Korea likely uses Microsoft Windows to power the PCs, which use control software from Siemens AG.

Cyberespionage among nations is nothing new, with nations specifically concerned regarding the nuclear ambitions of Iran, North Korea, and other nations. However, North Korea - which extremely limits access to the Internet - reportedly has an increasingly sophisticated cyberespionage program that can be used to target South Korea, the US, and other political rivals.

Windows 10 isn't far away, and with it are the big benefits promised by DirectX 12. Slightly Mad Studios is promising even more with Project Cars running on DX12, where we should expect a huge 30-40% performance improvement with the next-gen API.

SMS boss Ian Bell has talked about the benefits of DirectX 12, where he said that the DX12 version of Project Cars will be 30-40% better, while the DX12 version of Project Cars on the Xbox One will see a smaller 7% boost. The DX12 patch for Project Cars is expected to drop at the end of the year, a few months after Windows 10 arrives.

Bell said that slower quad-core processors in PCs will see a ~40% boost thanks to DX12, as the API will handle multi-threading much better than DX11 does.

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick believes the full potential of the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One haven't been fully realized yet. Take-Two has plenty of next-generation console games in the pipeline, including NBA 2K16, Borderlands 3, WWE 2K16, Battleborn, and others.

"We have yet to see entirely what the technology can allow," Zelnick said while speaking during the 43rd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. "We've had a couple releases for new-gen, but I don't think we remotely have seen what can be done, and that's super exciting. And that speaks to many of our titles; hopefully all of our titles, ultimately."

Meanwhile, PlayStation President Andrew House also expressed excitement that E3 2015 will feature new PS4 titles that really show what the console is capable of.

Up until this point, everyone expected AMD to unveil its Radeon R9 390X either at Computex, but our sources tell us E3 2015. Well, it might not even be called the Radeon R9 390X, with AMD rumored to be pulling the Fury name out of storage and calling it Radeon Fury. But is the Radeon Fury enough to pull back some of that GPU market share loss from NVIDIA?

At first, I was a little shocked, then it sunk in. This isn't 'just another' release from AMD, this is their most important release, possibly ever (in my opinion). AMD would position the Radeon Fury with its own branding to compete directly against the GeForce GTX Titan X, with the Radeon Fury rocking the Fiji XT architecture, while the Radeon R9 390X would be released using a juiced up Hawaii GPU.

This move would be something AMD can be proud of, as the Radeon Fury (we'll call it that for this article until we have proof, or the official announcement from AMD) rocks High Bandwidth Memory. That alone is enough to justify it being different to the normal Radeon GPUs, and if it really does have Titan X levels of performance, the VRAM difference is a big enough leap to justify that branding difference.

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, believes game studios must show their customers a bit of respect so they don't feel like they are being "robbed."

Speaking during the Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, he spoke bluntly about the current state of the evolving gaming market: "You never want the consumer to feel as though you've picked their pocket," Zelnick recently said. "You want a consumer to feel like you gave them a great experience. You want them to be happy that they spent money on the experience."

Zelnick also discussed the controversial free-to-play ecosystem, which typically makes a game available for free - but the games are monetized based on microtransactions:

US District Judge Katherine Forrest has given Ross Ulbricht, the founder and operator of Silk Road, a life sentence in prison. The underground website was involved in more than 1.5 million transactions that netted $214 million, and Ulbricht was described as the "kingpin of a worldwide digital drug trafficking enterprise."

Ulbricht was convicted of distributing narcotics on the Internet and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, among other charges. He automatically faced a minimum 20-year prison sentence, though it was expected he would receive a much harsher sentence. The judge noted: "What you did in connection with Silk Road was terribly destructive to our social fabric..."

"He developed a blueprint for a new way to use the Internet to undermine the law and facilitate criminal transactions," according to a statement from the US attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Using that blueprint, others have followed in Ulbricht's footsteps, establishing new 'dark markets' in the mold of Silk Road, some selling an even broader range of illicit goods and services."

A prototype of a new Microsoft Xbox One controller hit the Internet a few days ago, and Austrian retailer Libro has unveiled what the device is expected to look like. The new unit will feature a 3.5mm headphone jack, with no other upgrades expected.

There are rumors the controller will be unveiled on June 8, which is before the E3 gaming conference in Los Angeles.

GameSpot received the following email from Microsoft earlier in the week: "We're gearing up for an exciting E3 where we'll showcase more games and experiences. We have nothing further to share at this time."

Unmanned drones and other military vehicles aren't new, and it looks like robots and autonomous hardware could be the future. However, there are legal and ethical questions when it comes to weapons systems that are able to identify and engage targets with no human interaction.

The idea that a robot or drone can detect its target and begin firing at the target without a human operator is frightening - but something that more researchers believe is feasible. There is a concern, however, that robots would be unable to accurately identify enemy combatants and civilians. Though there is a counter-argument that robots would cause less collateral damage than humans remotely operating the drones.

"Technologies have reached a point at which the deployment of such systems is - practically, if not legally - feasible within years, not decades," said Stuart Russell, an AI researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, in a commentary published in "Nature." The AI weapons "have been described as the third revolution in warfare, after gunpowder and nuclear arms."

Google Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are pushing in-vehicle connectivity, with almost every vehicle automaker expected to offer the software platforms by the end of the year.

Seven different 2016 Chevrolet models will offer CarPlay or Android Auto, while Hyundai said it will support Android in its Sonata. Supporting connected technology is an estimated effort to help drivers and passengers more easily interact with their smartphones while in the vehicle - and provide automakers with a more universal platform to install.

"We just want familiar. We want our content, our services that we already own on our phone," said Tim Bajarin, president of the Creative Strategies tech research firm, in a statement published by the AP. "We just want the car to have the representation of that on demand."

Cybercriminals want to victimize people in any way possible, including even collecting unemployment checks directly from the government. As much as $5.6 billion is taken in federal benefits fraud, stemming from identity theft and data breaches.

Individual states and the federal government provide unemployment benefits directly to citizens, but if a person's personal information is purchased on the black market - and the fraudsters are able to file paperwork to collect the benefits. Each state must create their own system to identify - and stop - fraudulent claims, with thousands of suspected false forms submitted.

"The fact that this is so easy to commit is something that has been a real challenge to law enforcement because the fraudsters keep evolving, and they always find a new way to steal our identities," said Wifredo Ferrer, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, in a statement to CNN. "And all you need sometimes is a name, a date of birth and a Social Security number. And sometimes, you don't even need that to commit this crime."

The Google Gmail email service now has 900 million users across the world, a drastic increase over the 425 million monthly active users the company reported in 2012.

At least 75 percent of Gmail users access their accounts on a mobile device, and now is a good time for Google to launch Inbox. The service, which is available on Google Play or from the Apple Store, allows users to better organize their mobile Gmail inboxes. Inbox is available to anyone interested in downloading it and giving a shot, which features "Highlights" so information is more easily viewable in the email feed.

Outlook.com has at least 400 million active accounts, while Yahoo Mail has 225 million monthly active users - with many users owning multiple email addresses, sometimes spread across different email providers.

Worldwide PC shipments will drop 6.2 percent in 2015, marketing the fourth consecutive year of declining market volume, according to the IDC research group. Microsoft will release Windows 10 this summer for the PC, and additional rollouts will take place shortly after, the company has confirmed.

"Microsoft and PC vendors still need to convince users of the advantages of the new OS and new PCs, which will take some time," said Loren Loverde, VP of worldwide PC trackers at IDC. "In addition to educating clients, they'll face tough competition from other devices, and weak spending in many regions. As a result, we see PC shipments stabilizing in 2016, followed by limited growth for the next few years."

Looking ahead, Microsoft expects Windows 10 to be on more than one billion devices in just three years, and will help consumers upgrade. When do you plan to install or upgrade to Windows 10?

Senior citizens are finding motivation and entertainment out of a 22-inch humanoid robot leading physical therapy classes. The Zora robot was originally poised to become an assistant in hotels, but designers and programmers found a more appealing market in healthcare.

Previously, Zora has been used to interact with young children, helping teach them basic motor function and keep them stimulated. There are more than 6,000 elderly citizens in Belgium, France and the Netherlands use the robot to stay engaged, listening to news articles, weather forecasts, and following dance and exercise routines.

"A lot of elderly people are actually feeling alone. Solitude is something which is horrible for the moment for a lot of elderly people," said Fabrice Goffin, co-creator of the Zora robot, in a statement to Washington Post. "People don't have all the time to visit their families and they can find some kind of relationship with the robot and that is a nice thing to do."

Taylor Swift pulled her music from Spotify, with her record label showing little interest in working with the music service. Unfortunately, her decision doesn't actually hurt Spotify, and leaves her music fans with one less outlet to listen to her music.

It's unknown how much money Spotify actually paid out to Swift's record label, Big Machine, though most of her money is made from live music concerts and promotional appearances.

Spotify, the No. 1 streaming service, pays a whopping 70 percent of revenue directly to the music labels - writing a check for around $1 billion in 2014 - with the number of subscribers increasing in 2015. However, the record labels only collect less than one penny for each song played through the popular service.

Computex 2015: Lian Li is inviting Computex attendees to visit its booth to check out the DKQ2 and DK03 desk chassis models. The models are full-size desks likely won't be a quick impulse buy for PC enthusiasts, but offer an extremely unique - albeit pricey - alternative to a regular PC case that just collects dust under your desk.

Both the DKQ2 and DK03 were showcased at CeBit and other computer shows in the past, but Lian Li has made a few changes - including a more sturdier look, so it no longer looks like it will fall over. There are now four adjustable legs as opposed to just two, along with showcasing the tempered glass surface and aluminum body.

The updated models offer better ergonomics, cleaner finished aesthetics, and easier ability to adjust and upgrade hardware.