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Report: PlayStation 5 Pro devkits being sent out this year

Derek Strickland | Gaming | May 2, 2023 1:28 PM CDT

PS5 Pro devkits are expected to be in the hands of first-party Sony Interactive Entertainment development studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Sucker Punch, and others in a few months, sources have told Insider Gaming.

Report: PlayStation 5 Pro devkits being sent out this year

According to a new report from Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, Sony is ramping up the production of PS5 Pro devkits to introduce developers to the new hardware. The final retail PlayStation 5 Pro is expected to launch in 2024, and Sony is arming its teams with the upgraded consoles in an effort to push their first-party games beyond the current capabilities of the PS5, however PS5 Pro specifications and performance targets for upgraded games remains unclear.

Sources have told Henderson that first-party developers will get the PS5 Pro devkits many months before third-party devs, the latter of whom are expected to receive the units by the end of 2023.

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Continue reading: Report: PlayStation 5 Pro devkits being sent out this year (full post)

Full Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable specs leak

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices | May 2, 2023 12:40 PM CDT

Whether or not foldable phones are the future of the smartphone is a matter for debate another time. But if there's one thing that we can all surely agree on it's the fact that there are more and more of them launching seemingly every month. Now, we've been treated to a leak of the specs for another, this time the Motorola Razr 40 Ultra is in the crosshairs.

Full Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable specs leak

The Razr 40 Ultra is expected to be joined by a budget-oriented Razr 40 Lite version, but it's the flagship that we're the most interested in for obvious reasons. Now, a leak by XDA Developers appears to have given us our first real look at what the device will have to offer in terms of specifications.

Kicking things off we're told that the Razr 40 Ultra will ship with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip inside with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage wrapping up the main internals. There will also be dual-SIM and eSIM versions of the phone, while NFC and a fingerprint sensor are both table stakes at this point.

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Continue reading: Full Motorola Razr 40 Ultra foldable specs leak (full post)

Intel could be changing the name of its Core CPUs and we're confused already

Darren Allan | Processors | May 2, 2023 12:30 PM CDT

It looks like Intel might be preparing to change the name of its Core family of processors, departing from the terminology used for a long time now, namely (pun not intended) the Core i3, i5, i7 and i9 tiers of CPU.

Intel could be changing the name of its Core CPUs and we're confused already

This originates from a leak of an Intel processor via the Ashes of the Singularity benchmark database, an 18-thread CPU with the name 'Core Ultra 5 1003H', apparently switching the Core i5 naming scheme with Core Ultra 5.

At the time, it wasn't clear whether this might just be a different codename used for an engineering sample chip, but now, as VideoCardz points out, Bernard Fernandes, who is Intel's Director of Global Communications, has tweeted on the subject.

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Continue reading: Intel could be changing the name of its Core CPUs and we're confused already (full post)

Leaker says a full-blown Final Cut Pro is coming to the iPad and soon

Oliver Haslam | Software & Apps | May 2, 2023 12:25 PM CDT

Creatives like to be able to use creative apps, and Final Cut Pro is one of those that video editors rely on every day. The lack of a Final Cut Pro iPad app has long meant that some people haven't been able to use the tablet as their work machine. While there are other video editing apps available for iPadOS, Final Cut Pro is a biggie. Now, a new rumor claims that it's coming to Apple's tablets.

Leaker says a full-blown Final Cut Pro is coming to the iPad and soon

If the rumor turns out to be true Apple will ship a desktop-class version of its Final Cut Pro video editing app in 2024, with Logic Pro following. Logic Pro is Apple's audio creation tool and that too would be a huge addition to the App Store on the iPad.

However, it's important to remember that this is an early leak and it's one that we're not 100% sold on. Not only does the leaker say that Final Cut Pro is coming, but they went on to clarify that the version that ships on the iPad will be a 1:1 copy of the Mac version which, frankly, seems unlikely.

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Continue reading: Leaker says a full-blown Final Cut Pro is coming to the iPad and soon (full post)

Gargantuan 14.1-inch iPad leaks and you won't believe what chip it'll have

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices | May 2, 2023 12:09 PM CDT

Have you ever looked at the 12.9-inch iPad Pro and thought that it looked just a little bit too small? Not many people have, but for those that do want something bigger there could be something on the horizon. That thing could be a 14.1-inch iPad.

Gargantuan 14.1-inch iPad leaks and you won't believe what chip it'll have

We say iPad and not iPad Pro because that's the way leakers have been describing it so far, but in reality it seems highly likely to sit at the top of Apple's lineup. Whether it'll be called something like iPad Ultra or not remains to be seen, but it does seem to be coming whatever it winds up being called. Now, a new leak has suggested that it'll also come with a special chip to go along with that special screen size.

According to Twitter leaker Revegnus, the 14.1-inch iPad will come with an Apple-designed M3 Pro. That perhaps tells us when we should expect this thing to ship - some point in 2024, most likely - but it also suggests that this will be quite the beast of a machine.

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Continue reading: Gargantuan 14.1-inch iPad leaks and you won't believe what chip it'll have (full post)

Leaked: All the Google Pixel 7a details you could ever need

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices | May 2, 2023 12:00 PM CDT

Do you remember when a company like Google would announce something and it would take us completely by surprise because we hadn't seen anything about it leak on the internet. Those days are long gone it seems, and the Pixel 7a is the latest Google product to be leaked into oblivion before its big day on stage.

Leaked: All the Google Pixel 7a details you could ever need

The Pixel 7a was already expected to debut during the Google I/O developer conference on May 10 and then go on sale on May 11. We've seen leaks upon leaks pointing to that. Now, we've also seen all of the marketing materials relating to the phone also leak, posted to Twitter by Roland Quandt.

There really isn't all that much left to the imagination after taking a look at a series of Quandt's tweets. We get to see a list of specifications as well as what's in the box and more.

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Continue reading: Leaked: All the Google Pixel 7a details you could ever need (full post)

WhatsApp could finally stop hampering our fun with GIFs

Oliver Haslam | Software & Apps | May 2, 2023 11:10 AM CDT

If you're a fan of GIFs - and really, who isn't? - you're probably already acutely aware that WhatsApp hates them. Well, that might be about to change with the news that a big change is coming to the way the popular instant messaging app will handle those little animated pictures.

WhatsApp could finally stop hampering our fun with GIFs

Like, it's actually going to animate them.

See, WhatsApp has long supported GIFs but the problem was that you had to tap them to see them animated the way that they were always intended to. However, WhatsApp is working to change all of that with the company now rolling out a beta version that automatically plays animated GIFs for you.

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Continue reading: WhatsApp could finally stop hampering our fun with GIFs (full post)

NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU spotted with a chunky price cut in Europe

Darren Allan | Graphics Cards | May 2, 2023 11:08 AM CDT

The RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card has been spotted being sold by NVIDIA in Europe at almost 10% below the company's recommended pricing now.

NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU spotted with a chunky price cut in Europe

VideoCardz reports that this is the case in Germany, and that the price of the RTX 4090 has been dropping below the MSRP of €1949 since February 2023.

To be precise, February witnessed a drop in price of 4.6% in Germany, and then in March, we saw the Founders Edition fall further to 6.7% under the MSRP.

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Continue reading: NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU spotted with a chunky price cut in Europe (full post)

Confirmed: Google says when the Pixel 7a will ship

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices | May 2, 2023 10:58 AM CDT

The Google Pixel 7a is the hot topic right now and with the budget phone set to be announced during the Google I/O event on May 10, we now know exactly when the phone will go on sale as well.

Confirmed: Google says when the Pixel 7a will ship

That's because Google itself has confirmed as much. To be exact, it was the Google India account which teased the upcoming Pixel 7a without actually saying that's what it was talking about. However, based on the image shown in the tweet there's little left to the imagination.

This news does a couple of things of course. First, it confirms what we'd already expected - Google will announce the Pixel 7a during the Google I/O event on May 10 and then it'll go on sale the day after on May 11. Pre-orders are expected to begin right after that announcement, however, at least that's the plan on Google's store. Third-party retailers and carrier partners might have to wait until May 11.

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Continue reading: Confirmed: Google says when the Pixel 7a will ship (full post)

This $175 Steve Jobs check could be worth $25,000+

Oliver Haslam | World News | May 2, 2023 10:38 AM CDT

The name Steve Jobs is one that will go down in history as the co-founder of Apple and the man that saved the company from the brink in the 1990s. He died in October 2011 and his legacy lives on - and now you can own a little piece of history by picking up a check he wrote on behalf of Apple way back in 1976.

This $175 Steve Jobs check could be worth $25,000+

The check was for just $175 which was probably a lot more back then than it is in 2023. It's a business check made out from the Apple Computer Company account and is signed by Jobs himself. And right now it's up for auction with an expected selling price of around $25,000.

At the time of writing the bidding is at $16,500 and the auction ends on May 11, so there's still plenty of time for you to get in on the act.

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Continue reading: This $175 Steve Jobs check could be worth $25,000+ (full post)

Microsoft has a reason to hope that Windows 11 is finally getting more popular

Darren Allan | Software & Apps | May 2, 2023 9:29 AM CDT

Windows 11 might just be picking up some pace when it comes to attracting new users, at least according to the latest set of figures from one analytics firm.

Microsoft has a reason to hope that Windows 11 is finally getting more popular

Statcounter has furnished us with the statistics for April 2023 showing the relative market share of the various versions of Windows. Microsoft will doubtless be pleased to see Windows 11 hitting a market share of 23.11%, representing an increase of 2.16% on the previous month.

That's a heftier uptick than we've seen for some time, and it builds upon the momentum of last month, too. In March 2023, Windows 11 also drove forward to the tune of 1.81%, giving the OS a cumulative gain of nearly 4% in two months.

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Continue reading: Microsoft has a reason to hope that Windows 11 is finally getting more popular (full post)

Skyrim ChatGPT mod shows the future of gaming will be powered by AI

Jak Connor | Artificial Intelligence | May 2, 2023 8:37 AM CDT

Classic RPG titles such as Skyrim or The Witcher: Wild Hunt are known for being some of the greatest worlds to get lost in, with a large variety of characters to interact and seemingly never-ending adventures to take undertake.

Skyrim ChatGPT mod shows the future of gaming will be powered by AI

However, gamers reach the end of these games, and with the aforementioned games in particular, they even choose to replay them in a different way for an alternative experience. Unfortunately, there are limitations to these alternative experiences, and one of those is the dialogue players can have with NPCs. Skyrim is one of the most successful games ever made and is known for its iconic dialogue, but what if NPCs were able to have an infinite amount of dialogue and players were able to ask them whatever they wanted?

A very early example of that has been created by modder Art From The Machine, who has taken the underlying language model powering OpenAI's ChatGPT, and combined it with xVASynth for text-to-speech capabilities and Whisper for speech-to-text capabilities. So, what has Art From The Machine achieved? Players are able to speak into their microphones and talk directly to NPCs, who will be able to understand what the player is saying. Whisper converts the player's speech to text which is then fed into ChatGPT's language model that generates a response. That text response is then played through xVASynth, and the NPCs are able to respond appropriately.

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Continue reading: Skyrim ChatGPT mod shows the future of gaming will be powered by AI (full post)

Researchers say China's Mars rover has made an unprecedented discovery

Jak Connor | Science, Space, & Robotics | May 2, 2023 7:34 AM CDT

A new study published in the journal Science Advances on April 28 states that China's Mars rover has discovered evidence of liquid water, a claim that contradicts the general consensus that water can only exist in solid or gaseous states on Mars.

Researchers say China's Mars rover has made an unprecedented discovery

The study was led by Prof. Xiaoguang Qin from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and according to its results, China's Zhurong rover has found proof of liquid water traces at low latitudes where temperatures are more warm and suitable for the ingredients of life. It should be noted that humans have discovered large amounts of frozen water on Mars, but due to the planet's incredibly thin atmosphere, it's thought the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet is impossible.

However, in 2008 salty droplets of water landed on the arm of NASA's Phoenix Lander, which led researchers to believe that liquid water could exist in the higher latitudes of the planet. Now, researchers are suggesting the very same for the low latitudes. Zhurong's scientific instruments analyzed the surface of sand dunes, discovering that their composition was rich with hydrated sulfates, silica, oxide minerals, and possibly chlorides. Additionally, Zhurong's instruments revealed important morphological features on the surface of the dunes, such as crusts, cracks, granulation, polygonal ridges, and water traces.

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Continue reading: Researchers say China's Mars rover has made an unprecedented discovery (full post)

'Godfather of AI' quits Google to warn people about what he created

Jak Connor | Artificial Intelligence | May 2, 2023 2:40 AM CDT

75-year-old Dr. Geoffrey Hinton spent more than a decade at Google developing the foundational technology to artificial intelligence, and now "the Godfather of AI" has left the company to sound alarm bells on its potential dangers.

'Godfather of AI' quits Google to warn people about what he created

In a new article published in The New York Times, it's explained that Hinton worked at Google for more than 10 years, developing the foundational technology used to create the AI systems we are seeing today. Hinton is renowned as a pioneer of artificial intelligence and gained high respect within his field, but he decided to leave his long career at Google to discuss the dangers of AI and how a part of him regrets the role he played in its AI's initial creation.

In an interview with the NYT, Hinton said, "I console myself with the normal excuse: If I hadn't done it, somebody else would have." Adding, "It is hard to see how you can prevent the bad actors from using it for bad things." Hinton left Google to discuss the potential dangers of AI without any impact from Google and not to criticize the company itself. In fact, Hinton said that Google has acted "very responsibly" with his departure.

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Continue reading: 'Godfather of AI' quits Google to warn people about what he created (full post)

Samsung puts ChatGPT in its cross hairs after staff leak insider source code

Jak Connor | Artificial Intelligence | May 2, 2023 2:05 AM CDT

Early last month, Samsung staff accidentally leaked an internal source to OpenAI's ChatGPT, sounding alarm bells within the company and outside of it.

Samsung puts ChatGPT in its cross hairs after staff leak insider source code

There were at least three instances of Samsung employees sharing confidential information with OpenAI's AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT. The first was a staff member leaking the source code of a confidential database into ChatGPT, which was followed by a request for the AI to check for any errors. Another instance was code optimization being shared with ChatGPT, and the last was a request for ChatGPT to convert an internal Samsung video of a meeting into minutes.

Now, Bloomberg News has read a new memo issued to staff notifying them of a new policy change. According to the memo, Samsung is terribly concerned about the rise of AI-powered tools and how it may affect intellectual property. In an effort to reduce any leaks of confidential data that may or may not impact the company, a widespread ban has been placed on any AI-generative tools on employee-issued devices. Samsung staff are now prohibited from having any AI-generative tools or applications on company-owned computers, tablets, phones, and on any of Samsung's internal networks.

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Continue reading: Samsung puts ChatGPT in its cross hairs after staff leak insider source code (full post)

Scientists teach AI to 'read minds and transcribe thought'

Jak Connor | Artificial Intelligence | May 2, 2023 1:32 AM CDT

Scientists announced on Monday that they created a way for an artificial intelligence system to transcribe what people are thinking by feeding it scans of the individual's brain activity.

Scientists teach AI to 'read minds and transcribe thought'

The new system was developed by researchers at The University of Texas in Austin, and according to the study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the goal behind this new technology is to provide assistance to people that are mentally conscious but are unable to physically speak, such as people that have suffered from strokes. The study was led by Jerry Tang, a doctoral student in computer science, and Alex Huth, an assistant professor of neuroscience and computer science at UT Austin.

The researchers explain that the AI model was trained on people that participated in several sessions of magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). These long hours of brain activity recording were then fed into GPT-1, a predecessor language model that was later developed into GPT-4, the language model powering the popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Scientists then trained the model to predict how each person's brain would respond to hearing speech, such as a short story. These stories were listened to by participants while they were in the fMRI sessions.

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Continue reading: Scientists teach AI to 'read minds and transcribe thought' (full post)

AMD is rumored to be switching to Samsung 4nm for unknown chips

Kosta Andreadis | Processors | May 2, 2023 12:32 AM CDT

A new tweet from @OreXda simply states that 'AMD signed to use Samsung Foundry 4nm,' which points to AMD using Samsung's 4nm process for future products. It's unclear what these products will be, but looking back at Samsung's plans in 2021, there was word that AMD was eyeing the Samsung Foundry to produce 4nm CPUs designed for Chromebooks.

AMD is rumored to be switching to Samsung 4nm for unknown chips

All of this comes down to TSMC's limited capacity, which for 4nm is apparently at its absolute peak, and with recent reports pointing to Samsung's fabrication process yielding better results as time goes on - a switch for certain low-power products makes sense for AMD.

Sourcing chips from multiple sources, as long as the quality is there, is a sound strategy and will allow AMD to get products out on time instead of delaying things ala the Ryzen 7040 Phoenix APUs. However, it's worth stating that product delays can happen for several reasons beyond manufacturing.

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Continue reading: AMD is rumored to be switching to Samsung 4nm for unknown chips (full post)

Rocking a 3dfx Voodoo2 graphics card? This 3D-printed armor could be for you

Kosta Andreadis | Graphics Cards | May 1, 2023 11:57 PM CDT

Released in February of 1998, the Voodoo2 from 3dfx was an iconic moment for PC gaming - a discrete graphics card capable of delivering impressive 3D performance at a time when that was still a relatively new thing.

Rocking a 3dfx Voodoo2 graphics card? This 3D-printed armor could be for you

Of course, by 2023 standards, the Voodoo2 is positively archaic and a relic you'd have on display or as part of a dedicated retro gaming rig running something like Windows 95. In case you need a refresher, the maximum supported resolution for the card is 800x600, and the 8MB or 12MB of memory was primarily used to render rudimentary textures.

Still, this 3D printable 3dfx Voodoo2 Armor from creator Jeff Chen is a fantastic option for those remaining Voodoo2 owners as it adds a dose of modern GPU style to the retro graphics card doubling as a bit of protection.

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Continue reading: Rocking a 3dfx Voodoo2 graphics card? This 3D-printed armor could be for you (full post)

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is currently the most popular GPU according to Steam

Kosta Andreadis | Graphics Cards | May 1, 2023 11:27 PM CDT

The latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey results for April 2023 are here, and as per the latest figures, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is currently the most popular GPU for Steam users. This card from NVIDIA dates back to 2019, released as a budget gaming option built on a 12 nm process featuring a modest 4GB of VRAM.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is currently the most popular GPU according to Steam

According to the latest data, the second most popular GPU is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, a GPU that launched with 6GB of VRAM. The top ten is basically a who's who of mainstream NVIDIA GPUs, including the GeForce RTX 3060 in desktop and laptop variants, the GeForce RTX 2060, and even the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3060 Ti.

With all of the talk about VRAM capacity of late, it's interesting to note that pretty much all of the most popular GPUs, according to Valve's data, feature 8GB of VRAM or less - though, of course, these are mostly GPUs where you're running games at a lower resolution with lower visual settings.

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Continue reading: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is currently the most popular GPU according to Steam (full post)

Windows 10's current version, 22H2, is the last major update for the OS

Kosta Andreadis | Software & Apps | May 1, 2023 10:29 PM CDT

A new Windows client roadmap update has confirmed that the latest Windows 10 version currently available, 22H2, "will be the final version of Windows 10." Microsoft also confirms that the operating system will reach its end of life in support on October 25, 2025.

Windows 10's current version, 22H2, is the last major update for the OS

What does this mean for millions of Windows 10 users? Monthly security updates will arrive from now until this date, meaning you'll need to make an OS switch at some point between now and then. We won't be surprised if Microsoft extends security updates beyond the late 2025 date. By that same token, Windows 12 is coming sooner than expected, with reports pointing to a 2024 release.

22H2 being the "final" version of Windows 10 is surprising, though, as this significant update dates back to October 2022. We would have expected this announcement to arrive after another major release for the OS.

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Continue reading: Windows 10's current version, 22H2, is the last major update for the OS (full post)

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