ID-Cooling SPACE LCD SL360 Liquid CPU Cooler Review

ID-Cooling SPACE LCD SL360 Liquid CPU Cooler Review

ID-Cooling impresses with its charge for the top of our charts with the SPACE LCD SL360, but does the complete package meet the market's expectations?

TT Show Episode 34 - The Helldivers 2 PC Controversy and Apple's New OLED iPad Pro

Kosta Andreadis | TweakTown | May 10, 2024 9:02 AM CDT

This week, on a more focused episode of The TT Show, Jak and Kosta break down and go through the crazy Helldivers 2 controversy on PC. If you were offline for a few days (and this all played out throughout a single weekend), the decision to force the Helddivers 2's PC players to link their Steam Account to a PlayStation Network (PSN) account caused a veritable backlash storm.

TT Show Episode 34 - The Helldivers 2 PC Controversy and Apple's New OLED iPad Pro

From the review bombing to developers being grilled to Sony and developer Arrowhead's damage control to the surprisingly swift happy ending, Jak and Kosta discuss the implications and consider what might happen in the aftermath.

This week's other big story comes from the world of Apple, with the company lifting the lid on its new iPad Pro lineup powered by the new AI-powered 3 nanometer M4 chip. The big thing here is that it represents Apple's first dip into the world of OLED displays, with a groundbreaking 1000-nit SDR and HDR screen that has two OLED panels in one!

Continue reading: TT Show Episode 34 - The Helldivers 2 PC Controversy and Apple's New OLED iPad Pro (full post)

The M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are now officially on sale worldwide

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 15, 2024 2:00 PM CDT

After a week-long preorder window, Apple has now made the new M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air available to buy both online and at its retail store locations around the globe. Select third-party retail partners also have stocks right now, too.

The M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are now officially on sale worldwide

The new iPads were both announced at last week's Let Loose event alongside the new Apple Pencil Pro and iPad Pro Magic Keyboard. Both of the accessories are also available to buy and are reportedly big upgrades over previous iterations of the Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard.

The new iPad Pro is undoubtedly the star of the show. Available in both 11-inch and 13-inch sizes and starting from $999, the new iPad Pro comes with the first OLED display ever used in an Apple tablet. That display allows for a peak HDR brightness of 1,600 nits as well as a peak SDR brightness of 1,000 nits. Apple calls the new display the Ultra Retina XDR and it offers improved colors and contrast alongside incredible brightness. For the first time, Apple is also offering a nano-texture display option for the new iPad Pro, albeit only available on the 1TB and 2TB storage configuration options. An additional $100 fee is required to upgrade to the nano-texture finish.

Continue reading: The M4 iPad Pro and M2 iPad Air are now officially on sale worldwide (full post)

China approves Apple Vision Pro for launch weeks ahead of expected release

The Apple Vision Pro went on sale in the United States this past February and while it was an initial hit among early adopters, it's that that retail interest in the mixed reality headset has started to die down. There has so far been little information on when we can expect the spatial computer to go on sale outside the United States, but there have been reports that something could happen within weeks. Apple's own website simply says that the Apple Vision Pro will go on sale internationally in 2024.

China approves Apple Vision Pro for launch weeks ahead of expected release

Now, we might have our best indication yet that a larger launch is in the offing and we might even know one of the countries that will be included in the second wave of Apple Vision Pro launches. China is one country that had previously been tipped to be involved, and now the country's regulatory outfit has approved the Apple Vision Pro for sale.

The news was shared by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in a post on the X social network that confirmed China's Quality Certification Center approved the Apple Vision Pro for sale on Monday. This is the last major hurdle that Apple needs to overcome before the Apple Vision Pro headset can go on sale in China, suggesting that a launch is imminent.

Continue reading: China approves Apple Vision Pro for launch weeks ahead of expected release (full post)

Strange iPhone bug brings deleted photos back from the dead, no matter how old they are

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 15, 2024 1:30 PM CDT

Apple only released the iOS 17.5 software update to the public yesterday but already some users are reporting that a somewhat strange bug is causing their old, deleted photos to reappear in the Photos app. The reports suggest that even deleting the photos again isn't enough to make sure that they stay deleted, too.

Strange iPhone bug brings deleted photos back from the dead, no matter how old they are

The problem has started to pop up across social media with MacRumors reporting on a Reddit post in which people have been detailing their experiences. One user says that four photos that were taken in 2010 have now popped back up and appear as if they were recently taken. Another user explained that a photo taken at a concert has recently shown up as if it was taken today.

There is currently no indication of why this is happening, but the age of some of these photos suggests that these aren't images that are being held in the Recently Deleted album within the Photos app. Photos normally wait there for 30 days after they were deleted before they are actually deleted properly, but given the age of some of the photos discussed in the Reddit thread, this issue appears to be more related to iCloud than anything local to the iPhone in question.

Continue reading: Strange iPhone bug brings deleted photos back from the dead, no matter how old they are (full post)

Apple CarPlay users will soon receive an alert when a siren or horn has been heard

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 15, 2024 1:15 PM CDT

Apple CarPlay is a great way to enjoy some of your favorite iPhone apps and features while driving without taking your hands off the wheel or your eyes off the road. It's an infinitely better approach than trying to use your phone in your hands or via something like an in-car phone holder because the car's entertainment system screen is always bigger and within reach. Now, Apple has previewed some new accessibility features that are going to make CarPlay even better and easier to use for everyone.

Apple CarPlay users will soon receive an alert when a siren or horn has been heard

Apple has previewed a number of new accessibility features that are set to ship later this year, like as part of iOS 18 and other software updates that are expected to be announced next month. In the case of CarPlay, there are multiple new additions to look forward to including Voice Control, Color Filters, and Sound Recognition.

Sound Recognition will allow drivers or passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing to enable alerts and then be notified if car horns and sirens are heard by the iPhone. That could be a huge feature for people who worry that they will be in front of an ambulance without hearing its sirens, for example.

Continue reading: Apple CarPlay users will soon receive an alert when a siren or horn has been heard (full post)

Car sick iPhone owners will get a cool new iOS 18 software feature to reduce motions sickness

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 15, 2024 1:00 PM CDT

Suffering from motion sickness is nobody's idea of fun, especially if you have to travel in vehicles a lot for whatever reason. Thankfully, there are ways to help alleviate the symptoms of motion or travel sickness, and Apple has announced a new one specifically designed for iPhone and iPad users.

Car sick iPhone owners will get a cool new iOS 18 software feature to reduce motions sickness

Rather than taking a tablet or using another approach, Apple has told users that it has a software fix for their very real-world problem. In a press release previewing new accessibility features coming to the iPhone and iPad later this year, Apple pointed out a new Vehicle Motion Cues feature that will help people deal with sickness while on the move.

Apple says that research has shown that motion sickness is commonly caused by a sensory conflict between what a person can see and what they can feel. For example, looking at a stationary object - like an iPhone or iPad - while feeling the motion of a vehicle can be enough to make some people feel unwell. To help with that, Apple's new Vehicle Motion Cues feature will use animated dots on the edges of the screen to represent the changes in motion. The idea is to remove that sensory conflict mentioned earlier.

Continue reading: Car sick iPhone owners will get a cool new iOS 18 software feature to reduce motions sickness (full post)

People are keeping iPads for longer than ever, report shows

Oliver Haslam | Mobile Devices, Tablets & Phones | May 15, 2024 12:45 PM CDT

If you're picking up a new M4 iPad Pro or a new M2 iPad Air, the chances are good that you intend to keep it for at least three years. That's what we're learning after a new report was published on the amount of time people like to keep their tablets.

People are keeping iPads for longer than ever, report shows

The CIRP report looked at how often people choose to upgrade their iPad and the figures suggest that people are now keeping their tablets for longer than ever. The stats show that the largest group of people, around 40% of them, said that they hold on to their iPads for three years or more which is a notable increase over previous years. The group that keeps their iPad for between two and three years has also increased and is not 25%.

Finally, the future for those who keep an iPad for just one or two years is now also 25% while only 10% of people keep an iPad for less than a single year, as you might expect.

Continue reading: People are keeping iPads for longer than ever, report shows (full post)

Elon Musk's X beats the Australian government in court over church stabbing videos

Jak Connor | Business, Financial & Legal | May 15, 2024 4:02 AM CDT

The Australian government eSafety Commissioner entered into a legal battle against Elon Musk X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter, over its refusal to remove a terrorist attack video from its platform.

Elon Musk's X beats the Australian government in court over church stabbing videos

Australia demanded that all social media platforms respect its laws that state its illegal to host any content that depicts a terrorist attack. All social platforms responded to Australia's call to remove the video depicting what the Australian governments eSafety Commissioner deemed a terrorist attack, which was content of an Australian man attacking bishop Mari Emmanuel in Sydney, Australia. X responded to the call and blocked Australia-based users from accessing the content.

However, the eSafety Commissioner argued this decision doesn't represent the removal of the posts, and then proceeded to demand X remove access to the content on a global scale. Musk vowed to challenge the requirement by the Australian government, and on Monday, X won a reprieve from a federal court judge who declined the eSafety Commissioner's bid to extend its injunction to remove the content from X.

Continue reading: Elon Musk's X beats the Australian government in court over church stabbing videos (full post)

Windows 10 support expected to end with AMD's next-generation CPUs

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | May 15, 2024 3:31 AM CDT

Microsoft's most-popular operating system, Windows 10, will lose support for new drivers on AMD's next-generation CPU platform, according to reports.

Windows 10 support expected to end with AMD's next-generation CPUs

Windows 10 is by far Microsoft's most popular operating system, with the company actively thinking up new ways to push users onto Windows 11 following the announcement it was ending support for the operating system in October 2025. Now, a new report from TechSpot citing a Weibo post from someone who claims to be Lenovo's China manager, AMD won't provide Windows 10 drivers for its Zen 5 CPUs, specifically starting with its Zen 5 Strix Point APUs.

Why would AMD choose to go down this route? It may not have anything to do with Microsoft directly but with the emergence and now importance of AI-based capabilities. The report states AMD is - like many other big tech companies - shifting its focus to AI performance, which is paramount for Zen 5 to be successful. Unfortunately, AI-based capabilities aren't likely to be coming to an old operating system such as Windows 10, especially when it will be hitting its end-of-support phase next year.

Continue reading: Windows 10 support expected to end with AMD's next-generation CPUs (full post)

Elon Musk confirms Starlink suffered from 'degraded service' from a Sun blast

Jak Connor | Science, Space, Health & Robotics | May 15, 2024 3:01 AM CDT

Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation was hit by a blast from the Sun, causing the satellites to buckle under "a lot of pressure".

Elon Musk confirms Starlink suffered from 'degraded service' from a Sun blast

SpaceX's constellation of Starlink satellites, which total nearly 6,000, managed to survive recent intense solar activity within Earth's upper atmosphere. More specifically, Elon Musk's SpaceX mentioned that a geomagnetic storm was causing "degraded service" for its Starlink satellites, which increases the density of Earth's upper atmosphere and can cause GPS communications to be scrambled.

However, all appears to be well, with SpaceX taking to its X account to announce that "All Starlink satellites on-orbit weathered the geomagnetic storm and remain healthy". Notably, this wasn't just any old geomagnetic storm, as conditions reached level 5 on the 5-point scale of geomagnetic activity on Friday, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), which echoes the comments Musk made on his X account, "Major geomagnetic solar storm happening right now. Biggest in a long time."

Continue reading: Elon Musk confirms Starlink suffered from 'degraded service' from a Sun blast (full post)

OpenAI unveils new AI model that's a step towards natural human-computer interaction

Jak Connor | Artificial Intelligence | May 15, 2024 2:40 AM CDT

OpenAI has unveiled a new AI model that is designed to analyze audio, visual and text, and provide answers based on what it "sees/hears".

OpenAI unveils new AI model that's a step towards natural human-computer interaction

The company behind the immensely popular AI tool ChatGPT announced its latest flagship model called GPT-4o (omni), which OpenAI describes as being a step towards a "much more natural human-computer interaction". The new AI model is expected to match the performance of GPT-4 Turbo at processing text and code input, while simultaneously being faster and 50% cheaper with its API, making it a more affordable choice for third-party app integration.

More specifically, users will be able to submit a query by voice about what the AI agent is able to "see" on the devices screen, and an example of this would be asking the AI what game two people can play. OpenAI demonstrated this with two people that verbally asked the AI "what game can we play". The AI used the smartphone camera to "see" the two people sitting in front of it and suggested playing rock, paper, scissors. The quick demonstration showed the AI model being able to fluently interact with the individuals and also be extremely responsive to interruptions and new commands.

Continue reading: OpenAI unveils new AI model that's a step towards natural human-computer interaction (full post)