Category: Technology

They (regulators) said it couldn’t be done (originally) but Three is finally approved for a merger. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the go ahead for a merger between Three and Vodafone, first proposed by the companies in June 2023. The decision follows an independent inquiry group’s investigation into the move’s impact. 

CMA is allowing the deal to proceed as long as “both companies sign binding commitments to invest billions to roll out a combined 5G network across the UK,” a release states. “The network commitment would be supported by shorter term customer protections which would require the merged company to cap certain mobile tariffs and offer preset contractual terms to mobile virtual network operators, for a period of three years.” CMA and UK communication services regulator Ofcom will both oversee these commitments and the merged company must produce an annual implementation report.

Chair of the independent inquiry group, Stuart McIntosh, explained, “We believe the merger is likely to boost competition in the UK mobile sector and should be allowed to proceed — but only if Vodafone and Three agree to implement our proposed measures.”

Three tried to merge with O2 in 2015, but the European Commission (yes, this was pre-Brexit) blocked it a year later. Then European Commissioner for competition Margrethe Vestager, stated that the concessions Three offered wouldn’t offset the deal’s potential to limit competition and bring higher prices. CMA concurred but, in 2021, allowed O2 to merge with Virgin Media, determining that it would not have a “substantial” impact on competition due to the nature of their combined offerings.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/three-and-vodafone-will-merge-in-the-uk-120007936.html?src=rss 

Bitcoin has passed the $100,000 threshold for the first time. At approximately 9:39PM ET this evening, the cryptocurrency’s value hit six figures, moving it past the milestone for the first time in its nearly 16-year history.

That also means the legendary Bitcoin pizza order is now worth $1 billion. For those not in the loop, a Florida man — because, of course it was a Florida man — paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas over 14 years ago in what’s considered the cryptocurrency’s first commercial transaction.

“I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas … like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day,” Laszlo Hanyecz posted in a crypto forum on May 18, 2010. Four days later, a British man took him up on the offer. That amount was only worth $45 at the time. (And the UK man only paid Papa John’s $25!) But only nine months later, the transaction’s value had skyrocketed to $10,000.

Hanyecz told The New York Times in 2013 that he had no regrets about the then-$6 million pizza order. “It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” he said. “No one knew it was going to get so big.”

I wonder if Florida Man has any regrets now that his fee for those two Papa John’s pizzas is worth a billion dollars.

Looking at it another way, Papa John’s current market cap is $1.567 billion. So, had Hanyecz saved his crypto instead of ordering those two pizzas, he could have bought nearly two-thirds of the company that baked his pie today.

Then, there’s the story of a writer who, in 2017, helped a friend recover (at the time) $200,000 worth of Bitcoin from a broken laptop. Those 40 Bitcoins stuck in a MultiBit wallet for three-and-a-half years are worth more than $4 million today (so long as the cryptocurrency stays above the $100,000 mark).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/bitcoin-breaks-the-100000-barrier-for-the-first-time-042918312.html?src=rss 

Peloton is continuing to expand into products other than stationary bikes and treadmills with a new strength training app called Peloton Strength+. The iOS-only app will give current and future Peloton subscribers access to audio-guided strength workouts that can be performed at the gym.

The fitness company initially started testing a beta version of the app in September, which Peloton says informed features like bookmarking custom workouts and the ability to swap and reorder movements. The final version also includes a tool for generating new workouts based on how much time you have, your experience level, or available equipment, instructional how-to videos and “in-ear coaching” to keep you on track while you’re working out. Like many other fitness apps, Strength+ can also connect to an Apple Watch to display metrics like your heart rate and calories burned and let you log weights and reps from your wrist. None of these features are radically different from what you can get from other popular apps like Fitbod or SmartGym, save for Peloton’s focus on audio and the company’s roster of popular fitness instructors.

In the years following the pandemic, Peloton has struggled to adjust to the changing demand for its subscription hardware. Not everyone wanted a Peloton Tread or Bike in their living room when the option to pay less to use one in public became available. Peloton has tried various strategies to recapture its popularity since then, making it possible to access Peloton workouts without expensive hardware, launching a fitness-tracking camera called Guide with a strength workout focus similar to Strength and even selling a rowing machine. Nothing has matched the sales highs the company experienced during the pandemic. Selling subscriptions to the Peloton app and Strength+ seems like a viable way to grow in the inevitable future where most people don’t care about Peloton hardware.

Peloton Strength+ will be available for a limited time at $1 per month for the first six months. Afterward, a subscription to Strength+ will cost $9.99 per month. Current Peloton All Access, Guide, and App+ subscribers can use Strength+ at no additional cost.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/peloton-is-introducing-a-new-audio-focused-strength-training-app-222145376.html?src=rss 

Just when it seemed like PC support was Sony’s final word on the PlayStation VR2, the company is showing off hand tracking for the virtual reality headset. As spotted by UploadVR, Sony has been demoing controller-free hand-tracking support on the PSVR2 at SIGGRAPH Asia 2024, an academic conference and tradeshow focused on “computer graphics and interactive techniques.”

Sony hasn’t released any official announcement explaining the new feature, but a published description of what it’s presenting at SIGGRAPH does mention that hand-tracking support is “available with the latest development kit of PlayStation 5.” Mixed noticed that Sony had filed a patent for several different hand-tracking features in May 2023, but this is the first instance of that work running on an actual headset.

Besides feeling more natural than swinging around a controller, hand-tracking allows for more nuanced movements and controls in apps and games. When you press a virtual button in a game with hand tracking, you might not feel the haptic feedback you’d get from gripping a controller, but what you’re doing with your hand is much more like real life. A video of the demo shared on X shows hand-tracking working on a PSVR2 with a similar level of fidelity and latency to hand-tracking on a Quest 3, so it seems like Sony’s feature could work well.

While it’s weird that the company hasn’t turned this into an announcement yet, the fact that hand-tracking support exists is a good sign for headset owners that Sony is still invested. The PSVR 2 was released in 2023 as an impressive, if expensive, piece of VR hardware. Things like headset haptics, eye-tracking and a great first-party game in Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain made it stand out. But since then, the headset hasn’t seen nearly the support it needs to catch on. Major internal studios haven’t developed many VR games, and Sony has laid off developers from studios that have, like the creators of Call of the Mountain, Firesprite. In June, Android Central reported that Sony had also severely cut its budget for future VR development.

The release of the PS VR2 PC adaptor in August 2024 seemed like the final nail in the coffin. If Sony wasn’t going to make more games, then at least you could play through the gigantic library of PC VR games on Steam. Hand-tracking support might not mean Sony’s commitment to the VR headset has changed since then, but it is a sign that the PSVR2 can improve even if it’s never a priority.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/playstation-vr2-will-get-hand-tracking-support-soon-204155147.html?src=rss 

With the end date for Windows 10 less than a year away, people still using that operating system will need to start preparing to enter the Windows 11 era. And Microsoft is placing a hardware requirement on the current OS that could pose a problem for those of us using older machines.

Windows 11 will require computers to have TPM 2.0. Also known as a Trusted Platform Module, this is a dedicated chip or firmware used for device security, and the 2.0 version offers several useful features for improved cryptography and encryption. A blog post from Microsoft outlines all of the benefits and why it’s being made a core part of Windows 11 installations. Notably, the latest TPM can help future-proof the three-year-old operating system “by helping to protect sensitive information as more AI capabilities come to physical, cloud, and server architecture.”

That’s all well and good, but many older machines don’t have TPM 2.0. That version became the hardware standard for Windows computers in 2016. Savvy users may have been able to use Windows 11 on incompatible computers with workarounds, but Microsoft’s language that “TPM 2.0 is not just a recommendation—it’s a necessity” indicates that the company will likely be getting more stringent about preventing those bypasses. You can check the TPM status of your computer with Microsoft’s PC Health Check app ahead of the October 14, 2025 end of support date for Windows 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsoft-confirms-the-windows-11-tpm-security-requirement-isnt-going-anywhere-211002424.html?src=rss 

OpenAI has partnered with defense startup Anduril Industries to develop AI for the Pentagon. The companies said on Wednesday that they’ll combine OpenAI’s models, including GPT-4o and OpenAI o1, with Anduril’s systems and software to improve the US military’s defenses against unpiloted aerial attacks.

The deal comes less than a year after OpenAI softened its stance on using its models for military purposes. Although the ChatGPT maker’s policies still prohibit its models from developing or using weapons, it deleted a line in January that explicitly banned integrating its tech into “military and warfare” use. The company said at the time it was already working with DARPA on cybersecurity tools. In October, the company hired a former Palantir security officer and was reportedly pitching its products to the US military and national security establishment.

An OpenAI spokesperson told The Washington Post that the deal complies with the company’s rules because it focuses on systems that defend against pilotless aerial threats. The company said the partnership doesn’t cover other uses.

According to The Washington Post, the OpenAI-Anduril partnership will aim to improve the latter’s tech for detecting and shooting down drones threatening the US military and its allies. The Pentagon already buys Anduril’s Roadrunner drone interceptor (pictured above) to help counter the rise of smaller drones on the world’s battlefields. The startup sells sentry towers, comms jammers, military drones and an autonomous submarine, among other projects.

The companies framed the partnership as a way to defend US military personnel and counter China’s advancing AI. “Our partnership with OpenAI will allow us to utilize their world-class expertise in artificial intelligence to address urgent Air Defense capability gaps across the world,” Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf wrote in a statement. “Together, we are committed to developing responsible solutions that enable military and intelligence operators to make faster, more accurate decisions in high-pressure situations.”

Anduril was co-founded by Oculus Rift inventor (and Oculus VR co-founder) Palmer Luckey. That headset laid the foundation for the Meta Quest lineup, which today holds the lion’s share of the VR and AR market. Luckey left Meta (then Facebook) in 2017, months after news broke that he donated $10,000 to a group aiming to post 4chan-style anti-Hillary Clinton memes on roadside billboards.

“OpenAI builds AI to benefit as many people as possible, and supports U.S.-led efforts to ensure the technology upholds democratic values,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a statement. “Our partnership with Anduril will help ensure OpenAI technology protects U.S. military personnel, and will help the national security community understand and responsibly use this technology to keep our citizens safe and free.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-signs-deal-with-palmer-luckeys-anduril-to-develop-military-ai-213356951.html?src=rss 

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is known for having one of the best character creation systems around, and now everyone can experience it without dropping $60. EA just announced that it has made the tools free for all users, as part of a larger Dragon Age Day celebration.

It’s available right now for all platforms. There’s no time limit, so have at it. Additionally, the character carries over to the main game, so consider it a demo of sorts. The software also allows players to choose their class and faction, which also transfer to the game. The only caveat here is that the platform you use to create your character must be the same one you play the actual game on. There will be no mixing of PCs and consoles here.

This character creator is very good, and it actually started picking up kudos even before the game was released. As for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, well, it’s also pretty dang good. We called it “beautiful in every way” in our official review, noting it was one of Bioware’s most-polished titles. If the devs put this kind of love into the next Mass Effect, we are in for a treat.

Dragon Age Day isn’t just about this free character creator. EA and Bioware have also released new artwork for the game and put armor inspired by the protagonist of Dragon Age II into Dragon Age: The Veilguard. There’s also a new patch for the game that brings a bunch of quality of life changes and bug fixes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/dragon-age-the-veilguards-excellent-character-creator-is-now-a-standalone-freebie-193834444.html?src=rss 

When Helene made landfall in Florida earlier this year, 234 people lost their lives to the worst hurricane to strike the US mainland since Katarina in 2005. It’s natural disasters like that, and their growing intensity due to climate change, that have pushed scientists to develop more accurate weather forecasting systems. On Wednesday, Google’s DeepMind division announced what may go down as the most significant advancement in the field in nearly eight decades of work.

In a post on the Google Keyword blog, DeepMind’s Ilan Price and Matthew Wilson detailed GenCast, the company’s latest AI agent. According to DeepMind, GenCast is not only better at providing daily and extreme weather forecasts than its previous AI weather program, but it also outperforms the best forecasting system in use right now, one that’s maintained by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In tests comparing the 15-day forecasts the two systems generated for weather in 2019, GenCast was, on average, more accurate than ECMWF’s ENS system 97.2 percent of the time. With lead times greater than 36 hours, DeepMind’s was an even better 99.8 percent more accurate.

“I’m a little bit reluctant to say it, but it’s like we’ve made decades worth of improvements in one year,” Rémi Lam, the lead scientist on DeepMind’s previous AI weather program, told The New York Times. “We’re seeing really, really rapid progress.”

GenCast is a diffusion model, which is the same tech that powers Google’s generative AI tools. DeepMind trained the software on nearly 40 years of high-quality weather data curated by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The predictions the new model generates are probabilistic, meaning they account for a range of possibilities that are then expressed as percentages. Probabilistic models are considered more nuanced and useful than their deterministic counterparts, which only offer a best guess of what the weather might be like on a given day. The former also harder to create and calculate.

Indeed, what’s perhaps most striking about GenCast is that it requires significantly less computing power than traditional physics-based ensemble forecasts like ENS. According to Google, a single one of its TPU v5 tensor processing units can produce a 15-day GenCast forecast in eight minutes. By contrast, it can take a supercomputer with tens of thousands of processors hours to produce a physics-based forecast.

Of course, GenCast isn’t perfect. One area the software could provide better predictions on is hurricane intensity, though the DeepMind team told The Times it was confident it could find solutions for the agent’s current shortcomings. In the meantime, Google is making GenCast an open model, with example code for the tool available on GitHub. GenCast predictions will also soon make their way to Google Earth.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/deepminds-gencast-ai-is-really-good-at-forecasting-the-weather-184751414.html?src=rss 

When we took a look at Xreal’s Air 2 Ultra AR glasses earlier this year at CES in Las Vegas, we had positive first impressions but also noted that its success would “ultimately boil down to the range of apps.” Xreal may have come up with a novel way to address this problem with its new One Series of AR glasses: make them connectable to more devices through USB-C.

Xreal unveiled its new One Series AR glasses that can create customizable cinematic displays with three degrees-of-freedom (3DoF) rotational tracking and spatial computing. The new AR glasses can also create and control displays from “iPhones, Androids, Steam Deck, PC, MacBooks and just about any device with video-out over USB-C,” according to Xreal’s announcement.

Previous Xreal glasses needed an Xreal Beam or Beam Pro adapter to create spatial displays for USB-C devices. The One Series puts its spatial capability in the glasses themselves with a custom silicon chip called the X1 that delivers “incredibly low motion-to-photon (M2P) latency of only ~3ms at 120Hz,” according to the announcement.

The Xreal One Series also offers a huge display area with 1080p full HD for each eye. The Xreal One uses a triangular birdbath lens design that can produce a 50-degree field-of-view and a 20.7-percent larger display than the Xreal Air 2 series. The Xreal One Pro is the first set of AR glasses with a flat-prism lens design that can create a 57-degree field-of-view. Both the Xreal One and One Pro also can deliver fine-tuned audio with Sound by Bose.

The glasses themselves are still fairly big, as are most AR spectacles like the Meta Orion AR glasses. The One Series’ 11 mm plane is 40.9 thinner than “traditional birdbath optics,” according to the announcement.

Xreal is currently taking pre-orders for the Xreal One for $499 (€549) and One Pro glasses for $599 (€649) on its website. Shipping begins in mid-December for the Xreal One and early next year for the Xreal One Pro.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/xreals-new-one-series-ar-glasses-use-usb-c-to-connect-with-nearly-any-device-191221387.html?src=rss