Hasta La Gadget!

Google is releasing a tool that makes it easier to remove search results containing your address, phone number and other personally identifiable information, 9to5Google has reported. It first revealed the “results about you” feature at I/O 2022 in May, describing it as a way to “help you easily control whether your personally-identifiable information can be found in Search results.” 

If you see a result with your phone number, home address or email, you can click on the three-dot menu at the top right. That opens the usual “About this result” panel, but it now contains a new “Remove result” option at the bottom of the screen. A dialog states that if the result contains one of those three things, “we can review your request more quickly.”

Google

You can then monitor the request in a new menu item in the Google app called “Results about you,” available by tapping your user profile at the top right. You can then monitor the progress of requests via filters “All requests,” “In progress” and “Approved.” 

The same page also lets you make a new request with a “Why would you like to remove this result” step. Options there include “It shows my personal contact info,” “It shows my contact into with an intent to harm me,” “It shows other personal info,” “It contains illegal info” and “It’s outdated.” Previously, though, Google has said that not all requests may be granted:

It’s important to note that when we receive removal requests, we will evaluate all content on the web page to ensure that we’re not limiting the availability of other information that is broadly useful, for instance in news articles. And of course, removing contact information from Google Search doesn’t remove it from the web, which is why you may wish to contact the hosting site directly, if you’re comfortable doing so.

The new feature has only rolled out to a limited number of users in the US and Europe, 9to5Google notes (I’ve yet to see it in France and I’m in the Google app beta). In the meantime, you can remove other personally identifiable information or doxxing content from Google Search via a removal request — there’s more information about that available here.

After several moves that indicated this day was coming, Spotify has officially added audiobooks as yet another listening option in its app. Starting today, users in the US will have a dedicated section for the format that allows standalone purchases via a web link. At launch, the company says its library will contain over 300,000 titles.

In addition to their own section alongside music and podcasts, audiobooks will show up in your recommendations on the main page. When you dive into the audiobooks tab, you’ll see a collection of picks from Spotify at launch. Over time, this section will be tailored to your activity just like any other content that’s recommended for you on the service. The service’s library of titles will also show up in search results like artists, albums, songs and podcasts already do. 

When you select an audiobook, you’ll see a lock icon on the play button that indicates you haven’t yet purchased the title. If you decide to do so, a link will boot you out to a browser to complete the transaction before beaming you back to Spotify to start listening. Any purchased titles will automatically appear in your library and will be available for offline listening. Just like podcasts, the service will offer speed controls so you can listen at your preferred pace. 

Spotify

Spotify has been heading down this path for quite a while. The service offered an audio version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone read by various celebrities in the spring of 2020. In a test early last year, the company added a selection of public domain books in the spoken word format — again read by a roster of famous names. Spotify then announced that Storytel subscribers would be able to link their account to the streaming service as the audiobook platform was is one of the first major publishers to take advantage of Spotify’s Open Access Platform (OAP). The tech allows publishers and creators to stream their content through Spotify while using their existing login system. In November, Spotify acquired Findaway, an audiobook platform with over 325,000 titles and tools for creators. That was seemingly the last piece of the puzzle.

Spotify is clear this is “the first iteration”of audiobooks on its platform. The company plans to take notes and see what needs to be changed before expanding to other markets. It also wants to “innovate the format” so that listeners, authors and publishers benefit more from what the format can offer. 

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Following months of anticipation and controversy among its add-in board partners, NVIDIA’s 40 Series GPUs are finally here. The company unveiled the GeForce RTX 4090 and GeForce RTX 4080 today at its GTC 2022 keynote. Taking full advantage of its new “Ada Lovelace” architecture, NVIDIA says the two GPUs offer significantly better ray tracing performance. The company worked with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to co-develop a new “4N” fabrication process that NVIDIA says is up to two times more power efficient than the 8nm process it used for its 30 Series cards. 

Ray tracing performance is significantly improved thanks to Ada Lovelace featuring NVIDIA’s new third-generation RT Cores, and the inclusion of a new rendering technique called Shader Execution Reordering and DLSS 3.0. In some games, NVIDIA said you can expect two to three times better ray tracing performance than what was possible with its Ampere GPUs. The company demoed Cyberpunk 2077 running at a near consistent 100 frames per second with all of the game’s ray tracing features set to max. NVIDIA said rasterization performance is up to two times faster thanks to the new architecture.  

The first of NVIDIA’s new Ada Lovelace GPUs will arrive next month when the GeForce RTX 4090 goes on for sale for $1,599 on October 12th. With 24GB of GDDR6X memory, NVIDIA claims its latest flagship is two to four times faster than the 3090 Ti while consuming the same amount of power. Good thing too because it’s starting at $100 more than its predecessor. Inside of the RTX 4090, NVIDIA has managed to fit 16,384 CUDA Cores clocked at a base speed of 2.23GHz.   

Alongside the 4090, NVIDIA will offer two different variants of the RTX 4080. The base model, starting at $899, features 12GB of GDDR6X memory, while the 16GB version will set you back a cool $1,199. Both configurations will arrive sometime in November. However, NVIDIA will only sell a Founders Edition model of the more expensive model. For the 12GB version, you’ll need to look to the company’s partners, which may make it hard to find models that actually start at $899.  

NVIDIA

In terms of performance, the 16GB 4080 features 9,728 Cuda Cores and a base clock of 2.21GHz, with a maximum boost clock of 2.51GHz. Meanwhile, the 12GB model features a more modest 7,680 CUDA Cores but 100MHz faster base and boost clocks. Thankfully, you probably won’t need to upgrade your power supply if you plan to upgrade from a 3070 or 3080, with NVIDIA recommending a 700-watt PSU for the 12GB variant and a 750-watt power supply for its more powerful sibling. However, should you decide to buy a new PSU, you’ll want to wait until more ATX 3.0 PSUs arrive later this year. That’s because at least the Founders Edition models will support the new PCIe Gen-5 16-pin connector standard. That said, NVIDIA will also include an 8-pin adapter for those who don’t want to rewire their system.    

NVIDIA’s 40 Series GPUs arrive at a difficult time for the company. For much of the pandemic, it was impossible to buy the latest GeForce GPUs at MSRP due to demand from both gamers and crypto miners. That all changed in recent months due to the recent crypto crash and Ethereum’s much-anticipated switch to proof-of-stake minting. As a result of those events, the used market was flooded with 30 Series GPUs, making it nearly impossible for the company’s AIB partners and retailers to sell new video cards at MSRP.