If you’re reading this, someone you know watches a crime show on CBS. You might not be aware that person watches the show, but numbers don’t lie. Shows like NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, FBI, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and others have been a gold mine for the network and now its latest one is getting a little more bloody.
Amazon plans to launch a new store that will allow U.S.-based shoppers to buy low-cost, unbranded items delivered directly from China, according to new reports from CNBC and The Information. The plan is widely seen as an attempt to compete with China-based competitors like Temu and Shein.
Twelve years on, Microsoft has finally made an Arm-powered Surface tablet that doesn’t send our reviewers into a rage. The 2024 Surface Pro, or the Surface Pro Copilot+, is the fastest and most efficient Microsoft tablet we’ve seen, especially when paired with its Flex keyboard. The new OLED screen is great, and its NPU allows for powerful AI features.
However, those much-hyped AI features are far less compelling than the one-two punch of speed and solid battery life. (Take note: That’s most of what we want, laptop/tablet makers.) You can use Cocreator in Paint to generate AI images alongside text prompts and doodles, and the device can translate 40-plus languages into English using Windows 11’s Live Captions feature. The controversial Recall capability, meant to help you find anything you were doing on your computer through a natural conversation, is nowhere to be seen. There are security concerns other accounts could get into your Recall data.
A shame the keyboards are sold separately, though. Check out the full review right here.
— Mat Smith
Rabbit R1 security issue allegedly leaves sensitive user data accessible to anybody
Even FromSoftware agrees Elden Ring’s DLC was too difficult
Amazon Prime Day 2024: The best early Prime Day deals
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A team of scientists from the University of Tokyo and Harvard University is investigating how to create humanoid robots with skin that feels real. The process includes creating partly terrifying and partly adorable experimental machines with skin, like this smiley face. Broadly, the process tries to attach the skin to a layer beneath it, like real skin. The technique is called perforation-type anchors.
Of course, AI nonsense will be connected to this year’s Olympics. “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock” will let you choose your favorite sports and highlight types for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and an AI-generated Michaels will read a 10-minute customized recap of the previous day’s events based on your preferences. In fairness, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the AI-generated speech from Michaels’ real voice.
Amazon may be working hard on a new chatbot called Metis. The company is using a different generation model, called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). RAG “redirects the LLM to retrieve relevant information from authoritative, predetermined knowledge sources.” This means the model can tap into data that can be updated separately without retraining and could allow it to access up-to-date information. According to a Business Insider report, the model would be for consumers, not businesses, where it’s already offering its Amazon Q AI model.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-microsofts-surface-pro-copilot-is-the-best-surface-tablet-yet-111534749.html?src=rss
Toyota has unveiled a high-performance SUV concept featuring 3D-printed components, marking a shift in manufacturing practices.
This concept, based on the Toyota Fortuner and developed by Toyota Customizing & Development (TCD) Asia’s motorsport division, incorporates innovative materials such as 3D-printed parts and Tafnex, a unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene resin sheet.
The SUV’s front bumper and hood vents are adorned with Tafnex, while direct pellet-fed 3D-printed parts enhance the hood air duct bezels. These materials, developed in collaboration with Japanese firms Mitsui Chemicals and ARRK Corporation, reduce the vehicle’s weight and improve performance. The Hyper-F Concept SUV also features four sport seats, offering a unique user experience compared to traditional two-seater models.
TCD Asia leveraged advanced 3D printing technologies from Mitsui Chemicals and its partners, including the high-speed EXF-12 3D printer from ExtraBold Inc.
This direct pellet-fed 3D printing method uses plastic pellets to form structures, providing benefits over traditional 3D printing by increasing plastic discharge stability and enabling the rapid creation of large parts.
This moldless technique reduces development lead times and initial investment costs, ideal for high-mix, low-volume production. Additionally, it supports sustainable manufacturing by allowing 3D-printed items to be recycled into pellets for future use.
Tafnex, created by Mitsui Chemicals, is a lightweight, rigid, and moldable tape with customizable features, suitable for various applications including automobiles and drones. It can reinforce injected or pressed molded parts and be processed into tubes or laminated sheets. Its non-water absorbing properties maintain high bending strength underwater and in high-temperature environments.
These advanced materials and the Hyper-F Concept SUV will be showcased at the Bangsaen Grand Prix 2024 and the Bangkok Auto Salon 2024, highlighting their potential in automotive design and manufacturing.
Toyota Unveils High-Performance SUV Concept With 3D-Printed Parts
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
If you’re reading this, someone you know watches a crime show on CBS. You might not be aware that person watches the show, but numbers don’t lie. Shows like NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, FBI, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and others have been a gold mine for the network and now its latest one is getting a little more bloody.
If you’re reading this, someone you know watches a crime show on CBS. You might not be aware that person watches the show, but numbers don’t lie. Shows like NCIS, CSI, Criminal Minds, FBI, SWAT, Blue Bloods, and others have been a gold mine for the network and now its latest one is getting a little more bloody.
The Oversight Board has published its latest annual report looking at its influence on Meta and ability to shift the policies that govern Facebook and Instagram. The board says that in 2023 it received 398,597 appeals, the vast majority of which came from Facebook users. But it took on only a tiny fraction of those cases, issuing a total of 53 decisions.
The board suggests, however, that the cases it selects can have an outsize impact on Meta’s users. For example, it credits its work for influencing improvements to Meta’s strike system and the “account status” feature that helps users check if their posts have violated any of the company’s rules.
Sussing out the board’s overall influence, though, is more complicated. The group says that between January of 2021 and May of 2024, it has sent a total of 266 recommendations to Meta. Of those, the company has fully or partially implemented 75, and reported “progress” on 81. The rest have been declined, “omitted or reframed,” or else Meta has claimed some level of implementation but hasn’t offered proof to the board. (There are five recommendations currently awaiting a response.) Those numbers raise some questions about how much Meta is willing to change in response to the board it created.
Notably, the report has no criticism for Meta and offers no analysis of Meta’s efforts (or lack thereof) to comply with its recommendations. The report calls out a case in which it recommended that Meta suspend the former prime minister of Cambodia for six months, noting that it overturned the company’s decision to leave up a video that could have incited violence. But the report makes no mention of the fact that Meta declined to suspend the former prime minister’s account and declined to further clarify its rules for public figures.
The report also hints at thorny topics the board may take on in the coming months. It mentions that it wants to look at content “demotion,” or what some Facebook and Instagram users may call “shadowbans” (the term is a loaded one for Meta, which has repeatedly denied that its algorithms intentionally punish users for no reason). “One area we are interested in exploring is demoted content, where a platform limits a post’s visibility without telling the user,” the Oversight Board writes.
For now, it’s not clear exactly how the group could tackle the issue. The board’s purview currently allows it to weigh in on specific pieces of content that Meta has removed or left up after a user appeal. But it’s possible the board could find another way into the issue. A spokesperson for the Oversight Board notes that the group expressed concern about demoted content in its opinion on content related to the Israel-Hamas war. “This is something the board would like to further explore as Meta’s decisions around demotion are pretty opaque,” the spokesperson said.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-oversight-board-made-just-53-decisions-in-2023-100017750.html?src=rss
Toyota has unveiled a high-performance SUV concept featuring 3D-printed components, marking a shift in manufacturing practices.
This concept, based on the Toyota Fortuner and developed by Toyota Customizing & Development (TCD) Asia’s motorsport division, incorporates innovative materials such as 3D-printed parts and Tafnex, a unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene resin sheet.
The SUV’s front bumper and hood vents are adorned with Tafnex, while direct pellet-fed 3D-printed parts enhance the hood air duct bezels. These materials, developed in collaboration with Japanese firms Mitsui Chemicals and ARRK Corporation, reduce the vehicle’s weight and improve performance. The Hyper-F Concept SUV also features four sport seats, offering a unique user experience compared to traditional two-seater models.
TCD Asia leveraged advanced 3D printing technologies from Mitsui Chemicals and its partners, including the high-speed EXF-12 3D printer from ExtraBold Inc.
This direct pellet-fed 3D printing method uses plastic pellets to form structures, providing benefits over traditional 3D printing by increasing plastic discharge stability and enabling the rapid creation of large parts.
This moldless technique reduces development lead times and initial investment costs, ideal for high-mix, low-volume production. Additionally, it supports sustainable manufacturing by allowing 3D-printed items to be recycled into pellets for future use.
Tafnex, created by Mitsui Chemicals, is a lightweight, rigid, and moldable tape with customizable features, suitable for various applications including automobiles and drones. It can reinforce injected or pressed molded parts and be processed into tubes or laminated sheets. Its non-water absorbing properties maintain high bending strength underwater and in high-temperature environments.
These advanced materials and the Hyper-F Concept SUV will be showcased at the Bangsaen Grand Prix 2024 and the Bangkok Auto Salon 2024, highlighting their potential in automotive design and manufacturing.
Toyota Unveils High-Performance SUV Concept With 3D-Printed Parts
, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Google is making subtle quality-of-life improvements to the Chrome mobile apps. The Android and iOS versions of the browser now offer quicker access to crucial info, trending searches and live sports scores in the Discovery Feed.
Chrome Actions, preset tasks that appear in the browser’s address bar when cued by trigger words, now include one for local businesses. When you search for something like a nearby restaurant, a shortcut will appear at the top of the bar showing the eatery’s name and address, along with buttons to call, get directions or read reviews.
The feature is available now in Chrome for Android, and Google says it will arrive on iOS this fall.
Chrome mobile is also getting new usage-based shortcut suggestions. If you typically type a particular phrase to get to a specific website, the browser will learn it and include a link to it high in your search suggestions. As the example above shows, if you usually enter “schedules” to see the City Metro’s webpage, its link will appear more prominently in the recommendations.
Mobile Chrome’s Discover Feed, the contextual cards you see when opening a new tab or the Google app on mobile, will now include live sports scores. When a team Google has learned that you like is playing, a Discover card now shows the live score, which will be automatically updated.
Trending searches, something Android devices already show in the Chrome address bar (before you type anything), are now available on iOS. Finally, the browser’s tablet address bar better matches the company’s Material You design language. The bar on tablets also now includes the current website at the top — always visible — to make it easier to stay put.
You can read more about Google’s Chrome additions on the company’s blog.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chrome-for-mobile-adds-handy-action-shortcuts-for-local-businesses-192248053.html?src=rss
Google is making subtle quality-of-life improvements to the Chrome mobile apps. The Android and iOS versions of the browser now offer quicker access to crucial info, trending searches and live sports scores in the Discovery Feed.
Chrome Actions, preset tasks that appear in the browser’s address bar when cued by trigger words, now include one for local businesses. When you search for something like a nearby restaurant, a shortcut will appear at the top of the bar showing the eatery’s name and address, along with buttons to call, get directions or read reviews.
The feature is available now in Chrome for Android, and Google says it will arrive on iOS this fall.
Chrome mobile is also getting new usage-based shortcut suggestions. If you typically type a particular phrase to get to a specific website, the browser will learn it and include a link to it high in your search suggestions. As the example above shows, if you usually enter “schedules” to see the City Metro’s webpage, its link will appear more prominently in the recommendations.
Mobile Chrome’s Discover Feed, the contextual cards you see when opening a new tab or the Google app on mobile, will now include live sports scores. When a team Google has learned that you like is playing, a Discover card now shows the live score, which will be automatically updated.
Trending searches, something Android devices already show in the Chrome address bar (before you type anything), are now available on iOS. Finally, the browser’s tablet address bar better matches the company’s Material You design language. The bar on tablets also now includes the current website at the top — always visible — to make it easier to stay put.
You can read more about Google’s Chrome additions on the company’s blog.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/chrome-for-mobile-adds-handy-action-shortcuts-for-local-businesses-192248053.html?src=rss
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