Specializing in Computer Repair, Networking, Internet Solutions, Web Designing, Hybrid App Designing and Windows Operating systems.
Renee DiResta / Wired:
AI-generated “textfakes”, masked as regular chatter on Twitter and Facebook, can be potentially far more subtle and sinister than deepfake videos or audiofakes — Synthetic video and audio seemed pretty bad. Synthetic writing—ubiquitous and undetectable—will be far worse.
Parmy Olson / Wall Street Journal:
Several pro sports teams, including Mets and the LAFC, are testing facial-recognition to make entry into stadiums as touchless as possible during the pandemic — Los Angeles Football Club wants to ‘move everything to face,’ while the New York Mets are testing system on players and staff
Charlie Osborne / ZDNet:
IBM report: in 2020, the average data breach costs companies $3.86M to remedy, up 1.5% YoY; “mega” breaches involving 50M+ consumer records can cost up to $392M — When consumer PII is involved, the cost increases. — The average cost of a “mega” data breach has risen astronomically …
New York Times:
Ad analytics platform Pathmatics: Facebook's top 100 advertisers spent $221.4M from July 1 through July 29, down 12% YoY from the $251.4M they spent in 2019 — Major advertisers on Facebook reduced their spending by millions of dollars in July, but not enough to significantly damage the platform's revenue.
Spencer Hsu / Washington Post:
Officials say the Trump admin is withholding $20M approved by Congress for the Open Technology Fund, forcing the fund to halt 49 of 60 internet freedom projects — The Trump administration is withholding $20 million in funding approved by Congress for a U.S. Internet freedom organization …
BBC:
Facebook complies with an order by the Brazil's Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of President Bolsonaro, says it will appeal the order — Facebook has complied with an order by Brazil's Supreme Court to block the accounts of a dozen top allies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Berlin-based Everphone, which sells a “mobile as a service” device rental package to businesses, raises ~$40M Series B led by Signals Venture Capital — The latest startup to see an uplift in inbound interest flowing from the remote work boom triggered by the coronavirus pandemic …
You don’t need a massive gaming rig to play the latest video games on ultra-settings. You can purchase a mini gaming PC instead, packed with the same high-spec hardware as a regular gaming desktop.
So, if size is a concern or you demand portability from your gaming PC, you should check out the best mini PCs for gaming.
Let’s kick things off with a mini gaming PC powerhouse: the Zotac Magnus Mini Creator. Under the hood, the Zotac Magnus Mini Creator packs a mighty six-core 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-9750H, along with the 8GB GDDR6 Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080. Out of the box, the Mini Creator comes with 8GB RAM, although this is upgradeable up to 32GB DDR4 RAM.
The Intel Core i7-9750H is a power-efficient CPU with a thermal design power rating of 45W. The 9750H also features integrated UHD Graphics 630, which you can use to take the load off of the discreet GPU for further power savings. The Zotac Magnus Mini Creator includes two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, four USB 3.0 ports, one USB Type-C port, and a handy SD card slot.
This mini PC is ideal for gaming, but it is also well-suited to other creative tasks as well. The high-performance processor allows you to perform intensive functions like photo and video editing, 3D animation, and you can even use it to stream your gaming sessions. That’s not to mention that it’s capable of handling home theater media centers, too.
From one mini PC behemoth to another, the Corsair ONE i164 is another impressive tiny gaming system. The Corsair One i164’s Intel Core i9-9900K is an eight-core 3.6GHz CPU, one of the best consumer CPUs on the market at the time of writing.
Working with the 9900K is an 11GB GDDR6 Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, backed up with a whopping 32GB DDR4 RAM. One of the things that sets the Corsair ONE i164 aside from other mini PCs is the integrated liquid cooling system.
Corsair builds the ONE series of mini PCs with high and ultra-level quality gaming leading the design, and it shows. The ONE i164 packs in the external connections too. It features three DisplayPort, one VR-ready HDMI, two USB 2.0, four USB 3.1 Gen 1, and two USB 3.1 Gen 2 (Type-A and Type-C).
While the physical size of this computer is inline with other mini PCs, it uses the more familiar desktop PC format. So, rather than a compact box on your table, you can put the smaller desktop tower instead.
As far as aesthetics go, the MSI Trident X is up there with the best looking mini gaming PCs. The Trident X looks similar to a modern gaming console, standing tall on your desktop or next to your TV. Throw in some RGB lighting effects and a nicely crafted case, and you have a visual winner.
But gaming is about what’s on the inside of the case. And in the MSI Trident X setup, you’ll find a top of the line Intel Core i7-10700KF, an eight-core 3.6GHz beast. Working alongside the CPU is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super, which comes with 8GB GDDR6 RAM.
Finally, the Trident X has a whopping 32GB DDR4 RAM, future-proofing your mini gaming PC for the medium-to-long term. In terms of connectivity, you’ll find a Thunderbolt 3 port, three DisplayPorts, one HDMI, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and three USB 2.0 Type-A ports.
The HP ProDesk 405 is an AMD-powered mini gaming PC with a similar style to a set-top cable box. Okay, it is slightly more appealing than your old cable box, but it certainly won’t win any awards, with the black and silver design fitting in with HP’s wider off-the-shelf PC designs.
Powering the ProDesk 405 is an AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE, a quad-core 3.2GHz CPU, which is decent enough. The AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE comes bundled with the AMD Radeon Vega 11 onboard graphics.
Again, the Vega 11 is decent enough but not world-beating, allowing some 1080p gaming at reasonable specs for games that are a few years old. Still, this is one of the more affordable options out there if you’re looking for a space-saving mini PC, but still want to jump into more than a few PC gaming sessions.
The Intel NUC 8 Hades Canyon is a powerful mini PC for gaming—although you should note that it is not the latest generation of Intel NUC. However, the CPU and GPU combination make the NUC 8 Hades Canyon worth your consideration.
The Intel NUC 8 Hades Canyon uses an Intel Core i7-8809G, a quad-core 3.1GHz CPU, with onboard Intel HD Graphics 630. However, you don’t have to use the onboard graphics for gaming, as the NUC 8 Hades Canyon also packs in an AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH discreet graphics card.
The RX Vega M GH offers similar performance to the Nvidia GeForce 1060, allowing for some decent gaming at 1080p. The NUC 8 Hades Canyon also features one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, one USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, two Mini DisplayPort, and two HDMI ports.
If you scan through the listings on Amazon, you’ll find a vast number of mini gaming PCs. The prices look brilliant—until you actually consider the specs. Many of these entry-level or barebones systems come with a low to medium tier CPU and do not have a discreet GPU.
You will manage some gaming on a machine like this, but you certainly won’t roam the streets of GTA V’s San Andreas on ultra-settings. The simple fact of the matter is that a powerful mini gaming PC, like those we’ve listed here, will set you back a bit more than the alternatives.
You don’t have to buy an off-the-shelf mini gaming PC. If you want to keep costs down, check out our guide on how to build a small PC with the Mini-ITX form factor.
Read the full article: The 5 Best Mini PCs for Gaming
It’s always scary when an electronic device goes missing. And you might think of this happening most frequently with a mobile device, it can certainly happen with a computer too.
With how compact modern laptops are, a MacBook can easily slide under a couch, bed, pile of laundry, or even into someone else’s bag. Whether hidden in your home or traveling without you, we’ll show you various ways to locate your missing Mac with Find My.
Before we begin, you may wonder what the difference is between the Find My app and Find My iPhone.
With the releases of iOS 13, iPadOS, and macOS Catalina, Apple combined the Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps into a single app called Find My.
The all-encompassing Find My app helps you locate missing devices, along with friends who’ve shared their location with you, and provides you with directions to both. You can also play a sound on the missing device which is helpful if it’s hidden nearby.
Because the official name of the app is Find My, we’ll use that name for this tutorial.
In order to find your Mac with the Find My app, the most obvious requirement is that you enabled this feature before your Mac went missing. Assuming you did enable it, you hopefully also turned on the Offline Finding feature, which allows you to locate an Apple device that’s not connected to a network. (We’ll discuss this more later.)
You will also need to sign into the Find My app with the same Apple ID that you use on your missing device. If you use iCloud.com‘s Find My feature, you’ll need to use the same Apple ID there as well.
If you own more than one Apple device, have the Find My app installed on another device, and are signed into it with the same Apple ID, this is the simplest way to find your Mac.
To locate your Mac with iPhone or iPad, follow these steps:
On iPhone, swipe up from the bottom to view the full list of additional actions. On iPad, you’ll see these actions display automatically when you select a device. You can play a sound, get directions, enable notifications, mark your Mac as lost, or erase the device.
You can use the same steps above if a family member is helping you locate your Mac using your Family Sharing group.
You can also locate your Mac with another Mac—perhaps someone in your Family Sharing group has a Mac, or you happen to own both a MacBook and an iMac. Just follow these steps:
For additional actions, click the Information icon next to your Mac’s name on the map. You can then play a sound on the device, get directions to it, enable a notification for when it’s found, report it as lost, or erase it.
If you don’t own another Apple device or belong to a Family Sharing group, you can use the iCloud website to find your Mac.
Head to iCloud.com using any browser, sign in with the same Apple ID you use on your Mac, and then follow these steps:
You will also see options for your Mac to the top-right. You can move your cursor over the battery icon to see its battery level, or click to play a sound, lock, or erase your Mac.
If you found your Mac using one of the above methods, but it displays as Offline, No location available, or Location services off, this can happen for a few different reasons.
Regarding your Mac’s last location in the first bullet point, Apple states:
Your device’s last known location is available for one day. If your device is offline or can’t connect to Find My [device] for more than 24 hours, you won’t be able to see the last known location.
You might try to use Find My to locate your Mac, but realize it won’t work at all. For instance, it might not even show up in your list of devices.
If so, it’s best to contact Apple Support to report your missing device and get further assistance reporting the incident to the authorities, if necessary.
Hopefully, one of the methods above for using the Find My app or tool on iCloud.com will get your Mac back in your hands. And remember to enable the location feature if you purchase additional Apple products for yourself or someone in your Family Sharing group.
For more, have a look at how to turn off the Find My feature if you decide to sell one of your Apple devices.
Read the full article: How to Use Apple Find My to Retrieve Your Mac
You probably don’t think twice about storing your data on your computer and smartphone. And while it’s convenient to keep personal photos, business invoices, and other files on our devices, there’s always a real risk of losing your data.
If you or someone else accidentally selects a delete option, your device will erase that data from its storage. Many times, this is a permanent action with no option to recover your deleted files.
This is where a cloud backup service like Degoo Premium comes into the picture.
Degoo Premium is a service that helps you back up all your data from your devices to the cloud. This way, a copy of your data is always available outside of the device it’s stored on. In case you ever mess up your device and delete certain files, you can tap one option in this service and it will restore all the data for you.
There are many cloud backup providers which offer various plans. However, none comes close to Degoo’s 10TB plan. This is much more storage than what you get with Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive combined. You can store pretty much everything from all of your devices on this plan, and you’ll still have a lot of free backup space left over.
At MakeUseOf Deals, you can grab the Degoo Premium 10TB lifetime plan for just $99.99. It’s a steal considering the number of features—and most importantly, the amount of backup space you get. And since this plan usually costs $9.99 per month, you’re getting a huge discount.
Degoo Premium isn’t just a boring backup service where you click and forget. It offers several features that make using this service enjoyable.
With Degoo, you can send your files to your friends and family easily with a link. Simply generate a link from the app, then share it with the people that want to access your files.
The data that you back up is secured with a 256-bit AES encryption. This means is that even if someone manages to hack into the backup server containing your files, they can’t see the actual data. All that they’ll see is some gibberish text with no meaning.
When you create a backup with this service, it replicates that backup for more safety. Thus, you still have a working version of your file if it gets corrupted while you’re backing it up.
Degoo Premium keeps an eye on your files for any changes. If and when it detects a file change, it makes sure the updated file backs up to your account.
A great aspect of this service is that it’s available for nearly all your devices. You can use it to back up data on iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, and your computer.
It’s easy to access Degoo on your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices with a dedicated app. When on a computer, you can access the backup service using the web app. Don’t miss the Degoo Premium 1TB deal; start protecting your files today!
Read the full article: Back Up All Your Devices With Degoo Premium’s 10TB Lifetime Plan
Self-improvement is a difficult path and you can use all the help you get. These free tools are here to help you break a bad habit or build a good habit, as easily as possible.
Productivity experts have several theories on how we form a habit. Some people believe it takes 21 days doing a task repeatedly, others think it takes 66 days. And there’s the science of willpower, emotions, feedback loops, and other factors involved.
But the bottom line is to stick with it, and that’s what these websites, apps, and online courses will help you do.
Habbit is a gorgeous free habit tracking app to build streaks and check on your progress. Unlike many other such apps, this has no hidden costs or in-app purchases, and no ads either. It’s free, it’s fantastic, and it has all the features you want from a tracker.
Set up a new habit or task by typing its name, and writing a note with it. Give that habit or habit category its own unique color, and set an optional daily reminder notification. When you complete the task, mark it in the app to continue your streak.
Habbit encourages you to keep the streak alive by giving badges. You can earn eight badges in a 21 day streak, but progress will reset if you miss a single day. You can also share a custom image with friends, updating them about your habit change.
You don’t need to sign up to use Habbit, and it works offline. It’s a simple, minimalist app that does the basics perfectly, without bothering you with unnecessary bells and whistles.
Download: Habbit for Android | iOS (Free)
If you don’t want to use an app to track habits, try Flock. This is an email-based app that sends a daily message to check in whether you have done your daily habit task. Tap a button to register your response.
Flock also has a built-in social aspect, letting you share that task with friends. Simple copy-paste the habit challenge link and they too will get a daily email at the end of the day. You can customize the time zone too, to use with friends across the globe. In a simple dashboard, you’ll see how everyone is doing on their weekly progress, and thus know when you need to motivate someone.
Flock has no web interface or app, it’s all on email, which makes it unique in a crowded field of habit-changing or habit-tracking apps. It feels less intrusive and is the perfect nifty tool for someone who wants a simple daily check-in.
Sociologist Christine Carter is an expert in getting things done and often provides insights into productivity matters. On her website, she is offering a free three-week online course called Cracking the Habit Code.
Over 21 sessions, Carter breaks down how to form a habit, touching upon every topic about it. You’ll learn how to manage willpower and exercise your willpower muscles, how to measure your progress and add rewards, dealing with difficult emotions, and responding to setbacks. Carter also teaches you how to set up your support group or “cabinet” to ensure you stay on track.
The course is completely free if you register for her website. You can download every video and audio file for offline usage, in case you want to listen to it like a podcast series. Carter also provides presentation slides and other materials for free download.
Forming a new habit requires a combination of motivation, discipline, and support. A few communities on Reddit provide all of these to anyone who wants to make a positive change.
r/GetMotivated and r/GetDisciplined are two subreddits dedicated to self-improvement and helping others achieve their goals. As the names suggest, Get Motivated is a place to share inspiration and motivation to push someone into their betterment habits. At Get Disciplined, Redditors share their tips and tricks to attain self-discipline, which you can then adopt.
Meanwhile, r/GetMotivatedBuddies is a place to find someone who is making the same habit change as you are. Pair up or form a group to tackle those difficult phases of forming a new habit. You’ll find some much-needed support on days when the going gets tough.
Finally, there is r/Habits, a community for building, breaking, or changing habits. It has a wide range of topics to motivate you into stringing together a new habit. And in case you’re struggling with anything, reach out on r/HabitHelp for sound advice.
Put your money where your mouth is. If you want to change a habit, lay some money on the line to ensure you keep going at it. That’s the premise behind this daily email from Andy Dao, who wants you to build a chain for 66 days, which some researchers say is how long it takes to form a new habit.
When you sign up, you have to talk about your new habit and give your credit card details through Stripe. You can choose how much money you want to put on the line, from $25 to thousands. You aren’t charged at this point, and will only lose the money if you fail to keep the streak alive.
Once you’re done with the setup, Dao will send a new email every day, in which you have to mark that you completed your task. For 66 days, each email contains motivational messages, funny memes, and quotes to drive you to keep the streak going.
Charles Duhigg literally wrote the book on how habits form and how to change them. His book The Power of Habit goes deep into the several factors that go into habitual behavior. But you can get the gist of his lessons in a few free resources he shares on his website. Of particular note are two wonderful flowcharts explaining how to break or create a habit.
They’re part of our piece on free printables and ebooks to track or change habits. Remember, habit is about consistency, so if technology and apps are a stumbling block for you, forget about them. Go old-school with pen and paper.
Read the full article: 5 Ways to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Habits With Technology
Will Knight / Wired:
Data from the US Census Bureau on 583,000 businesses in 2018 shows AI adoption is slow: 8.9% use AI in any form, 2.8% use ML, and 2.5% use voice recognition — A big study by the US Census Bureau finds that only about 9 percent of firms employ tools like machine learning or voice recognition—for now.
South Korean giant Samsung, Apple’s contract manufacturing partners Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, and Indian smartphone vendors Micromax and Lava among others have applied for India’s $6.6 billion incentive program aimed at boosting the local smartphone manufacturing, New Delhi said on Saturday.
The scheme, called Production-Linked Incentive Scheme, will offer a range of incentives to companies including a 6% financial incentive on additional sales of goods produced locally over five years, with 2019-2020 set as the base year, India’s IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a press conference.
22 companies have applied for the incentive program — that also includes manufacturing of electronics components — and have agreed to export 60% of their locally produced units outside of India, said Prasad. He said the companies estimate they will produce smartphones and components worth $153 billion during the five-year duration.
The Production-Linked Incentive Scheme is aimed at turning India into a global hub of high-quality manufacturing of smartphones and support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push to make the country self-reliant, said Prasad.
As part of their applications, the companies have also agreed to offer direct and indirect employment to roughly 1.2 million Indians, the Indian minister said.
The interest of Samsung and Apple, two companies that account for more than 50% of the global smartphone sales revenue, in India is a testament of the opportunities they see in the world’s second largest internet market, said Prasad. “Apple and Samsung, India welcomes you with attractive policies. Now expand your presence in the country,” he said.
Missing from the list of companies that the Indian minister revealed today are Chinese smartphone makers Oppo, Vivo, OnePlus, and Realme that have not applied for the incentive program.
The Indian government did not prevent companies from any country from participating to the program, Prasad insisted in a call with reporters Saturday noon. Chinese smartphone vendors command roughly 80% of the Indian handset market, according to research firm Canalys.
“We are optimistic and looking forward to building a strong ecosystem across the value chain and integrating with the global value chains, thereby strengthening electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the country,” he said. The deadline for applying to participate in India’s program, which began in April, ended on Friday this week.
The participation of Wistron, Foxconn, and Pegatron is also indicative of Apple’s future plans to produce locally in India. Apple’s contract manufacturing partner, Taiwan-based Wistron, first began assembling older iPhone models in 2017. Last month, Foxconn kickstarted assembly of a small batch of iPhone 11 units. This was the first time any Apple supplier assembled a current-generation iPhone model in the country.
Michael Schuman / The Atlantic:
Profile of ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, his early decision to make TikTok an international platform, and how TikTok's fate rests on US-China relations — Zhang yiming embodies what the United States wanted China to be. He is the founder and chief executive of a company, ByteDance …
Bloomberg:
Tencent offered to buy out and take private NYSE-listed Chinese search giant Sogou for $2.1B; Tencent owns about 39% of Sogou and has majority voting power — - The WeChat operator is bidding $9 per ADS for Sohu's unit — Chinese tech firms are increasingly exploring U.S. delistings
Sarah Kessler / OneZero :
Companies are increasingly using employee survey data, from services like Perceptyx that offer a “union vulnerability index”, to predict and squash organizing — Employee survey platforms allow employers to sort groups of employees by the departments, locations, and demographics most likely to unionize
Kevin Collier / NBC News:
A look at Election Cyber Surge, which aims to bolster US election cybersecurity by matching local election officials with cybersecurity experts who want to help — As election officials across the country prepare for November without knowing if they'll receive additional federal funds …
