If you get an SMS message from a toll service, claiming you owe $12.51 in unpaid fees and that if you don’t move fast, you’ll be fined an additional $50, don’t fret – it’s not real.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning concerning an ongoing smishing campaign that seems to have hit thousands of American citizens so far.
“Since early-March 2024, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has received over 2,000 complaints reporting smishing texts representing road toll collection service from at least three states,” the FBI said.
Do not act
The message reads “(State Toll Service Name): We’ve noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00, visit https://myturnpiketollservices.com to settle your balance.”
So far, only certain US regions have been hit, with the FBI speculating this means the scam is moving from state to state, and that drivers in other regions could receive a similar SMS message soon. Should that happen, the law enforcement agency says victims should file a complaint with the IC3, and include the scammer’s phone number and the website listed in the message.
Those suspicious if they really do have unpaid tolls should check their account using the service’s legitimate website (as opposed to clicking on the link provided in the SMS message), or by dialing the toll service’s customer service phone number.
Among those impersonated in this campaign is Pennsylvania Turnpike, which later warned the drivers directly: “Some customers have received phishing-attempt text messages claiming to be from the PA Turnpike’s toll services,” BleepingComputer cited the warning. “If you receive such a text, providing you with a link to pay an outstanding toll, do not click on the link, and delete the text.”
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The Humane AI Pin is a fascinating little device for gadget fans. If you missed its reveal in November 2023, it’s a tiny wearable computer with a built-in AI assistant, camera, and a little projector that blasts its UI onto your hand. Unfortunately, it’s also pretty terrible, according to the internet’s first reviews, which have landed in the past few days.
It’s rare for tech reviews, from both traditional media and YouTubers, to be so unanimous in their criticism of a much-hyped product. “The worst product I’ve ever reviewed… for now” concluded Marques Brownlee. Ouch. Meanwhile, Engadget branded it “the solution to none of technology’s problems”, while The Verge simply said that the AI Pin was “not even close”.
Naturally, these scathing verdicts create some added fascination about a $699 device that also requires a $ 24-a-month subscription. Yet few of the reviews think the AI Pin is completely without merit. Many praise its hardware design, which is solid aluminum and clips to your chest thanks to a magnetic ‘battery booster’ that goes inside your clothing. On the few occasions that it did work seamlessly, it also gave reviewers a little glimpse of a refreshingly screen-less future.
(Image credit: Humane)
But beyond the specific features – many of which don’t seem to work reliably enough yet – the most interesting thing about these Humane AI Pin reviews is their broad conclusions about AI gadgets. In short, our phones aren’t going anywhere for a long time, and, as Bloomberg’s review concluded, “the AI device revolution isn’t going to kill the smartphone”. We haven’t yet reviewed the Rabbit R1, but that will probably hold true for a while yet.
This doesn’t mean that the Humane AI Pin isn’t a fascinating (if deeply flawed device) today. Here are all of the internet’s thoughts on the boldest tech launch since the Apple Vision Pro…
Humane AI Pin: the key reviews
Marques Brownlee: “The worst product I’ve ever reviewed…for now”
Despite the scathing headline, Marques Brownlee’s report on his time with the AI Pin is typically fair and even-handed. Unfortunately, he simply couldn’t find many positives, aside from the design. “The build of this thing is actually impressive”, he says of the solid, aluminum gadget. Unfortunately, it’s also “bad at almost everything it does”.
That list includes answering your voice queries, where it’s either painfully slow (given most requests go to the cloud) or “just wrong all the time”. The battery life was also strangely inconsistent, and the device was worryingly warm a lot of time. But the fundamental issue, a theme across most of the reviews, is that everything the AI Pin does, a “modern smartphone does better and faster”. Without connecting to your smartphone or offering any apps, the AI Pin is strangely adrift.
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The Good
Solid build quality
Translation feature has promise
Impressive engineering
The Bad
Too slow at giving answers
Poor, inconsistent battery life
Overheating issues
Wrong all the time
No apps
Mrwhosetheboss: “It’s not good”
Tech YouTuber Arun Maini, AKA Mrwhosetheboss, was clearly conflicted in his review between the “small twinges of something magical” he could see in the Humane AI Pin and the unworkable reality of using it. “As of right now, the Human Pin is an incredibly poor proposition” he concluded.
As other reviews noted, it all goes downhill after you see the hardware. The price (which works out at $1,700 over two years, when you factor in the subscription, accessories, and taxes), slow responses to voice requests, lack of integration with existing phone apps, and impractical projector interface were all black marks.
As Maini notes, a more sensible setup would surely be for the AI Pin to connect to your phone – like the best smartwatches – rather than act as a standalone device. All of this led him to conclude that he can’t see “a single angle from which it makes sense”.
The Good
Construction is top-notch
No wake words needed
Vision feature is satisfying
The Bad
Too expensive
Requests take too long
Doesn’t talk to existing apps
Projector not bright enough
CNET: “Futuristic but frustrating”
CNET’s hands-on review of the AI Pin contains a nice nod to the Star Trek Communicator badge that the pin is seemingly inspired by, but that’s one of the few moments of levity in a review that cautions, you “definitely not” consider buying it in its current form.
The video is more of a whistlestop tour of the AI Pin’s features – including the built-in camera for taking photos and 15-second videos – than a real deep-dive into living with it. But there are lots of useful real-world examples of using the wearable, including its promising translation feature and uncut takes of how long it often takes to respond.
There are also some familiar conclusions; overheating, the laser display not being bright enough in daylight, underwhelming AI features, and the hand-tracking interface being frustrating and worse than on a VR headset. In short, it’s frustrating and CNET said there are times when the AI Pin has driven it crazy.
The Good
Sleek design
Well-conceived accessories
Decent battery life
The Bad
Overheating issues
Too frustrating for everyday use
Can’t connect to your phone
AI is unreliable
The Verge: “Not even close”
Frequent bouts of hysterical laughter aren’t usually a good sign for a tech review –and sure enough, The Verge found that the AI Pin’s promise is completely undermined by its unreliability and its “single biggest problem – it is so, so slow”.
Cue a 13-second wait for it to mis-identify the Brooklyn Bridge and other unintentionally hilarious gaffes. The Verge actually still came away “sort of impressed” by the AI Pin’s technology, including the fact that it doesn’t need a wake word and promises a world where you can sometimes leave your phone at home.
It also concluded that the Pin “might still be the future, or something like it”, with its camera-based descriptions of real-world objects being “easily the most futuristic thing” about the device. But it’s also a “$700 gamble” and the damning conclusion is that a cell-connected Apple Watch is a much more capable and functional device, while being a lot cheaper.
The Good
Sturdy and nicely made
No wake word needed
The Bad
Many features not yet available
Very slow at responding
Doesn’t always work
Bloomberg: “The design and interface are fatally flawed”
(Image credit: Humane)
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is an Apple reporter who notes that Humane’s co-founders are former Apple staffers who worked on the iPhone and iPad, which gave them a leg-up when it came to investment. But despite its promising backstory, he concludes that the AI Pin’s “fundamental design and interface are fatally flawed”.
Gurman’s conclusion is that the bugs and slow response times aren’t the AI Pin’s main problem. Instead, the voice control and laser projection system make it “a nonstarter for most people”. He notes that smart speaker and voice assistant hype has died down because they’re not a “practical user interface”.
So while Gurman concludes, like most of the early reviews, that Humane deserves credit for creating something new and creating a system that “aggregate data from several AI engines”, the concept is ultimately doomed to failure and is “never going to work”.
What next for the Humane AI Pin?
(Image credit: Humane)
Understandably, Humane has defended its new gadget from the wave of scathing reviews. Ken Kocienda, the company’s Head of Product Engineering and the inventor of the iPhone’s autocorrect, posted a lengthy statement on X (formerly Twitter) about why he’s a “happy AI Pin user” and why his “intuition tells me that we are on track”.
Kocienda admits that the AI Pin can be “frustrating sometimes”, but apparently no more than a laptop or smartphone. That isn’t the conclusion from the internet’s first reviews from multiple sources, but the Humane designer also blames the social media landscape for encouraging “hot takes” and encouraging people to “jump on the skepticism bandwagon”.
So what next for the AI Pin? Humane does have a roadmap for new features, with timers, gesture unlock, photo sharing via SMS, and more coming in software version 1.2, which is scheduled for “Summer”. Other features like number sharing, visual shopping, and an SDK for apps are also in the pipeline, but don’t yet have a date.
As it stands, the current consensus for the Humane AI Pin is that it’s simply too ambitious for its form factor and current technology – including the problem that AI tends to ‘hallucinate’ or confidently give incorrect answers. For now, the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and Rabbit R1 look like more promising examples of AI gadgets, but we’ll be keeping an eye on AI Pin to see if it can overcome its inauspicious start.
Back in November, there were rumors about a new ChromeOS tablet finally being launched from Lenovo – hopefully a successor to the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet. The mysterious ChromeOS tablet is codenamed ‘Ciri’, and according to last year’s whispers, is powered by the MediaTek MT8188 that could surpass the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 in the Duet 5.
We hope that the Ciri tablet, or whatever it ends up being called, does make a debut quite soon. Our review of the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet is absolutely glowing, so we’re definitely excited to see what could surpass one of the best Chromebooks on the market three years after its original release.
According to ChomeUnboxed, we finally have “clear evidence that Lenovo is the driving force behind ‘Ciri’ at this point.” A commit from Chromium Repositories (an open-source online resource for developers and enthusiasts working in ChromeOS and Chrome browser environments), named ‘Ciri’ suggests that it would have Waves disabled on the DSP (digital signal processor).
Waves produce audio components for Windows Laptops and Chromebooks and are frequently used in Lenovo products, so while Waves may be disabled in this instance (meaning less of a focus on audio, another scrap of evidence pointing towards a budget device), it does add some kind of credibility that Lenovo is indeed behind the next Chromebook tablet.
The Chromium Repositories also suggest a display that would fit the existing Duet 3, and the battery being used seems to be based on the same technology used for the Duet 3 as well, so all in all we may be getting a successor to one of the best Chromebooks you could buy – or at least, something very similar.
Since these are still rumors and we’re yet to hear any official word, we can only hold out hope and wait for more information in the coming weeks – and hopefully a proposed launch date.
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A hacker has claimed responsibility for a recent data breach at Giant Tiger which resulted in the leak of sensitive information belonging to millions of customers.
BleepingComputer recently spotted a new thread on an underground forum titled “Giant Tiger Database – Leaked, Download!” which included a post from the threat actor claiming, “In March 2024, the Canadian discount store chain Giant Tiger Stores Limited… suffered a data breach that exposed over 2.8 million clients. The breach includes over 2.8 million unique email addresses, names, phone numbers and physical addresses.”
Besides this information, the database also includes “website activity” of Giant Tiger customers, the leaker claimed.
Giving it away
Giant Tiger has more than 260 stores across Canada, and in 2021, reported annual sales of approximately $2 billion, and 10,000 employees.
In a statement given to BleepingComputer, Giant Tiger essentially confirmed the leak, shifting the blame to an unnamed third party:
“On March 4, 2024, Giant Tiger became aware of security concern related to a third-party vendor we use to manage customer communications and engagement,” the statement reads. “We determined that contact information belonging to certain Giant Tiger customers was obtained without authorization. We sent notices to all relevant customers informing them of the situation.”
“No payment information or passwords were involved.”
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While this type of data is usually sold on the dark web, in this case, it was basically given out for free. Whoever wanted to obtain it only needed to spend 8 forum “credits”, a virtual forum currency that is obtained by posting new threads, commenting, and generally participating in forum activities.
The database has since been added to the HaveIBeenPwned? website, where it was said that almost half (46%) of the records were already present. That means that some of the Giant Tiger customers were already compromised in the past, elsewhere.
Whether it’s black pleather gaming thrones adorned with neon green stitching or gargantuan metal desks that are absolutely covered in RGB lighting, there’s no getting around the fact that ‘gaming’ products normally follow a very distinct aesthetic.
As cringeworthy as it may be to some, I’ve personally grown quite accustomed to the look and can’t deny that a fully decked out, RGB illuminated gaming cave isn’t an appealing prospect. Still, it’s hard to imagine anyone picking up any of the best gaming chairs for work, lest they look a bit silly on their next Zoom meeting.
Luckily, this seems to be exactly where IKEA’s upcoming Brännboll gaming collection comes in. Launching in September this year, the collection aims to challenge “traditional gaming design” by “moving away from the typical thematic and darker-toned aesthetics.” Instead, it embraces “a unique, playful look” that leaves it looking more like, well, normal furniture.
Although it includes a dedicated “gaming station” described as a foldable table top with integrated PC tower storage, the collection mainly focuses on a range of seating options. This includes a bagel-shaped inflatable gaming cushion, complete with a matching footstool, a rocking-chair like suspended seat that can move back and forth as you play, and a fold-out armchair that seems perfect for when you just want to kick back and relax. This comes alongside various matching accessories, such as a mouse mat and a rug.
It’s clear that the collection is aimed at more casual audiences, but it’s still great to see some companies experimenting with how gaming products can look. It’s definitely a far cry from IKEA’s last gaming collection, which was created in collaboration with ASUS ROG and looked more like something from that fell off of a red and black spaceship than anything that you would find in your average home.
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AMD’s Zen 5 desktop processors could be nearing release as another motherboard vendor has brought in initial support for what’s most likely to be Ryzen 9000 CPUs.
As highlighted by well-known leaker HXL on X (formerly Twitter), MSI has released new firmware for its AM5 chipset motherboards featuring AGESA 1.1.7.0. As the description lets us know, the firmware supports AMD’s “next-gen CPU” namely Ryzen 9000 – well, probably.
MSI Simple and clear.👏FireRangePi 1.1.7.0 Patch Ahttps://t.co/f2TD2nOg7X pic.twitter.com/K7aI1hzIVaApril 13, 2024
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It doesn’t confirm the name, of course, so there’s always a chance AMD could run with something different.
What makes this move even more telling is that a couple of weeks ago, Asus released a new BIOS which was also updated to AGESA version 1.1.7.0.
So, two motherboard makers have now released firmware that comes with support for these next-gen Zen 5 processors (and not just Ryzen 9000, known as ‘Granite Ridge’ CPUs, but also Fire Range APUs based on Zen 5 too).
Analysis: The stage is seemingly set
With two major motherboard manufacturers now having laid the groundwork for Zen 5 CPUs, that’s a definite hint that AMD’s next-gen chips might be coming pretty soon.
However, we should bear in mind that these BIOS releases are still in beta testing, so it’s early days for them. (And obviously, if you’re tempted to download the new firmware in either case, remember they’re betas, and we wouldn’t recommend playing with that particular fire unless there’s a really pressing reason to have the update – support for as yet non-existent processors not being one, of course).
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As to when Zen 5 desktop chips might actually arrive, the current whispers on the grapevine are still hopeful for a Q3 release, meaning there’s maybe an outside chance of July – a possibility that this preparatory motherboard work certainly does nothing to dispel. Another recent leak has suggested a Q3 launch, too, with Ryzen 9000 rumored to offer in the order of a 15% to 20% generational performance jump (on average).
We could see a reveal for Zen 5 chips at Computex, which is in June – that seems likely, and would fit nicely ahead of a potential July or August launch.
Keep your skeptical caps firmly on, mind, with all this – and there are contrary suggestions from the rumor mill that cast doubt on a Q3 timeframe – but we’re getting somewhat excited we must admit, given the recent increase in spillage around AMD’s next-gen CPUs.
Nintendo has confirmed that “after careful consideration” the company won’t be attending this year’s Gamescom event in Cologne, Germany.
Reports originally came from German outlet Games Wirtschaft, in which a Nintendo representative told the site that the Japanese publisher will be skipping Gamescom 2024.
Now, a Nintendo spokesperson has also confirmed to Eurogamer that the company won’t be in attendance, stating: “Gamescom is a great event, and each year we evaluate whether Nintendo should participate or not. After careful consideration from all perspectives, we’ve made the decision not to be present at Gamescom 2024. Players will have opportunities to try out Nintendo Switch games at other events throughout the year.”
While Nintendo has almost always had a presence at Europe’s largest gaming event, its absence from Gamescom this year makes a degree of sense. For one, first party support on the Nintendo Switch appears to be drying up, with few notable 2024 releases beyond the upcoming Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake and Endless Ocean Luminous.
Furthermore, rumors thus far largely indicate that the company’s next hardware – tentatively being referred to as Nintendo Switch 2 – is likely to arrive next year. In all likelihood, this means we probably won’t be getting an official announcement on the console before or during Gamescom 2024. This likely also rules out Summer Game Fest.
Nintendo not attending Gamescom 2024 does represent something of a sea change, then. With few upcoming games left for the Switch’s first-party catalog, it’s likely the Kyoto-based company is instead shifting focus to its next big piece of hardware and – at the very least – its own future launch line-up.
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Apple’s 5th generation 10.9-inch iPad takes the top spot in TechRadar’s best iPad list thanks to its powerful performance, stylish design, and reasonable price. Amazon has just dropped the iPad to a record-low price of $349 (it was $449).
The 2022 10.9 iPad includes Apple’s powerful A14 Bionic Chip for laptop-like speed and starts with 64GB of storage, which allows you to store plenty of movies, apps, and games. The 10th-generation tablet features a new sleek, lightweight design and an upgraded 12MP Ultrawide front camera, enhancing face-time calls. You also get a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, support for the latest Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard, and all-day battery life.
Today’s offer from Amazon is not only the best deal you can find for the 10.9 iPad but also a fantastic price for a powerful Apple tablet of this size. I’ve listed more of today’s best iPad deals from Amazon further down the page, including the 10.2 iPad, the iPad Air, and the iPad mini.
Today’s best iPad deal
More iPad deals at Amazon
You can see more of the best iPad deals here, and if you’re looking for something with less power, see the best Amazon Fire tablet deals.
After officially entering the AI game in September 2023, Meta just scaled up its AI chatbot experiment.
Some WhatsApp users have been able to play around with the company’s new AI assistant for a while now, and Meta’s AI upgrade was first introduced in beta in November last year. More functionalities appeared on users’ search bars later in March. However, the trial was restricted to people in the US in a limited capacity.
Now, people in India and parts of Africa have spotted Meta AI on WhatsApp. Speaking to TechCrunch, the company confirmed that it plans to expand its AI trails to more users worldwide and integrate the AI chatbot into Facebook Messenger and Instagram, too.
More platforms, more users
“Our generative AI-powered experiences are under development in varying phases, and we’re testing a range of them publicly in a limited capacity,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.
The move perfectly illustrates the company’s will to compete with AI’s bigger players, most notably OpenAI and its ChatGPT-powered tools. What’s more, India is the country worldwide with the most Facebook and WhatsApp users. WhatsApp monthly usage is also reportedly high in African countries, such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya.
To check if you’re a chosenone, you should update your WhatsApp for iOS or Android app to the latest version directly from the official app store. Meta AI will appear for some selected users who have their app set to English on a rolling basis.
Meta starts limited testing of Meta AI on WhatsApp in different countries!Some users in specific countries can now experiment with the Meta AI chatbot, exploring its capabilities and functionalities through different entry points.https://t.co/PrycA4o0LI pic.twitter.com/BB2axOGnEjApril 12, 2024
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Designed to reply to users’ queries and generate images from text prompts, the Meta AI chatbot is also landing on Facebook Messenger and Instagram on a limited capacity across the US, India, and a few more selected countries. On Instagram, the plan is also to use the feature for search queries—TechCrunch reported.
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These signs of Meta AI expansion aren’t happening in a vacuum, either. A few days back, the company announced plans to release AI models with “human-level cognition” capabilities.
“We are hard at work in figuring out how to get these models not just to talk, but actually to reason, to plan . . . to have memory,” Joelle Pineau, the vice president of AI research at Meta, told the Financial Times when announcing the new Llama 3 model.
The choice is now yours if you want to help Meta accelerate its work towards an even more powerful AI—but do we all want that, really?—or, remain a silent and skeptical spectator.
Change Healthcare’s ransomware fiasco is constantly going from bad to worse, as now a new threat actor has emerged with ransom demands in exchange for the stolen data.
Roughly a month and a half after initially detecting an attack, a different threat actor going by RansomHub is claiming to own the stolen data, and is asking Change Healthcare for more money. If the company doesn’t follow through, it will sell it to the highest bidder.
According to Wired, which saw screenshots of the database, confirming the authenticity of the database is difficult, but it all points to the data being authentic. The RansomHub threat actor is apparently associated with an individual going by “Notchy”, who was the one to originally get duped by ALPHV.
RansomHub emerges
In late February 2024, the firm, arguably one of the biggest health tech companies in the United States, suffered a ransomware attack that sent ripples throughout the industry, as pharmacies and medical practitioners across the country were left unable to process claims.
In the days and weeks to follow, an affiliate of the infamous BlackCat (ALPHV) ransomware-as-a-service operation claimed responsibility for the attack, and demanded $22 million in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key and for not publishing sensitive data on the dark web.
Change Healthcare seemingly succumbed to the demands, as blockchain analysts soon found a $22 million transaction.
Things quickly turned sour as reports came in that the hackers that broke into Change Healthcare never got the money.
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Ransomware-as-a-service works like this: One hacking group develops and maintains an encryptor, and then shares it with other groups, known as affiliates. Those that successfully breach a company and extort money are required to split the funds with the developers. In the case of Change Healthcare, all of the money went to the developers, who took it – and ran. They left a message – “GG” – and shut down the servers. The affiliates were left holding their data – allegedly, 4TB of sensitive customer information – prompting the new change of direction.
