Notwithstanding the total solar eclipse, things are beginning to brighten up outside, but unless you’re reading this from a beach house in California, it’s still not warm enough to spend your weekends totally detached from the TV.

Thank goodness, then, for streaming services, who are this week offering up a particularly exciting slate of new movies and TV shows to enjoy. Leading the charge is Fallout on Prime Video, Amazon’s serialized adaptation of the hugely popular post-apocalyptic video game series, while The Sympathizer and Franklin begin streaming on Max and Apple TV Plus, respectively.

There’s perhaps no better cheap gaming PC deal right now to kick-start your 1080p setup on a budget than this RTX 4060-equipped Cooler Master HAF Pro for $845 at Amazon. 

The combination of an upfront discount and handy coupon code at checkout makes this machine easily one of the cheapest we’ve seen to feature an RTX 4060 graphics card. Usually, machines carrying this mid-range GPU run around the $1,000 mark so this HAF Pro is a bargain for those on a budget.

If you’re looking for a massive display on a budget, you aren’t going to get much better than today’s deal on the TCL S4 Series TV. Best Buy just launched a 3-day sale that’s dropped this 85-inch model to a stunning price of just $799.99 (was $899.99). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen for the TCL 4K smart TV and an incredible deal for a display of this size.

• Shop Best Buy’s full 3-day sale

While the TCL S4 Series TV isn’t the best TV in the world, it’s still packed with premium features at an extremely affordable price. These include a stunning display thanks to the 4K HDR coupled with HDR Pro, which delivers crisp images with bright, brilliant colors. You’re also getting Dolby Atmos and DTS Virtual: X for premium sound, three HDMI inputs, and smart capabilities with the Google Assistant and Chromecast built-in.

Keep in mind that Best Buy’s 3-day sale ends on Sunday at Midnight, and this might be the best price you’ll find for a feature-packed 85-inch 4K TV. I’ve listed more of today’s best TV deals from Best Buy below if you’re looking to shop for more budget displays.

Massive TV deal at Best Buy

More of today’s best TV deals at Best Buy

Shop more TV offers with our list of the best TV deals, and if you’re looking for a more premium display, see the best OLED TV deals.

Android 15 looks set to introduce several features that allow users to perform simple tasks and see information at a glance. These include a new screensaver that allows you to control your Google Home devices, the return of lock screen widgets for tablets, and changing your default wallet app for Google Wallet.

All three new features were found in the Android 15 Beta, which was released on April 11, 2024, and can be downloaded for Pixel devices. However, it’s probably better to wait for the full release to ensure the best stability.

The lack of communication that happened six years ago resulted in thousands of devices being vulnerable to a remotely exploitable heap out-of-bounds (OOB) read vulnerability – today. Among the vulnerable devices are Intel and Lenovo servers.

Here is what happened: Six years ago, the maintainers of Lighttpd discovered the above-mentioned flaw, which could allow threat actors to exfiltrate process memory addresses. That, in turn, could have been used to work around protection mechanisms. 

This week, we have two major releases: Prime Video’s Fallout and Netflix’s Amar Singh Chamkila. The former is a post-apocalyptic series in which a handful of humans have been living in luxurious underground vaults for the past 200 years after a horrific nuclear explosion. The real world, on the other hand, is now a scary wasteland with gory creatures, mutated beings, and other challenges. Things turn interesting when a vault dweller heads to the real world on a mission.

Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila will introduce you to the untold story of the eponymous Punjabi singer, who became a massive hit but was mysteriously shot dead because of the indecent language used in his songs. Diljhit Dosanjh is seen playing the musician.

South Indian cinema also has a big post-theatrical release in the form of Telugu adventure thriller Gaami on Zee5 which explores the story of an aghora who has embarked on a journey to the Himalayas.

For comedy enthusiasts, Netflix has dished out Neal Brennan’s latest stand-up, Crazy Good. In it, the comedian gets candid about crypto, social media flexes, sex compliments, and more. It is Brennnan’s third comedy special on Netflix.

On the home front, The Great Indian Kapil Show’s third episode is slated for release on April 13. In it, Kapil Sharma and his team get candid with Amar Singh Chamkila’s team, including Imtiaz Ali, Diljit Dosanjh, and Parineeti Chopra. The show was the number one watched TV show on Netflix in India.

On the international shore, you could go for the Spanish romantic film Love, Divided, besides the one listed below. A young pianist is shown romancing a game inventor who can only concentrate in complete silence. The film is a remake of the 2015 French film Blind Date.

For documentary enthusiasts, there is What Jennifer Did on Netflix, which tells the true bone-chilling story of a girl called Jennifer Pan who dialled 911 back in 2015 to report that her parents had been shot, only for the authorities to find her as the prime suspect.

If you are looking for something to entertain your little ones, you could go for Netflix’s Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, in which Woody thinks he has found a forever home in a forest camp after being kicked out of the forest. The illusion of his perfect little world is threatened when an inspector enters the scenario. The live-action/animated slapstick comedy film serves as a sequel to the 2017 film Woody Woodpecker.

Here are our picks for the top new OTT releases this week (April 8- April 15).

Amar Singh Chamkila

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

Amar Singh Chamkila was a controversial Punjabi singer who was popular for his indecent songs full of sexual anecdotes. Although Chamkila was a massive hit among the audience, he received numerous death threats for corrupting the moral fabric of the society. He was ultimately shot dead; a mystery which hasn’t been solved to date.

Diljit Dosanjh plays the celebrated musician in this biography and Parineeti plays his partner and love interest. The film dares to explore a hushed topic and has experimented with editing styles. For viewers who don’t understand Punjabi, Hindi translations are flashing on the screen for major verses. The film is a good attempt at narrating the untold story of the “Elvis Presley of Punjab”.

Fallout

When: Now Streaming

Where: Prime Video

Prime Video’s Fallout is much more than just an R-rated video game adaptation. It’ll make you laugh, gasp, cuss, and roll your eyes, all at once. It is set 219 years after a nuclear explosion, post which a handful of humans are living in safe and luxurious underground vaults, and the rest of the world has turned into an absolute nightmare with irradiated creatures, mutated humans, and danger at each step.

The series has plenty of gore and violent scenes, such as people smashing eyes with forks, pulling out teeth with bare hands, stapling wounds, blowing off heads like birthday candles, and chopping off everything human.

The series beautifully taps into the minute intricacies of human emotions, which feel completely natural and relatable. It also explores the themes of political instability, classism, and unregulated capitalism.

Walton Goggins has done a particularly impressive job at playing a savage mutated human who wears sarcasm on his sleeves and wouldn’t shy once before slashing your throat.

Gaami

When: Now Streaming

Where: Zee 5

An aghora called Shankar (Vishwak Sen) was dropped off at an ashram at the age of 15 after his haphophobia (fear of being touched) was misidentified as a curse inflicted upon him by Lord Shiva. At the top of it, he is an amnesiac and can’t remember a lot of stuff.

Having spent so many years with his condition, Shankar finally decides to embark on a journey to the Himalayas to get to the root cause of his problem and find a cure. The Telugu adventure film

Vidyadhar Kagita directs. Chandini Chowdary, Abhinaya, Harika Pedda, and Mohammad Samad are seen in key roles.

Anthracite

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

If you are in the mood for something that will make you scratch your brains, this French thriller is the perfect pick. It is set in a small village in the Alps where once an eerie incident of mass suicide happened. Years later when a reporter goes missing and his daughter begins the search, a complex web of deceit and dark old secrets awaits. This French series will keep you on your toes. Indian audiences can stream it in both English and Hindi. It has also been translated into a bunch of international languages, including French, Spanish, German, and Japanese.

Stolen

When: Now Streaming

Where: Netflix

If you are bored of regular themes and are on the lookout for something new, we suggest this Swedish drama, which brings to the platter a different side of the world. Here the protagonist is a young woman struggling to defend her indigenous heritage.

Unnoticed challenges of the community like climate change leading to a rapid decline of reindeer herding have been highlighted in the series. Besides the challenges, the usual clash of modernity and traditional values, and the subsequently inflicted discrimination against the community has also been aptly shown.

Amar Singh Chamkila is the true story of one of the most popular Punjabi singers of all time, whose songs were hushed upon but listened to by one and all. One of the most controversial names in the history of Punjabi music, was shot dead at the young age of 27 because of the vulgarity in his lyrics – even though each celebration of that time was incomplete without his tunes.

Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila begins with the legendary singer being shot along with his co-performer and wife, Amarjot Kaur (Parineeti Chopra), by unknown men. The rest of the film runs in flashbacks, beginning with his childhood when the innocent, impressionable boy caught up on the secretive sexual habits and innuendos of those around him.

Diljeet Dosanjh has perfectly slipped into adult Chamkila’s musical shoes. He portrays Chamkila as a simple and curious man with a burning desire to sing and a perpetual smile. Albeit the means to succeed, he strives to pave his own way. He is aware of the challenges but refuses to put anything above his self-respect. While he appears shy and innocent, there are also moments when he knows how to manipulate things and turn them in his favour.

However, Parineeti Chopra’s performance is as bland as humanly possible. In scenes where she is supposed to play a shy and reserved woman, she is straight away giving the impression of a lost person with something weird going on in their head. One of the scenes has the real clipping of Amarjot Kaur performing on the side, further mocking Parineeti’s special acting skills.

Her terrible performance is balanced by Anjum Batra, who plays Chamkila’s close friend Tikki, who helped Chamkila with his career and once cursed him to die when things got ugly. Batra is sticking loyally to the role of a close friend who’ll do anything for you when you are not on their wrong side.

Amar Singh Chamkila Review: Feels Like A Warm and Flavourful Slice of Real Punjab

Diljit Dosanjh in a still from Amar Singh Chamkila

Amar Singh Chamkila has somehow managed to capture the true essence of Punjab. Whether it is the portrayal of akahadas (small gatherings for stage performances) or cultural nuances, the film has mirrored exactly what goes on in the agrarian state.

Amar Singh Chamkila is one of the rare picks from mainstream Hindi cinema, which has rightly captured the true essence of Punjabi culture, breaking the stereotypical portrayal of Punjab with forced accents and funny personalities.

Even the political atmosphere of Punjab has been covered in the film with characters throwing away terms like “comrades” and “fundamentalists” like a couple of frisbees.

Amar Singh Chamkila Review: The Film Raises An Important Topic

While it is the life story of the controversial singer at the core, it also raises several important questions about the hush culture of Indian society regarding anything sexual.

It rightly brings out the deeply rooted hypocrisy where the mention of sex and sexuality is considered immoral, but a plethora of folk songs played in weddings and ceremonies have clearly suggestive tones.

However, the subject could have been explored further. While the theme is brilliant on paper, the execution could have been more effective with just slightly more effort.

Amar Singh Chamkila Review: A Creative Slideshow of Key Events from His Life

Hindi translations of Chamkila’s verses flash on the screen in the film

The film is a collection of key incidents from Chamkila’s life cinematically sewed together. From him approaching a local musician and his first stage performance, to his wedding and ultimate assassination everything follows like the sequential chapters of a play.

Before each key event, the year and location drop in on the screen in a playful manner, giving away the feel of a PPT with each slide denoting different phases of his life.

Imtiaz has also incorporated several real-life clippings and photographs, drawing an interesting comparison between the source and re-enactment. Sometimes, you’ll see the original picture after Diljit and Pareeniti’s shot, and sometimes, the screen divides into two, drawing a clear parallel between the two.

Some of the shots of Diljeet and Pareeniti have also been edited like old video films, adding that ounce of nostalgia.

It seems like almost all the media available regarding Chamkila – such as his music record covers and performance clippings — have been incorporated in the film. For instance, in a scene, it is shown how one of Chamkila’s popular album covers must have been shot. Similarly, during the wedding sequence, pictures from Chamkila’s real wedding are put on display.

Another thing worth mentioning is how the Hindi translations of Chamkila’s verses flash on the screen so that users like me, who don’t quite understand fluent Punjabi, can still understand the true meaning of the songs and why they stirred controversies.

Amar Singh Chamkila: The Film Doesn’t Explore Much About What Goes Inside Chamkila’s Head

The film has oversimplified the personality of a man who had multiple layers. I would have loved to see more of what goes inside Chamkila’s head.

It would have been rather interesting to explore how an artist like him deals with the unexpected chapters of his destiny, or even how he perceives the day-to-day happenings around him, for that matter. At present, it feels like the film touches superficially at the tip of what might be an emotional iceberg. Just when the film starts tapping into the area, the film concludes shortly.

While one of the scenes briefly touches upon the emptiness that comes with success and how your previous notions of happiness, it would have been spectacular to watch the concept in detail.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Imtiaz had a brilliant opportunity to tap into the psyche of Chamkila but missed it royally. (or did he set the expectations too high with Rockstar and Tamasha?)

 Adobe’s ‘Ethical’ firefly AI raises questions over training data sources;  Instagram’s Modi AI images: Political boost sparks controversy;  Infosys partners with Intel to boost AI expertise and solutions; Apple Plans M4 chips with AI for upcoming Mac models: Report- this and more in our daily roundup. Let us take a look.

1. Adobe’s ‘Ethical’ Firefly AI raises questions over training data sources

Adobe’s Firefly AI, touted as an “ethical” alternative to competitors like Midjourney, was initially presented as trained solely on Adobe Stock. However, it was later revealed that Firefly also utilised AI-generated content from rival platforms. This raises questions about transparency and responsibility in AI development, highlighting the complexities of navigating ethical concerns in the rapidly expanding field of generative artificial intelligence, according to a report by Bloomberg. 

Also read: Apple makes it easier and cheaper to repair your iPhone- All details

2. Instagram’s Modi AI images: Political boost sparks controversy

The expert cited in the article, conducting an analysis of political advertisements on Instagram, revealed that the right-wing page Hokage Modi Sama prominently promoted AI-generated images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These images, depicting Modi as a Hindu leader with religious and political connotations, were disseminated widely, reflecting the page’s agenda and audience engagement strategies, according to an Al Jazeera report. 

3. Infosys partners with Intel to boost AI expertise and solutions

Balakrishna D R, Executive Vice President and Global Services Head of AI and Industry Verticals at Infosys, expressed the company’s commitment to leveraging Intel’s AI training assets to enhance employee skills and deliver advanced AI services. He highlighted Infosys’ AI-first strategy aimed at unlocking significant business value for clients and praised the collaboration with Intel in advancing AI solutions for enterprises, the Economic Times reported. 

Also read: Move to the Moon or Mars? Startup named Max Space unveils ‘affordable’ plans to stay “beyond Earth”

4. Apple Plans M4 chips with AI for upcoming Mac models: Report

According to Bloomberg’s sources, Apple is poised to transform its Mac lineup with the introduction of M4 computer processors, featuring advanced AI capabilities. The reported rollout, scheduled for late this year and early next year, includes updated iMacs, MacBook Pros, and Mac Minis. Apple’s strategic integration of AI processing aims to invigorate Mac sales amid industry shifts, Business Today reported. 

Also read: Google rolls out Android 15 Beta 1- Top features that are coming to your smartphone soon

5. Meta unveils OpenEQA to enhance AI understanding for home robots and smart glasses

Meta introduced OpenEQA, an open-source framework aimed at enhancing AI’s understanding of its environment. By providing sensory inputs and enabling clear communication, OpenEQA empowers AI agents to assist humans effectively, whether in-home robots or smart glasses. Meta highlighted the potential for AI to locate items, answer queries, and improve daily tasks, though challenges persist in current vision+language models, ZD Net reported. 

OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman has hosted hundreds of Fortune 500 company executives in San Francisco, New York and London this month where he and other OpenAI executives pitched AI services for corporate use, going head-to-head in some cases with financial backer Microsoft, attendees told Reuters.

The roadshow-like events illustrate how the company credited with sparking the explosion of generative artificial intelligence with its consumer offering, is looking to grow new sources of revenue from corporates all over the world – some of it potentially on the home turf of its biggest partner.

The three meetings with senior corporate executives – two in the US last week and one in London on Monday – have not been reported previously.

Altman directly addressed more than 100 executives in each city at the events, according to attendees who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

At each event, Altman and chief operating officer Brad Lightcap offered product demonstrations, including ChatGPT Enterprise, the enterprise grade of its famous chatbot that generates text from simple prompts, software to connect customer applications to its AI services known as APIs, and its new text-to-video models.

OpenAI has promised that ChatGPT Enterprise customers’ data will not be used to train its models. Talking to potential customers from industries including finance, healthcare and energy, OpenAI executives highlighted a range of applications, such as call-center management and translation. They noted the consumer version of its chatbot is already in use by more than 92 percent of Fortune 500 companies.

Microsoft, the largest investor in OpenAI, offers access to OpenAI’s technology through its Azure cloud and by selling Microsoft 365 Copilot, a productivity tool powered by OpenAI’s models targeting enterprises.

Some executives in the audience at the events asked why they should pay for ChatGPT Enterprise if they are already customers of Microsoft, attendees said.

Altman and Lightcap responded that paying for the enterprise service allowed them to work with the OpenAI team directly, have access to the latest models and more opportunity to get customized AI products, according to attendees present.

OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment.

OpenAI, last valued at $86 billion (roughly Rs. 7,18,998 crore) in a secondary sale, has been trying to diversify its revenue stream since its chatbot ChatGPT quickly gained popularity in late 2022. It is on track to achieve the $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,359 crore) revenue target it projected for 2024, sources have said.

While trying to build out new products of consumers such as the marketplace ChatGPT stores, the company expects selling to enterprises to become a more meaningful part of its revenue. Lightcap told Bloomberg last week more than 600,000 people signed up to use ChatGPT Enterprise and Team, up from around 150,000 in January.

Lightcap, the main OpenAI executive focused on enterprise adoption, has also spent time in Hollywood talking to studio executives to promote the company’s Sora video creation tool. That technology, which can create and refine videos based on a user’s text description, has caused both excitement and anxiety within the creative industry.

Two major Hollywood studios told Reuters they are seeking early access to begin exploring applications, though there are some concerns about the source of the video used to train Sora, the reliability of the output and its ability to protect copyrighted works.

Fox and News Corp also hosted Altman at a leadership retreat last October, where he took part in a question-and-answer session, according to one source with knowledge of the session.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

Apple, aiming to boost sluggish computer sales, is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac line with a new family of in-house processors designed to highlight artificial intelligence.

The company, which released its first Macs with M3 chips five months ago, is already nearing production of the next generation — the M4 processor — according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new chip will come in at least three main varieties, and Apple is looking to update every Mac model with it, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been announced.

The new Macs are underway at a critical time. After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27 percent in the last fiscal year, which ended in September. In the holiday period, revenue from the computer line was flat. Apple attempted to breathe new life into the Mac business with an M3-focused launch event last October, but those chips didn’t bring major performance improvements over the M2 from the prior year.

Apple also is playing catch-up in AI, where it’s seen as a laggard to Microsoft, Alphabet’s Google and other tech peers. The new chips are part of a broader push to weave AI capabilities into all its products.

Apple is aiming to release the updated computers beginning late this year and extending into early next year. There will be new iMacs, a low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and Mac minis — all with M4 chips. But the company’s plans could change. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.

Apple shares climbed 4.3 percent to $175.04 on Thursday in New York, the biggest single-day gain in 11 months. They had been down 13 percent this year through Wednesday’s close.

The move will mark a quick refresh schedule for the iMac and MacBook Pro, as both lines were just updated in October. The Mac mini was last upgraded in January 2023.

Apple is then planning to follow up with more M4 Macs throughout 2025. That includes updates to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air by the spring, the Mac Studio around the middle of the year, and the Mac Pro later in 2025. The MacBook Air received the M3 chip last month, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro were updated with M2 processors last year.

The M4 chip line includes an entry-level version dubbed Donan, more powerful models named Brava and a top-end processor codenamed Hidra. The company is planning to highlight the AI processing capabilities of the components and how they’ll integrate with the next version of macOS, which will be announced in June at Apple’s annual developer conference.

The Donan chip is coming to the entry-level MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Airs and a low-end version of the Mac mini, while the Brava chips will run the high-end MacBook Pros and a pricier version of the Mac mini. For the Mac Studio, Apple is testing versions with both a still-unreleased M3-era chip and a variation of the M4 Brava processor.

The highest-end Apple desktop, the Mac Pro, is set to get the new Hidra chip. The Mac Pro remains the lower-selling model in the company’s computer lineup, but it has a vocal fan base. After some customers complained about the specifications of Apple’s in-house chips, the company is looking to beef up that machine next year.

As part of the upgrades, Apple is considering allowing its highest-end Mac desktops to support as much as a half-terabyte of memory. The current Mac Studio and Mac Pro top out at 192 gigabytes — far less capacity than on Apple’s previous Mac Pro, which used an Intel Corp. processor. The earlier machine worked with off-the-shelf memory that could be added later and handle as much as 1.5 terabytes. With Apple’s in-house chips, the memory is more deeply integrated into the main processor, making it harder to add more.

The big focus for Apple this year is to add new artificial intelligence features across its products. The company is planning to preview a slew of new features at its June developer conference. A large swath of those features are designed to run on the devices themselves — rather than in remote servers — and speedier chips will help drive those enhancements. Apple is also planning to make AI-focused upgrades to this year’s iPhone processor.

The company’s switch to in-house chips was part of a long-running initiative known as Apple Silicon. The tech giant started using its own semiconductors in the original iPad and iPhone 4 in 2010, before bringing the technology to the Mac in 2020. The goal has been to better unify its hardware and software with underlying components and move away from processors made by Intel.

So far, the effort has been a success, helping boost performance and ease the redesign of devices such as the latest MacBook Air, iMac and MacBook Pro. Apple’s Mac chips are based on the same underlying Arm Holdings Plc architecture as the processors in the iPhone and iPad, enabling thinner products with better battery life and less need for cooling fans.

© 2024 Bloomberg LP