February 2023 – Page 33 – scrollingindia.com

Tech News

Microsoft Edge has a new tool to topple Google Chrome – but it’s nothing to do with ChatGPT this time

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Some Microsoft Edge users are reporting having access to the its new built-in VPN within the stable build of the web browser, despite the company not having officially launched it beyond a preview build (opens in new tab).

Officially known as the Edge Secure Network, users are seeing the VPN in their browser without a ‘preview’ tag, suggesting that they have access to the complete working version.

A VPN reroutes your internet traffic, effectively masking your location to keep you anonymous and protect your privacy, by preventing all the data-gathering forces out there from finding out about you. However, the Edge Secure Network works a little differently to other third-party VPNs.

Three modes

The Edge Secure Network does not allow for users to choose the server location, unlike most VPN services. There are three different operational modes they can choose, though.

Firstly, there is the ‘Select Sites’ mode, where users can specify the VPN to be active only on certain websites , by adding them to the “Use VPN” list – useful if you only need the VPN to access certain region-locked sites.

There is also an Optimized mode, so that the VPN is active only when you are on a public or unsecured network, or when the website in question doesn’t have a valid certificate. Also, to conserve data used by the VPN – the free limit is 1GB per month – videos are rerouted outside of the VPN.

Finally, there is Always On mode, which, as you may have guessed, keeps the VPN on at all times.

For those who have access to the Edge Insiders program, the free data limit for VPN is 15GB (opens in new tab), but once the VPN is rolled out to all users, the free limit should return to 1GB.

There will an option to buy additional data if needed, but Microsoft is yet to reveal the pricing for this, but it is expected to announce it soon as the full fledged release draws nearer.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Huge Sonos Era leak shows these Dolby Atmos speakers are exactly what we want

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We’ve been on tenterhooks awaiting new info on Sonos’ new premium speaker range, the Sonos Era 300 and 100, since a leak earlier this month revealed that their name and that they would be focused on delivering Dolby Atmos.

Now the cat appears to be fully out of the bag, following a new leak at The Verge (opens in new tab) of marketing images and pricing information.

According to The Verge, the all-new Sonos Era 300 will include Bluetooth, USB-C line-in and AirPlay 2 compatibility as well as the previously revealed support for Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio. There’s also set to be Wi-Fi 6 connectivity for more robust wireless network connectivity.

Likely to rival Apple’s HomePod 2, the report adds that the Era 300 will boast a total of six drivers that are able to direct sound forward, left, right. The new model can be used in conjunction with a Sonos Arc or Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbars as rear surrounds, with a stereo pair of Era 300s allowing for immersive Atmos surround sound thanks to the upward-firing drivers.

While there had been speculation that the new model would replace the Sonos Five, the report claims that the older device will remain as an alternative option in the company’s speaker line up.

That doesn’t appear to be the case with the venerable Sonos One, which looks set to be ousted by the new Sonos Era 100 which is described as a direct replacement for the brand’s entry level speaker.

The Sonos Era 100 is set to support Bluetooth and USB-C line-in like its bigger sibling, but doesn’t feature up-firing drivers nor support for Spatial Audio or Dolby Atmos.

Both models are set to boast Alexa voice control but it remains unclear whether Google Assistant will be available amid Sonos’ ongoing legal dispute with Google.

Sonos Era 100 lifestyle image leak

The Sonos Era 100, in an image leaked to The Verge. (Image credit: The Verge // Sonos)

Analysis: New speakers could provide missing home theater link for Sonos users

While features like Bluetooth and USB-C line-in are long-overdue features for Sonos, it’s still nevertheless pleasing to see them finally arrive on these new speakers – particularly on the entry-level 100 model.

It’s the Era 300 that’s unquestionably got us most excited though.

While many music fans remain skeptical on the merits of multi-channel audio, we’ve always been of the opinion that you need to hear a Dolby Atmos track on a decent system to really appreciate the possibilities.

The Era 300 looks likely to provide a decent all-in-one system for providing spatial audio, but being able to pair it up with Sonos’ Arc and Beam Gen 2 is a potential gamechanger. The addition of up-firing rear speakers should breathe new life into those two soundbars, and make them genuine home cinema contenders.

With Sonos also expected to launch a product in an entirely new category this year – potentially the long-awaited Sonos headphones or some kind of TV app or OS that was teased by job posts in 2022 – 2023 looks set to be a huge year for the American audio firm.

You can find out more about the two new speakers in our Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300 guide, and if you’re in the market for a new multi-room audio gear, check out our best wireless speaker and best smart speaker lists.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Lenovo considers layoffs amid the shrinking PC market

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Lenovo is said it is prepared to discuss cost-cutting measures that could see a number of its workers being made redundant as the company faces the same tough economic challenges that have left many of its rivals to cut costs.

CFO Wong Wai Ming blamed the “confluence of global economic challenges and dynamic shifts in market demand”, which has seen global PC sales dip in recent months.

While Lenovo didn’t discuss precisely how many of its staff could be at risk, Ming did allude to a reduction of “runway operational expenses by approximately $115m”, with the company’s attention instead turning to “high-margin growth engines”.

Lenovo layoffs and slowing PC sales

According to recetn Canalys research, Lenovo shifted 79,290 PCs in 2022, down 20.4% from the 99,667 that it sold in 2021. Its PC market share as a whole dropped too, by almost two percentage points.

The final quarter was especially troubling for the company, with market share three percentage points below the 2022 average. Shipments in the quarter dipped by 32.3% year-on-year, too.

According to Lenovo’s Q3 2022 earnings (which aligns with the final three months of 2022, as above), revenue dropped by 24% and net income saw a 32% decline.

The company’s lack of detail regarding layoffs could stem from CEO Yang Yuanqing’s belief that the market “might stabilize sooner than many expect”. The company believes that total shipments could stabilize to pre-pandemic levels or higher as soon as the second half of 2023, and that’s certainly not out of the question with some predictions for 2023 suggesting a boom in global IT spend.

TechRadar Pro has asked Lenovo to confirm any plans to reduce headcount, the company did not immediately respond to our request.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Microsoft Teams might have fixed one of its most annoying faults – and saved your battery life in the process

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Using Microsoft Teams might not be such a drain on your laptop or PC thanks to a new update that promises huge performance enhancements.

The upgraded software – dubbed ‘Teams 2.0’ – is said to be in testing among workers, and a public preview could arrive as soon as March 2023.

The rewritten video conferencing software is designed for modern machines, meaning it should be more efficient, resulting in a speedier experience and reduced battery drain for laptops.

Microsoft Teams 2.0

The new built-in Microsoft Teams experience inside Windows 11 already delivers some of the improvements, however it seems that there’s more to come.

Furthermore, there are still older versions floating around, especially among businesses that opt to use Windows 10 (an operating system that still accounts for more than two-thirds of all Windows installs according to Statcounter (opens in new tab)).

Former CVP of Microsoft Teams, Rish Tandon, explained the changes on Twitter (opens in new tab) as the updated Teams client rolled out to Windows 11 users, explaining that the project had moved away from Electron, instead using Edge Webview2.

Tandon also detailed the move from Angular to reactjs, which should allow Teams 2.0 to deliver improvements to UI.

In terms of new features, it’s expected that Microsoft Teams clients will be able to support multiple accounts as well as deliver work life scenarios and release predictability.

Maybe most importantly Tandon explained that “Teams 2.0 will consume half the memory of the same consumer account on Teams 1.0”.

The reduction in RAM and CPU usage could see businesses issuing more scaled-back hardware to some workers, seeing them save costs. End users should also be able to notice the resulting battery improvements when using the software.

Via The Verge (opens in new tab)

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Tech News

This fake Linkedin ad could be one of the first AI-generated phishing campaigns

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Researchers have uncovered what might be the very first artificial intelligence-powered, malicious ad campaign aimed at hijacking business social media platform LinkedIn to obtain sensitive personal information on its users working in sales.

Cybersecurity researchers from SafeGuard Cyber recently discovered an ad on LinkedIn promoting a whitepaper that would help sales professionals optimize their sales process and close more deals.

The ad’s creative, described by the researchers as “bizarro”, featured a color pattern in the lower right corner, usually seen on images produced by Generative AI model Dall-E.

Giving away phone numbers

Dall-E works by text-based prompts. A user would tell the artificial intelligence what it wants, and the model would generate the image.

The ad copy invited the readers to sign up, and in exchange for their personal data (opens in new tab), get the whitepaper. It was set up by an account named “Sales Intelligence”, which the researchers found suspicious. The company page was largely blank, and only hosted a link that routed the visitors to a jewelry store in Arizona. While they can’t tell for certain, the researchers speculate the link was just added to fill the mandatory fields in order to set up the page.

The whitepaper is non-existent, too.

Instead, people that sign up would just share their personal details hosted on LinkedIn, such as email and phone, with the attackers. These details can later be used in different phishing and social engineering attacks.

“Encountering this fake LinkedIn ad was a significant reminder of new social engineering dangers now appearing when coupled with Generative AI,” the researchers said.

While the researchers focused on the image, the ad copy is most likely AI-generated, as well. Running the ad content through an AI detector has given us a score of 79%, meaning the content was likely done, at least partially, by AI.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

An Apple Watch Series 7 with a multi-colored strap on a yellow background

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The Apple Watch could soon get one color-changing band to rule them all

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Choosing the best Apple Watch band to go with your new smartwatch is either fun or an expensive headache, depending on your feelings about them – but Apple could be working on a special color-changing band that’ll match both your mood and clothes.

According to a newly-granted patent spotted by Apple Insider (opens in new tab) – titled “Watch Band with adjustable color” – Apple could be developing a strap with special “electrochromic features” that can either be adjusted to either match your attire or “provide a notification to the user.”

The US patent (opens in new tab) describes a color-changing Apple Watch band that will function using “an applied voltage” to move between “a variety of colors and color combinations”. To achieve this, the Watch band would seemingly be made from a fabric that’s woven from filaments. These filaments would include those electrochromic features, which means they can make reversible color changes. A similar tech is used in smart windows, which can change from light to dark to save energy costs.

A patent showing a color-changing band for the Apple Watch — A patent diagram showing the possible ways that the color-changing Watch band could be controlled. (Image credit: USPTO / Apple)

The patent goes on to explain how you might operate the chameleon-like Watch band. “The color selections can be made and adjusted without removing and exchanging the watch band,” Apple says.

Intriguingly, the patent also states that “the color-adjustable elements of the watch band can be arranged and independently controlled”. which means they could potentially show icons, shapes or texts. This means Apple could be looking into new ways to serve up notifications or updates on your Activity progress.

Like all patents, this Apple Watch example doesn’t mean it’s definitely something that the tech giant is working on. But it is an intriguing concept that could be a powerful way to get future Apple Watch owners to upgrade from already-powerful models like the Apple Watch 8.

Analysis: An innovative spark for smartwatches?

An Apple Watch with a Pride Edition band on a yellow background

(Image credit: Apple)

The best smartwatches have hit something of a plateau, with recent models like the Apple Watch 8 proving to be the smallest of incremental updates. It’s difficult to pack more features into their rigid form factors – which is why Apple and Samsung are seemingly looking outside the watch itself for new innovations.

We recently saw a Samsung Galaxy Watch patent describe a smartwatch that contains a tiny projector that can “beam information from the outer side of its housing onto the back side of the user’s hand”. That’s not dissimilar to Apple’s concept, with both exploring ways to display information outside of a watch’s casing.

A color-changing watch band could certainly appeal to those who don’t want to shell out for several different straps. But it could be even more useful from a health and fitness perspective. Apple just announced some long-term heart health studies (opens in new tab) that are powered by the Apple Watch, built around the idea that its smartwatch “can help make the invisible, visible”.

With heart health notifications – for high, low, and irregular rhythms – an increasingly important part of the Apple Watch, it’s possible that it could see color-changing accessories as another way for its wearable to alert both owners and people nearby when something is awry.

Alternatively, it could simply be channeling the spirit of 90s ‘mood rings’, which used color-changing crystals to apparently reflect the wearer’s state of mind and inner emotional state. For those of a certain age, any Apple wearable that was compatible with a color-changing ‘mood ring’ strap would automatically become the best Apple Watch ever made.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

The Emotn N1 showing a projection of a band while people watch

Tech News

This cheap HD projector could be the budget home theatre upgrade you need

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Emotn has unveiled a cheap projector that looks like it might give other HD options – such as Samsung’s The Freestyle – a run for their money.

The new Emotn N1 has launched on Amazon in the US (opens in new tab) (with a UK launch on the way soon) and boasts a 1080p HD image with a max 120-inch screen size. Its bulb promises to last for 30,000 hours, offers a 500 lumens max brightness, and can use HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG codec support to deliver its visuals – though we’ll have to try the device out for ourselves to know how good it really is. It even has inbuilt speakers with Dolby Audio – albeit two 5W ones that will likely be outclassed by a basic sound system.

Still, on paper, the Emotn N1 looks pretty capable, especially when you consider it’ll only cost you $400 (around £350) or $350 (around £300) if you use the $50 coupon as part of its launch promotion. This means it could well could be one of the best cheap projectors out there.

For comparison, the Samsung The Freestyle projector – which launched at $899 / £999 / AU$1,299 but can now be found for $700 / £500 / AU$1,000 or less – also only offers a 1080p HD image, but its max screen size is just 100-inch. Though Samsung’s projector is slightly brighter at 550 lumens and uses the company’s Tizen OS rather than Emotn’s Linux-based OS.

The advantage of Tizen – which is also used across Samsung’s other devices – is that it’s likely going to be more stable, easier to use, and offer a wider selection of apps than Emotn’s OS. Though the Emotn N1 will offer native Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube apps – and by plugging one of the best streaming sticks into its HDMI port you’ll get easy access to all the best streaming services if they aren’t supported natively.

The Emotn N1 next to an Xbox Series X which is bigger than it

The Emotn N1 next to an Xbox Series X and iPhone for scale (Image credit: Emotn)

The Emotn N1 is also bulkier than The Freestyle coming in at 8lbs (3.6Kg) compared to just 1.8lbs (0.8Kg). Though the Emotn N1 still looks pretty portable, likely making it a solid choice if you want to be able to take a basic home cinema with you on your next vacation or when you visit friends (just remember it needs to be near a plug socket.

So if you’re looking to pick up a budget-friendly projector then the Emotn N1 could be just the device you need, especially while it’s on sale for just $350. Though if you’re after a projector that boasts a better performance you might prefer something from our list of the best 4K projectors you can buy today.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Hand increasing the protection level by turning a knob

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Apple reveals it patched even more security flaws than previously thought

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Apple has admitted that its latest iOS and iPadOS 16.3 update addressed several more vulnerabilities than the company initially reported.

The change was spotted by AppleDB contributor Aaron, who in a recently posted tweet noted that Apple had added a new Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) for iOS 16.3.1, as well as three additional CVEs for iOS 16.3, released earlier this year to the list of noted security flaws that the company has successfully patched.

For iOS 16.3.1, Apple now said it also fixed a “maliciously crafted certificate” vulnerability that allowed threat actors to initiate denial-of-servie (DoS) attacks. The flaw was fixed with “improved input validation”, Apple said.

No explanations

As for iOS 16.3, one of the flaws allowed threat actors to read arbitrary files as root. The other two were related to Foundation, and could allow threat actors to bypass the app sandbox and run arbitrary code on the endpoints (opens in new tab) with elevated privileges.

Apple gave no explanation why it failed to add these vulnerabilities before. For all we know, it might just be an erroneous omission. Whatever the reason, iOS and iPad OS devices running the 16.3.1 version are safe from all of them, so it’s worth updating as quickly as possible.

For macOS 13.2.1 and iOS 16.3.1, Apple also addressed a WebKit vulnerability allegedly being exploited in the wild, 9To5Mac reported. The full breakdown of all the vulnerabilities patched in the latest versions of iOS can be found on this link (opens in new tab).

iOS 16.3 was released on January 23, 2023, with Advanced Data Protection, Security Keys (opens in new tab), new wallpapers, and support for the HomePod 2 (opens in new tab).

It’s a release that brings improvements to many apps, from a redesigned Home app for your smart appliances to better privacy features, and a big focus on the lock screen, with new fonts, colors and themes to choose from.

Via: 9To5Mac (opens in new tab)

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Feb, Tue, 2023

Tech News

Your Google Meet calls are about to get a lot more immersive, you lucky things

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Having recently expanded its range of immersive backgrounds for Google Meet calls, which add minute animated touches to backdrops such as an apartment and a cafe, Google now thinks it’s got something better.

The new “dynamic experiences” were announced (opens in new tab) in the Google Workspace Updates weekly recap for February 17, 2023, consisting of two new 360 degree backgrounds – a beach and a temple – using your phone’s gyroscope, and the power of artificial intelligence, to seamlessly move the background as you do.

The new additions are now available for use on video conferencing calls on Android and iOS devices for all Google Workspace and Personal accounts, although Google do point out that admins have the ability (and, let’s be honest, sworn duty) to turn off whimsical backgrounds at work (opens in new tab).

Analysis: Not this again

Let’s get it out of the way: The backgrounds are well done, in the sense that they’re high fidelity and the transitions in motion are seamless.

The issue is that they’re so obviously static images that they look even more devoid of personality than the already available “immersive backgrounds”, or, God forbid, the actual real world space you exist in.

TechRadar Pro covers this stuff a lot, and my take, at least, is always very reliable: please don’t force me to smile at template whimsy, as I would rather be renditioned.

The latest 360-degree

(Image credit: Google)

You shouldn’t be this embarrassed about your office or bedroom backdrop unless you have a shrine to Harry Potter. We all know you’re not getting a tan on the beach, you’re cooped up in your semi-detached, wondering where it all went wrong, and if they’re coming back. It’s fine, we’re all here for you.

You have to think of the progress we’d make if tech companies took the developers working on this stuff and gave them something of literally any worth to Google Meet, or life itself, to get on with.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

How to enable 120Hz on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S

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The latest Xbox Series X price hike is here, and it could be bad news for Europe

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Bad news if you live in Sweden and are planning on buying an Xbox Series X|S console, as Microsoft has just hiked the price in the country.

This latest price increase bumps the Xbox Series X from SEK 5,695 (Swedish Krona) to SEK 6,195. Regional equivalents would be roughly $600 / £500 / AU$875. Curiously, Xbox Series S has also jumped to SEK 3,895 ($380 / £315 / AU$550) on the Swedish Microsoft Store, but remains the previous price of SEK 3,300 at other major retailers (thanks, Gaming Deputy (opens in new tab)).

Currently, there’s no official word from Microsoft on the price increase in Sweden. Nor has the company warned of an increase for the rest of Europe and the UK. The radio silence is a stark contrast to last month’s price hike for the console in Japan, which Microsoft stressed was “a difficult decision to make” in an official statement.

Are Xbox Series X price increases inevitable?

Xbox Series X console with controller and colourful background

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Microsoft so far has been tight-lipped on the Xbox Series X|S price increase in Sweden, which admittedly, is slightly unnerving. We do know to expect price hikes for Microsoft’s current-gen consoles, as Xbox head Phil Spencer has repeatedly given us a heads-up in light of console demand and falling subscription numbers for services like Xbox Game Pass.

The one silver lining here is that Xbox’s price hikes are more staggered than Sony’s with the PS5 so far. In August 2022, Sony raised the popular console’s price simultaneously across the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia. Japan followed suit a month later. The US, meanwhile, has thus far been unaffected by price increases from any of the big three console manufacturers.

It’s both sad and unprecedented for a console that’s just over two years old to go up in price. Especially as both Xbox Series X and PS5 are already expensive pieces of tech. Amidst an ongoing cost of living crisis, these machines are already out of reach for vast swathes of gamers. And now that supply chains have more room to breathe in the current year, these price hikes don’t really add up if the reason is to curb demand.

It does seem inevitable that the rest of the world will eventually see these console price increases, though I’d like to hope it won’t become a trend with consoles of the current and future generations.

It used to be that consoles and their mid-gen revisions would drop in price to let more budding consumers in. But it seems like those days are largely over, with few systems beyond the portable-friendly Nintendo Switch Lite keeping the torch lit.

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Feb, Tue, 2023

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