We’ve gathered up the best wireless router deals you can find right now, from cheap routers to high-end units.
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In an unprecedented move for the company, Apple has confirmed it has a new iPhone coming in 2020. It's not all good news though; the company has confirmed it'll be out later in the year than it has previously "launched" its flagship phones.
Apple didn’t specifically call the device the iPhone 12, but this has essentially confirmed the new iPhone range we expected to launch in September will be delayed until at least some point later in 2020.
When will you be able to buy yourself a brand new iPhone? Plus, when will the company be unveiling its new devices? Those are two different things, and below we're going to try and give you the best answers to those questions we have so far.
During Apple’s Q3 2020 earning call, Apple CFO Luca Maestri specifically referred to a new iPhone and clarified that the company is expecting its launch to be delayed in 2020 when compared to previous years.
Maestri said, “As you know, last year we started selling iPhones in late September. This year, we expect supply to be available a few weeks later.”
This is unheard of as Apple has never previously commented on the existence of a new iPhone, but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the company’s financials – and future financials with an iPhone 12 delay on the horizon – have changed things a little.
Later, Maestri clarified “I said in my remarks that a year ago we launched new iPhone in late September. And I said that this year, the supply of the new product will be a few weeks later than that.”
That may seem simple at first, but Apple’s terminology here has been very specifically chosen and it may not impact the time that you get to see the company unveil the iPhone 12 range announced on stage.
September 8 was the best guess for the iPhone 12 announcement. That was leaked by an established tipster called ihacktu, and it matches what we’ve previously seen from the company is other years.
Typically, Apple announces its new iPhone on a Tuesday at the start of September. It's usually the first or second week of the year. It then often puts the device on sale 10 days after that, with pre-orders happening in that period between announcement and on sale.
Maestri’s wording is specifically about the time you can buy the new iPhone.
He referred to “the supply of the new product”, which means this is Apple specifically commenting about the on-sale date of the new iPhone 12. That doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll see the iPhone 12 announced any later in the year.
We’ve seen a similar situation with the iPhone X in 2017. The handset was designed to be a reinvention of Apple’s devices and it launched on September 12 alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, but wasn’t on sale until November 3 of the same year.
Apple never publicly commented on why that phone came out later, but it’s thought it was to do with supply chain issues where Apple wasn’t able to get one element of the device for the manufacturing process to take place.
That’s similar to the effect that the iPhone 12 is sure to suffer this year. That's owing to factories and manufacturing plants around the world closing and reopening throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
Apple may also want to delay the release of the phone to try and coincide with the end of the pandemic. Apple stores across the US are currently shut, and in other countries many are having to limit the amount of customers.
A new iPhone often brings a fervor of excitement in physical stores as well as online sales, so it may be the company wishes to limit that impact by pushing the release date of its phones back a few weeks.
It may change the date you can buy the new iPhone 12 series, but it's not certain that this means it'll change the time when it’s announced.
If Apple follows a similar schedule to 2017 with the iPhone X, the company may decide to keep an early September event for unveiling its new iPhone. Instead, the delay would impact when you're able to buy the product, not when you find out about it.
It seems the phones will be delayed until October at the earliest. If Tuesday, September 8 for an announcement is correct, then that would mean we would have expected the devices to go on sale on September 18 in a normal iPhone cycle.
Maestri’s terminology of “a few” weeks suggests that is pushed back by at least three weeks. That likely means you won’t be able to buy the phone until October 9, or perhaps even later in the year.
None of this is certain. This is all conjecture that we’re able to suggest based on previous iPhone launches and Apple's specific way of announcing this, but these are strange times with the world trying to cope with Covid-19.
September is still a month away, so things may even change within Apple HQ to see a longer delay. We likely won't know more until we hear directly from Apple on its plans for an event in September, if it's set to happen.
If it does happen, we'll be sure to be one of the first to let you know.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One that he will act as soon as Saturday to ban TikTok from the US, CNBC reported.
The story is updating.
OLOy MD4U322616DJDA 64GB DDR4 RAM - $180.00 at Amazon
(£229.99/roughly AU$250)
Sister publication Tom's Hardware has drawn our attention to this seriously cheap 64GB RAM module from a company called OLOy. Upgrading to a dual channel setup is a great way to instantly improve performance, so grab it while you can!View Deal
We've never come across OLOy-branded memory before, but the two-year-old company is said to have consistently delivered some of the cheapest RAM modules on the market.
An investigation carried out by our sister publication Tom's Hardware earlier this year found that the company used industry standard ICs.
“We liked the OLOy WarHawk memory we tested, because of its great overclocking capability and high speeds. In all of our tests the WarHawk either kept pace with or outright bested competitors such as the Adata Spectrix D80 and Patriot Viper Steel," wrote Thomas Sodestrom.
Amazon is selling a 64GB kit called the OLOy MD4U322616DJDA (two 32GB DDR4 RAM 2666MHz, CL16-18-18-36, 288-pin, PC4 21000) for $180/£229.99/around AU$250 - that’s a 5% discount on the suggested retail price (and 10% less than at Newegg).
It's only available in black and doesn’t have any fancy RGB lights, but the memory chips are covered with nice looking heatsinks and the memory modules come with a lifetime warranty.
Overclocking with these is likely to be hit and miss, but compatibility - both with AMD and Intel platforms - is almost certainly guaranteed.
Adding memory, especially in pairs, means that you can instantaneously improve your system performance, particularly if you are upgrading from less than 16GB capacity on a single memory slot. Moving to what experts call a dual channel setup will improve the total amount of memory bandwidth available to your system and make everything feel much snappier.
Even the hard-charging world of early-stage startups has its share of procrastinators, lollygaggers, slow-pokes, wafflers and last-minute decision makers. If that’s your demographic, today is your lucky day.
You now have an extra week (courtesy of Saint Expeditus, the patron saint of procrastinators), to score early-bird savings to Disrupt 2020, which takes place September 14-18. Buy your pass before the new and final deadline — August 7 at 11:59 p.m. (PT) — and save up to $300. Who says prayers (or secular entreaties) go unanswered?
Your pass opens the door to five days of Disrupt — the biggest, longest TechCrunch conference ever. Drawing thousands of attendees and hundreds of innovative early-stage startups from around the world, you won’t find a better time, place or opportunity to accelerate the speed of your business.
Here are four world-class reasons to attend Disrupt 2020.
World-class speakers. Hear and engage with leading voices in tech, business and investment across the Disrupt stages. Folks like Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha, Ureeka’s Melissa Bradley and Slack’s Tamar Yehoshua — to name just a few. Here’s what you can see onstage so far.
World-class startups. Explore hundreds of innovative startups exhibiting in Digital Startup Alley — including the TC Top Picks. This elite cadre made it through our stringent screening process to earn the coveted designation, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more varied and interesting set of startups.
World-class networking. CrunchMatch, our AI-powered networking platform, simplifies connecting with founders, potential customers, R&D teams, engineers or investors. Schedule 1:1 video meetings and hold recruitment or extended pitch sessions. CrunchMatch launches weeks before Disrupt to give you more time to scout, vet and schedule.
World-class pitching. Don’t miss Startup Battlefield, the always-epic pitch competition that’s launched more than 900 startups, including big-time names like TripIt, Mint, Dropbox and many others. This year’s crop of startups promises to throw down hard for bragging rights and the $100,000 cash prize.
Need another reason to go? Take a page out of SIMBA Chain founder Joel Neidig’s playbook:
Our primary goal was to make people aware of the SIMBA Chain platform capabilities. Attending Disrupt is great way to get your name out there and build your customer base.
It’s time for all you last-minute lollygaggers to get moving and take advantage of this second, final chance to save up to $300. Buy your pass before August 7 at 11:59 p.m. (PT).
Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt 2020? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.
The creators of the TrickBot have once again updated their malware with new functionality and now it can target Linux devices through its new DNS command and control tool Anchor_DNS.
While TrickBot originally started out as a banking trojan, the malware has evolved to perform other malicious behaviors including spreading laterally through a network, stealing saved credentials in browsers, stealing cookies, checking a device's screen resolution and now infecting Linux as well as Windows devices.
TrickBot is also malware-as-a-service and cybercriminals rent access to it in order to infiltrate networks and steal valuable data. Once this is done, they then use it to deploy ransomware such as Ryuk and Conti in order to encrypt devices on the network as the final stage of their attack.
At the end of last year, SentinelOne and NTT reported that a new TrickBot framework called anchor uses DNS to communicate with its C&C servers. Anchor_DNS is used to launch attacks against high-value and high-impact targets that posses valuable financial information. The TrickBot Anchor can also be used as a backdoor in APT-like campaigns which target both point-of-sale and financial systems.
Up until now, Anchor has been a Windows malware but Stage 2 Security researcher Waylon Grange discovered a new sample which shows that Anchor_DNS has been ported to a new Linux backdoor version called 'Anchor_Linux'.
In addition to acting as a backdoor that can be used to drop and run malware on Linux devices, the malware also contains and embedded Windows TrickBot executable that can be used to infect Windows machines on the same network.
Once copied to a Windows device, Anchor_Linux then configures itself as a Windows service. After configuration, the malware is tarted on the Windows host and it connects back to an attacker's C&C server where it receives commands to execute.
The fact that TrickBot has been ported to Linux is especially worrying since many IoT devices including routers, VPN devices and NAS devices run on Linux. Concerned Linux users can find out if they have been infected by looking for a log file at /tmp/anchor.log on their systems. If this file is found, users should perform a complete audit of their systems to search for the Anchor_Linux malware.
Via BleepingComputer
As countries around the world started providing Covid-19 contact tracing apps to their citizens, cybercriminals used this to their advantage to distribute Android malware, according to a new report from EclecticIQ and ThreatFabric.
Researchers from both companies as well others identified malicious Android apps that were disguised as the official contact tracing applications for Colombia, India, Singapore and Indonesia. Surprisingly, the sample from India was released just 13 days after the official Indian contact tracing app was made available on the Google Play Store.
After analyzing the samples, EclecticIQ and ThreatFabric found they used the commodity and open source malware SpyMax, SpyNote and Aymth. The attackers also repackaged applications with Metasploit to give them remote access trojan capabilities.
To distribute their malicious contact tracing apps, the cybercriminals relied on phishing links that were designed to trick users into installing their apps.
Based on the findings of EclecticIQ and ThreatFabric's report, it is almost certain that threat actors will continue to use commodity and open source-based malware disguised as legitimate contact tracing apps for financial gain.
The low barrier to entry provided by these tools combined with the continued rollout of contact tracing apps by countries around the world, presents a continued financial opportunity for cybercriminals into the near future.
Cyber threat intelligence specialist at ElecticIQ's Fusion Center, Peter Ferguson explained in a press release that users should only download Covid-19 contact tracing apps from official app stores, saying:
"Users should never download contact tracing android applications from links sent to them or from third party stores. If they are interested in downloading their nation's contact tracing application, they should use the official site or the Google Play Store."
Throughout the pandemic, cybercriminals have repeatedly tried to capitalize on the disruption it has caused worldwide by using Covid-19 as a lure to trick users into installing malware on their devices. They will likely continue to launch similar campaigns because of how successful they've been so far. This means that businesses and consumers need to remain vigilant when it comes to Covid-19-related threats and scams.
The Canon EOS R5 hasn't exactly had an easy ride since its launch a few weeks ago, with overheating criticism recently followed up by speculation that shipments have been delayed or that it could even be recalled. But Canon has poured cold water on these rumors with some official statements.
We asked Canon Australia and Canon UK for an official response to reports from Canon Rumors and EOSHD that it could delay the second shipment of Canon EOS R5 cameras, or even recall the mirrorless hybrid for a hardware fix, as speculated by Petapixel.
A Canon Australia spokesperson told us that it "can confirm that there have been no delays in local shipment, with the first local pre-order consumers collecting their EOS R5 units from local retailers starting from yesterday".
The spokesperson also went further, stating: "The EOS R5 has already started to ship in some countries – Australia is 100% one of them. Locally, we do have a lot of stock on back-order, however, due to the high number of pre-orders made. Any future timelines on shipping have no connection to speculation of overheating – we are simply working in the parameters of a supply chain affected by the global pandemic.”
While that doesn't specifically quell rumors that the second batch of EOS R5s could be delayed until November, it does suggest that any potential delays would be down to the knock-on effects of the pandemic, rather than any possible recall.
We're still waiting for a response from Canon UK, although a separate statement from Canon USA appears to have been issued to PetaPixel – it says: "Orders of the EOS R5 are scheduled to be delivered as initially stated at launch. The first set of cameras shipped from our warehouses this week. We eagerly await the content that will be produced by talented creatives using this camera to be shared with the world."
Again, this doesn't specifically address rumors, fueled by speculation from EOSHD about German retailers not receiving their EOS R5 allocations, that the camera's second shipment could be delayed. But it does at least suggest that early orders are being fulfilled and that no recall is currently being planned.
So where does this leave the Canon EOS R5? We'll no doubt get further clarification from Canon in the coming days or weeks, but despite the speculation nothing much has changed. The EOS R5 is currently out of stock (or 'backordered') in Canon's US, Australia and UK stores, and there are no dates yet for when the next units will be available.
Any speculation that the full-frame mirrorless flagship could be recalled also remains just that. Canon issued a statement that openly clarified the heat-related limitations of the EOS R5, and its need for 'recovery times' when pushed to its limits.
Such heat-related restrictions are also nothing new for cameras, particularly full-frame models with the EOS R5's video powers, which is why external recorders like the Atomos Ninja have become a common feature of filming setups.
We're in the process of testing the Canon EOS R5, so will be able to give our verdict on its relative strengths for video and stills soon. It also seems likely, as Canon Rumors has suggested, that a firmware update addressing the camera's heat management will be en route too.
Until then, we'll make sure we bring you any more official updates from Canon on when its mirrorless flagship is likely to be shipping again or available to order.
The Realme 6i will go on sale for the first time in India today. The device was launched in India last week. The Realme 6i is the third device in the Realme 6 series after the Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro.
Realme 6i will go on sale via Flipkart for the first time at 12 noon. The Realme 6i 4+64GB model is priced at Rs 12,999 and Rs 14,999 for the 6+64GB variant. It is available in Lunar White and Eclipse Black colour options.
Check out the Realme 6i on Flipkart
It flaunts a 6.5-inch Full HD+ screen with 90Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass protection. The screen aspect ratio is 20:9 and screen to body ratio is 90.5%. Under the hood, the device comes with an octa-core 12nm MediaTek G90T chipset clocked at 2.05 GHz and for graphics, you get ARM G76 GPU.
On to the optics, there is a 48MP quad-camera array with a 48MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, a 2MP portrait lens, and a 2MP macro lens. You get a 16MP punch-hole selfie camera. There’s support for HDR, nightscape, slow-mo, ultra-wide-angle video, 4K video recording with the rear camera. You get HDR selfie, slow-mo 120fps, nightscape, slow-mo video with the front camera.
The Realme 6i comes with a 4,300mAh battery with 30W flash charge via Type-C port. However, this time around Realme will be bundling a 20W charger inbox and the 30W charge can be bought separately from Realme e-store. It runs on Android 10 based on Realme UI out of the box.
Other key features of the device include a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, Dual SIM, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Check out the Realme 6i on Flipkart
Cancel all your plans, readers - Bey is back and she's got a new movie that's arguably the biggest release of 2020 so far. Beyonce's Black is King is a visual album that's both a reimagining of 2019's Lion King live-action film and a companion to the studio album that accompanied it - her very own The Gift. Black is King showcases a star truly at the height of her powers, so read on as we explain how to watch Black is King online and stream the latest Disney Plus exclusive today.
Black is King is exclusive to Disney Plus, where it's available globally from Friday, July 31. Stream it today by grabbing a Disney Plus subscription - it's super cheap, offers loads of great content, and it has a couple of awesome deals currently available. Head on over now or read on to find out more.
Despite Beyonce's global superstar status, not much is known about Black is King beyond a few cast reveals. These are pretty darn exciting, though, as the visual album stars not only the Queen, but also her former Destiny's Child partner-in-crime Kelly Rowland, husband Jay-Z, and frequent collaborator Pharrel Williams. That's in addition to featuring Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong'o, and Tina Knowles Lawson.
So, banging tunes would seem to be a given - but less is known about the film's narrative. However, promotional releases do give us a rough idea of what to expect, telling us that Black is King “reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns” and celebrates "the beauty of tradition and black excellence".
Filming took over a year across multiple locations, including South Africa, west Africa, Belgium, Los Angeles, New York and London, so it certainly sounds like it's going to be quite the spectacle. And as well as being released on July 31 for streaming on Disney Plus, it will also be aired in Africa the following day (Saturday, August 1) on M-Net and Canal+ Afrique.
Yep, this 100% falls into the 'can't miss' category of what to watch this weekend, so let's get to the nitty-gritty already. Follow our guide below as we explain where to watch Black is King online and stream Beyonce's new movie today. If you're short on time right now, here's a hint: get yourself a Disney Plus subscription and that's really all there is to it.
Get 2-months FREE Disney Plus with this deal
Since its initial November 2019 launch, Disney Plus has been rolled out across great swathes of the world. It’s available in the United States, the UK, much of mainland Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and most recently Japan, with the Nordics and Brazil next for their Disney fix. New customers just need to head to the Disney Plus website to subscribe and then you'll be able to watch Beyonce's Black is King as soon as it drops on July 31.
At just $6.99 / £5.99 / €6.99 a month, it’s a fantastically priced service. Not only do you have the entire Disney back catalogue – perfect for young kids and nostalgic adults – but a haul of films from 20th Century Studios, the entire Star Wars saga, Pixar’s animated movies, and all 30 seasons of The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Disney Plus had broadened its appeal with more adult content, including the smash-hit musical Hamilton and documentaries like Rogue Trip from National Geographic.
You’ll save 15% (that’s two months a year for FREE) if you take out an annual subscription, but the true TV devouring media-fiends among you will be even more tempted by the combined ESPN+, Hulu and Disney Plus bundle at the low price of $12.99 - three streaming services for the price of Netflix’s Standard plan. That’s enough entertainment to keep your entire household happy – live sports, cartoons, TV shows, and a plethora of must-see movies.View Deal
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Following on from the success of its Castlevania and The Witcher adaptations, Netflix is dipping its toes in the video game well once again, teaming up with Ubisoft for an anime series based on Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, as reported by Variety.
Netflix's Splinter Cell series will be written and executive produced by Derek Kolstad, who is best known for writing all three of the John Wick films.
Kolstad has some prior experience adapting video games, having written the screenplay for the announced Just Cause movie. Additionally, Kolstad has also contributed to the upcoming Falcon and Winter Solder series from Disney Plus.
While each party has declined to comment on the deal, Variety's sources have revealed that the series has received a two-season, 16-episode order from Netflix upfront, suggesting the service has an abundance of faith in the project.
The Splinter Cell franchise follows Sam Fisher, an ex-Navy SEAL who undertakes stealth-based missions for the NSA and who is rarely-seen without his night vision goggles.
At present, it's unknown whether Netflix's Splinter Cell series will feature hand-drawn animation (like the aforementioned Castlevania) or computer generated animation (such as Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045).
In the meantime, let us quietly hope that actor Michael Ironside (Total Recall, Starship Troopers) returns to lend his gravelly voice to Splinter Cell's lead character once again.
Click Frenzy’s Julove sales may be over but Amazon is keeping the sales period alive by slashing the price of the Bose QuietComfort 35 II to just AU$349.
The QuietComfort 35 II is among the best noise-canceling headphones you can find. This stylish and comfortable set of headphones also incorporates Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, allowing you to hear your messages without having to dig through your pocket or bag.
Battery life is amazing, too, with an impressive 20 hours of playback with noise cancellation turned on and listening set to medium sound level.
Currently discounted by AU$150.95, you can grab a pair of these headphones in White, Black or Rose Gold through Bose's official Amazon store.
Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones II | AU$349 (RRP AU$499.95; save AU$150.95)
The Bose QuietComfort 35 II is one of the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market and is currently on sale for a staggering 30% off. These headphones are incredibly comfortable and give you a sense of serenity by blocking out the outside hustle and bustle as you listen to your favourite tunes – they also have Google Assistance and Amazon Alexa support built-in for extra functionality. Grab yours today through Amazon in White, Black or Rose Gold and save AU$150.95. View Deal
The reception to Bronco 2021 — Ford’s flagship series of 4×4 vehicles that were revealed earlier this month — surpassed expectations of the company’s most optimistic initial projections, CEO Jim Hackett said in an earnings call Thursday.
More than 150,000 customers have plunked down $100 to reserve a spot to order one of the vehicles, according to Ford.
“We think this family of vehicles has big upside potential in the growing off-road category and this is a category with a leading OEM has not been seriously challenged until now,” Hackett said.
These are, of course, mere reservations, not actual orders. The deposits are refundable. Now, Ford is focused on the due diligence required to determine how many of these reservations will be converted to orders as it lay outs its manufacturing strategy for the brand.
The Ford Bronco 2 and Bronco 4 will be built at Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan. The Bronco Sport will be assembled at plant in Mexico. The company is now determining how many shifts to staff at each factory in order to match actual orders.
“There’s still a lot of work to do,” Ford COO Jim Farley said in a call with analysts Thursday. “But the mix is great.”
The Bronco is a brand that leans heavily on nostalgia, customization, functional design and technology, such as the automaker’s next-generation infotainment system and a digital trail mapping feature that lets owners plan, record and share their experiences via an app.
While the response to the Bronco has been palatable, there are a number of competitors also aiming to win over customers. GM released a video this week teasing its all-electric GMC Hummer. While the video was a promotional mashup of buzzwords, it also showed that GM had clearly identified Ford Bronco and Tesla Cybertruck as its main competitors. Then there’s electric upstart Rivian, which plans to start production of its EV pickup and SUV in 2021.
Autonomous vehicle technology startup Argo AI is valued at $7.5 billion, just a little more than three years after the company burst on the scene with a $1 billion investment from Ford.
The official valuation was confirmed Thursday nearly two months after VW Group finalized its $2.6 billion investment in Argo AI. Under that deal, Ford and VW have equal ownership stakes, which will be roughly 40% each over time. The remaining equity sits with Argo’s co-founders as well as employees. Argo’s board is comprised of two VW seats, two Ford seats and three Argo seats.
Ford’s announcement in February 2017 that it was investing in Argo AI surprised many. The startup was barely six months old when it was thrust into the spotlight. Its founders, Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, were known in the tight knit and often overlapping autonomous vehicle industry; prior to forming Argo, Salesky was director of hardware development at the Google self-driving project (now Waymo) and Rander was the engineering lead at Uber Advanced Technologies Group. But even those insiders who knew Salesky and Rander wondered what to make of the deal.
Since then, Argo has focused on developing the virtual driver system — all of the sensors, software and compute platform — as well as high-definition maps designed for Ford’s self-driving vehicles.
That mission now extends to VW Group as well. Ford and VW will share the cost of developing Argo AI’s self-driving vehicle technology under the terms of the deal. The Pittsburgh-based company also has offices in Detroit, Palo Alto and Cranbury, N.J. It has fleets of autonomous vehicles mapping and testing on public roads in Austin, Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
The investment by VW expands its workforce and operations to Europe. Autonomous Intelligent Driving (AID), the self-driving subsidiary that was launched in 2017 to develop autonomous vehicle technology for the VW Group, is being absorbed into Argo AI. AID’s Munich offices will become Argo’s European headquarters. In all, Argo now employs more than 1,000 people.
While the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles will be a long journey — a remark shared Thursday by Ford CEO Jim Hackett — the Argo investment has already provided the automaker with a short-term and timely gain.
The automaker said Thursday it netted $3.5 billion in the second quarter from selling some of its Argo equity to Volkswagen. That gain gave the automaker a one-time boost in its second-quarter earnings.
Ford posted a $1.1 billion profit in the second quarter, if the Argo transaction is counted. Ford lost $1.9 billion in the quarter before interest and taxes and one-time items. Ford reported a revenue of $19.4 billion, a 50% decrease from the same period in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused the company to idle its factories for weeks.
Still, the result could have been far worse. Ford had previously warned that it could post as much as a $5 billion net loss in the second quarter.
Despite these COVID-19 headwinds, Hackett said Ford is still committed to the long-term pursuit of AVs, a point reiterated by CFO Tim Stone, who said the automaker continues to make investments to commercialize its autonomous vehicle business, including product development, engineering and testing.
“The AV journey will be a long one, but Ford is now well positioned to run this race and compete like few others can,” Hackett added.
Microsoft is discounting the ultra-premium Surface Book 3 for the first time – and the offer is available for this weekend only, starting today (July 31) and ending August 3. While the discount across all configurations is only 15%, it’s a decent chunk of change off on a brand-new machine nonetheless.
Straight out of the box, the Surface Book 3 is a beautiful laptop and tablet hybrid. In our review, we found the detachable keyboard to be one of the most comfortable ones we’ve used for quite some time, and the touchscreen display is gorgeous.
The device comes in 13- and 15-inch variants, and we found the screen to be bright and vivid. All told, the Surface Book 3 is a great choice if you want a portable machine to binge watch your favourite TV shows or movies.
That said, if you’re looking for excellent speakers to listen to music on your 2-in-1, you may want to look elsewhere.
When it comes to specs, the Surface Book 3 is available with Intel’s latest 10th-gen processors – either i5 or i7. System memory is available up to 32GB, while solid-state storage goes up to a whopping 1TB.
Some configurations also have the choice of an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics card, which opens this versatile device up to creators looking to do some design work, or some light gaming when the work day is done.
If that sounds like the kind of device you’re after, the Surface Book 3 is now discounted directly from its maker for this weekend only, so don’t delay. The sale will be ending on August 3.
Microsoft Surface Book 3 | from AU$2,251.65 (15% off, save up to AU$713.85)
It's the first time this laptop has been discounted in Australia since it launched in May. So if you want a new device to do some design work at the desk or cosy up with on the couch, this Surface Book 3 is worth checking out. This 2-in-1 has a comfortable detachable keyboard and a touchscreen display so you can get the most out of it no matter where you are. Several configurations are available, and each model is discounted by 15%, with savings of up to AU$713.85 on offer. Available directly from Microsoft until August 3.View Deal
Japanese conglomerate Rakuten has pulled the plug on its U.S. online retail store, originally known as Buy.com, and will wind down its operations over the next two months, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The shutdown means that the US headquarters will lay off its staff as well, meaning 87 people will lose their jobs, according a source familiar with the developments.
“We have decided to sunset the U.S. Rakuten Marketplace,” a company representative said in an email to TechCrunch. They clarified, however, that the “cash back rewards” referral business the company operates at Rakuten.com (formely Ebates, which it bought for $1B in 2014) “is definitely not shutting down and is stronger than ever.”
Rakuten bought Buy.com for $250M back in 2010 in an attempt to expand its retail business out of its stronghold of Japan. Unfortunately the evolving market, aggressive growth (and targeting of rivals) at Amazon, and likely the choice to rebrand the once well-known site under the Rakuten name, all led to declining business. The original CEO and COO left in 2012.
Customers of the Rakuten US store will be able to place orders for the next two months, after which the site will shutter completely. Users of the rewards and commission business shouldn’t see any major changes, and other businesses (like the Kobo e-reading division) aren’t affected either.
It’s a blow to Rakuten, but hardly one that can have taken them by surprise. The company has diversified and invested in a large number of businesses and verticals around the world (even launching a cryptocoin), so the failure of a marketplace like this, while unfortunate (especially for those laid off), won’t be affecting their bottom line much at this point.
Google has added a slew of party games like Jeopardy! and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? for the Nest Hub Max and other smart displays.
The games are part of a new update for Google Assistant rolled out to the public on Thursday and accessible by saying the phrase, “Hey Google, let’s play a game”.
Besides the game show staples, you can find the mobile phone phenomenon Trivia Crack and Escape the Room, alongside Dustin from Stranger Things, a spin-off game from Netflix.
So why is Google releasing games on its Nest Hub Max and other smart displays? They help demonstrate Google Assistant’s new Continuous Match mode that allows you to have an on-going conversation with the assistant – and most have a freemium model that asks you to buy in-game items for a few bucks, so there’s a financial incentive too.
Admittedly, not all the new games are great and can be a bit rough around the edges, but Google says they’re just the first of many more games expected to arrive by the end of the year.
These mobile games are entertaining for a few minutes at a time, but wouldn't it be nice if Google enabled Stadia streaming on the Nest Hub Max?
While Google has made no announcement as to when we'll start seeing Stadia on more devices in the future, the service did just get a new feature a few days ago in the form of streaming on 4G/5G connections. That was something Google had promised for months, and now it's finally available in beta on most Android phones.
Of course, if you're waiting for new Google devices, we just learned that the Google Pixel 4a could be launching as early as August 3 thanks to an easy-to-crack puzzle.
In addition to protecting your privacy and blocking unwanted tracking online, one of the best reasons to use a VPN is to receive discounts you normally wouldn't.
By using a VPN while shopping online, you can save thousands when purchasing airline tickets and other items by changing your IP address to one in a different country. This is because airlines use local pricing, so a ticket in one country may be much cheaper than a ticket for the same flight in a different country.
However, some users have abused this trick to purchase games from a different country which has led the PC gaming giant Valve to update the account settings in its digital game store Steam. Steam also uses local pricing so buying a new PC game from Costa Rica for instance might cost $40 or $50 while purchasing the same game in the US would cost $60.
In a recent post on Twitter, SteamDB explained how Valve's new changes will prevent users from buying games while connected to a VPN server outside their home country, saying;
“Valve has recently made changing your store country more strict, which requires completing a purchase using a payment method from that country. This should hinder the ability of using VPNs to buy games cheaper.”
Going forward, Steam will now monitor which country is specified in a user's account settings and only show prices in that country's currency.
If a user moves to a new country or stays abroad for an extended period of time, they can only change their country setting after completing a purchase using a payment method from their new location. While this will certainly prevent users from pulling one over on Valve, it could potentially make life difficult for expats living abroad as obtaining a local bank account can sometimes be difficult.
In a support document on its website, Valve explains that using a VPN to disguise your location is against its ToS and could lead to restrictions being placed on your Steam account:
“No, using a proxy or VPN to disguise your location is strictly against the Steam Terms of Service and may result in restrictions on your Steam account. If you attempt to redeem a region restricted game and your location is inconsistent with your past Steam activity, a warning will appear.”
While you won't be able to use a VPN while shopping on Steam anymore, PC gamers can still benefit from the added security, ability to bypass geo-restrictions and other benefits that these services provide. If you don't have a VPN yet, we recommend checking out our complete list of the best gaming VPNs to find one that suits your needs.
Via GameIndustry.biz
Security researchers from Claroty have discovered multiple vulnerabilities that could be exploited to allow unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code while analyzing a number of popular remote access solutions used for Industrial Control Systems (ICS).
The vulnerabilities the researchers found affect VPN implementations that are used to provide remote access to operational technology (OT) networks.
Following Claroty's discovery and reporting of a critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2020-14511, in Moxa's EDR-G902 and EDR-G903 secure routers, the team then discovered that products from Secomea and HMS Networks also had severe flaws that could be exploited to gain full access to an organization's internal network without authentication.
Organizations utilize remote access servers to manage secure connections from outside their local networks. However, if an attacker manages to gain access to them, they can view internal traffic and even reach hosts on the network. In a report on its findings, Claroty provided further insight on why vulnerable remote access servers pose such a severe risk to organizations, saying:
“Vulnerable remote access servers can serve as highly effective attack surfaces for threat actors targeting VPNs. These tools allow clients to connect through an encrypted tunnel to a server. The server then forwards the communication into the internal network. This means the server is a critical asset in the network—as it has one “leg” in the internet, accessible to all, and one ”leg” in the secured, internal network—beyond all perimeter security measures. Thus, gaining access to it allows attackers to not only view internal traffic but also communicate as if they were a legitimate host within the network.”
Secomea GateManager is a widely used ICS remote access server that is deployed by organizations around the world. However, Sharon Brizinov and Tal Keren from the Claroty Research Team discovered that it contained multiple security flaws including a critical vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2020-14500, that affects the GateManager component.
If exploited, this bug could allow an attacker to achieve remote code execution without any authentication and grant them full access to a customer's internal network as well as the ability to decrypt all traffic that passes through the VPN. Thankfully though, Claroty notified Secomea of the issue and the firm issued a patch on July 10 to address the vulnerabilities.
Claroty also discovered a vulnerability that could lead to remote code execution in HMS Networks' eWon VPN. eWon allows remote clients to connect to it using a proprietary VPN client called eCatcher. Brizinov discovered that a vulnerability in eCatcher, tracked as CVE-2020-14498, could allow unauthenticated remote code execution. Just as it did with Secomea, Claroty informed HMS Networks of its discovery and the firm released a patch to address the bug on July 14.
Via BleepingComputer
One of the world's most iconic TV franchises is getting rebooted this year, with Muppets Now available to stream today on Disney Plus. The Muppets date all the way back to the 1950s and everyone's favorite vaudeville cartoon puppets became pop culture icons in the mid-to-late 70s , when the eponymous Muppet Show became a TV sensation. Will Muppets Now follow suit? Find out by following our guide as we explain how to watch Muppets Now online with Disney Plus.
Muppets Now is available to watch on Disney Plus from Friday, July 31 and new episodes will be released until the season 1 finale in September. Check out Disney Plus and start streaming today.
Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo have since been subject to all manner of spin-offs, revivals, and even something called 'diversification initiatives' over the years - an example of which apparently are concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and London's O2 Arena. Still, however ill-treated they've been at times by overzealous marketing reps, there's no denying they're one of TV's all-time greatest creations
The release date for Muppets Now on Disney Plus is Friday, July 31 - the same day you can watch Beyonce's Black is King for the first time - and it will be available everywhere the streaming service. That means the US, UK, most of Europe, Australia, and Canada are all covered, as are many other countries.
Unlike some streaming-only shows that drop all their episodes at once, the new Muppets series will use a traditional weekly release schedule - meaning the season 1 finale is provisionally due to land on Friday, September 4.
Where the Muppet Show spoofed on 70s television mainstays like Ed Sullivan and Sonny & Cher, Muppets Now is expected to take aim at YouTube, reality TV, and other very 2020 institutions. Read on for full details of how to watch Muppets Now and stream the new show online. Spoiler alert: all you need is a great value Disney Plus subscription.
Get 2-months FREE Disney Plus with this deal
Since its initial November 2019 launch, Disney Plus has been rolled out across great swathes of the world. It’s available in the United States, the UK, much of mainland Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and most recently Japan, with the Nordics and Brazil next for their Disney fix. New customers just need to head to the Disney Plus website to subscribe.
At just $6.99 / £5.99 / €6.99 a month, it’s a fantastically priced service. Not only do you have the entire Disney back catalogue – perfect for young kids and nostalgic adults – but a haul of films from 20th Century Studios, the entire Star Wars saga, Pixar’s animated movies, and all 30 seasons of The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Disney Plus had broadened its appeal with more adult content, including the smash-hit musical Hamilton and documentaries like Rogue Trip from National Geographic.
You’ll save 15% (that’s two months FREE a year) with an annual subscription. But the TV devouring media-fiends among you might be tempted by the combined ESPN+, Hulu and Disney Plus bundle at the low price of $12.99. That's three streaming services for the price of a Netflix standard plan and a truly great deal.
AMD has revealed that its first GPU designed specifically for computing and based on CDNA architecture will become available later this year. Being developed primarily for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the new Radeon Instinct will compete against Nvidia’s recently launched A100 GPU based on the Ampere architecture.
Having realized early enough that GPUs for AI and HPC require support for features and instructions that are not necessarily needed by consumers, Nvidia has launched several datacenter-specific GPUs that have been adopted by hundreds AI and HPC-oriented machines. To that end, the multi-billion dollar GPU computing market is largely dominated by Nvidia today.
AMD released its first datacenter GPU — the GCN-based Vega II — back in late 2018 and while the unit has not been as successful as parts from Nvidia, it is currently used by multiple cloud service providers and HPC customers.
AMD’s next attempt on the server GPU front embraces its new CDNA architecture that is tailored primarily for AI as well as HPC and therefore promises to be a better fit for respective customers. AMD expects to launch its first CDNA-based Radeon Instinct MI100 GPU in the second half of the year.
“We expect [datacenter GPU] revenue to increase in the second half of the year, as additional cloud-based visual computing wins ramp and we launch our new CDNA data center GPU architecture optimized for next generation exascale and machine learning workloads,” said Lisa Su, chief executive of AMD.
AMD’s first CDNA GPU reportedly derives from the Vega II (GCN 1.5) processor, features new vector ALUs, Bfloat16 support, and is codenamed Arcturus. The company does not project its first CDNA GPU to significantly contribute to its revenues in 2020. AMD says that its datacenter GPUs will become a significant growth opportunity in 2021 and beyond, which is not surprising as such processors will be used in the upcoming Frontier and El Capitan supercomputers.
“We see [datacenter GPUs] as a multi-year opportunity, but it is not a big revenue contributor here in 2020,” said Su. “But we see growth opportunity as we go into 2021 and beyond.”
With Samsung expected to unveil its highly anticipated Galaxy Fold 2 alongside the Galaxy Note 20 at its virtual Unpacked event next week, it was only a matter of time before some official-looking renders leaked online.
That leak has come courtesy of MySmartPrice, which claims to have received the images of the supposed device from a trusted (yet undisclosed) source, showing a number of massive improvements for the second-generation model.
The images show the purported Galaxy Fold successor from several angles and in black and bronze color variants – the same colors shown off in numerous leaks of Samsung's Galaxy Note 20 – you can see the rest of the alleged Galaxy Fold 2 renders over at MySmartPrice's website.
Based on what we can ascertain from the leaked images, it appears that Samsung has addressed two of the biggest criticisms of the original Galaxy Fold, namely its small outer display and huge interior notch.
The leaked images show an updated Galaxy Fold with a full-size outer display with minimal bezels, making the device look more like a traditional phone when closed, along with a tiny pinhole camera positioned at the upper right side of the interior display.
Additionally, the renders show an updated triple camera on the device's rear, appearing in an identical array to what we've seen from leaks of Samsung's standard Note 20.
What's unknown is whether Samsung has opted to upgrade the flimsy plastic display that featured in the original Galaxy Fold to the vastly superior flexible glass from the sturdier Galaxy Z Flip.
As with any leak, the renders shouldn't be considered final until Samsung itself officially unveils them. Thankfully, we won't have to wait long – the Galaxy Fold 2 will likely be revealed alongside the Galaxy Note 20 on August 5, 2020.
Update(July 30): Poco M2 Pro will go on sale again today noon on Flipkart.
The Poco M2 Pro is all set to go on sale for the first time today. The device was announced last week in India as one of the cheapest Poco device powered by Snapdragon 720G SoC.
The Poco M2 Pro It will be available on Flipkart starting 12 noon. Since it’s going on sale for the first time, there will be some demand for the device so, it’s better if you head to the sale page a few minutes before the sale starts.
It comes in three configurations: 4+64GB, 6+64GB, and 6+128GB. which will be available for Rs 13,999, Rs 14,999, and Rs 16,999 respectively.
Check out Poco M2 Pro on Flipkart
The Poco M2 Pro features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ IPS LCD screen with a punch-hole camera placed at the centre of the screen. It brings a familiar design with a Gorilla Glass 5 sandwich that protects the front, back as well as the camera. Under the hood, the device is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 720G processor and Adreno 618 GPU. The device is available in three configurations: 4+64GB, 6+64GB, and 6+128GB. You also get a MicroSD card slot.
On to the optics, the M2 Pro offers a quad-camera array with ba 48MP primary snapper with f/1.79, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro lens, and a 2MP depth sensor. Over at the front, you get a 16MP shooter. You can record up to 4K videos with the rear camera and the front camera supports night mode capture too.
It is backed by a big 5,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging over USB Type-C port. This makes the device one of teh fasting charging phones in the segment. Other features include P2i splash-resistant, MIUI 11with Poco launcher 2.0 on top a side-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Colour options include Two Shades of Black, Out of the Blue, and Green and Greener.
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