Month: January 2025

Intel’s new Twin Lake processors are basically Alder Lake-N chips with support for slightly higher CPU and GPU frequencies. So it’s unsurprising that PC makers who were already offering systems with Intel Alder Lake-N chips are now offering Twin Lake versions of those same systems. We’ve seen a number of Alder Lake-N mini PCs updated […]

The post This mini ITX NAS board with up to Intel Core 3 N355 has four 2.5 GbE LAN ports, 6 SATA connectors, and two M.2 2280 slots appeared first on Liliputing.

Cell phones are magnets for our attention, but you can, of course, face significant legal jeopardy for giving them that attention. Just ask the "safety driver" of an Uber self-driving vehicle, which hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona in 2018. According to authorities, the driver was watching The Voice on Hulu just before the crash—and was then charged with negligent homicide.

These kinds of cases are always tragic because they feel so easily avoidable, but they also happen with enough regularity that it's easy to tune them out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,308 people were killed by distracted drivers in 2022 alone—and "texting is the most alarming distraction."

That's why states continue to crack down on cell phone use while driving. A Colorado law that went into effect on January 1, for instance, bans a driver from using any mobile electronic device unless it is hands-free. Thirty US states now have such bans in place.

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Taking action in the final days of the Biden administration, the Federal Communications Commission dismissed three complaints and a petition filed against broadcast television stations. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the action is important because "the incoming President has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage."

"Today, I have directed the FCC to take a stand on behalf of the First Amendment," she said. "We draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever. The action we take makes clear two things. First, the FCC should not be the president's speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism's censor-in-chief."

President-elect Donald Trump's chosen replacement for Rosenworcel, Commissioner Brendan Carr, wants the FCC to punish news broadcasters that he perceives as being unfair to Trump or Republicans in general. Backing Trump's various complaints about news stations, Carr has threatened to revoke licenses by wielding the FCC's authority to ensure that broadcasters using public airwaves operate in the public interest.

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Taking action in the final days of the Biden administration, the Federal Communications Commission dismissed three complaints and a petition filed against broadcast television stations. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the action is important because "the incoming President has called on the Federal Communications Commission to revoke licenses for broadcast television stations because he disagrees with their content and coverage."

"Today, I have directed the FCC to take a stand on behalf of the First Amendment," she said. "We draw a bright line at a moment when clarity about government interference with the free press is needed more than ever. The action we take makes clear two things. First, the FCC should not be the president's speech police. Second, the FCC should not be journalism's censor-in-chief."

President-elect Donald Trump's chosen replacement for Rosenworcel, Commissioner Brendan Carr, wants the FCC to punish news broadcasters that he perceives as being unfair to Trump or Republicans in general. Backing Trump's various complaints about news stations, Carr has threatened to revoke licenses by wielding the FCC's authority to ensure that broadcasters using public airwaves operate in the public interest.

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Er war einer der großen Visionäre des Kinos, ein Filmemacher, der sich und andere herausforderte - mit Werken wie Eraserhead, Twin Peaks und Dune. Ein Nachruf von Peter Osteried (Filme & Serien, Film)

Google has added AI features to its regular Workspace accounts for business while slightly raising the baseline prices of Workspace plans.

Previously, AI tools in the Gemini Business plan were a $20 per seat add-on to existing Workspace accounts, which had a base cost of $12 per seat without. Now, the AI tools are included for all Workspace users, but the per-seat base price is increasing from $12 to $14.

That means that those who were already paying extra for Gemini are going to pay less than half of what they were—effectively $14 per seat instead of $32. But those who never used or wanted Gemini or any other newer features under the AI umbrella from Workspace are going to pay a little bit more than before.

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The battery system on an electric car can either charge—from regenerative braking or an external power supply—or discharge—powering the EV's motor(s) or supplying that power via so-called vehicle-to-load. As a rule, it can't do both at once, but General Motors has some thoughts about that. The patent analysis site CarMoses spotted a recent GM patent application for a system that is capable of charging and discharging simultaneously.

The patent describes a "charging system" with a pair of charging ports. One is for drawing power from an external source, just like every other EV. The second charge port is connected to a bi-directional charger, and the battery management system is able to charge the battery pack from the first port while also supplying power from the second port.

That second port could be used to charge another battery, including the battery of another EV, and the patent includes an illustration of three EVs daisy-chained to each other.

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Microsoft has two announcements for subscribers to its Microsoft 365 Personal and Family plans today. First, you're getting the Copilot-powered AI features that Microsoft has been rolling out to businesses and Copilot Pro subscribers, like summarizing or generating text in Word, drafting slideshows in PowerPoint based on a handful of criteria, or analyzing data in Excel. Second, you'll be paying more for the privilege of using those features, to the tune of an extra $3 a month or $30 a year.

This raises the price of a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription from $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year to $9.99 and $99.99; a family subscription goes from $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year to $12.99 a month or $129.99 a year. For current subscribers, these prices go into effect the next time your plan renews.

Current subscribers are also being given an escape hatch "for a limited time." "Classic" Personal and Family plans at the old prices with no Copilot features included will still be offered, but you'll need to go to the "services & subscriptions" page of your Microsoft account and attempt to cancel your existing subscription to be offered the discounted pricing.

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SpaceX plans to launch the seventh full-scale test flight of its massive Super Heavy booster and Starship rocket Thursday afternoon. It's the first of what might be a dozen or more demonstration flights this year as SpaceX tries new things with the most powerful rocket ever built.

There are many things on SpaceX's Starship to-do list in 2025. They include debuting an upgraded, larger Starship, known as Version 2 or Block 2, on the test flight preparing to launch Thursday. The one-hour launch window opens at 5 pm EST (4 pm CST; 22:00 UTC) at SpaceX's launch base in South Texas. You can watch SpaceX's live webcast of the flight here.

SpaceX will again attempt to catch the rocket's Super Heavy booster—more than 20 stories tall and wider than a jumbo jet—back at the launch pad using mechanical arms, or "chopsticks," mounted to the launch tower. Read more about the Starship Block 2 upgrades in our story from last week.

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The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid game console designed to be used as either a handheld or while docked to your TV. Since launching in 2017, it’s become one of the best-selling game consoles ever. Now Nintendo is getting ready to launch its next game console… and it looks like the company has no plans to […]

The post Nintendo Switch 2 is coming this year, with a bigger screen, updated design, and backward compatibility appeared first on Liliputing.