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Anker announces Soundcore Liberty 5 wireless earbudsThey launched today: May 7, 2025They cost $129.99 / £99.99 / AU$169.99 but boast premium features

Anker has just launched a brand new pair of affordable wireless earbuds: the Anker Soundcore Liberty 5, and just like their predecessors they look like a cheap way to access premium features.The Liberty 5 buds boast some useful features including active noise cancellation, an 12-hour battery life with active noise-cancellation (ANC), which can be extended up to 32 more hours with their charging case.The new buds also offer improved bass performance thanks to dual bass-enhancing tubes that amplify the low frequencies resonance while increasing air flow, which according to Anker leads to more powerful, yet balanced, bass reproduction.What’s more if you’re using an Android device you can access higher quality audio transmission via LDAC – so you should find your audio sounds more complete than it does on non-LDAC earbuds.If you like the sound of these new earbuds they’re available to buy right now on Amazon.com, Soundcore.com, and from select retailers for $129.99 / £99.99 / AU$169.99.

(Image credit: Anker)

This means the buds aren’t quite as affordable as other recent cheap wireless earbuds like Panasonic’s new RB-F10 over-ear headphones, but with a premium suite of features a higher price is to be expected.We haven’t been able to test these earbuds yet, but previous Anker audio products scored well; we gave the Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro three-and-a-half stars, and the older Anker Soundcore Liberty Air buds earned four stars – though both could have been better.The more recent Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 buds (which we haven’t tested) appeared to score well with reviewers, though you may find you’ll want to wait and see how well the latest Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 buds fare before you buy them – or maybe wait for a discount to make their $129.99 / £99.99 / AU$169.99 asking price is even more affordable.

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beWanted, a major European job seeker platform, kept an open Google database onlineDatabase contained more than 1.1 million records, mostly CVs and resumesData belonged to people all over the world, and could now be at risk

A major European employment platform was reportedly leaking sensitive data from as many as a million users, researchers have claimedCybernews has revealed its researchers discovered an unprotected Google Cloud Storage (GCS) bucket belonging to beWanted, described as “one of the largest employment platforms in Europe”.The bucket contained more than 1.1 million files, mostly CVs and resumes belonging to job seekers, from people all over the world, including Spain, Argentina, Guatemala, Honduras, and more.

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That being said, anyone that might have found the database beforehand would obtain people’s full names, phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, dates of birth, national ID numbers, nationalities, places of birth, social media links, employment history, and educational background.This is more than enough information to run bespoke phishing, identity theft, or wire fraud attacks. Job openings are often the topic in phishing emails, and knowing the identities of people looking for a new position presents a unique opportunity for cybercriminals to create convincing phishing emails.Through those, they could deliver malware, steal login credentials, break into their current employers’ IT network, and more.Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, with offices in Mexico, Germany, and the UK, beWanted is described as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) enabled business, connecting job seekers with potential employers.Cybernews’ researchers said they tried contacting beWanted and getting the company to lock the database down, but the firm never responded to any of their inquiries. As a result, “the data remains publicly accessible,” they said.The team discovered the unprotected GCS bucket in November 2024, so it’s been sitting wide open on the internet for at least half a year now.Anyone who knew where to look (by using specialized search engines like, for example, Shodan) could have found it already. However, without forensic analysis, it’s impossible to determine if that already happened or not.

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Qualcomm's trio of new commercials humously take on Intel-based laptops and make a seemingly salient point: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series chips will run at max performance even unplugged, while Intel-based systems will only operate at 55%. But there's some nuance in there that makes these claims somewhat less than clear-cut.While two of the ads, "The Max Performance You Deserve," and "Office Tripped," lean heavily into humor to make their case, the first ad, "What's the Intel?", is more pointed and uses the line, “Here’s a little intel on what’s really inside"Clever, right? Qualcomm squeezed the brand name and the "Intel Inside" marketing campaign into one well-crafted dig.

It's in this ad where Qualcomm clearly lays out its core premise, stating that the SnapDragon X Elite PC "runs at max performance when it's unplugged." The ad then shows the Intel-based system and says, "that PC drops to as little as 55%".Another ad, "The Max Performance You Deserve," focuses on the humor of asking people in various situations to "give 55%" of performance of love, of a bonus, of devotion to a country. The video does close with a Qualcomm rep telling a consumer, "Yup, PCs powered by Intel can cut performance up to 55% when unplugged, but with Snapdragon X Series, max performance when unplugged."The last ad, "Office Tripped," shows how "when PC's powered by Intel perform at 55% when unplugged, it's like your whole team does." The ad comically depicts employees half-dressed, tables with half their legs gone, and signage half-lit. You get the idea.

A measure of what?

Of course, at no point in any of these ads does Qualcomm say that 55% of Intel's performance is worse than Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Series max performance. In fact, based on the systems they used to come up with those numbers, I'm not sure they could.In the fine print, Qualcomm explains the numbers came from a Cinebench 2024 Multi Core benchmark run in Windows 11. The Qualcomm system was a Dell XPS 13 with a Snapdragon Elite running at 3.8Hz (unless it's been overclocked to 4.3GHz). It's compared against a Dell XPS 13 running an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V, which is Intel's top-of-the-line Ultra processor running at 5.1 GHz.Considering Qualcomm chose a system running Intel's most powerful Ultra processor, it might be difficult to draw direct comparisons to the Snapdragon X Elite chip.Of course, that's not really what Qualcomm did here. There are no direct performance comparisons. Instead, this is just a measure of how the systems, or rather the CPUs, perform when unplugged. The Intel system slows down its high-end Core Ultra 9 to, I bet, Core Ultra 5 processor-level performance.I would be curious to see what sort of performance hit an Intel Core Ultra 5 (245T) takes when unplugged. It might perform at something far higher than 55%, if not "max" performance.

Sure, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Series ads are cutting and funny, but I'm not sure they're entirely fair to Intel. I want my laptops to maintain as much performance as possible when unplugged, but I also want them to maintain battery life.Higher performing chips will draw more power, and the system, depending on how Intel and OEMs configure it, knows enough to reduce that power draw when you unplug the laptop.Snapdragon X Series CPUs were built with mobile in mind. They run at a lower GHz than the fastest-performing X86 chips, and with a lower power draw, of course, they do a better job of maintaining max power.In general, I love the mobile chip in laptops and desktops revolution that was kicked off by Apple Silicon. These mobile SoCs (system on chips) have transformed mobile computing and are a net positive for consumers and the industry, but let's not cloud the issue with ads that seem to make a direct comparison when, in fact, they really don't.

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Mother's Day is coming up quick. If you're still trying to figure out a good gift, we have some ideas. Here at Engadget, our minds reflexively focus on tech. While it's true an electronic gadget might not be the “traditional” Mother’s Day gift — just about every mom we know would prefer a cool new piece of tech over a short-lived bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates. A number of us collaborated on this guide, filling it with gadgets and services we've tested, used, or even given to the moms in our own lives. Thanks to speedy shipping times (particularly from Amazon), many of these gifts should arrive by Sunday. There are also a couple of subscriptions that you can buy truly last minute if your gifting process comes down to the wire.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-last-minute-mothers-day-gifts-17-gadgets-and-subscriptions-that-should-arrive-by-sunday-131533688.html?src=rss

When we think about gifts that moms will appreciate, the idea of "time" comes up a lot. If you can give the mom in your life a few hours back to do whatever — relaxing, creating, or getting things done— do that. The next best thing is a device that'll help mom make the most of her time. We've rounded up some clever gadgets and useful gear that we've tried out ourselves, so we can confirm they're worthwhile. Our favorite air fryer will save time in the kitchen, a quality style-dryer could make her morning routine more efficient, and one of our favorite smartwatches will literally mark the minutes for her. We also suggest a subscription to The New York Times Games, to help make the most of precious downtime.

Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-tech-gifts-for-mom-that-shell-appreciate-for-the-rest-of-2025-130044756.html?src=rss

Shazam is launching a new global playlist and a version for 42 nations'Viral Chart' will update daily with tracks that are on the rise from Shazam's unique sourcesIt'll include the tracks that users are identifying with Shazam

Shazam already offers several different charts to track popular songs and the most discovered ones for many countries across the globe. And yes, many of those tracks are likely ones that users – maybe even you – have identified with Shazam on your phone.I mean, we’ve all been there, when we’re out and a song hits, that we can’t quite remember the name of, but we really need to know what it is. That’s where Shazam still hits as an excellent music recognition app.Now, though, it wants to do a better job tracking the music of the moment and the various feeds that could mean a new number-one hit is coming. The Shazam Viral Charts are launching today and are available right now on Shazam’s site and as a playlist on Apple Music.

(Image credit: Future)

The collection will consist of an updated daily ‘Global’ playlist with 50 tracks and 42 national charts with 25 songs each. Shazam’s twist here is that it will use unique signals, which likely include what people are recognizing with the app, to highlight and recognize popular, up-and-coming, or classic songs that are on the rise.Shazam is a bit cheeky in the Viral Chart description, noting that it’s not just what is trending on TikTok but taking a full view of the landscape. It says that it will track and identify the songs that are gaining popularity across “streaming, social, and TV placements,” but also tracks that are played in spaces like bars and restaurants.That’s a lot to track—but then again, it’s likely using data that Shazam already has. It also suggests that Shazam’s Viral Charts will feature a mixture of old and new songs across all genres.If you’re keen to listen to a wide variety of music or curious about what songs might be gaining streams in a specific location, Shazam’s Viral Charts are likely worth a try.You can view and listen to song previews on the platform’s site under ‘charts,’ but considering Apple owns Shazam, it’s also no surprise that these are integrated as playlists you can follow on the music streaming platform.

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Spotify has announced some new app features, including a 'Snooze' buttonThis lets you ban a track from your recommendations for 30 daysIt, along with other new features, is being tested with Premium users

Spotify has been busy making small tweaks to its mobile app, like finally giving you the option to disable its Smart Shuffle feature – and it's just announced several more, including a potential godsend addition called '30-day Snooze'.While Spotify's music algorithm is one of the things that's kept me with the music streaming service for over a decade, it also has infuriating blind spots, like continually recommending the same song across automated playlists like Discover Weekly or Smart Shuffle.The new '30-Day Snooze' button is designed to fix this, letting you temporarily remove a track from your recommendations (without completely eradicating it from your musical life). Unfortunately, Spotify is only "starting to test this for Premium users" but says it's "planning to bring it to more listeners soon".30-Day Snooze will be a bonus option among the tracks that you've chosen to 'hide' from playlists – this is done by tapping the three dots next to a song and hitting 'Hide in this playlist'. The 'Snooze' feature will give you a "don't suggest this song anywhere for 30 days" option, which will apply to all personalized playlists.If the feature hasn't rolled out to you yet, Spotify has pushed out some other new tweaks to keep you happy while you wait. The Queue button (the three lines in the bottom-right of the 'Now Playing' view) now gives you handy shortcuts to Shuffle, Smart Shuffle, Repeat, and Sleep Timer.In a tweak related to 30-Day Snooze, Spotify will also now show you the recommended songs it plans to play at the end of your queue, so you can eject any unwanted ones in advance. Spotify's 'Hide' button is also now more powerful – when you tap it, the song will be hidden from that playlist across all your devices, not just the one you're listening on.

Training the algorithm

For Premium subscribers, the Queue section in the 'Now Playing' view (above) now has shortcuts to Shuffle, Smart Shuffle, Repeat and the Sleep Timer. (Image credit: Spotify)

These changes are an admission from Spotify that its algorithms don't always get everything right, and I can definitely see myself using 30-Day Snooze when it eventually reaches my Premium account.For some reason, Spotify has persistently recommended Yo La Tengo's 'Autumn Sweater' across all of my automated playlists. Despite it being the least offensive song ever committed to recorded music, the opening drums now send me into a mild fit of rage, even though it's a perfectly pleasant track.It's my prime candidate for a 30-Day Snooze, and others on the TechRadar team have enthusiastically submitted theirs, including Mk.gee's 'Are You Looking Up' after an unfortunate incident where our team's shared playlist was remotely co-opted by our cameras editor's son.One other new feature I'll likely use to escape the algorithm is a tweak to 'Liked Songs'. It's now possible to use this to build playlists: tap on a genre in the 'Liked Songs' playlist, and you'll now see a new 'Make this a playlist' option.We may still not have Spotify HiFi (will it ever arrive?), while both price hikes and optional add-ons are seemingly on the cards – but at least Spotify is still making small, free improvements to save us from persistent earworms.

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Google is once again crossing the great divide between rival tech giants, at least with artificial intelligence. The company has launched a dedicated iPad app for its Gemini AI assistant. In addition to natively running on Apple hardware, Gemini's iPad app can take advantage of the tablet's split view, so that the AI assistant is open on the screen at the same time as another program for easier use. The app is available today from the App Store in all countries where Gemini is currently available.

Gemini has been a huge focus for Google's recent announcements as it works to put its service in front of more and more potential users. iPhones got their first native Gemini app last November. The company recently introduced a program for children to explore the AI assistant and it opened the Deep Research capability to all Gemini users. With Google I/O 2025 right around the corner, it's a safe bet that we'll be hearing about more features and integrations for the AI assistant later this month.

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Backblaze B2 Overdrive delivers up to 1 Tbps for AI without sky-high pricing headachesBackblaze includes egress, read, and write in one priceDesigned for AI and HPC, B2 Overdrive redefines performance at petabyte scale

American cloud storage company Backblaze has launched a new B2 Overdrive tier designed to support AI, HPC, and other high-bandwidth workloads.With prices starting at $15 per terabyte and sustained network throughput of up to 1Tbps, the service positions itself as an affordable option for businesses handling massive data volumes.B2 Overdrive includes storage, read (Get), write (Put), and egress at a single price point. This contrasts with the tiered and often unpredictable pricing models used by competitors.

Takes aim at AWS with a bold alternative

The service is available immediately to customers with multi-petabyte workloads. It complements Backblaze’s existing B2 cloud storage tier, priced at $6 per terabyte per month.That basic tier includes features like object lock immutability and a 99.9% uptime SLA and is often listed among the best cloud backup services for small businesses or individual users.B2 Overdrive, by contrast, is aimed at organizations working at scale. According to Backblaze, it delivers 100% performance at roughly one-fifth the cost of AWS S3 and includes free egress up to three times the average monthly storage amount, with additional egress priced at $0.01 per GB.The tier is built on disk-based infrastructure and connects directly to customer environments via secure private networking. It enables data to move freely to GPU clouds or high-performance compute clusters without incurring egress charges.Backblaze says B2 Overdrive is intended for use cases such as AI and machine learning training, inference, large-scale analytics, media processing, and research computing.Unlike most public cloud storage providers that emphasize latency, Backblaze focuses on sustained throughput.Among major US providers - AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and Oracle - Backblaze is the only one to publish throughput numbers directly.Though not a general-purpose solution, B2 Overdrive may appeal to businesses seeking performance and pricing transparency.While not commonly used for photo management, its affordability and expandable storage could make it a contender for archival photo storage as well.“With B2 Overdrive, we’re challenging the industry’s assumption that organizations must pay colossal prices for colossal performance. We’ve engineered a solution that delivers the sustained high-throughput organizations need, without the egress fees and complex pricing tiers that are pervasive among legacy providers,” said Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman.Via Blocksandfiles

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Diminished tech privacy appears to be another ripple effect from Trump 2.0. The Information reported on Wednesday that Meta has changed its tune on facial recognition. After considering but ultimately bailing on the technology for the first version of its smart glasses, the company is now actively working on wearables that can identify nearby faces. Remember when being a "Glasshole" was considered a faux pas?

According to The Information, Meta has recently discussed adding software to its smart glasses that scans bystanders' faces and identifies people by name. The company has also reportedly considered adding the tech to future AI-powered earphones with built-in cameras.

Facial recognition tech would be part of a Meta feature dubbed internally as "super sensing." The feature would build on the glasses' live AI feature, which can only remain active for around half an hour (thanks to its battery). But in future devices, expected in 2026, it could run for hours.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The Information says the super-sensing mode wouldn't likely be the default mode for the glasses. The glasses owner would have to opt in. But the person's nearby company — those having their faces scanned and named — wouldn't.

Making matters worse, bystanders might not even know they're being scanned. The current Ray-Ban Meta glasses turn on a light while recording. It's a privacy-focused feature likely spawned from Big Tech's lessons from the Google Glass social backlash.

But Meta is reportedly questioning whether future glasses should activate the light when the device is "super-sensing" them. Uh oh.

Putting on a pair of glasses that gives you AI-powered superhuman memory might sound pretty cool. No need to remember things — just let the AI scan your environment and remind you! But the tech sounds a lot less fun when you think about the poor souls in proximity to one of these, uh, Metaholes.

Karissa Bell for Engadget

Alongside the revival of facial recognition, Meta has updated its privacy policies. In April, the company changed its terms so that its current smart glasses will activate AI by default. The only way to opt out is to deactivate the "Hey Meta!" trigger phrase. Adding to the fun is a change that no longer lets glasses owners opt out of allowing the company to store and train on their voice recordings.

The Information draws a line from Trump's reelection to Meta's ethically dubious changes. The current Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn't keen on regulations that slow big businesses' profits. Last month, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak promised a "flexible, risk-based approach to privacy enforcement." The agency has also stopped using labels like "surveillance advertising."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/meta-is-reportedly-working-on-facial-recognition-for-its-ai-glasses-195502788.html?src=rss

Apple is reportedly looking to make AI tools the default search option for SafariGoogle is the current default search engine for Safari in a $20B-a-year dealApple sees the AI as possibly more appealing to users for search purposes

Apple is flirting with the idea of making AI tools the default search option for Safari instead of Google. As first reported by Bloomberg, Apple’s services chief Eddy Cue revealed during testimony this week in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust trial against Google that Apple is “actively looking at” bringing AI-powered search engines as a Google replacement.Apple and Google currently have a mutually beneficial and lucrative deal where Google pays Apple around $20 billion a year to remain the default search engine across all Apple devices. That deal was part of the antitrust scrutiny, which led to the revelation of Apple's interest in alternatives.Eddy Cue mentioned several major AI chatbot developers as potential new search partners for Apple, including OpenAI, Perplexity, Anthropic, and xAI. Cue told the court that searches on Safari actually declined last month for the first time in recent memory, and his theory is that people are starting to swap out standard search engines for AI tools. Instead of typing in “how does Wi-Fi work?” into a search bar, users are asking ChatGPT to explain it like they’re five.Cue wasn’t exactly subtle in hinting that Apple thinks traditional search might be on the way out. "The only way you truly have true competition is when you have technology shifts," he said. “AI is a new technology shift, and it’s creating new opportunities for new entrants.”

Apple AI search

Apple’s already dipped its toes into AI search, linking Siri to ChatGPT and supposedly planning to do the same with Google Gemini. Cue also noted that Apple’s open to adding multiple AI search options directly into Safari, though no decision about a new default was mentioned.AI search tools have some good points, but they come with glaring weaknesses. In particular, they can respond with incomplete, inaccurate, or downright hallucinatory information. Whether those issues are worth the advantages of AI search tools is debatable, but Apple clearly thinks it might be a worthwhile change to make. After all, if people are okay switching from Google to AI tools because they're easier, and despite their errors, that's the direction any company would want to follow.And there's a reason Google has been willing to pay so much for its status on Apple devices. That user base is crucial to its search dominance. Just hinting that it might not be the case forever sent Google’s stock dropping nearly 9% after Cue’s testimony. Apple shares slipped too, but much more modestly.None of this may matter if Apple decides it has a good thing with Google as a company and makes Gemini its default search tool with a similar deal. And while AI still can’t quite be trusted to write a college essay or navigate the DMV website, it's already reshaping how we expect to interact with information. That means the tools we use to access that information are going to evolve in a way they haven't since perhaps the widespread adoption of mobile versions of websites.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned the National Weather Service of possible attacks from an armed conspiracy group targeting Doppler radar stations, according to a report from CNN. The group, Veterans on Patrol, is going after government radars because it believes they're being used as "weather weapons."

CNN learned of the possible attacks through NOAA emails warning NWS staff that Veterans on Patrol was planning to conduct "penetration drills on NEXRAD sites to identify weaknesses," with the ultimate goal of destroying NEXRAD. Despite its cooler-than-average name, the NWS uses NEXRAD or "Next Generation Weather Radar" for a fairly mundane purpose: detecting precipitation in the atmosphere. NEXRAD plays a vital role in locating thunderstorms and tornados, making it easier to evacuate vulnerable communities before disaster strikes.

It's not clear what Veterans on Patrol sees as threatening about radar — the group was previously focused on white nationalism and Pizzagate-style government conspiracies — but concern over the effects of being exposed to radio waves is a common bugbear for conspiracy-types. For example, groups set fire to cell towers early in the COVID-19 pandemic because of a belief that 5G somehow spread the virus. Viewing radar as a weapon could originate from some similar misconceptions.

NWS staff have been advised to use the buddy system when working at remote radar sites and report anything suspicious to the authorities. Even without the threat of physical violence, though, the NWS and NOAA at large have already been devastated in 2025. Hundreds of weather forecasters were fired because of the cuts made by the Trump administration, just one of many attempts to dismantle government services.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/noaa-warns-staff-a-militia-group-thinks-its-radars-are-weather-weapons-202236953.html?src=rss

Google’s new Simplify tool for iOS explains dense and confusing text on the webSimplify uses Gemini AI to translate the text into plain, readable language without leaving the pageUsers can highlight confusing content and tap the “Simplify” button to unravel the jargon

Reading an article on a technical or particularly complex subject sometimes feels like navigating a maze rather than following a narrative. Google's iOS app has a new solution if you come across a scientific paper or an article written by someone a little too fond of being obtuse. The new Simplify feature for Google's mobile app rewrites any jargon-filled internet text into language that doesn't require a specialty dictionary, and without leaving the app.To use Simplify, you'll need to browse the web from the Google app. When you hit a wall of needlessly complicated text, you can highlight it, and a little Simplify button will appear. Tapping the button will rework that highlighted paragraph into something far more comprehensible to the average person.Simplify is essentially a shortcut for Google's Gemini AI. Google Research designed a prompt-optimization process that asks Gemini to transform the text into something easier to understand behind the scenes, activating when you tap the Simplify button.The Simplify button won't utterly change your life or redefine how you engage with content online, but it could cut down on the need for new tabs or at least remove the need to copy and paste opaque text into Gemini or ChatGPT every time you run up against a linguistic roadblock.

Simple AI

According to the developers of the Simplify tool, the AI translation not only made dense content easier to parse, but it also helped them remember what they read. It's of a piece with other AI tools rolled out by Google to streamline tedious or annoying bits of people's experiences online.It matches neatly with features like Google Gemini widgets or the anticipated Power Up button for improving your prompts. The Simplify feature also falls under the AI enhancement of the browsing experience that Google has deployed (with occasional pratfalls), like the Search Generative Experience and AI Overviews for Search. Simplify feels more directly pitched to individuals, though, since you have to choose to use it.For now, Simplify is iOS-only, and it's not going to be perfect every time. Like any AI tool, it might make a mistake or oversimplify its response and lose some of the nuance found in the original text. That's a tradeoff common to any translation, however. It may also be a tradeoff most users will be happy to make, especially when the alternative is drowning in multisyllabic nonsense about blockchain governance protocols.

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Add Microsoft's Surface lineup to the list of gear that now costs more. XDA first spotted price hikes of around 20 percent for most existing models. The damage applies to the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro lines, as well as power bricks.

The starting prices of the 13.8-inch Surface Laptop and 13-inch Surface Pro increased from $1,000 to $1,200. Of course, the new devices Microsoft launched on Tuesday stand pat. (And their curiously high prices now make more sense.) Only the 15-inch Surface Laptop was spared, sticking to its original $1,300.

Even accessories like power supplies are part of the fun. The 65W Surface power supply shot up from $90 to $120, and the 127W variant went from $125 to $175.

PCMag notes that retail partners like Best Buy and Amazon still show the original prices. So, if you were considering a new Surface, that's a good place to start.

The move follows last week's Xbox price increases. The Xbox Series X is now $80 more expensive, while an Xbox Series X costs an extra $100.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft hasn't explicitly tied the price hikes to President Trump's tariffs. When XDA's Rich Woods asked the company about the surprisingly expensive entry-level Surface models introduced this week, it neither confirmed nor denied the connection.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/microsoft-raises-base-surface-prices-by-20-percent-210427490.html?src=rss

The Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's ruling that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard did not violate antitrust laws. The Federal Trade Commission had sued to block the merger of these large gaming brands on claims that the new entity would fall afoul of antitrust laws. In the court's ruling, released today, the FTC failed to prove that Microsoft would have blocked access to popular titles such as Call of Duty on hardware owned by other gaming brands. The appeals court was also unswayed by the FTC's arguments that the deal would have lessened competition in gaming subscription services and cloud streaming.

The issue of platform-exclusive titles was one of the core tenets of the FTC's latest charge against this acquisition. However, the opinion written by Judge Daniel P. Collins observed that "all major manufacturers have engaged in this practice." And as Microsoft has been making more and more of its once-exclusive titles available on new hardware, this may mean that the competition agency will finally accept the deal as done.

The $68.7 billion deal for Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard closed in October 2023, but the acquisition has faced multiple challenges from the FTC at varying stages of the process. In fact, this isn't the first time the Ninth Circuit Court has rejected the agency's efforts to block the merger. The competition agency also raised alarms about layoffs after the merger closed.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/appeals-court-once-again-upholds-microsofts-acquisition-of-activision-blizzard-211008049.html?src=rss

Aoostar GT37 mini PC delivers 12-core performance, 80 TOPS of AI, and it still fits in your handThe powerful Radeon 890M GPU will surprise youAdd an external GPU, and it becomes a desktop killer with real bite

The Aoostar GT37 is a compact mini PC powered by AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX-370 processor, designed to handle demanding workloads in professional, creative, and gaming contexts.Built on a 4nm process, the CPU features 12 cores - four high-performance Zen 5 and eight efficiency-focused Zen 5C cores - alongside a dedicated AI engine capable of up to 80 TOPS.It reaches peak speeds of 5.1GHz and supports 16 threads, making it a capable option for users who need consistent multi-core performance.

AI performance in a small form factor

Housed in a frame not much larger than a drink coaster, the GT37 makes a strong case as one of the best in its class, particularly for those seeking workstation-level power in a small, affordable form factor.Graphics are handled by the integrated Radeon 890M GPU based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, featuring 16 compute units and clock speeds up to 2.9GHz. It offers solid performance for gaming and graphics-heavy applications.For users needing more GPU power, the front-facing OCuLINK port supports external GPUs at up to 64Gbps, extending the GT37’s use cases from compact gaming to professional content creation.The GT37 comes with 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 8000MHz in a dual-channel configuration. The memory is soldered to the board and paired with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, upgradable to 4TB.A dedicated fan cools the storage, helping to maintain performance during sustained workloads.Despite its small size (4.41 x 2.36 x 4.41 inches), the device includes extensive I/O: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, dual 2.5G Ethernet ports, USB4, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.1, USB-A 3.2 and 2.0 ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.It supports up to three displays, including 8K at 60Hz with HDR.The mini PC ships with Windows 11 Pro but also supports Linux. A VESA mount is included for easy attachment to monitors or walls. The system is priced at $829 and includes a 12-month warranty.

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