Month: August 2024
NYT’s The Mini crossword answers for August 23
Answers to each clue for the August 23, 2024 edition of NYT’s The Mini crossword puzzle.
The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times‘ revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.
With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.
So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player’s flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.
Here are the clues and answers to NYT’s The Mini for Friday, August 23, 2024:
Across
Good ___, bad ___ (classic routine)
The answer is Cop.
Pick up on, as a sound
The answer is Hear.
Pick up on, as a vibe
The answer is Sense.
Actress Ana of “Ugly Betty”
The answer is Ortiz.
Not as much
The answer is Less.
Down
Homophone of 5-Across
The answer is Cents .
Fertile area in a desert
The answer is Oasis.
Biden’s title, informally
The answer is Prez.
Homophone of 4-Across
The answer is Here.
Do, re, mi, fa, ___ …
The answer is Sol.
Featured Video For You
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Mini Crossword.
Microsoft expands Azure AI with two new models for the Phi-3 family
Microsoft has added two new models to the Phi-3 family, alongside broader Azure AI upgrades and launches.
Microsoft has unveiled a series of updates to its Azure AI platform, including the expansion of the Phi-3 family of small language models (SLMs).
The company has added two new models to the family – Phi-3.5-MoE and Phi-3.5-mini – which are designed to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
Among the key benefits of Microsoft’s new models are their multilingual capabilities – they now support more than 20 models.
Microsoft adds two new Phi-3 models
Phi-3.5-MoE, a 42-billion parameter Mixture of Experts model, combines 16 smaller models into one. By doing this, Microsoft is able to combine the speed and computational efficiency of smaller models with the quality and accuracy of larger ones.
Phi-3.5-mini is significantly smaller, at 3.8 billion parameters, however its multilingual capabilities unlock a broader global use case. It supports Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish and Ukrainian.
Microsoft says that Phi-3.5-mini serves as an important update over the Phi-3-mini model, launched two months ago, based on user feedback.
In addition to two new models, Microsoft has also introduced several new tools and services within Azure AI to facilitate easier extraction of insights from unstructured data.
More broadly, Microsoft will launch the AI21 Jamba 1.5 Large and Jamba 1.5 models on Azure AI models as a service, offering long context processing abilities.
Other announcements included the general availability of the VS Code extension for Azure Machine Learning and the general availability of Conversational PII Detection Service in Azure AI Language.
“We continue to invest across the Azure AI stack to bring state of the art innovation to our customers so you can build, deploy, and scale your AI solutions safely and confidently,” stated Azure AI Platform Corporate VP Eric Boyd.
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‘Pachinko’ Season 2 review: Decades-spanning family drama makes a triumphant return
Soo Hugh’s adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s novel “Pachinko,” starring Minha Kim, Jin Ha, Yuh-Jung Youn, and Lee Minho, hits Apple TV+ Aug. 23. Review.
Pachinko Season 2 is worth watching for its updated opening title sequence alone.
‘Pachinko’ Season 2 trailer teases more sweeping family drama — with the help of BLACKPINK’s Rosé
Like Season 1’s stirring opener, this sequence features members of the Baek family dancing, carefree, down aisles of pachinko machines. In a new twist, though, these credits are split across two pachinko parlors: A muted, 1940s-era parlor with wood-paneled machines, and a much larger, rainbow-bright parlor from the 1980s. Characters from the show’s earlier timeline dance through both sets, a joyful reflection of the ways in which history, both personal and global, layers itself over the present.
These echoes of the past — some joyful, some tragic — persist throughout the main body of Pachinko‘s second season, which remains a magnificent portrait of a family across generations.
What’s Pachinko Season 2 about?
Credit: Apple TV+
Once again, Pachinko splits its time between the lives of Sunja (Minha Kim) and her grandson Solomon (Jin Ha), both of whom find themselves in periods of extreme transition.
In Osaka in 1945, Sunja struggles to keep her family afloat during World War II. As the American forces close in on Japan, a reunion with her former lover Koh Hansu (Lee Minho) — and father of her eldest son Noa (Kang Hoon Kim) — offers Sunja an escape to the countryside. There, she, Noa, her youngest son Mozasu (Eunseong Kwon), and her sister-in-law Kyunghee (Eunchae Jung) can wait out the end of the conflict.
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While Pachinko continues to focus on Sunja’s hard work to ensure her and her loved ones’ survival, it also opens up to a coming-of-age story for Noa and Mozasu. The two face anti-Korean prejudice from their Japanese compatriots everywhere from schoolrooms in Osaka to the rolling rice fields of the countryside. Yet they also form new dreams and new friendships. Among them? A bond with Hansu, whose secret connection to Noa looms large over the season.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo in 1989, Solomon is fighting a war of his own against businessman Abe (Yoshio Maki) in retaliation for the loss of his career. Centered around discussions of real estate deals and starting his own fund, his is a struggle that’s so far removed from Sunja’s own that her older self (Academy Award winner Yuh-Jung Youn) can barely understand it. But of course, it’s in the moments where younger Sunja and Solomon’s stories intersect — or diverge — that Pachinko finds some of its most potent meaning.
Pachinko Season 2 continues to be an exceptional exploration of the past.
Credit: Apple TV+
Pachinko‘s earlier timeline stands by itself as a moving tale of perseverance through dark times, full of simple life-affirming moments like family dinners or days spent flying kites. But it also elevates the later timeline by constantly reminding of us of everything that brought Solomon to where he is today. His business ambition has roots in Noa’s own drive to study for a university entrance exam. Any time a character in the past mentions wanting to go to America, we recall that Solomon went to Yale.
There are differences, too: In one episode, Noa learns a valuable lesson in forgiveness, while Solomon forgoes any kind of forgiveness in favor of revenge. The lack of Noa in 1989 reverberates through the past as well, making every scene with him a new step on the inevitable march towards his absence.
Throughout it all, Pachinko remains one of the most stunningly crafted shows on TV. Each set, costume, and prop bursts with lived-in texture. Often, the series slows down to detail the everyday processes that make up the Baeks’ lives, from days spent working on a rice farm to hours spent making family meals. Each scene is so evocative you can almost feel sweat on the back of your neck in tandem with theirs, or smell the food they pass around their table.
Occasionally, Pachinko Season 2 breaks this carefully conjured realism, for better or worse. In the “better” corner, we have a tense sequence counting down to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki — an inevitability from the very first episode. Mundane activities play out in a Nagasaki factory, rendered in black and white, as if we’re watching a newsreel of the moments leading up to the bombing. It’s a breathtaking stylistic change, and marks a shift in the rest of the season. Unfortunately, Season 2 does stumble a tad in its final episodes, with love triangles and the occasional “shocking” reveal tending towards soap opera-esque melodrama.
Overall, though, Pachinko Season 2 is a triumphant achievement for one of TV’s best shows. Like Pachinko‘s characters in the 1989 timeline, who can always sense the brush of history at their backs, you’ll feel like you can reach out and touch the past just by watching.
Pachinko Season 2 premieres Aug. 23 on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.
Realizing the benefits of multi-cloud in a data-rich, AI-focused world
Here are the key points to ensure a reliable, secure and scalable multi-cloud build.
The clamor for enterprises to benefit from the growing capabilities of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has led industry experts to project a significant increase of investment in cloud computing.
Gartner forecasts worldwide public cloud end-user spending to surpass $675.4 billion (£531.6bn) this year, with end-user spending on public cloud services projected to see a 20.4% increase, up from about £441.6bn. This growth is primarily attributed to advancements in GenAI and the modernization of applications.
Many firms that are looking to adopt GenAI at scale are opting for a multicloud strategy. This allows a customer to mix and match the cloud services that most closely meet their needs, including access to the best quality products, building resilience into cloud architecture and strengthening the negotiation position with providers.
Organizations pursuing a multicloud strategy need to consider a few key points to ensure a reliable, secure and scalable build.
Aligning the cloud with organizational needs
Cloud diversity benefits IT departments by offering a variety of choices to meet specific needs. For example, some firms elect to keep security-focused workloads in the more capital intensive private cloud, while running regular business data and apps in cost-effective public cloud networks. Hybrid clouds are suitable for when a high level of flexibility and agility is needed. For example, when sensitive, mission-critical IP in the private cloud needs to break onto the public cloud at short notice for extra capacity or when costs need to be reduced.
In addition to this, a multi-cloud approach empowers organizations to match workloads with the most advanced technology available at the time. GenAI is a rapidly-evolving technological development which serves as a key example of a developing technology that companies are keen to utilize. Yet, harnessing LLMs securely, effectively and efficiently within the enterprise necessitates a comprehensive revaluation of organizations’ IT infrastructure and cloud strategies. With new technologies only continuing to advance, a sound multicloud strategy will be essential to reap the benefits that these new tools will offer. In the context of the multi-cloud, this means enabling customers to test and develop different providers and understand which best match their requirements.
When creating your multi-cloud strategy, evaluate your company’s culture, DevOps practices, and technology stack. Then agree on clear, measurable objectives which align with your wider business objectives such as optimizing costs. This thorough assessment will shape your multi-cloud management plan, forming a robust, long-term blueprint for digital empowerment that integrates the essential components of people, processes, and technology.
Ensuring data security
Another common goal is to enhance organizational resilience, ensuring systems remain available during a major incident or disaster. By distributing workloads across multiple cloud regions or providers, you can minimize downtime and ensure business continuity. And while adopting multi-cloud can expose an organization to a wider attack surface, the risk of significant damage can be reduced by implementing consistent security policies and compliance measures across all cloud environments, with measures including encryption, identity and access management (IAM), and security monitoring tools. If the worst happens, any data breach only affects a limited amount of data as data and applications can be separated across different services.
The hyperscalers are regularly issuing new security solutions designed to protect data, applications, and other workloads. For example, Google Workspace recently announced that it is proactively enhancing the security of its platform by mandating Google two-step verification (2SV) for all Super Admin accounts. This secondary factor could be a security key, a Google Authenticator prompt, or the reception of a verification code through a phone call or text message.
Successful workload migration
Moving workloads to the cloud or between cloud platforms can be challenging. A crucial aspect of the planning stage is deciding what to migrate. This requires a comprehensive application assessment to identify which workloads would deliver greater business value if moved to the cloud or a different cloud environment. While public-facing applications with a global reach are good candidates for the public cloud, others may require an ROI analysis to determine if the scalability of the public cloud will add value.
During the planning stage, many companies discover an expertise gap in their team that can present challenges during migration. Partner companies can help to train and align strategic goals across engineering teams to ensure you achieve your migration goals.
The danger of vendor lock-in
No matter whether it’s your mobile phone firm, utility company or mortgage provider, being forced to continue to use the same organization can prove costly. The same is true in cloud computing – companies can find it difficult to move suppliers without incurring significant costs, legal headaches or technological incompatibilities.
A multi-cloud approach reduces your dependence on any single vendor and largely allows you to operate on your terms. For instance, major cloud providers offer pay-as-you-go pricing, meaning you can theoretically shut down your environment, export your data and virtual machines, and walk away whenever you choose. You also have the option of using a range of open-source cloud computing platforms and tools, reducing your dependence on proprietary platforms. Open-source technology effectively separates your technology decisions from your choice of cloud vendor – developers can modify the source code to meet their specific needs as they deploy, provision, and manage workloads.
While multi-cloud offers a wealth of benefits, from flexibility and best-of-breed products to enhanced resilience and cost optimization, these benefits are only realized through careful planning and optimized architecture. Legacy IT systems, on-premise infrastructure and outdated hardware can all hinder an organization’s ability to manage multi-cloud operations independently. Partnering with a vendor-neutral managed service provider (MSP) can help identify the optimal mix of infrastructure, solutions, and providers. With the right expertise, your business can achieve complete agility and workload mobility.
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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
4 features AirPods Max 2 should take from Sennheiser, Bose and Sony
Apple’s AirPods Max got plenty right in December 2020, but four years is quite a long time in wireless audio tech…
The Apple AirPods Max are an incredibly popular pair of noise-cancelling headphones that still appeal to Apple fans who want great sound and have a big budget. That’s why they’re our top choice for Apple lovers in both our best over-ear headphones and best noise-cancelling headphones guides.
It’s no surprise then that there’s been a lot of interest in what’s coming next from the Cupertino giant. After all, the Apple AirPods Max launched in December 2020. Does that mean the Apple AirPods Max 2 will be here soon – because you’d think so, no?
Although no official details about the AirPods Max 2 have been released, Apple analyst Jeff Pu says he expects the AirPods Max 2 could be on their way to us by the fourth quarter of 2024. Read our AirPods Max 2 rumors, possible release date and what we want to see guide for the latest news. But what tech and features should Apple borrow from audio rivals to ensure the success of the AirPods Max 2? Read on.
1. A better carrying case from Bose, Earfun and Sony
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones come with a hard shell carry case that has room for cables and accessories. (Image credit: TechRadar)
The original AirPods Max carrying case was controversial. In our review, we called it “hopeless” and “horrible”. Not just because it looked a bit silly (we saw people comparing it to a sleep mask and a bra when it was first launched), but because it offered little to no protection for what is an incredibly expensive set of headphones.
Of course you can pay extra for a hard case, but these headphones already require a significant outlay, so we don’t think you should have to. Especially considering plenty of other brands that make high-end headphones provide much better, sturdier, less ridiculous-looking cases.
For example, both the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless come with simple cases with hard shells that the over-ears fold up into. Even less-than-perfect cases, like the one that comes with the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones that’s quite big and bulky, offer a decent level of protection that’s essential for travel.
The reason we know it’s not too much to ask? Even budget headphones do it better. The Earfun Wave Pro have a simple carry case that we described as “surprisingly premium-feeling” in our review.
2. Lossless audio from Sonos and Sony
The Sonos Ace headphones deliver lots of high-end lossless Hi-Res Audio options. (Image credit: Future)
At launch, the AirPods Max cost $549 / £549 / AU$899. Although you can find them for closer to $549 / £499 / AU$899 now, they’re still an incredibly expensive pair of headphones – more expensive than some of the top headphones built for audiophiles. And yet they don’t support lossless audio. Instead, what you get here is Apple’s compressed AAC codec over Bluetooth.
In the AirPods Max 2, we’d love to see an option to listen to Apple’s Music’s Lossless or Hi-Res tiers. It makes sense for the price and plenty of headphones – some that are available for much cheaper – offer lossless listening. For example, the Sonos Ace might not be our favorite headphones for music, but they’re excellent movie headphones with a USB-C port that allows for high-end lossless Hi-Res Audio.
This is also all the more reason for the AirPods Max 2 to come with a cable. Right now they don’t and although you can buy one separately, it’s a digital cable, which means no lossless. Apple could also take a leaf out of Sony’s book. The Sony WH-1000XM5 over-ear headphones have LDAC codec – Sony’s hi-resolution audio option – and DSEE Extreme support.
3. Extended battery life from Cambridge Audio, Earfun and Sennheiser
The Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones last three times as long as the original AirPods Max. (Image credit: TechRadar)
The Apple AirPods Max offered 20 hours of battery life with ANC on. That’s a decent amount of stamina, especially considering that these over-ear headphones perform so well for every second of those 20 hours. But fast-forward a few years since their launch and rival brands are now bringing out devices that sound as good (or almost as good) with double and even triple the amount of battery.
For example, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless headphones offer 60 hours, even with ANC activated. Just like the AirPods Max, they also sound amazing, offer an incredible noise-cancelling experience and look great. This is the same story with the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 headphones, which boast 60 hours with ANC on and a huge 100 hours with ANC off. Even budget headphones, like the Earfun Wave Pro, are packing in 55 hours. We know longevity isn’t everything, but the Max 2 do need to play catch up.
4. Improved design from Bose and Sony
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones come with a sturdy carrying case. Fold them down, place them in and then zip it up. (Image credit: Future)
Look, there’s nothing wrong with the design of the original Apple AirPods Max. In fact, some people think they’re some of the most stylish over-ears on the market right now – a common opinion among Apple fans at least. But, if we’re being picky, there are some design upgrades that would make the AirPods Max 2 way better.
For starters, they don’t fold. This isn’t uncommon amongst high-end headphones, the Bowers & Wilkins PX8 also don’t fold, for example, and neither do the Dali iO-12 (which sound wonderful but also come with a frankly huge case). But it does mean the AirPods Max more difficult to transport than they need to be – and they’re already difficult to transport given the fact they have such a silly case.
Other high-end brands do it better. Just take a look at the Bose Quietcomfort Ultra and the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones. It’s not like you can squash up these headphones to be teeny tiny, but the ability to fold the cups and then use the hinge to push those cups in on themselves a little does reduce the space they take up, making them much more portable.
While we’re focused on design, it would be good if the AirPods Max 2 were a little lighter than the originals. Sure this is a tricky balance. Can the premium materials that make these headphones so special also be feather light?
Let’s take a look at the specs. The AirPods Max currently weigh 385g. But both the Sony WH1000XM5 and the Bose Quietcomfort Ultra headphones are 250g whilst also sounding great and looking stylish. Which just shows you can be high-end and lightweight.
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