Month: September 2024
Cerebras Files Prospectus for I.P.O.
The Silicon Valley company would be among the first A.I. companies to go public since the release of ChatGPT nearly two years ago.
The Silicon Valley company would be among the first A.I. companies to go public since the release of ChatGPT nearly two years ago.
A PS5 update that screwed up game backgrounds was just a bug
News posts appearing in the PS5 dashboard are the result of a bug. | Screenshot: PlayStation 5 dashboard
An apparent bug was causing game art backgrounds to be replaced by promotional messages and news posts on the PlayStation 5 dashboard for some people on Monday. The images they saw featured promotions for long-expired discounts and ads for new games.
People lamented the change in forums and on social media, saying the game art that previously showed up when they highlighted a game was gone. Instead, the image that would ordinarily show up as a news post in a separate section of the PS5 UI was splashed across the screen behind games like Miles Morales, Hi-Fi Rush, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.
In a since-deleted post, Daniel Hiatt, product lead for Game Hub and Activity Suggestions with PlayStation, wrote Monday afternoon that the change was a “(new) bug with an existing feature.” Then, by 6PM ET, those game pages are back to normal, as we confirmed on our own PS5s. The @AskPlayStation account on X confirmed the fix, saying:
A tech error with the Official News feature on the PS5 console has since been resolved. There have been no changes to the way game news is displayed on PS5.
Screenshot: X
Hiatt’s now-deleted post.
One Verge staffer shared some screenshots of the temporary new look while it was active, like the one below highlighting a launch discount for Animal Well that ended months ago (the game came out in May. We reviewed it!).
Screenshot: PlayStation 5 dashboard
An example of the bug from a Verge staffer’s PS5.
There are whole threads devoted to the change on both Reddit and Resetera, but now that it’s reverted, people will have to go back to debating the PS5 Pro, review scores, and why Concord failed.
So it turns out that the recent PS5 UI update that let you disable all the advertisements on the dashboard was too good to be true. Now EVERY SINGLE GAME on your homescreen shows you an advertisement in the background with no way to remove them lol https://t.co/Nts6eCq8Eb pic.twitter.com/29p56mYn34— Earl Turlet (@alfredobofa) September 29, 2024
News posts appearing in the PS5 dashboard are the result of a bug. | Screenshot: PlayStation 5 dashboard
An apparent bug was causing game art backgrounds to be replaced by promotional messages and news posts on the PlayStation 5 dashboard for some people on Monday. The images they saw featured promotions for long-expired discounts and ads for new games.
People lamented the change in forums and on social media, saying the game art that previously showed up when they highlighted a game was gone. Instead, the image that would ordinarily show up as a news post in a separate section of the PS5 UI was splashed across the screen behind games like Miles Morales, Hi-Fi Rush, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.
In a since-deleted post, Daniel Hiatt, product lead for Game Hub and Activity Suggestions with PlayStation, wrote Monday afternoon that the change was a “(new) bug with an existing feature.” Then, by 6PM ET, those game pages are back to normal, as we confirmed on our own PS5s. The @AskPlayStation account on X confirmed the fix, saying:
A tech error with the Official News feature on the PS5 console has since been resolved. There have been no changes to the way game news is displayed on PS5.
Screenshot: X
Hiatt’s now-deleted post.
One Verge staffer shared some screenshots of the temporary new look while it was active, like the one below highlighting a launch discount for Animal Well that ended months ago (the game came out in May. We reviewed it!).
Screenshot: PlayStation 5 dashboard
An example of the bug from a Verge staffer’s PS5.
There are whole threads devoted to the change on both Reddit and Resetera, but now that it’s reverted, people will have to go back to debating the PS5 Pro, review scores, and why Concord failed.
So it turns out that the recent PS5 UI update that let you disable all the advertisements on the dashboard was too good to be true. Now EVERY SINGLE GAME on your homescreen shows you an advertisement in the background with no way to remove them lol https://t.co/Nts6eCq8Eb pic.twitter.com/29p56mYn34
— Earl Turlet (@alfredobofa) September 29, 2024
QR Code phishing is advancing to a new level, so be on your guard
New phishing campaigns employ two QR codes – a ‘clean’ one, and a malicious one.
Be careful when receiving emails with QR codes, because Quishing (QR code phishing) has evolved to become as dangerous as never before, experts have warned.
A report from Perception Point has outlined one such campaign, claiming it is able to bypass most email security solutions around.
The attack is just like any other QR code phishing attack – the recipient gets an email, and in it a QR code. They scan it, and it leads them to a fake Microsoft 365 landing page, where they type in their login credentials and essentially share it with the crooks. However, since most email security solutions these days come with QR code scanners, simply sending the image in the email will not suffice. Such emails will simply get blocked, which is why crooks came up with a creative new way of bypassing the protections.
Two QR codes
As Perception Point explains, the campaign involves abusing two legitimate services – SharePoint, and me-qr.com. SharePoint is a Microsoft-built, web-based platform for collaboration, document management, and content sharing. Me-QR.com is a website where users can create and manage QR codes.
The landing page is hosted on SharePoint. Me-QR.com is used as an additional obfuscation layer, so that the scanners cannot read where the QR code points to.
Here is how the scam works: The recipient gets the usual phishing email, containing a .PDF attachment that’s either a purchase order, an invoice, or something similar. When they open it, there is a QR code that points to me-QR.com. Since this is a legitimate service, the code passes security scans.
When the victim scans this code, they are redirected to me-QR.com, where the service scans a second QR code (a malicious one, which would most likely be blocked by email security). This code leads to SharePoint, where the phishing page is hosted.
Perception Point calls this tactic “Quishing 2.0”, and describes it as highly sophisticated.
The best way to defend against spam remains the same – be suspicious of all incoming emails and use common sense when opening up attachments.
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Apple No Longer In Talks To Invest In OpenAI
Apple has withdrawn from discussions to invest in OpenAI’s $6.5 billion funding round, though reasons for the decision remain unclear. The company still plans to proceed with integrating ChatGPT into Siri. MacRumors reports: The development comes just a month after WSJ reported that Apple was considering an investment in OpenAI as part of a fundraising effort that could value the AI company at over $100 billion. The high valuation reflects the intense competition in the artificial intelligence sector that OpenAI helped ignite with ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022. While Apple has stepped away, other major tech companies remain involved. Microsoft, which has already invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is expected to contribute about $1 billion to this latest round. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks to participate. OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit structure may have factored into Apple’s decision. Last week, Reuters reported on OpenAI’s plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board. “Chief executive Sam Altman will also receive equity for the first time in the for-profit company, which could be worth $150 billion after the restructuring as it also tries to remove the cap on returns for investors,” reported Reuters.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple has withdrawn from discussions to invest in OpenAI’s $6.5 billion funding round, though reasons for the decision remain unclear. The company still plans to proceed with integrating ChatGPT into Siri. MacRumors reports: The development comes just a month after WSJ reported that Apple was considering an investment in OpenAI as part of a fundraising effort that could value the AI company at over $100 billion. The high valuation reflects the intense competition in the artificial intelligence sector that OpenAI helped ignite with ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022. While Apple has stepped away, other major tech companies remain involved. Microsoft, which has already invested $13 billion in OpenAI, is expected to contribute about $1 billion to this latest round. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks to participate. OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit structure may have factored into Apple’s decision. Last week, Reuters reported on OpenAI’s plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit benefit corporation that will no longer be controlled by its non-profit board. “Chief executive Sam Altman will also receive equity for the first time in the for-profit company, which could be worth $150 billion after the restructuring as it also tries to remove the cap on returns for investors,” reported Reuters.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Trump’s crypto platform is now open to the public — kind of
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Brandon Bell, Getty Images
The people behind World Liberty Financial — former President Donald Trump, his sons, and his business associates — have made a lot of promises about the cryptocurrency platform’s revolutionary potential. It will liberate “the average American” from “the big banks and financial elites,” Trump posted on Truth Social. It will help unbanked and debanked people, Donald Trump Jr. said in an X Space. What no one involved with the project has said is how this will happen or what, exactly, World Liberty Financial does. Now, the mystery service is accepting signups — but not from everyone.
Despite scant details about World Liberty Financial, its whitelists are now open, the company announced on X and Truth Social on Monday. The platform is now letting US-based accredited investors and non-US persons begin the know-your-customer (KYC) verification process. It’s worth reiterating: neither Trump nor anyone else involved in World Liberty Financial has given an in-depth explanation of what service the platform actually provides.
Here’s what we do know: World Liberty Financial has said its goal is to drive “mass adoption of stable coins and decentralized finance.” Near the end of a two-hour-plus X Space announcing the project, World Liberty Financial adviser Corey Caplan said it would “sell and otherwise distribute governance tokens called WLFI.” CoinDesk previously reported that World Liberty Financial would be built on the Ethereum blockchain and Aave, a decentralized finance platform, and would center around a “credit account system.”
CoinDesk also obtained a whitepaper about the project, which said that 70 percent of WLFI would be held by World Liberty Financial’s founding members, team, and service providers. But during the stream announcing the platform, Caplan said the “fake news media” got the details wrong and that 63 percent of tokens would be sold to the public.
“Additional information about World Liberty Financial is only intended to be available to persons who have been pre-qualified by completing a KYC process,” World Liberty Financial’s website states. In a post on X, World Liberty Financial blamed “outdated policy and regulations in the US” that limited whitelists to accredited investors and non-US persons.
2/6 While these whitelists are currently open to accredited investors in the US and all non-US persons, we are not turning our backs on the everyday American. Our mission is to bring financial freedom to everyone, no matter their background or bank balance.— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) September 30, 2024
The Securities and Exchange Commission defines accredited investors as individuals with net worths of at least $1 million — excluding the value of their primary residence — either individually or with their spouse or partner. Their annual income must be at least $200,000 individually or $300,000 with a spouse or partner for at least the past two years. There are other requirements for professionals and business entities.
As of 2022, more than 24 million American households qualified as accredited investors, according to the SEC’s estimates. That’s a not insignificant amount of Americans — nearly 20 percent of households in the US, a number that’s attributed partly to recent inflation. But it’s still a far cry from the unbanked and underserved communities Trump and his sons claimed World Liberty Financial is supposed to help. And, to reiterate one final time: we still don’t know what it does.
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Brandon Bell, Getty Images
The people behind World Liberty Financial — former President Donald Trump, his sons, and his business associates — have made a lot of promises about the cryptocurrency platform’s revolutionary potential. It will liberate “the average American” from “the big banks and financial elites,” Trump posted on Truth Social. It will help unbanked and debanked people, Donald Trump Jr. said in an X Space. What no one involved with the project has said is how this will happen or what, exactly, World Liberty Financial does. Now, the mystery service is accepting signups — but not from everyone.
Despite scant details about World Liberty Financial, its whitelists are now open, the company announced on X and Truth Social on Monday. The platform is now letting US-based accredited investors and non-US persons begin the know-your-customer (KYC) verification process. It’s worth reiterating: neither Trump nor anyone else involved in World Liberty Financial has given an in-depth explanation of what service the platform actually provides.
Here’s what we do know: World Liberty Financial has said its goal is to drive “mass adoption of stable coins and decentralized finance.” Near the end of a two-hour-plus X Space announcing the project, World Liberty Financial adviser Corey Caplan said it would “sell and otherwise distribute governance tokens called WLFI.” CoinDesk previously reported that World Liberty Financial would be built on the Ethereum blockchain and Aave, a decentralized finance platform, and would center around a “credit account system.”
CoinDesk also obtained a whitepaper about the project, which said that 70 percent of WLFI would be held by World Liberty Financial’s founding members, team, and service providers. But during the stream announcing the platform, Caplan said the “fake news media” got the details wrong and that 63 percent of tokens would be sold to the public.
“Additional information about World Liberty Financial is only intended to be available to persons who have been pre-qualified by completing a KYC process,” World Liberty Financial’s website states. In a post on X, World Liberty Financial blamed “outdated policy and regulations in the US” that limited whitelists to accredited investors and non-US persons.
2/6 While these whitelists are currently open to accredited investors in the US and all non-US persons, we are not turning our backs on the everyday American. Our mission is to bring financial freedom to everyone, no matter their background or bank balance.
— WLFI (@worldlibertyfi) September 30, 2024
The Securities and Exchange Commission defines accredited investors as individuals with net worths of at least $1 million — excluding the value of their primary residence — either individually or with their spouse or partner. Their annual income must be at least $200,000 individually or $300,000 with a spouse or partner for at least the past two years. There are other requirements for professionals and business entities.
As of 2022, more than 24 million American households qualified as accredited investors, according to the SEC’s estimates. That’s a not insignificant amount of Americans — nearly 20 percent of households in the US, a number that’s attributed partly to recent inflation. But it’s still a far cry from the unbanked and underserved communities Trump and his sons claimed World Liberty Financial is supposed to help. And, to reiterate one final time: we still don’t know what it does.
Best Moo Deng Memes Are Almost as Great as the Little Bouncy Meatball Itself
Moo Deng is all of us, and all of us are Moo Deng.
Moo Deng is all of us, and all of us are Moo Deng.
Is this Anker’s first 140W wall charger with a screen?
An unboxing video reveals what appears to be the first Anker wall charger with a status screen. | Screenshot: YouTube
An unboxing video shared on YouTube last week has our first hands-on look at a new 140W wall charger from Anker. It appears to be the first from the company featuring an integrated display that shows how much power is being drawn from each of its four USB ports.
Earlier this month, leaked details and an image of the charger were shared to the Anker subreddit by user joshuadwx. The Zolo wall charger will reportedly offer a maximum output of 140W shared across three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. Two of its USB-C ports will be able to charge devices at up to 140W speeds if nothing else is plugged in, while the remaining USB-C and USB-A ports can deliver 40W and 33W of power, respectively.
At 350 grams, the added screen results in a charger that’s heavier than existing four-port chargers from the company, such as the smaller Anker 747 Charger (GaNPrime 150W) which also delivers more power.
The nine-minute unboxing video shared by Xiao Li TV seemingly confirms several of the charger’s features, including its 140W of total power delivery, folding prongs, the Zolo branding, the power output capabilities of each port, and that the screen will display a cute sleeping face when no power is being drawn.
The video also confirms that all of the USB ports are located on the downward-facing side of the Zolo. Anker has previously addressed issues with heavy chargers that struggle to stay plugged into wall outlets by releasing redesigned versions featuring a center of gravity closer to the wall and textured prongs providing more grip.
Moving the ports to the underside of this charger is potentially another way to reduce the chance of it falling out of an outlet on its own.
There’s still no information on Anker’s planned pricing for the Zolo charger or when it will launch globally and in the US, although the leaked video seems to indicate it could debut soon.
An unboxing video reveals what appears to be the first Anker wall charger with a status screen. | Screenshot: YouTube
An unboxing video shared on YouTube last week has our first hands-on look at a new 140W wall charger from Anker. It appears to be the first from the company featuring an integrated display that shows how much power is being drawn from each of its four USB ports.
Earlier this month, leaked details and an image of the charger were shared to the Anker subreddit by user joshuadwx. The Zolo wall charger will reportedly offer a maximum output of 140W shared across three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port. Two of its USB-C ports will be able to charge devices at up to 140W speeds if nothing else is plugged in, while the remaining USB-C and USB-A ports can deliver 40W and 33W of power, respectively.
At 350 grams, the added screen results in a charger that’s heavier than existing four-port chargers from the company, such as the smaller Anker 747 Charger (GaNPrime 150W) which also delivers more power.
The nine-minute unboxing video shared by Xiao Li TV seemingly confirms several of the charger’s features, including its 140W of total power delivery, folding prongs, the Zolo branding, the power output capabilities of each port, and that the screen will display a cute sleeping face when no power is being drawn.
The video also confirms that all of the USB ports are located on the downward-facing side of the Zolo. Anker has previously addressed issues with heavy chargers that struggle to stay plugged into wall outlets by releasing redesigned versions featuring a center of gravity closer to the wall and textured prongs providing more grip.
Moving the ports to the underside of this charger is potentially another way to reduce the chance of it falling out of an outlet on its own.
There’s still no information on Anker’s planned pricing for the Zolo charger or when it will launch globally and in the US, although the leaked video seems to indicate it could debut soon.
Gamers beware: the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU is low in stock with hiked-up prices—but there’s hope on the horizon
If you’re looking for a gaming CPU, the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D may not be the best choice right now thanks to skyrocketed prices and low stock.
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which is our choice as one of the best processors in the market period, beat out two of the best Intel processor options when it comes to pure gaming ability. Its reputation has made the chip a hot commodity, and its price has been skyrocketing as of late.
This is due to dwindling stock, which is all happening right before the rumored launch of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in October. Of course, nothing has actually been confirmed, but price hikes and lower stock often tend to be tied into imminent launches of new products as retailers rush to clear stock and take advantage of high demand, while not replenishing its current stock.
The dwindling stock is driving up prices, delaying delivery, or simply selling out at US retailers like Amazon and Newegg. As PCGamesN points out, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D can only be shipped from China on Newegg but at a higher $679.99 price point, which is about $200 more than MSRP. Meanwhile, Amazon has it in stock for about $50 more with a shipping delay of a week or so.
PCPartPicker graphs the steady increase in the processor’s US pricing over a 60-day period at major retailers. However, it seems that some other regions, like the UK, haven’t been affected nearly as much or even at all, according to the site’s UK data.
(Image credit: PCPartPicker)
If you’re looking to kit your gaming rig with a new processor right now, it might be better to wait for AMD or Intel’s new offerings before investing. And since there are rumors of both the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and the Intel Arrow Lake chips launching in October, that time might be far sooner than you think.
We need more affordable options
This situation shows how badly the market needs and wants for affordable mid-range and low-end components. The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is considered the best processor for gaming, standing toe-to-toe with some of Intel’s best chips like the Intel Core i9-14900K or the Intel Core i7-14700K. And because it’s AMD, the pricing is (or rather was) quite reasonable considering its specs.
Now with new chips on the horizon, it makes sense that buyers are trying to snap up mid-range chips now while they can. But if you truly want the best deal, it would be much better to wait until the 9800X3D launches. Either the chip will be cheaper than the 7800X3D or its release will reduce demand and lower prices to a more affordable level.
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