Texas Adult Site Age Verification Law Sparks 234.8% VPN Surge

andreasc
-
0
Texas Adult Site Age Verification Law Sparks 234.8% VPN Surge
[ad_1]
Texas Adult Site Age Verification Law Sparks 234.8% VPN Surge

Pornhub blocks access in Texas after a dispute over the state’s new age verification law. The law requires adult websites to verify user age, but Pornhub argues the methods are ineffective and could expose user data. – Texas VPN usage surged after the block.

A recent clash between adult website Pornhub and the state of Texas has resulted in Texans being blocked from accessing the platform. This stems from a new Texas law, HB 1181, requiring age verification for websites hosting x-ratent content.

Pornhub argues that the law’s proposed methods for verifying user age are both ineffective and could potentially expose user privacy. They believe there should be a better way to achieve the goal of protecting minors from adult content.

Texes PornHub Ban Surges VPN Demand
This is what Texas users see when they visit the adult site (Screenshot credit: Hackread.com)

Following an unfavourable court ruling (PDF) upholding the law, Pornhub decided to block access to Texas users entirely. This decision has forced Texas-based users to turn to virtual private networks (VPNs) as according to vpnMentor’s report, on March 15, 2024, there was a surge in VPN demand in Texas, increasing by a staggering 234.8%.

Surprised? Don’t Be!

The surge in VPN demand is not surprising. The ban on Utah-based users by Pornhub in May 2023 resulted in a remarkable 967% increase in demand for VPN services within the state. Similarly, the introduction of age restriction laws about adult sites in Louisiana and Mississippi during the same year prompted a surge of 200% and 72% respectively in VPN interest.

Additionally, the implementation of age verification measures is not limited to the United States. The United Kingdom has been actively working on similar age check regulations. However, privacy advocates have raised concerns about the data collection associated with these measures, citing privacy-related issues.

But Should You Use a VPN?

Use a VPN whenever you’re online, particularly when connected to public Wi-Fi. Disregard the notion that “I have nothing to hide online, so why bother?” Who wouldn’t want to shield their IP address from malicious threat actors or adversaries or bypass online censorship? However, ensure you select a trustworthy VPN provider that doesn’t retain logs of your activities or share unnecessary data with law enforcement.

  1. The Differences Between Residential Proxies and VPNs
  2. Google’s Verification Badges for Security Tested VPN Apps
  3. Almost Every Major Free VPN Service is a Glorified Data Farm
  4. Russia tightens VPN regulations, further limiting internet access
  5. What is Dark Web, Search Engines, What Not to Do on Dark Web

[ad_2]
Source link

Circle to Search is not working for some Galaxy S24 Ultra users

andreasc
-
0
Circle to Search is not working for some Galaxy S24 Ultra users
[ad_1]

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S24 series of phones, the company introduced the world to Circle to Search. This is a Google-powered AI feature that allows you to simply perform a Google Lens search by circling an object on your screen. Well, it appears that Circle to Search might be broken on some Galaxy S24 Ultra models.

Circle the search was one of the headlining AI features that Samsung unveiled with the Galaxy S24 phones. Samsung calls this suite of AI features Galaxy AI. While Samsung introduced it with its phones, Google developed it. In fact, Google is going to roll out Circle to Search for more devices. However, this process is going to be rather slow, as Samsung announced that Circle to Search won’t make it to other devices until sometime in October 2024. That is still about seven months away, so people waiting for this feature will be very disappointed. If you want to use Circle to Search now, you can get a Galaxy S24 phone, Pixel 8, or Pixel 7.

Circle to Search seems to be broken for some Galaxy S24 Ultra users

Right now, we’re all wondering why the Galaxy S24 Ultra is experiencing this issue. Multiple people have reported this problem so far. When trying to perform the search, these users will get a message saying “It looks like there aren’t many great matches for your search.” After that, it would just drop the search.

We’re not certain why this issue is occurring, but, as noted by Sam Mobile, a user may have found the culprit. One user downgraded to an earlier version of the Google app, and that seems to have fixed the issue. So, it appears that the Google app’s latest update could possibly be the cause. However, we will have to wait for some sort of comment from Samsung or Google to confirm this.

In the meantime, if you are having an issue with the Circle to Search feature, then you may want to try that method.


[ad_2]
Source link

Most companies don’t use AI for coding

andreasc
-
0
Most companies don’t use AI for coding
[ad_1]

Artificial intelligence can be used for a great many things, and one of them is coding. Right out of the gate, ChatGPT could generate sections of code, and that functionality has only improved across the entire generative AI landscape. However, it appears that companies don’t want to use AI for coding.

This report comes from Jfrog, a company that provides numerous software solutions for brands. JFrog did a survey on companies using AI Solutions for different purposes. The company used its own data from more than 7,000 organizations along with CVE analysis by the JFrog Security Research team along with data from a third-party survey that included 1,200 professionals from around the world. So, this data is from a wide range of companies and individuals.

A survey reveals that most companies don’t use AI for coding

With how much AI technology has advanced since November 2022, we are certain that modern AI chatbots are capable of producing some complicated and well-written code. So, it seems a bit odd that more enterprise companies aren’t jumping on the AI coding train. Many companies are all about streamlining production and maximizing productivity. However, they seem apprehensive about using AI for coding.

The data from the survey reveals that even though a ton of companies use AI/ML (artificial intelligence and machine learning) services, only a small number of them actually use the technology for coding. Only 32% admitted to doing so. So, 67% of the sample audience would rather input code the good old-fashioned way.

Security reigns supreme

This doesn’t mean that companies are not using AI/ML products at all. In fact, it appears that the majority of these companies are using AI for security. According to the survey, a scale tipping 90% of the companies revealed that they use AI/ML tools for security.

One important thing that the report brought to light is the fact that security seems to be one of the biggest things holding companies back in terms of productivity. According to the survey, 47%, nearly half of the companies and people surveyed reported that they use between four and nine security solutions. About a third admit to using more than 10 Solutions.

Also, about 40% of this survey respondents said that getting approval to use a new package or library typically takes a week. So, that seems to be a week’s worth of productivity lost.  Along with that, security teams say that they spend about a quarter of their time just remediating vulnerabilities.

So, security seems to be one of the spots where AI technology is most used. Certain tools can help automate certain tasks so that human beings can spend their time doing other tasks. So, companies aren’t using AI for coding as much, but definitely using it more for cyber security


[ad_2]
Source link

Motorola Edge 50 Pro design & features officially confirmed

andreasc
-
0
Motorola Edge 50 Pro design & features officially confirmed
[ad_1]

Motorola has just officially confirmed both the design and some features of its upcoming flagship, the Motorola Edge 50 Pro. That’s the device that we accurately leaked earlier this month.

Motorola shared the Motorola Edge 50 Pro design & features ahead of launch

The company shared these details via its social media channels, while some details also surfaced on Flipkart. The information comes from Motorola India social media channels, by the way.

Motorola did schedule a launch event for April 3 in New Delhi, and it’s quite obvious that this phone will launch there. The Motorola Edge 50 Fusion could join it, though, as a more affordable offering.

The company not only shared quite a few images, giving us a great look at the phone, but it also shared some of its features. As you can see, the device will feature a curved display, with thin bezels, and a centered display camera hole.

The device will have three cameras on the back, and arrive in three color options

It will have three cameras on the back, located in the top-left corner. That part of the phone will be raised a bit, but it will blend nicely with the backplate. Motorola’s logo is also noticeable on the back.

The back side will be curved towards the sides, blending nicely with the front side of the phone. Chances are that the front and back sides will be proportional. All the physical buttons will sit on the right-hand side.

Now, you’ll notice that Motorola is also using different backplates on different color options. The purple color seems to have some sort of grippy material on the back. It’s most likely vegan leather. The model that has a marble-looking finish probably has a glass backplate, but we’re only guessing. You can see both in the image below.

Motorola Edge 50 Pro promo materials image 3

Motorola is using the ‘intelligence meets art’ caption for this launch. Needless to say, this is a reference to AI, at least partially. Everything is about AI these days, that’s the buzzword that the vast majority of tech companies have been using. A “pro-grade” camera was also mentioned.

A 144Hz P-OLED display will be used here

What else do we know? Well, the phone will include a display with a 1.5K resolution, and a 144Hz refresh rate, which will support HDR10+ content. That will be a 6.7-inch P-OLED panel with a peak brightness of 2,000 nits.

A 50-megapixel main snapper will be included on the back, with an aperture of f/1.4. We hope that a variable aperture will be in play here, but we’re still not sure about that.


[ad_2]
Source link

Some Galaxy AI features could be rolled out to the Galaxy S22 series

andreasc
-
0
Some Galaxy AI features could be rolled out to the Galaxy S22 series
[ad_1]

After we experienced Galaxy AI, one of our questions was whether Samsung would roll out these new AI features to older Galaxy devices or not. Samsung initially said that the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Tab S9 series will get the AI features starting at the end of this month.

Today Samsung held its 55th annual shareholders’ meeting. The President of Samsung MX, TM Roh said “We are gradually preparing plans to support a fully-fledged Galaxy AI experience,”

Samsung is reviewing whether it will roll out Galaxy AI to the Galaxy S22 series

The President hinted that the company is considering rolling out Galaxy AI features to the Galaxy S22 series. “We are conducting a lot of review on the previous model,” he said.

However, he points out that some features of Galaxy AI run on the device. These features need current flagship hardware as the minimum system requirement to run the LLMs (Large Language Models). “Galaxy AI is aiming for ‘hybrid AI’ that combines not only cloud-based AI but also on-device AI technology that is greatly affected by hardware performance,” TM Roh explained. He added that running the models on devices will require more time and effort to optimize the models according to the older chips.

Regarding the lack of system resources on Galaxy S22 series devices, Newsis pointed out that if the Galaxy S23 FE runs on the same Exynos 2200 chip it powers 2023’s Galaxy S23FE. So, if Samsung manages to run the on-device Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S23 FE, it will certainly be able to accomplish the same with the Galaxy S22 series.

Nonetheless, the company has not yet mentioned any possible timeline for the rollout of Galaxy AI features on the Galaxy S22 series. There is also no mention of any specific feature that could be available on older models. However, phones below the Galaxy S22 series won’t get any additions from Galaxy AI.

Old or incapable hardware might not be the only issue holding back the rollout

Earlier, we reported about the Galaxy S24 series’ possibility of getting a new on-device Galaxy AI feature. We also noted that the current list of on-device features (that require new and capable hardware) is quite limited. Most of the features currently run on servers and hence they aren’t actually limited by the phone’s system resources.

So, technically, the server-side features (most of the features) should run on the older devices without a problem. However, rolling out those features to older devices means serving even more users for free. It might not be sustainable for companies. This is why Samsung is deciding if it should run them on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22.


[ad_2]
Source link

Google adds Predictive Back gesture to Gmail in Android 14

andreasc
-
0
Google adds Predictive Back gesture to Gmail in Android 14
[ad_1]
Google was supposed to offer the Predictive Back feature system-wide on Android 14. With this gesture, an Android user employing the back gesture can see a preview of the page he is going back to. This has been a big deal for app developers because it turned out that many times an Android user, not knowing exactly where the back gesture would take him, accidentally backed out of an app not intending to do so. And this resulted in the app receiving some negative metrics which its developer wasn’t happy about.

As we noted, the predictive back gesture shows an Android user a preview of where he will be taken to if he uses the back gesture. There are only three possible destinations: a previous page in the same app, a previous app, or the home screen. The back gesture on Android requires the user to slowly swipe left from the right side of the screen until a left-facing arrow inside a circle appears. Once the user pulls his finger off of the display, he goes back to the previous page. The same thing is accomplished by slowly swiping to the right from the left side of the display, letting go when a right-facing arrow inside a circle shows up on the display.

The Predictive Back gesture for Gmail and Google Calendar - Google adds Predictive Back gesture to Gmail in Android 14

The Predictive Back gesture for Gmail and Google Calendar

Google still has not enabled predictive back with Android 14 and it still must be toggled on by going to Settings > Developer options > Predictive back animations: Enable system animations for predictive back. 9to5 Google recently spotted the Predictive Back Gesture in version 2024.03.03.x of Gmail when closing an email. When starting the back gesture, the email you are closing shrinks to show rounded corners, and a small preview of the page you are going back to appears behind the page you’re currently viewing.
The Predictive Back gesture can also be spotted on Google Calendar’s monthly overview and the day view. Hopefully, we will see the feature appear on more system apps, and with Google asking third-party app developers to use it, we might see the Predictive Back feature eventually become available on most Android apps.

[ad_2]
Source link

Google unlocks 5G access on its Pixel smartphones in new select regions

andreasc
-
0
Google unlocks 5G access on its Pixel smartphones in new select regions
[ad_1]

Google is gradually allowing its Pixel smartphones to latch onto the 5G network in select regions. The search giant hasn’t allowed all Pixel smartphones with 5G hardware to access 5G networks. Also, neither do all supported devices work with 5G networks wherever it is available.

The Pixel lineup, starting from Pixel 4a (5G), and going all the way up to the latest Pixel 8 Pro, will be able to work with 5G networks in select countries. Essentially, Google is slowly unlocking the 5G modems in these devices and it appears to be dragging its feet with the rollout.

Google Pixel Android smartphone lineup is now 5G capable in 38 countries

Google maintains a list of countries where 5G is available on its Pixel-branded Android smartphones. The company recently updated the list.

Google has added seven more countries to the list, taking the tally to 38 countries where Pixel smartphones will be able to latch on to 5G networks. Google advertises this feature as “5G on your Pixel”, and the list has the following seven new European regions: Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, and Slovakia.

It is strange to note that Google does not officially sell its latest Pixel phones in the newly added markets. Google sells the Pixel 8 series through official Google Stores in just 20 countries. According to 9to5Google, these include Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the United States.

Simply put, Google’s Pixel smartphones, starting from the Pixel 4a (5G), will be able to latch on to 5G networks in 18 countries where quite a few of the devices aren’t even officially available, or sold through authorized resellers.

Why is Google restricting 5G availability?

The rapidly expanding 5G networks promise blazing-fast connectivity speeds. Additionally, starting from 4G, telecom companies have been able to offer VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling on supported smartphones.

Hence, restricting the availability of 5G, especially when the hardware supports the same, doesn’t make much sense. After all, the availability of reliable 5G networks is majorly the responsibility of telecom service providers.

Google hasn’t offered any reason for the restrictive and slow rollout. Some experts argue certification and testing could be the reason behind the delay. However, this still does not explain why Google is unlocking 5G access in regions where Pixel smartphones aren’t officially available.

It is possible that Google is engaged in a complex distribution strategy and could be negotiating with telecom companies. The search giant may be expanding 5G availability after realizing several users are purchasing Pixels through unofficial channels.


[ad_2]
Source link

WhatsApp could double the length of status videos

andreasc
-
0
WhatsApp could double the length of status videos
[ad_1]

WhatsApp seems to have rolled out a bunch of updates in the last couple of weeks for those enrolled in the beta program. While many of these updates address various bugs, some of them introduce new features that users can test and provide feedback.

With WhatsApp beta version 2.24.7.6, the developer is increasing the length of videos users can add to their status. Currently, WhatsApp users can add videos of up to 30 seconds to their status, but the latest beta version of the up extends the length to 1 minute.

Discovered by the folks at WABetaInfo, the new feature that allows users to share videos of up to 1 minute in length via status updates seems to be only available to select WhatsApp beta testers on Android.

While this certainly isn’t a core WhatsApp feature, it’s nice to know that developers are listening to feedback and try to accommodate many of the requests that make sense.

As with all the beta features, it’s hard to say whether or not this will make it to the stable version of WhatsApp. Still, since it doesn’t seem to be that hard to implement, chances are that all WhatsApp users on Android will eventually be able to share longer videos via status updates.


[ad_2]
Source link

Google Contacts is rolling Contact ringtones

andreasc
-
0
Google Contacts is rolling Contact ringtones
[ad_1]

Shockingly, there are still people out there who use their phones as, well… phones. Those of us who get a ton of phone calls like to assign specific ringtones to specific contacts. Well, Google is rolling out a feature called Contact ringtones for Google Contacts. This will make it easier to assign custom ringtones to different contacts.

Gone are the days when porting your contacts to a new phone required a long and drawn-out process of transferring them from SIM card to SIM card or, heaven forbid, reentering all of your contacts from scratch. Now, it’s extremely easy to transfer your contacts from your old device through Google Contacts. It will save your contacts to Google’s servers. So, when you log into a new device with your Google account, you’ll have access to all of your old contacts.

Google Contacts comes pre-installed on all Pixel devices and some other devices running stock Android. However, if you don’t have it, you can simply download it from the Google Play Store.

Download Google Contacts

Google is rolling out contact ringtone for Google Contacts

This feature has been rumored since late last year. Right now, this feature is currently rolling out via a server-side update, so having the latest version of the Google Contacts app won’t guarantee that you will see it. However, we were able to see it with our Galaxy S24+ (Review).

If you go into Google Contacts and tap on the Fix & Manage tab, you should see a new button under the other tools section called Contact ringtones. When you tap on that button, you will see a list of the contacts to whom you’ve already assigned custom ringtones to. There, you will be able to manage those contacts and see what ringtones you’ve assigned to them.

Also, you will have the option to add additional contacts to assign custom ringtones to. When you tap on a contact, you will be taken straight to your phone’s default ringtone picker. On the Galaxy S24+, we went to the Galaxy ringtone picker. After that, you can simply select the ringtone that you want to assign and be done with it.

Depending on your phone’s ringtone picker, you may or may not have the ability to add additional ringtones. That will depend on whether your device’s native ringtone picker allows you to import your own ringtone files.


[ad_2]
Source link

Samsung to launch its first AI accelerator chip in 2025

andreasc
-
0
Samsung to launch its first AI accelerator chip in 2025
[ad_1]

Samsung plans to launch an AI accelerator chip next year. The confirmation came from the company’s President and co-CEO Kye Hyun Kyung during the recently held annual shareholders’ meeting. Kyung said the Korean firm has already completed the technological verification of the first-gen model, Mach-1. The chip will arrive in early 2025.

Samsung will revolutionize the AI chip market in 2025

Major tech companies are vying to be at the forefront of the ongoing AI revolution. Samsung, one of the biggest names in the tech industry, started making its move in 2023. It introduced an LLM (Large Language Model) called Samsung Gauss and followed up with Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24 series. Gauss powers some of the AI features on the new flagships.

The Korean behemoth is now working on expanding these AI features to more Galaxy devices. It is simultaneously new ways to strengthen its grip on the AI market. It appears Samsung sees a big opportunity in AI chips, a market currently dominated by Nvidia. Samsung wants to break the stronghold by introducing its AI accelerator chip as early as 2025.

The company has already made significant progress in its development and plans to begin production later this year. “Technological verification for Mach-1 has been completed through programmable chip (FPGA), and system-on-chip (SoC) design is in progress,” Kyung said. “We will produce the chip by the end of the year and see the AI ​​system made with our chip early next year.”

Kyung is one of the two CEOs of Samsung— Han Jong-hee is the other CEO. He is also the Director of SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology), the company’s research and development unit, and the head of the DS Division, i.e., the semiconductor unit. The Korean firm announced a major leadership shuffle at the end of 2023 but didn’t change its CEOs.

Samsung may revolutionize the market with its first solution

Samsung’s first AI accelerator chip is said to address one of the biggest problems with these products. The current crop of AI accelerators struggle due to a bottleneck during AI inferencing. This leads to a drop in data transmission speed and power efficiency when exchanging information between the CPU, GPU, and memory. Samsung aims to solve these issues.

According to the Korean media, Mach-1 will feature an “unprecedented structure” capable of reducing this bottleneck by almost 90%, i.e., to 1/8th of current levels. Thanks to its “lightweight” chip design, it will also reduce HBM (high-bandwidth memory) use for AI semiconductors. Samsung hopes these advancements will help it topple Nvidia.

The American chipmaker currently supplies AI accelerators to Microsoft, Meta, and other big companies. Samsung, which has doubled down on its AI efforts lately, would be looking to steal a few customers from it. The Korean firm recently established an artificial general intelligence (AGI) computing lab in Silicon Valley, USA. “The specialized lab is working to create an entirely new type of semiconductor, a semiconductor designed to meet the processing requirements of future AGI,” Kyung said.


[ad_2]
Source link
1...293294295...1,471Page 294 of 1,471