Still arguably the best Android TV device on the market, the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, even though it came out way back in 2019. The NVIDIA SHIELD TV is on sale at Amazon during Prime Day for only $124.99. That’s a savings of $25 off of the regular price. The SHIELD TV rarely gets discounted, and this does bring it back down to an all-time low.
If you’re interested in the NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro, good news there as that model is also discounted – now $169. Both are really good options. The main difference between the two is going to be RAM and storage. 2GB of RAM and 8GB of storage on the NVIDIA SHIELD TV, while the Pro model gets 3GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. If you plan on using it as a Plex server, or have a lot of streaming apps installed, its worth it to get the “Pro”.
The NVIDIA SHIELD TV is a great Android TV device for a number of reasons. Firstly, it’s pretty powerful and has 8GB of internal storage. That might not sound like a lot, but it is double what the Chromecast with Google TV actually has. It also supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision, provided that your TV and the content you’re playing support them.
Inside, NVIDIA uses its own processor, which is pretty powerful for Android TV. Which is why they also made it a gaming console. Of course, you can play some Android TV games on this one. But NVIDIA also has its cloud streaming gaming service, GeForce NOW, available here. So you can play thousands of titles and nearly 100 of the biggest free-to-play games on the SHIELD TV Pro. This also includes using the RTX 3080 membership of GeForce Now.
We also can’t forget that this also has Google Assistant built-in. It is giving you access to voice control here. That means that you are able to control your TV by using your voice, which is a really nice addition here. The remove is also a triangular shape this year, so it’s harder to get lost on the couch. But it also has a Find My Remote feature, so that it will ring when you can’t find it. Now, that is pretty slick.
The Eletrolar Show, Latin America’s largest electronics trade show, is set to dazzle attendees with the latest in tech innovation from July 15th to 18th, 2024. This year, Ulefone joins the impressive lineup, showcasing their innovative rugged devices.
Held annually in the vibrant heart of Brazil, the Eletrolar Show is a hub for global innovators, tech enthusiasts, and industry professionals. It’s where the future of electronics is unveiled, and this year is no exception. With a focus on “All-scenario Connection,” Ulefone is excited to be a part of this prestigious event, bringing its rugged smartphones, tablets, and regular smartphone, tabs to the forefront of tech advancements.
As a first-time participant in Latin America, Ulefone is eager to demonstrate its commitment to quality and innovation. The bustling exhibition halls are a testament to the growing interest in Ulefone’s rugged solutions, as audiences crowd around to learn more about the brand’s offerings. Ulefone’s booth is a testament to their dedication to durability and performance, with live demonstrations of their devices in extreme conditions. The stomp and drop test zone further demonstrates the robustness and durability of the products, highlighting the brand’s unwavering commitment to quality. And it welcomes the audiences for a firsthand experience of night vision or thermal imaging.
At the booth, Ulefone showcases its latest products, including the 5G Armor 27 Pro Series and Armor 25T Series rugged phones. The Armor 26 Ultra Walkie-talkie Version, with dual-band VHF and UHF capabilities, ensures seamless communication in both urban and wild environments. The Note 18 Ultra marks Ulefone’s entry into the 5G era, offering advanced connectivity. In the tablet sector, Ulefone introduces the Armor Pad 3 Pro and Armor Pad 4 Ultra, elevating its rugged tablet technology to new heights. Additionally, the Ulefone standard tablet series ‘Tab Series’ is also worth your attention.
But the star of the show, Armor 25T, attributed to its most affordable price with thermal imaging camera and high configuration. Equipped with a 50MP main camera, and supported by a mega 1/1.31-inch sensor, every shot is sharp and detailed. And for those nocturnal moments, the 64MP night vision camera, illuminated by two powerful infrared LEDs and driven by OMNIVISION’s OV64B sensor and Ulefone’s NightElf Ultra 3.0 algorithm, turns the night into your canvas, painting with light and clarity.
Adding to its impressive camera suite, the Armor 25T integrates a cutting-edge thermal imaging sensor. And it boasts a robust and energy-efficient 6nm SoC, the MediaTek Helio G99. It supports up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, expandable up to 2TB. A 6.78-inch Full HD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while a massive 6500mAh battery with 33W fast charging and 30W wireless charging.
Ulefone invites you to join them at the Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo, Brazil, at Hall G, Booth E50. Discover the Armor 25T and other innovative devices, and explore the future of rugged technology.
The Google Maps app on iOS is getting Live Activities support for more users. The first tests of the feature were reported in April. Now, more people are receiving it, but it’s still not a massive rollout.
In 2023, Google announced that its Google Maps app for iOS would receive Live Activities support. Since then, the feature has been a long time coming, with a limited-scope test taking place a few months ago. However, the latest developments suggest that the wide rollout will take place this year. In recent weeks, more Google Maps users on iOS have been seeing Live Activities on their iPhone lockscreen.
Live Activities reaching more Google Maps users on iOS; massive rollout still pending
The latest reports are more abundant compared to those from April. That said, the feature seems to still be in the testing stage since not everyone has received it. Maybe Google refined some things after previous tests and now wants to analyze its reception among a broader user base.
Apple launched the Live Activities feature with the iOS 16 update. It can display real-time updates about a supported app or service on your lockscreen using a kind of widgets. This avoids having to open the app or unlock the phone to use certain functions. For example, you can follow the progress of a match in your favorite sport.
In the case of the Maps app, Live Activities are used for navigation. The “widget” shows both the directions to take as you drive and the estimated time of arrival at your destination. Google Maps offers something similar on Android via a notification. Now, it seems that soon iOS users will be able to enjoy this useful feature as well.
There is still no official information about the final rollout of Live Activities in the Google Maps app for iOS. However, since Google expanded the scope of testing, it seems to be closer than ever.
Cybercriminals exploit Trump’s assassination attempt to lure victims into a crypto doubling scam using deepfake Elon Musk videos on hijacked YouTube channels. Bitdefender Labs uncovers malicious domains and advises caution.
Cybercriminals and crypto scammers have seized upon the recent assassination attempt against former US President Donald Trump to lure unsuspecting victims into a new cryptocurrency doubling scheme.
The scam, which researchers at Bitdefender Labs have detected, involves hijacking YouTube channels to broadcast deepfake videos of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, promising to reveal insights into the attack on Trump.
The hijacked channels, some of which boast subscriber counts in the millions, have been stripped of their original content and renamed to include references to Tesla and Donald Trump Jr.
Screenshot of one of the hacked YouTube channels with 1.2 million defaced into Tesla account (Screenshot: Bitdefender)
The videos feature a looped deepfake of Musk encouraging viewers to participate in a cryptocurrency giveaway by scanning a QR code embedded in the video. These codes direct users to fraudulent websites that resemble legitimate Tesla domains or those associating Musk with Trump.
The descriptions of the hijacked channels further promote the scam, claiming that Musk plans to provide substantial financial support to Trump’s presidential campaign. One description reads, “Elon Musk plans to provide about $45 million a month to a new political committee supporting former US leader Donald Trump as part of the presidential campaign.”
According to Bitdefender’s report shared with Hackread.com ahead of publishing on Wednesday, researchers have identified five malicious domains associated with this ongoing campaign, all of which are detected and blocked by their anti-phishing and anti-fraud filtering systems.
Elon Musk’s deepfake used in the scam (Screenshot: Bitdefender)
To protect against falling victim to such scams, users are advised to exercise caution when encountering videos with click-bait titles related to Tesla or the attack on Trump, double-check messages promising double returns on crypto investments, and avoid scanning QR codes in YouTube videos promoting crypto giveaways.
Additionally, users should inspect YouTube channels promoting crypto giveaways for suspicious activity, such as missing or deleted videos and closed comment sections, and report any suspicious activity to the platform or relevant authorities. Employing a comprehensive security solution that can block phishing attempts and fraudulent links is also highly recommended.
As cybercriminals continue to adapt and exploit current events to deceive unsuspecting individuals, users must remain alert and adhere to best practices in cybersecurity to safeguard their digital assets and personal information.
Amazon Prime Day is almost halfway through its final day, but there are still plenty of deal offers you can take advantage of, like this deal on the Sony Bravia Theater Bar 9 sound bar. Typically this sound bar goes for $1,400 which is quite a hefty price for a sound bar. But if you pick it up during Prime Day, you can snag it for just $1,098 instead.
This is the kind of sound bar you buy if you want an experience of watching movies that’s like watching them in the theater. The Bravia Theater Bar 9 has 360 spatial sound mapping which basically envelopes you in sound. It’s actually quite a genius way of producing the cinema-like audio experience. It creates “phantom speakers” that surround you and reflect the sound off the walls and the ceiling. So you feel like you’re hearing sound come from all angles but all of it comes from one single sound bar sitting in front of you.
Short of having a true surround sound system, this is probably the best way to enjoy movies, TV shows, and games. There’s also support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, as well as Spotify Connect streaming and compatibility with Apple AirPlay. Although the sound bar itself could easily be your one audio source, you can pair it with optional wireless subwoofers and rear-channel speakers for an even more immersive audio experience for your entertainment.
All of this awesome sound quality comes from the 13 speakers inside the sound bar. That being said, this is quite a large sound bar when it comes to the length. So you’ll need to have some space for it if you’re thinking about getting one.
AI, it’s the future! It’s the technology that will ferry humanity forward. We’re at a point where the technology is starting to resemble what we’ve been seeing in sci-fi media for the past several decades. That’s great… right? Fears of SkyNet-level robot uprising notwithstanding, you should be optimistic about where AI technology is headed. However, that’s not the case. No matter how impressive it is, there’s still a major and very fundamental flaw that AI needs to shake if it really wants to be a boon to humanity, and that’s the hallucination problem.
What are AI hallucinations?
Until November 2022, artificial intelligence was more artificial than intelligent. There was some beefy tech behind it, don’t be mistaken. But, what could Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa, or Bixby do besides follow a set list of commands and read from a pre-defined script? Not much. If the AI couldn’t complete the task that you asked, you’d hear a scripted response like “I’m sorry, I couldn’t quite understand that.”
After ChatGPT hit the market, we all started to see what AI could really do. Rather, we all saw what generative AI could do. There’s a difference; rather than repeating from a pre-written script, the AI would generate its own words. This showed some truly next-level and scary AI technology. AI was CREATING in a sense.
That’s great, but this is where our main problem with AI lies. Several times when using AI models, we run into instances when the AI gives you answers that aren’t only wrong, but they seem to be completely made up. This is a phenomenon called AI hallucinations, and it affects all models. Think of them as the weird and unsettling random forms you’d see in AI-generated images. It’s like the AI doesn’t know what to make, so it just fills in the gaps with nonsense.
Making stuff up
This problem has persisted since generative AI has been in the public eye, and companies are all trying their hardest to combat it. It’s a problem that may never be fixed, however. Google’s Gemini is a model that’s had billions of dollars poured into it, and just look at what happened with its AI overviews. The company had to pull back the number of results that surfaced Overviews because of the hallucinations that it experienced. We’re all still talking about the whole Glue on Pizza debacle.
The tool was suggesting that people put glue on their pizza to keep the cheese from sticking and telling them how many rocks to eat. This was one of several AI controversies that the company has had to go through. ChatGPT is not immune to this, and neither are Grok, Claude, Meta AI, etc.
Perplexity’s perplexing hallucinations
Other AI models hallucinate, but a pretty big example was the ordeal with Perplexity AI. This is a company that’s valued at about $1 billion, so it’s poised to make an impact on the AI landscape.
It’s positioned to be this AI-powered search engine, which is a pretty big smack to the face of Google. Well, WIRED did an experiment, where it created a test site with one sentence in it. The sentence read “I am a reporter with WIRED.” That’s it. Then it asked Perplexity to summarize that page…. and it did everything but that.
According to WIRED’s report, the model produced this story about a young girl named Amelia following a trail of mushrooms in a magical forest. As you can guess, a statement about being a WIRED reporter doesn’t involve young girls, mushrooms, or magical forests.
We all know that the AI hallucination problem is bad, but this takes it to another level.
How hallucinations could be bad
Sure, it’s frustrating when you would ask an AI to do something, and you’d be told that it can’t complete it. However, it’s much worse when that AI just gives you incorrect information. The consequences can be pretty bad. If you’re using an AI to help you study, that incorrect information could cost you a good grade. Sadly, in the case of AI hallucinations, that’s not the worst thing that could happen. Think about it, do companies only want to keep AI confined to helping you cheat on your math final? No, we’ve seen companies try to distribute their AI technology across different industries.
AI in business
We’re already seeing AI tools that are designed to help people run their businesses. These are chatbots charged with summarizing documents, searching databases, and many more tasks. As such, employees are going to come to rely on their outputs. This is where hallucinations can be a major issue.
There’s no doubt that companies will eventually place some heavy responsibilities on AI tools as their need for human workers diminishes. Well, the last thing that the company needs is for the AI to hallucinate on some important information. It seems unlikely, but remember the Perplexity example? That AI wrote an entire Disney movie from a single sentence. It’s possible for an AI model to mess up after being fed a ton of company data.
AI in the ER
Companies want to develop AI tools that could help pull up and summarize patient records among other things. This could be extremely helpful and save a bunch of time during emergency situations. But the AI hallucination problem could also cost lives.
Suppose an AI needs to summarize Mrs. Fields’ medical record, and it hallucinates and says that her family has a history of heart disease when it doesn’t. Guess what, the doctor will conduct their work around that fact. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how that could be terrible.
The issue isn’t the fact that hallucinations happen. The issue is that companies want to push their AI into every corner of every industry, and that could come with some heavy consequences. Companies are overzealous about distributing their AI around the world.
Sure, their CEOs stand on stage during keynotes and tell us that they have some wild dream about making the world a better place with AI, but that’s not always the case. Part of the reason has to do with keeping from falling behind. Companies need to stay at the cutting edge of the industry if they want to keep those investors happy. So, there’s always the threat of companies (*cough* Google *cough*) rushing half-baked products to the market that could potentially hallucinate.
Hallucinations in the Newsroom
News is one of the largest sources of information in the world. People flock to news sites for all of the biggest stories making the headlines. Well, the fact of the matter is that, when you read a news story nowadays, there’s a non-zero chance that it was generated via a chatbot. Just like anything else, there’s always the chance that whatever chatbot produced the story hallucinated on details.
We’ve seen news stories rife with inaccurate details, and that can be devastating depending on the subject matter. It’s bad when a chatbot hallucinates on a smaller story, but we’re in the middle of a major election year. It’s not only an election year for the U.S., but there are other elections going on around the world.
Misinformation was bad enough before generative AI. Well, the last thing the world needs is an army of chatbots hallucinating on details about important topics. Chatbots scour the internet and scrape data, but we don’t know where it’s getting its data from. The AI doesn’t know that The New York Times is a more reputable and trustworthy site than some shady site pumping out fake news named KerSplash News!
In this day and age (when the world is, ya know, on fire and such), people need to have trustworthy news.
Don’t trust everything an AI tells you
The hallucination problem with AI may never go away. This is why you need to exercise caution when using any sort of AI tool. If you’re using some new AI tool to help you run your business or help you with writing, you’ll need some system in place to fact-check what’s being produced. If you’re researching something for your classwork, an AI is standing between you and a good grade. You might have to go back and make sure that the AI is pulling from proper sources.
If you’re using a tool to help with internal business affairs, it doesn’t take a genius to know how important accurate outputs are. In a perfect world, your AI tools will be 100% accurate, but the hallucination problem is still here. No matter how many GPUs the models are trained on or how many millions of dollars when into them, the AI models we use nowadays risk hallucinating.
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Do your research
Before you blindly start using an AI tool, do some research and see which models are powering it. Chances are that the AI tools you’re using are running on one of the models from the AI giants: Google, OpenAI, Meta, xAI, or Anthropic. If you can find the model, check to see if that model’s had any issues with hallucinations. For example, if the tool is using Google Gemini, look up any news surrounding this model and see if you should be worried about hallucinations.
We’re at an odd point in AI. People are eager to integrate it into just about every industry, but it’s still pretty half-baked at this point. This means that we’re still experiencing growing pains, and some companies are experiencing them more than others. There’s no telling when AI will get to the point where it’s not hallucinating. All we know is that when it happens, AI might actually be the thing to push humanity forward.
The Google Gemini app is turning into a more useful app on the platform. You’re able to use it pretty much on any screen on your phone. However, the functionality is limited when the phone screen is locked. Well, Gemini will now answer general questions on the lock screen.
Google has been pushing to have Gemini replace Google Assistant, but the process seems to be taking a bit of time. While it’s not the best Assistant replacement, it’s still very useful as a chatbot. If you’re interested in trying out the Gemini app, it’s available for both Android and iOS. You will be able to summon it using the “Hey Google” hot word, so it will feel like you’re using an assistant.
The Gemini app can answer general questions on the lock screen
In order to use the Gemini app, you needed to unlock your phone. That’s a good security measure, but it was a bit inconvenient for people who just need some basic information.
Well, according to a new Google help page, Gemini will be more useful when your device is locked. First, you’ll need to have the setting activated. When it is, you’ll be able to ask Gemini general questions like the weather. In order to ask it more complex questions, you’ll need to unlock your phone.
This makes using Gemini just a little more convenient. There are times when you just need some quick and glanceable information without unlocking your phone.
This isn’t all that you can do with your phone locked. You’re able to use certain quick voice commands. You’re able to set, stop, and snooze alarms. Also, you’re able to set and stop timers. If you’re listening to music, you’re able to control that media like pausing and playing. Lastly, you’re able to use certain phone features like the flashlight.
Under the DMA (Digital Markets Act), the EU designated a list of big companies as “gatekeepers.” This label requires them to meet a series of common requirements to ensure that new services can compete. TikTok is on the EU gatekeeper list, but ByteDance, its parent company, disagreed with that and appealed the decision. However, the General Court of the European Union has dismissed the appeal.
The EU General Court dismissed ByteDance’s appeal against the TikTok gatekeeper label
Gatekeeper services are required to meet certain requirements. For example, messaging services must support interoperability with others in their segment. Also, OS developers should let the user choose which apps to pre-install during the initial setup, and cannot favor their services over those of third parties. The EU established some conditions for companies to be designated as “gatekeepers,” considering the number of users, market capitalization, and influence among people.
TikTok was one of the first services on the EU gatekeeper list. ByteDance appealed the designation, but the General Court of the European Union has now ruled that the company complies with the conditions. ByteDance argued that the designation of TikTok as a gatekeeper went against the goal of the rule.
The company said that appointing gatekeepers sought to protect new emerging services from dominant companies. But, ByteDance believes that TikTok does not have a comparable position to others on the list. Among the gatekeepers are also Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft.
TikTok meets the conditions to be on the list
However, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) allows services that have more than 45 million monthly users and a capitalization of more than 75 billion euros in the EU to be designated as gatekeepers. The DMA also considers the influence of the service among people. So, TikTok meets the conditions.
ByteDance also argued that its high global market value is mainly due to its activities in China. However, the EU court considered that the company did not substantiate its arguments sufficiently. The General Court said that “its high number of users in the Union reflects its financial capacity and its potential to monetize these users.”
The court also uses the accelerated growth of TikTok as an argument in favor of the gatekeeper designation. They said that TikTok achieved “in a short time, half the size, in terms of number of users within the European Union, of Facebook and of Instagram.”
ByteDance can still try to defend itself by taking the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This will be the last instance to which the company can resort.
After a brief hiatus, Samsung‘s Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra or Fold 6 Slim is back in the thick of tech rumors. While there is still no clarity on the device’s marketing name, evidence suggests the company is actively working on it. The rumors about its cancelation have quickly faded. A new leak now gives us a more precise timeline for the new foldable’s market release. Samsung reportedly plans to launch the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra or Slim in October.
Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra or Slim might launch in October
Just a week has passed since Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold 6. But long before its arrival, we learned that the Korean firm has at least one more Fold series foldable in the works for 2024, and potentially three more. As time passed, the rumored Slim and Ultra variants turned out to be the same device. Well, at least that’s what the available evidence tells us. The Fan Edition (FE) Fold, meanwhile, quietly exited the rumor mill.
All sources have been saying the same thing about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra or Slim, that it would be bigger and slimmer than the regular Fold 6. Samsung allegedly dropped S Pen support for a slimmer profile. The device is expected to pack beefier specs than the regular model, including bigger batteries and better cameras, hence it’s called Ultra. Some referred to it as Slim because it is… slim. It’ll be interesting to see Samsung’s pick.
Or maybe the company won’t think much. A reliable industry insider previously said that this powerful new foldable will launch as the Samsung W25 in China. The Korean firm has been launching its foldables under the W series in the country (Galaxy Z Fold 5 is Samsung W24), so that’s a logical naming scheme. A new report reconfirmed the name of the device’s Chinese version. It’s unclear what it will be called in other markets.
The device may not arrive in many markets
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra or Slim (model number SM-F958 and codename Q6a) is Samsung’s answer to the slim new foldables coming out of China. Unfortunately, it may not arrive in any other market apart from China and South Korea. The company allegedly plans to make only 400,000 to 500,000 units of the device. Maybe Samsung will launch the new foldable widely if it gets an excellent early response. If an October launch is set in stone, expect more frequent leaks in the coming months.
In need of a new soundbar for your living room or maybe your man cave? Well, the Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is on sale during Amazon Prime Day today, which is quite rare. Bose rarely ever discounts its products, outside of Prime Day or Black Friday, so this is a good time to pick one up. It’s discounted to $749, saving you $150 off of its regular price.
The Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar is a really impressive soundbar. Not only does it sound great, but it does also have support for Dolby Atmos. And once you’ve experienced Dolby Atmos, you won’t want to go back – trust me. Bose has also included a surround sound system using artificial intelligence here, so without needing a subwoofer, you can get a surround sound setup here. And that is truly quite impressive.
Bose offers the Smart Ultra Soundbar in two colors: white and black. It also comes in a metal body with a glass top. Making it look rather unique and high-end, and that should also help to keep it from attracting so much dust. It’ll also fit quite nicely in your living room.
