By Siôn Geschwindt Scientists in the UK have forged 5.5 tonnes of a new kind of steel capable of withstanding the searing heat and intense neutron radiation of nuclear fusion, the same reaction that powers the Sun and stars. The breakthrough is another boost to Europe’s growing flock of fusion energy startups. A UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) working group called NEURONE produced the reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic steel, or “RAFM” for short. It marks the first time that RAFM has been produced on an industrial scale in Britain. “This is really positive and potentially has relevance for all fusionenergy projects,” Ryan Ramsey, COO at…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

Tech hiring rose in December, dropping the IT unemployment rate to 2% — its lowest since November 2023, according to an analysis of the latest jobs data published today by the US Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS). The overall national unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, according to the BLS.

The tech sector added a net 7,000 jobs, bringing the total core tech workforce to nearly 6.5 million, according to CompTIA, a nonprofit association for the IT industry and workforce. The group found that the unemployment rate last month among tech professionals fell a full half a percent from November.

CompTIA

And as 2025 gets under wa, IT employment and hiring appears to be on a positive track, according to staffing agencies. According to ManpowerGroup, the net employment outlook for Q1 2025 is 2% higher than it was for the same period last year — 37% this year compared to 35% in early 2024.

ManpowerGroup recently published its Q1 2025 report on hiring, which claimed hiring in IT fields will beat all other professions in the US. Still, the firm also predicted employers will pull back on hiring in the months ahead because of “economic uncertainty.”

ManpowerGroup

“As we move into 2025, we’re seeing stable year-over-year hiring trends, with employers holding onto the talent they have and planning muted hiring for the quarter ahead,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup chair and CEO.

Overall, studies by ManpowerGroup, online hiring platform Indeed, and Deloitte Consulting showed that IT hiring will increasingly be based on finding workers with flexible skills that can meet changing demands.

In fact, employment within the tech sector encompassing all types of workers declined by 6,117 jobs in December, according to CompTIA’s data. Positions in PC, semiconductor and components manufacturing accounted for the bulk of those cuts.

The tech sector employs nearly 5.6 million people, which translates to a percentage decline of 1%.

ManpowerGroup

“Employers know a skilled and adaptable workforce is key to navigating transformation, and many are prioritizing hiring and retaining people with in-demand flexible skills that can flex to where demand sits,” Prising said.

Ger Doyle, ManpowerGroup’s US country manager, said the December BLS jobs report delivered “a strong finish to 2024 and is a promising sign of what’s to come in the new year. However, the labor market may still face challenges until inflation is under more control, which is necessary to prevent slower hiring, layoffs, and reduced job growth. Our real-time data shows that open positions have decreased by 8% month-over-month, but increased by 3% year-over-year.”

Overall, job postings have remained steady since November, up 13% year-over-year, reflecting growing demand in digital services, healthcare, and convenience retail, according to ManpowerGroup’s data.

The temp job market was also a bright spot, with open job postings reaching their highest levels since September 2023 and new job postings at their peak since March 2022, according to Doyle. “This surge is driven by an increased demand for IT roles as organizations turn to project work to develop artificial intelligence and machine learning,” Doyle said.

Kye Mitchell, head of Experis North America — a ManpowerGroup tech recruiting business — said demand increased among tech employers in December, particularly related to the “gig economy.” Uber led the surge in such jobs with a remarkable 4,150% increase in job postings, while Outlier Inc., a platform that connects experts to advance generative AI, saw a 342% rise in demand.

“This trend was also evident in the temp job market, where the demand for computer and information research scientists skyrocketed by 2,000% as organizations focused on developing artificial intelligence and machine learning, increasingly relying on temp workers,” Mitchell said.

In December, there were 434,415 active tech job postings, including 165,189 newly added (both down from November). Roles in software development, IT project management, cybersecurity, data science, and tech support saw the most activity, according to CompTIA.

Top hiring companies included Amazon, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, GovCIO, Robert Half, Lumen Technologies, and Insight Global. Job postings spanned all career levels: 22% required 0-3 years of experience, 28% wanted 4-7 years, and 16% sought 8+ years, CompTIA’s data showed.

Notably, 45% of postings across tech roles didn’t require a four-year degree, according to CompTIA. Network support specialists (85%), tech support specialists (72%), and computer programmers (54%) had the highest percentages of degree-optional roles.

For more historical data, here’s a rundown of tech unemployment data dating back to mid-2020.

Source:: Computer World

Forty-one percent of companies intend to cut their workforce in the next five years as many tasks are automated with AI, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Future of Jobs Report 2025.

At the same time, 70% of companies say they expect to hire people with knowledge of the new AI tools, reports CNN Business.

The WEF sees advances in AI and renewable energy as reshaping the labor market, driving demand for a variety of technical or specialist roles while leading to a decline for others. The shifts will also likely push companies to upskill their own employees.

There’s good news as well. According to the WEF forecast, while 92 million existing jobs will disappear by 2030, 170 million new jobs will be created. In other words, there will be a net addition of 78 million jobs if the forecast is accurate.

Source:: Computer World

By Thomas Macaulay TNW has strengthened its support for European tech by adding ecosystems expert Yeni Joseph to the management team. Yeni has also started a new role as Head of Ecosystem Strategy and Partnerships.  The appointment brings extensive expertise to TNW’s leadership — and fresh ideas.  “TNW has a long-standing track record of catalysing innovation,” says Yeni. “We now want to focus on going from legacy to measurable impact.” Yeni’s work will shape TNW’s influence within the world of tech. Her strategies will support the company’s mission to elevate high-potential startups. To meet this objective, Yeni will foster industry communities, identify emerging…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

Researchers at Google Deepmind and Stanford University have concluded that a two-hour interview is sufficient to create a realistic AI copy with the same personality as the interviewee.

In an experiment, 1,052 people were interviewed using a questionnaire that addressed everything from personal life events to opinions about society. A digital AI copy was then created and when a new round of questions was asked, it answered the same as its human counterpart in 85% of cases.

According to the researchers, AI copies of real people can be used in a wide range of contexts, but there are also risks with the technology. For example, they can be used for scams.

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt The Dutch government has reached a deal with Nvidia to supply hardware and expertise for the construction of an AI facility in the Netherlands.  The facility will centre around an AI supercomputer aimed at accelerating research and development, as the country pushes to further digitalise its economy, according to a statement made Thursday.   The Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs Dirk Beljaarts is currently in Silicon Valley, where he is meeting with executives at Nvidia. The world’s second most valuable company, Nvidia is a world leader in graphics processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence applications.  “Before a shovel can go into…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

Apple has vehemently denied that it ever abused recordings of Siri requests by using those records for marketing, ad sales, or any of the other creepy nonsense we’re being forced to tolerate with other connected devices.

The company’s denial follows a recent $95 million settlement concerning a widely reported sequence of events when it became known that the company had human contractors grading people’s spoken Siri requests. Many of us were extremely shocked at the nature what was being recorded and shared with those contractors, and to be fair, Apple swiftly took steps to remedy the situation, which it said was necessary to improve Siri’s accuracy.

The plaintiffs claimed that Apple’s systems had been used to trigger ads targeted at them, which Apple denied despite having settled the case. It’s thought the company chose to settle because it wanted to prevent further accusations against its commitments to privacy.

An unforced error with big consequences

The company has always denied that it abused the Siri request records in any way and has constantly pointed out that the recordings were not directly connected to any individual user, which is very unlike the experience you get with other connected devices. That denial wasn’t enough in this case. 

That’s because devices that lack Apple’s commitment to privacy are the ones responsible for ads you might encounter that spookily reflect private conversations you may have had. Apple says its systems don’t do that. 

Some companies deny they do this, but the fact others continue to do so leaves most of us deeply uncomfortable, and erodes trust.

In a statement following the resolution of the lawsuit, an Apple spokesperson said: “Apple has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles, never made it available for advertising, and never sold it to anyone for any purpose. Privacy is a foundational part of the design process, driven by principles that include data minimization, on-device intelligence, transparency and control, and strong security protections that work together to provide users with incredible experiences and peace of mind.”

Apple’s track record is a good one

Apple has committed vast resources to creating privacy protections across its systems. Everything from Lockdown mode to tools to prevent aggressive ad targeting and device fingerprinting represents the extent of its efforts, work that touches almost every part of the company’s ecosystem.

A future looming problem, of course, is that while Apple might be keeping to its pro-privacy promise, not every third-party developer likely shares the same commitment, despite the Privacy Labelling scheme the company has in place at the App Store.

This might become an even bigger problem as Apple is forced to open up to third-party stores. It seems plausible to expect some popular apps sold via those stores might choose to gather user data for profit.

With that monster visible on the horizon, Apple has also confirmed that it has teams working to build new technologies that will enhance Siri’s privacy. It also said, “Apple does not retain audio recordings of Siri interactions unless users explicitly opt in to help improve Siri, and even then, the recordings are used solely for that purpose.”

How Apple already protects Siri privacy

Apple pointed to several protections it already has in place for Siri requests:

Siri is designed to do as much processing as possible right on a user’s device — though some requests require external help, many, such as search suggestions, do not.

Siri searches and requests are not associated with your Apple Account. 

Apple does not retain audio recordings of Siri interactions unless users explicitly opt in to help improve Siri.

Apple has another protection it is putting into place: Private Cloud Compute. This will mean that Apple Intelligence requests made through Siri are directed to Apple’s cloud servers, which offer industry-leading security. “When Siri uses Private Cloud Compute, a user’s data is not stored or made accessible to Apple, and Private Cloud Compute only uses their data to fulfil the request,” the company said.

To some degree, the need to make these statements is a problem Apple foolishly created for itself in the way it initially handled Siri request grading. The manner in which that was done tarnished its reputation for privacy, which is unfortunate given the company knows very well that in the current environment digital privacy is something that must be fought for.

There is a silver lining to the clouded sky. That Apple is now making these statements means it can once again raise privacy as a consideration as we move through the next chapters of AI-driven digital transformation.

All the same, raising the conversation does not in any way guarantee that privacy will win the debate, despite how utterly essential it is to business and personal users in this digital, connected era.

You can follow me on social media! You’ll find me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, Mastodon, and MeWe. 

Source:: Computer World

By Thomas Macaulay Fifty of the fastest-growing tech firms in the Netherlands are in Las Vegas this week. The crew crossed the Atlantic to attend CES — the world’s biggest tech show. By their side is economic affairs minister Dirk Beljaarts, who’s on a mission to promote Dutch innovation. So is TNW. We’ve partnered with the Consumer Trade Association — which organises CES — on its annual Match program at the event. The in-person meetings connect startups with investors and corporate venture arms. TNW has also checked out the Dutch delegation at CES. Here are seven members of the tech team that caught our…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Nick Mokey A fully autonomous passenger aircraft emerges from the back of the Land Aircraft Carrier, an ambitious new vehicle from Chinese manufacturer Xpeng.

Source:: Digital Trends

By Christine Romero-Chan CES 2025 is starting to wrap up, but there’s still plenty to cover. Stay tuned here for the latest live updates from the show floor!

Source:: Digital Trends

Cybersecurity company Eset is now urging Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 or another operating system well in advance of Oct. 14, 2025, when support for Windows 10 ends.

into”It’s about five to twelve minutes to avoid a security fiasco in 2025,” Eset security expert Thorsten Urbanski said, according to Bleeping Computer .

Eset estimates there are around 32 million computers still running Windows 10 in Germany alone, roughly 65% of all devices in the country. Windows 11 runs on 16.5 million devices, corresponding to approximately 33%. According to Statcounter, global figures for Windows 10 and 11 use are similar.

Many Windows 10 users have not upgraded because of Windows 11’s higher hardware requirements, which make it inaccessible for older computers.

“The situation is much more dangerous than when support for Windows 7 ended in 2020,” said Urbanski.

Source:: Computer World

Computers get clogged with digital “stuff” over time, and while we all like to think we’re good at managing all that D-detritus, there’s somehow never quite enough time to clean things up. If you’re new to the Mac, or even if you’ve used an Apple computer for decades, you need to learn these tips to prune the trash. But first, open the Finder item in the Menu and choose “Empty Trash.”

You’d be surprised how many Mac users forget to do so regularly.

Check your storage

Your Mac has a really excellent storage management system that is available in System Settings in the General tab. (This is also available via the Apple menu, About this Mac, More info). Open that tab and then select Storage. Your Mac will have a little think and reward you with a nice graphic that shows you what is taking up most space on your machine.

This information is divided across numerous sections:

Applications

Bin

Books

Documents

iCloud Drive

Mail

Messages

Music

Photos

Podcasts

TV

Other Users & Shared

macOS

System Data

Now that you’ve got a bird’s eye view of your storage, you can begin to get rid of some of the clutter.

Use the Recommendations

Apple has built a system to help you delete some of the most commonly accumulated stuff, which it makes available as Recommendations. These Recommendations usually appear at the top of the list of stored media, just beneath the image in Storage. You will not see these if you have already followed them, but if you do these may include:

Store in iCloud: This stores all your Desktop and Documents files in the cloud and only keeps recent files locally available on your Mac. The too will also store messages, attachments, photos, and videos for you. This maximizes storage space. 

Optimize Storage: This tool automatically removes movies and TV shows sourced from Apple from your Mac, though you can still download them again.

Empty Trash automatically: This tool is recommended as it will automatically erase anything that has been in the Trash for over 30-days.

Open your ‘I’s

Take a look at the above and you’ll find that each section has a small I beside it. Tap this and you’ll get more information to help you manage each of those sections. Tap the I icon for Applications, for example, and you’ll find all those you have installed; you should delete all those you no longer use. if you find any software you don’t need, you can select it in this view and hit Delete to get rid of it, freeing up a little space.

It’s good to take a look inside each category, particularly Messages, where you can delete some of these huge attachments you might not realize you have stored on your device.

What about your Downloads folder?

When did you last take a look inside your Downloads folder? Open it now. (Go>Downloads in the menu bar). Most Mac users find they have lots of items stored there, many of which might still be important. You can free up huge quantities of space on your Mac by going through what you have stored in the folder, filing important items in relevant folders on your Mac, and deleting the rest. Of course, the easiest way to review all those items is to view the files as a list using View>As List. 

Manage all your largest files

Here’s a way to quickly review all the largest files you have stashed on your Mac. Let’s create a Smart Folder to monitor for larger files. 

In the Finder Menu choose New Smart Folder.

A “New Smart Folder” window appears. You’ll see an option to search “This Mac.” Select that.

Look to the left along the row and you’ll see a Save command (which we will use later). You will also see a Plus (+) button. Tap this.

A set of choices comes up. The first defaults to Kind. Tap this to access a drop down menu where you should tap “Other.”

A long list appears; the one you want is File Size, which you should check.

Once you do so, you’ll be able to select it in the drop down list to replace Kind.

In the next item on the row, you’ll get to choose a parameter. I suggest you use “is greater than.”

Two more choices appear in the row; the first lets you set a number — try 100. The second lets you define a size — try MB.

You will immediately see every file on your Mac that is larger than 100MB. You can delete any of these items by control-clicking them and choosing Move to Bin. But be certain not to delete any System files, as doing so may damage your system. In general, it’s a good rule not to delete anything you do not recognize.

Now you have this bird’s eye view into large items on your Mac you can Save it for future use. 

Return to the original Row you first looked at, and tap Save.

Give the search a name, such as “Large Files.”

By default, the search saves in Saved Searches, which is as good a place as any.

Also by default, the search can be added to the sidebar — just make sure this option is ticked.

In the future, you’ll find your new “Large Files” search is available to you in Favorites from within the Finder sidebar, making it super easy to swiftly identify any space invaders you still have on your system.

Take a look in Mail

Your email application is full of stuff. All those Mail attachments mount up over the years, and while you need to keep some of them some of the time, you probably don’t need to retain all of them forever. The best practice is to delete attachments in emails you no longer need; you can do this by deleting the message itself or selecting a message and choosing Remove Attachments in the Messages menu. 

You can also create a search in Mail that lets you identify emails containing attachments. Try Mailbox>New Smart Mailbox, select “contains attachments” and save. This is a very unsophisticated tool that just makes it easier for you to monitor any emails you might have received that contain attachments, though it still makes for a very manual process. This is actually the problem with Mail: it doesn’t let you easily manage emails containing large attachments. It does let you do one more thing, however, which you should do now: Open Mailbox and choose Erase Junk Mail to get rid of all the junk that has accumulated. You should also select Erase Deleted Items.

Run Onyx or CleanMyMac

There are numerous applications that claim to help you free up and better manage space on your Mac. I like the free Onyx application, which has been my go-to troubleshooting solution for years. But many users also like MacPaw’s CleanMyMac application. What these applications do is make it possible to delete data you can’t easily or safely get to on your Mac, including unwanted database files, bloated logs, and more. Apple says that macOS will automatically clear such data — including temporary database files, interrupted downloads, staged macOS and app updates, Safari website data, and more — when space is needed on your Mac. But some users might prefer to be proactive.

With Onyx, install the software, open Maintenance and select and run the Cleaning options available there.

Using CleanMyMac, run the Cleanup routine, which will scan your Mac to present you with a selection of choices of what to clean.

What both applications do is force the Mac to run tasks it should do automatically.

Delete old user profiles

If you are using a shared Mac it is likely it will also be a managed Mac, in which case the following option might not be available as it may be managed on your behalf by IT. The problem this solves is that each user on a Mac gets its own user profile which contains all the data and documents that relate to that user. That’s fine when everyone is actively using the Mac, but when someone stops using the machine it becomes necessary to delete their profile to free up the space – though they should get the data they need off the Mac before you do.

To delete an unwanted User profile open System Settings>Users & Groups. If you see the word Admin under your name you will be able to follow the rest of these steps, once you click the lock icon and enter the password. Then choose the user you intend to delete and click Delete User by clicking the – (minus) button. 

Three options appear:

Save the home folder in a disk image: All the information will be archived for potential restore,

Don’t change the home folder: Everything is left in place and the user can be restored.

Delete the home folder: Everything is deleted.

Before choosing the third option, it’s incredibly important to ensure you have the right to delete the user.

If you have additional suggestions, please let me know.

You can follow me on social media! Join me on BlueSky,  LinkedIn, Mastodon, and MeWe. 

Source:: Computer World

By Siôn Geschwindt German startup Vay plans to expand its “teledriving” fleet in Las Vegas to 100 electric vehicles — and you could get a job steering the cars.    Vay first launched the service last year, with just two Kia eNiros. It’s fleet has since grown to 30 EVs, which have completed 6000 rides so far.  When you open the Vay app and request a ride, a remote operator drives an electric vehicle to collect you. You then get behind the empty driver’s seat and set off toward your destination.  Once you’re done using the EV, you apply the handbrake, get out,…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Hisan Kidwai Inspired by the much-loved One Piece Anime series, King Legacy is a super-popular adventure game on…
The post King Legacy Codes: January 2025 appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Hisan Kidwai The Untitled Boxing Game, despite being untitled, remains the most popular boxing game on Roblox—and for…
The post Untitled Boxing Game Codes: January 2025 appeared first on Fossbytes.

Source:: Fossbytes

By Digital Trends Staff CES 2025 has taken over Las Vegas, with billboards buzzing about AI and tech everywhere. Digital Trends editors have explored the best innovations from 4,500 exhibitors, uncovering standout products across TVs, EVs, gadgets, and more. From smart devices to a Steam Deck rival, our Best of CES 2025 awards showcase the highlights you won’t want to miss!

Source:: Digital Trends

By Digital Trends Staff CES 2025 has taken over Las Vegas, with billboards buzzing about AI and tech everywhere. Digital Trends editors have explored the best innovations from 4,500 exhibitors, uncovering standout products across TVs, EVs, gadgets, and more. From smart devices to a Steam Deck rival, our Top Tech of CES 2025 awards showcase the highlights you won’t want to miss!

Source:: Digital Trends

By Christine Romero-Chan There’s plenty more CES news today as the show officially kicks off. We’ll have live updates from the show right here!

Source:: Digital Trends

By Siôn Geschwindt French upstart Circular has unveiled a fresh challenge to Oura — the current lord of the smart rings. Circular has just released a new smart ring that offers two key advantages over Oura, which currently dominates the global market for the trendy wearables, which monitor your health metrics and display the info on an app.      Dubbed the Circular Ring 2, it’s a quantum leap forward from its predecessor, the Circular Slim, which The Verge described as a product that held “a lot of promise” but executed on “almost none of it.” Firstly, Circular has swapped the plastic shell in the…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a post on X, says the AI ​​company is currently losing money on its ChatGPT Pro subscription. “People are using it much more than we expected,” he wrote.

The company introduced its ChatGPT Pro subscription in December. The subscription costs $200 a month and gives users access to an upgraded version of the o1 reasoning model, o1 pro mode, and has no user restrictions for tools such as the video generator Sora.

In another post, Altman wrote that he personally chose the price for ChatGPT Pro in the belief it would bring in money for the company. But the high costs associated with training the large language models (LLMs) generative AI tools require make profitability difficult for OpenAI to achieve.

Source:: Computer World