By Siôn Geschwindt Rome-based venture capital firm Scientifica has launched a €200mn fund to support startups in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and other frontier technologies. The fund, set to launch early next year, will provide early-stage companies with both financial backing and access to advanced lab spaces. Scientifica’s fund is based on a “Zero CapEx” model. Startups can use Scientifica’s 4,000 m² of laboratories and a network of 70 certified labs in Italy without incurring upfront costs. The aim is to reduce barriers to innovation by giving early-stage access to cutting-edge tools and facilities. The model reflects a growing trend of venture capital firms supporting…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Siôn Geschwindt If you live in Europe and you use a neobank, you’ve likely been interacting with Upvest’s investment products without even knowing it. The Berlin-based startup runs a stock-trading API that integrates into some of the biggest fintechs in Europe — Revolut, N26, Bunq, Plum, Raisin, Shares and Vivid. Through these banks, some 50 million users have access use the company’s investment products, it said. Amid a broader neobank boom, Upvest today announced it has raised €100M in a Series C funding round led by Hedosophia and joined by Sapphire Ventures. Existing investors, Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, Earlybird, HV Capital, Motive Ventures, and Notion Capital also chipped…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Hisan Kidwai For years, the Android flagship space has been dominated by the likes of Samsung, and Chinese…
The post vivo X200 Pro Review: DSLR In Your Pocket! appeared first on Fossbytes.

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By Hisan Kidwai Outdoor speakers are a pretty big market, as almost everyone loves to jam to their favorite…
The post Xiaomi Outdoor Speaker Review: The Best Budget Outdoor Speaker? appeared first on Fossbytes.

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The battle between WordPress owner Automattic and WP Engine seemingly struck US federal Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin as rather one-sided, as she ruled against Automattic on Tuesday and granted WP Engine the preliminary injunction it sought.

“Judge Martinez-Olguin’s ruling clearly explains why [Automattic founder] Matt Mullenweg’s campaign against WP Engine has been so misguided,” said IDC research manager Michele Rosen. “By going to war with one vendor that is engaging in a common business practice, Mullenweg caused irreparable damage to the WordPress ecosystem.”

The ruling

Martinez-Olguin ordered Automattic to reverse many of its actions against WP Engine, and gave Automattic 72 hours to:

Remove a list of exiting WP Engine customers that Automattic was publicizing to show how many of WP Engine’s customers were leaving.

“Restore WP Engine’s and Related Entities’ access to wordpress.org as it existed as of September 20, 2024, including: reactivating and restoring all WP Engine employee login credentials to wordpress.org resources (including login credentials to login.wordpress.org) as they existed as of September 20, 2024.”

Disable “any technological blocking of WP Engine’s and Related Entities’ access to wordpress.org that occurred on or around September 25, 2024, including IP address blocking or other blocking mechanisms”

“Restore WP Engine’s and Related Entities’ access to wordpress.org in the manner that such access existed as of September 20, 2024, including:

functionality and development resources;

data resources (WordPress Plugin, Theme, and Block Directories, repositories, listings, and other password-protected resources within wordpress.org);

security resources (login.wordpress.org);

support resources (trac.wordpress.org and slack.wordpress.org);

removing the checkbox at login.wordpress.org that Defendants added on or about October 8, 2024 asking users to confirm that they are ‘not affiliated with WP Engine in any way, financially or otherwise.’”

Return and restore “WP Engine’s “access to and control of its Advanced Custom Fields (“ACF”) plugin directory.”

The judge further ordered Automattic to:

Stop “blocking, disabling, or interfering with WP Engine’s and/or its employees’, users’, customers’, or partners’ access to wordpress.org.”

Stop “interfering with WP Engine’s control over, or access to, plugins or extensions hosted on wordpress.org that were developed, published, or maintained by WP Engine, including those that had been published, developed, or maintained by WP Engine as of September 20, 2024.”

No longer interfere with “WP Engine’s and Related Entities’ WordPress installations (i.e., websites built with WordPress software) by using auto-migrate or auto-update commands to delete, overwrite, disable, or modify any WP Engine plugin without the express request by or consent of WP Engine and/or its users, customers, or partners.” However, she added, “The above does not preclude wordpress.org’s ability to ensure the security and operability of its site consistent with procedures and policies in place as of September 20, 2024.”

In her detailed decision, Martinez-Olguin reviewed every claim that WP Engine made against Automattic, and found for WP Engine in just about every instance, arguing that WP Engine “is likely to succeed on the merits.”

For example, Automattic had argued that there were no contracts between WP Engine and key customers. 

Although Automattic representatives “press WP Engine to identify specific contracts, there is no credible argument that contracts do not exist between WP Engine and its customers,” Martinez-Olguin wrote. “At a minimum, by seeking to entice WP Engine customers to move away from the company … defendants at least acknowledge that WP Engine has existing contracts with the customers Defendants are targeting.”

Additionally, she said, Automattic’s argument “that the interference WP Engine alleges consists of acts they had a right to take fares no better. They insist that Mullenweg was under no obligation to provide WP Engine access to some or all of the sources on the Website and that he had a right, under the Website’s developer guidelines, to fork the ACF plugin as he did, including to address outstanding issues.

“Mullenweg’s statement that he had the right to disable WP Engine’s account access and to make changes to the ACF plugin for the sake of public safety is belied by the declarations of WP Engine’s executives stating that the claimed vulnerability was minor, patched well before the fix-it window set by industry standard, and showing that Defendants tried to pass off the rating and reviews for the ACF plugin as those for their new purportedly forked SCF plugin.”

WP Engine ‘wins a battle but everyone continues to lose the war’

Automattic responded with a statement saying that the ruling “is a preliminary order designed to maintain the status quo. It was made without the benefit of discovery, our motion to dismiss, or the counterclaims we will be filing against WP Engine shortly. We look forward to prevailing at trial as we continue to protect the open source ecosystem during full-fact discovery and a full review of the merits.”

WP Engine also shared a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “We are grateful that the court has granted our motion for a preliminary injunction that restores access to and functionality of wordpressdotorg for WP Engine, its customers, and its users. This ruling provides much-needed stability for the WordPress ecosystem. We deeply appreciate our customers for their continued trust and support. We remain committed to serving them and their sites with the performance, availability, and integrity they deserve, while collaborating to ensure a vigorous, thriving and stable WordPress community.”

The case has concerned many in the open source community, as the acrimonious war of actions and words between Automattic and WP Engine scared various open source companies, along with enterprise CIOs, who worry that these companies might become too toxic and they might need to keep their distance. 

One open source executive read the judge’s decision and said he was concerned that the ruling might have come too late to halt the damage done to the open source community.

“WP Engine wins a battle, but everyone continues to lose the war. WP Engine has had (about a) 15% increase in cancellations in the last few months, and 159 WordPress employees have quit. No doubt these distractions will negatively impact the innovation and evolution of the WordPress solution for months, if not years to come. It’s not hyperbole to say 40% of the internet is and will be losing in some way,” said Michael Sonier, general manager at ButterCMS.

“As a 20-year-old technology, WP remained ubiquitous because of its ecosystem, but now it’s turned on its own. Hard not to see this accelerating the adoption of technologies that are 20 years younger,” he noted. “More broadly, it sets back the open source movement, which was always about community, collaboration, and contribution. Now it’s going to be associated with potential legal battles, finger pointing, and volatility.”

Source:: Computer World

Mozilla has announced that Do Not Track, a feature designed to prevent user tracking online, will be removed with version 135 of the company’s Firefox browser. The decision comes as more and more websites choose to ignore Do Not Track, leaving users with a false sense of security.

Privacy-conscious users are being encouraged to instead enable Global Privacy Control (GPC), a feature that tells sites your data may not be shared or resold to third parties.

Windowsreport notes that Do Not Track remains in place for the time being in other browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. So users who want to continue using the feature, might want to switch browsers.

Source:: Computer World

By Deepti Pathak In 2021, YouTube stopped showing the public dislike count, allowing only creators to see the numbers…
The post How to See Dislikes on YouTube? appeared first on Fossbytes.

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By Deepti Pathak Apple’s AirTag has become popular for tracking valuable items like keys, bags, and wallets. However, the…
The post How Long Does Apple AirTag Battery Last? appeared first on Fossbytes.

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By Siôn Geschwindt A police force in the UK is using Bluetooth tracking wristbands for people with dementia in a high-tech bid to keep them safe.   Starting this month, Avon and Somerset Police will start giving out Bluetooth wristbands for free to families. It’s part of a broader initiative to protect dementia patients, who often suffer from extreme memory loss and confusion as a result of the incurable condition. The wristbands are fitted with Tile, a popular tracking device similar to the Apple Airtag. Once the tag is attached to a patient, caregivers can track their location via a smartphone app. If the…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Siôn Geschwindt In 2018, Elon Musk put a Tesla in space. Like many of the billionaire’s antics, it was a publicity stunt. However, it pointed to an undeniable truth: the future of space travel is electric.   Most spacecraft today — like cars and trucks back on Earth — burn chemicals to get around. But space agencies like NASA, ESA, and France’s CNES have been experimenting with electric thrusters for decades, in a bid for a cleaner, more efficient way to propel satellites. A few startups have spun out from this work. One of them is Paris-headquartered ION-X. It hopes to build the…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Nick Godt A new Tesla EV, called the Model Q, is in store for 2025, and it will be priced under $30,000 including incentives, according to Deutsche Bank.

Source:: Digital Trends

A new study by a PhD student at MIT indicates that AI tools can help scientists make more discoveries, according to Nature.

In the study by Aidan Toner-Rodgers, an unspecified laboratory in the US with 1,018 researchers used an unspecified custom machine-learning tool. The work teams that were randomly assigned to use the AI ​​tool then discovered 44% more materials and created 39% more patent applications than those that did not use the tool.

At the same time, the technology had different effects on how productivity was distributed. The bottom third of researchers saw little benefit, while output doubled for top researchers.

AI automated 57% of the “idea generation” tasks and reassigned scientists to the new task of evaluating model-produced material candidates. Top-performing researchers then used their expertise to prioritize promising AI proposals, while other researchers wound up wasting significant resources testing false positives.

The survey also showed that progress has a price: 82% of researchers reported decreased satisfaction with their work due to decreased creativity and underutilization of their skills. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed by other researchers.

Source:: Computer World

Mac developers have a lot to think about as we close in on 2025, the eighth Mac developer survey from Setapp suggests. Should they sell software outside of the App Store? Is it time to diversify to other platforms? When will it be time to build software for visionOS? And what about artificial intelligence (AI)?

Should they sell software outside of the App Store?

Apple is being forced to open up to competition to the App Store, including support for third-party app portals. As these stores appear, it seems inevitable that some developers might consider selling software at those new outlets, including Setapp’s own mobile app store. The data suggests that as many as a third of developers are ready to use third-party stores for iOS apps. 

It’s a little different for Mac applications — just 20% of those are sold exclusively via the Mac App Store, with 37% sold outside of that structure and 44% sold through both outlets. The implication here is that iOS app sales might end up in a similar stance, with the vast majority of apps made available via the App Store, rather than outside of it. 

The most popular channel for Mac app sales outside of Apple’s store is, of course, via the developer’s own website — though when it comes to making those sales, the challenges remain much the same as before: app discovery, marking, and user acquisition. I’ll be interested to see how third-party app stores rise to the challenge of helping developers with those challenges in future.

There’s an interesting side insight here. 

Despite years of complaining about Apple’s 30% fee on apps sold through its own store (really, it is around 15% for the vast majority), it strongly appears developers believe it is worth sharing revenue with app retail services. That, once again, means the only real question behind of the App Store liberation remains the same: How much is fair to charge? That amount differs, but people seem pretty certain that revenue sharing is good for business, and a good chunk of them plan to stick with the App Store.

Is it time to diversify to other platforms?

If Mac developers are a barometer, then it looks as if the majority of Apple’s developers are willing to build cross-platform solutions to bring in new business, though most prefer to remain in Apple’s ecosystem. Three-quarters (75%) of developers build for other operating systems, mainly for iOS (59%), iPad OS (37%), and Windows (23%). Just 11% build for Android — slightly lower than those building apps for Apple Watch.

The trend is that diversification is taking place mostly within Apple’s own ecosystem, with some Windows development. What isn’t happening fast so far is visionOS, which hasn’t yet become a large enough platform for mass market app developers. It’s a professional tool.

When will it be time to build software for visionOS?

Twenty percent of Mac developers plan to develop for visionOS in 2024 or are already in the process. Low market share and high device price remains a concern and is possibly why almost half (45%) of developers haven’t decided whether to build for the platform yet. Thirty-five percent of developers say they will not build for the platform this year, though 8% are building visionOS apps already. 

What’s interesting is that while it confirms relatively low interest in developing apps for Apple’s newest hardware at this time, it shows interest sufficiently high that almost one in 10 Mac developers are already building for the platform.

This bodes very well as Apple improves the hardware and reduces cost, as it means there will already be a decent number of apps available by the time it inches toward being more mass market. While there are many developers who won’t use their resources to build right now, things can and will change as the situation evolves.

What about AI?

Apple’s spatial reality party was to some extent dented by the near-simultaneous revolution of generative AI. If Apple had expected visionOS to grab the oxygen from the room, it only had limited success. Sure, the rest of the industry went into stasis as it awaited news of VisionPro, but AI grabbed headlines everywhere and developers are far from blind to that. Nor, as Apple Intelligence proves, was Apple.

This is probably why more than 41% of Mac app developers are about to begin using AI models in their apps, with another 19% thinking about it. What they are using AI for is interesting. As you’d expect, personalization and automation are big trends, but real-time translation, automated IoT deployments, and productivity tools in various stripes seem to be shades of what’s coming as apps get updated in the coming months. AI/ML development is by far the trend developers think will have the biggest impact on their apps in the year to come, with personalization and privacy rules also in the picture. 

There’s a lot more that should be of interest in the Setapp survey this year. But what seems to be crystal clear is that the intelligence in devices will be harnessed in rapidly more sophisticated ways in the months and years ahead — at what point will AI predict your needs to the extent that App Stores will be redundant? And as apps continue to evolve into becoming cloud-based services, will operating systems mean as much anymore?

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

Source:: Computer World

By Deepti Pathak WhatsApp makes sharing videos quick and easy, whether you’re connecting with family, friends, or colleagues. While…
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By Deepti Pathak Managing a Facebook page can be exciting, but what if it’s time to say goodbye to…
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By Kirstie McDermott December is a good time to think about your next career move. Your colleagues may be on a go-slow when it comes to getting projects over the line ahead of the Christmas holiday period, but for those with an eye on 2025’s job-hunting prize, this month can be a really fruitful time to look for a new opportunity. Bonnie Dilber, who is a recruiting leader at Zapier and an HR influencer on TikTok, explains why, based on her nine-plus years of hiring experience. “Basically you have a situation at the end of the year where companies may have fewer roles…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

By Siôn Geschwindt UK and Luxembourg-based startup Uplift360 has landed €1mn in pre-seed funding to scale up a greener method for recycling advanced materials like Kevlar. Uplift360’s patent-pending process breaks down Kevlar and other composites without compromising the integrity of the fibres and resins. These raw materials can then be reused to make new products. It does this using safe chemicals and at room temperature — making it greener and more energy-efficient than traditional methods, the startup claims.   “It’s a game-changer,” Sam Staincliffe, Uplift360’s co-founder and CTO, told TNW in an interview. “It means we can lower costs and recycle a wide range…This story continues at The Next Web

Source:: The Next Web

Microsoft’s Copilot Vision feature is now available for users to test in a limited preview.

Built natively into Microsoft’s Edge browser, Copilot Vision analyzes and understands the contents of web pages you visit. You can then ask the AI assistant for information and guidance about what appears on screen. 

“It is a new way to invite AI along with you as you navigate the web, tucked neatly into the bottom of your Edge browser whenever you want to ask for help,” the Copilot team said in a blog post Friday.  “It’s almost like having a second set of eyes as you browse, just turn on Copilot Vision to instantly scan, analyze, and offer insights based on what it sees.”   

The feature, which is opt-in, will function only on select websites to begin with.

Copilot Vision was announced as part of an overhaul to make the consumer Copilot more of a personal AI assistant. This also included the introduction of Copilot Voice, with four voice options aimed at enabling more natural interactions. 

“Increasingly, generative AI assistants are becoming multi-modal (language, vision and voice) and have personalities that can be configured by the consumers,” Jason Wong, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner, said about the Copilot redesign at the time. “We will see even more anthropomorphism of AI in the coming year.” 

Copilot Vision is rolling out to a limited number of Copilot Pro customers in the US via Copilot Labs. Copilot Pro costs $20 per month. 

On Friday, Microsoft also announced an expanded preview for Windows Recall, its searchable timeline tool. Having made Recall available to Windows Insiders on Copilot+ PCs running Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors, Microsoft has now expanded access to devices with AMD and Intel chips. 

Source:: Computer World

By Nick Godt The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales continued to grow in the U.S. in the third quarter.

Source:: Digital Trends

It might not be the biggest-selling or most expensive product in Apple’s basket, but a very important part of Apple’s future will be defined by the upcoming iPhone SE upgrade in 2025. That’s because it is expected to bring in a new Apple-made 5G modem, impressive camera improvements, and support for Apple Intelligence.

And all of those will require more memory and a much faster processor.

To recap recent claims, here’s what we expect for the iPhone SE 4:

An Apple-made 5G modem

Apple has been working on its own 5G modem for years and has spent billions on the task. Bloomberg tells us the company is almost ready to go with its own home-developed modem, though will continue using Qualcomm modems in some devices for a while yet, in part because they support mmWave, which the new Apple modems allegedly do not.

Apple’s first modems will appear in the iPhone SE4 and iPhone 17 Air. The good thing is that the new modem will enable Apple to make thinner devices; the bad news is it might deliver reduced download speeds in comparison to Qualcomm modems on some networks. The plan is to deploy Apple modems across all iPhones and iPads by around 2028 — and we might also see 5G arrive in Macs, at long last.

And a better camera

One report claims the iPhone SE 4 will include a single-lens 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth front camera. That’s a big improvement on the current model, which offers just a 12-megapixel rear camera and a measly 7-megapixel front camera. These improvements should make for better photography and videoconferencing, and hints at good support for camera-driven object recognition using Apple Intelligence.

The phone is also expected to support FaceID and to host a 6.1-inch OLED display.

Apple Intelligence

That the fourth-generation iPhone SE will support Apple Intelligence isn’t surprising, as on its current path all Apple’s hardware is expected to integrate AI to some extent. What that means in hardware terms is that the new iPhone will have a higher-capacity battery (because running large language models is thirsty work), 8GB of memory, and a faster processor. That almost certainly means an A18 chip, as fielding an A17 processor would date the product even before it even joined the race.

For Apple Intelligence to truly succeed, Apple needs to invest in growing the size of the ecosystem, which is why it makes sense to go for the A18. We shall see, of course.

Made in India?

There are a handful of additional improvements, including a built-in eSIM, USB-C, and a better battery. Much of the reporting suggests the company will roll out its lowest-price iPhone sometime around March 2025, which itself means mass production has probably begun. We don’t yet know whether they will be manufactured in India, particularly if Apple wants to keep the price at around $500 or below. 

It seems possible. 

After all, rumor has it that Apple hopes to manufacture around 25% of all its smartphones in India by the end of 2025. It’s also true that India’s traditionally value-conscious consumers are increasingly prepared to invest in pro smartphones, despite which there is a massive market of people who don’t have these devices yet; market penetration is around 40%.

With the economy growing fast, the idea of introducing a lower cost but powerful India-made iPhones equipped with a powerful processor and support for AI could resonate quite strongly in India, where Apple’s efforts to build market are already having a positive impact. A range of cool colors and a ‘Made in India’ label on the box could help Apple convince some of those who don’t yet have smartphones to ready their Rupees for an AAPL stock-saving smartphone sale. And even if that doesn’t happen, the device itself could prove critical to the company’s 2025 efforts in that market.

What about the modem?

The 5G modem is, of course, the big Apple story here. Bloomberg has claimed Apple is working on three models at the moment: the first to be introduced in the iPhone SE that lacks mmWave support, a second that does enjoy such support, and a third “Pro” modem that answers or exceeds what the best available 5G chips can do. 

The thing is, 5G isn’t the only story in town. Apple continues to make big investments in satellite communications, as recently confirmed in a series of investor reports from its preferred network supplier, GlobalStar. The company already offers a range of satellite-based services in several nations through that partnership, and it’s reasonable to expect whatever 5G chips Apple comes up with to continue and enhance support for these life-saving services. 

Apple’s “whole widget” approach when it comes to communication services pretty much demands its network of space satellites and accompanying smartphone modems sing from the same hymn sheet, and it will be interesting to see if the song remains the same once they do. I think this connection (along with the ability to maintain current price points by swapping out Qualcomm kit for something else) will remain two strategic imperatives for Apple through 2028. Is it possible Apple’s AI servers will reduce the environmental impact of using them by being based in and cooled by space?

That’s a very long shot, of course, but feasibility studies to do just that have already taken place. 

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Source:: Computer World