Ars reports

In context: This past weekend, EVGA announced that they would no longer produce graphics cards ahead of Nvidia's reveal of their RTX 4000 series GPUs. EVGA claimed their relationship with Nvidia was "abusive" and unfair, but a report from Igor's Lab claims EVGA's issues may have been partially self-inflicted. Many tech fans and enthusiasts were shocked over the weekend by the news that EVGA, one of the more popular AIB manufacturers, would no longer produce graphics cards based on Nvidia GeForce GPUs. EVGA stated that their relationship with Nvidia was "abusive" and accused Nvidia of having a "severe lack of communication" when it came to pricing for graphics cards. The lack of communication reportedly resulted in EVGA having significantly reduced profit margins, especially following the recent price cuts on higher-end Ampere graphics cards. EVGA notes that they have been losing hundreds of dollars on RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 tier cards ever since the recent market decline and … [Read more...] about EVGA’s low profit margins may have been partially self-inflicted, report says

As augmented reality (AR) glasses continue to try carving a place among tech enthusiasts, we're seeing another option hit mass availability in the US. In addition to selling the sunglass-like Nreal Air specs in America, Beijing-based company Nreal also announced today a version of its Nebula AR operating system that will work with Apple M1 and M2-powered MacBooks. The Mac version of Nebula works with MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops with Apple silicon and is launching as a beta. Attaching the Air glasses to a MacBook won't give you the same Nebula "AR Space" experience available to supported Android phones . AR Space includes a mixed-reality interface and games and other AR apps made for the glasses. Instead, Mac users will see a virtual UI that Nreal's calling AR Desktop and projects up to three virtual displays at a time, an Nreal rep told Ars Technica. An Nreal rep wouldn't specify when AR Space would come to MacBooks or iOS. In a statement, Nreal co-founder Peng Jin … [Read more...] about Nreal’s $380 AR glasses want to be a virtual monitor for MacBooks

Google and Apple have removed hundreds of apps from their app stores at the request of governments around the world, creating regional disparities in access to mobile apps at a time when many economies are becoming increasingly dependent on them . The mobile phone giants have removed over 200 Chinese apps , including widely downloaded apps like TikTok, at the Indian government’s request in recent years. Similarly, the companies removed LinkedIn, an essential app for professional networking, from Russian app stores at the Russian government’s request . However, access to apps is just one concern. Developers also regionalize apps , meaning they produce different versions for different countries. This raises the question of whether these apps differ in their security and privacy capabilities based on region. In a perfect world, access to apps and app security and privacy capabilities would be consistent everywhere. Popular mobile apps should be available without increasing … [Read more...] about Apps can pose bigger security, privacy threat based on where you download them

Like grains of sand through the hourglass, so are the releases of Chrome. Google Chrome version 105 arrives on September 27, 2022 with a work-in-progress RSS reader, translation for highlighted text, and several other upcoming features are seeing progress. Translate Highlighted Text Google Translate built-in is a very handy feature of Chrome. Previously, it was possible to right-click anywhere on a webpage and click “Translate to English.” Chrome 106 adds the ability to highlight text and see the same option. It works exactly how you’d expect. Simply highlight the text on a page that you would like to translate, right-click the text, then choose “Translate to English” from the menu. The feature can be enabled through a Chrome flag at: chrome://flags#desktop-partial-translate Desktop Chrome Gets the RSS Reader In 2021, Chrome for Android and iOS received a built-in “RSS reader” in the form of “Follow” buttons on websites. Finally, that feature is starting to … [Read more...] about What’s New in Chrome 106, Arriving Today

Americans went on a home buying spree in August while mortgage rates temporarily dipped, data from the Commerce Department indicated Tuesday. New homes sales jumped 28.8 percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 685,000 in August, the Commerce Department said . The increase would have been even larger if not for the upward revision of the July figure from 511,000 to 532,000. That is the third largest percentage increase in records going back to 1963. In June of 2020, home prices jumped 30.6 percent. In April of 1963, they were up 31.2 percent. In July, new home sales fell 8.6 percent. That is a smaller decline than the 12.6 percent reported before revisions. Compared with a year ago, new home sales are down 0.1 percent. Analysts polled by Econoday had forecast new home sales to come in at 498,000 in August. The median sales price of new homes sold in August was $436,800, down 6.3 percent from the record $466,300 in July Mortgage rates dipped in July and … [Read more...] about Sales of New Homes Explode Higher in August Panic Buying Spree

President Joe Biden’s foreign policy advisers are concerned that a victory by Italian leader Giorgia Meloni could weaken the united European coalition pushing back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meloni represents a populist-nationalist shift in power after Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi sought to align Italy with the European Union and teamed up with the G7 nations to push back against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Politico’s Jonathan Lemire reports that Biden aides are worried that Meloni could turn Italy inward as Europe faces a difficult winter with high energy prices, the result of the West trying to punish Putin for invading Ukraine. Meloni has voiced her support for Ukraine and criticized Russia’s invasion, but analysts fret that the more populist-nationalist coalition in Italy will pivot away from their support of sanctions on Russia. Giorgia Meloni, a rising star in conservative Europe, appeared at CPAC in 2022 and condemned Russia for invading … [Read more...] about WH Worried Italy’s Giorgia Meloni May Weaken Biden’s European Coalition

A battle is shaping up in Europe between Google and the major telecom companies of that continent, as the European Commission weighs the question of forcing Big Tech to fund the companies’ network costs. European telecom giants including Orange, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica, allege that Google is “free riding” on their networks and ought to pay their fair share, but Google is pushing back. Matt Brittin, president of EMEA business & operations at Google, said the idea was outdated, would raise costs for consumers, and added that Google already invests millions in internet infrastructure. Via Reuters : “Introducing a ‘sender pays’ principle is not a new idea, and would upend many of the principles of the open internet,” he said according to the text of a speech to be delivered at a conference organised by telecoms lobbying group ETNO. It “could have a negative impact on consumers, especially at a time of price increases,” Brittin said, citing a report by … [Read more...] about Google Clashes with European Telecom Companies over Proposed Fees