Metaverse market potential

Facebook-parent company Meta has reportedly received a go-ahead from a court to complete its purchase of virtual reality startup Within Unlimited, after the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sought to block the deal saying the purchase could end the competition in the market. A report by Bloomberg cited people familiar with the ruling as saying that a US judge denied the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction to block the proposed transaction. The judge also issued a temporary restraining order that will essentially block Meta from closing the transaction for a week. This gives time to the FTC to appeal the ruling. What’s the case? In July 2022, the FTC filed a complaint to block Meta from acquiring virtual reality studio Within, which makes the popular VR app Supernatural. FTC said that the Mark Zuckerberg-owned company bought Within to end competition in the fitness market. Meta already owns Beat Saber which is a lot similar to Supernatural. Read … [Read more...] about Meta’s plans to expand metaverse are up and running again: Here’s how

Forward-looking: OLED and ultra-fast monitors are all the rage at CES 2023, but Dell seems to be ahead of competitors when it comes to mass manufacturing. The Alienware AW2524H display is incredibly fast, so fast that very few GPUs and gamers will be able to actually exploit its true potential – for the next couple of years at least. After the Chinese prototype seen at the beginning of 2022, 500Hz monitors are now coming to market as products you can physically buy. And the Dell Alienware AW2524H should actually be the first mass-manufactured 500Hz monitor, beating Asus PG248QP and offering a better color experience overall. While Asus adopted a TN panel for its 540Hz monitor, Dell will use a "Fast IPS" panel made by AU Optronics, which means the Alienware AW2524H monitor should have better colors and viewing angles by far. The screen size is 24.5", with a FullHD resolution (1920x1080px, 90ppi), while the included native Nvidia G-sync module should offer a tear-free gaming … [Read more...] about The Alienware AW2524H is the first 500Hz, 1080p monitor to arrive on the market

Audio player loading… Intel has announced a price cut on its first-party edition of the Arc A750 graphics card , bringing the cost down to $249 from its $289 launch price - just four months after the card was released. It’s a bold move from Intel, which has yet to see significant traction gained in the GPU market by its recently-launched Arc card series. The Arc A770 and A750 launched in October last year, and while they performed reasonably well, 2022 was definitely more of a triumph for Team Blue’s CPUs while its GPU department went through no end of struggles . The A750 is still the second most powerful card in the current Arc desktop lineup - though leaks indicate that more heavyweight ‘Battlemage’ GPUs will be arriving in 2024 - and it was already aggressively priced at $289 considering its performance. The price cut is currently only for the US market, but Intel has stated that a similar reduction will follow in other regions. The A750 is … [Read more...] about Intel’s Arc A750 GPU just got a price cut – and AMD should be worried

Update at 6:15 pm ET : The jury sided with Elon Musk in a ruling issued about two hours after closing arguments on Friday. "A jury rejected investor claims that Elon Musk violated federal securities law when he tweeted in 2018 about potentially taking Tesla private, handing a major win to the billionaire chief executive," The Wall Street Journal reported . "The nine-person jury said the investors who brought the class-action case failed to prove that Mr. Musk hurt them by tweeting about a possible deal." Original story: The class-action trial over Elon Musk's false "funding secured" tweets ended today with closing arguments. A nine-member federal jury now must decide whether Musk and Tesla should have to pay damages to investors who lost money after Musk falsely claimed in August 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private. "To Elon Musk, if he believes it—or even just thinks about it—then it's true, no matter how objectively false or exaggerated it may be," … [Read more...] about Musk beats fraud charges; jury rejects investor claims in “funding secured” case

Big Tech results reinforced concerns a boom in cloud services is easing, limiting a lucrative source of profit when a slowing economy has hit the companies' other businesses and prompting a bet on artificial intelligence as the next growth driver. Earnings from Amazon .com Inc and Microsoft Corp - which together dominate the cloud market - showed growth in the business was at its lowest since they started breaking out the metric in 2015 and was on track to slow further. Alphabet Inc, which has the smallest cloud business among the three, said Google Cloud grew 32 percent, the slowest rise since the company began reporting the measure in 2019. Read Also Payments firm PayPal to lay off 7 percent of its workforce to cut costs Microsoft attracting users to its code-writing, generative AI software The poor results reflect a shift to post-pandemic frugality by corporate customers whose budgets have been squeezed in the past year … [Read more...] about big tech: Big Tech earnings face more heat as cloud cover fades

Audio player loading… In what could be an unexpected boon to hybrid working environments, Microsoft have unveiled a new plugin for hardware aimed at Twitch streamers. In a post (opens in new tab) on the Microsoft Teams blog detailing the webinar features of the new Teams Premium offering, it was quietly revealed that the tech giant have developed an official plugin for internet streaming hardware manufacturer Elgato’s Stream Deck devices, promising compatibility with the video conferencing software . In case you’re confused, Elgato Stream Decks are essentially customisable switchboards for computers that look to boost productivity , though are usually the domain of streamers. However, marketing for the devices is keen to point out their potential workplace applications. Elgato Stream Decks and Microsoft Teams Per a tweet (opens in new tab) from Elgato, it seems like a Stream Deck could be a great addition to a workstation … [Read more...] about Elgato Stream Decks are now compatible with Microsoft Teams

Audio player loading… 2023 may mark the first year ever where E3 has been without an appearance from Xbox, Sony, or Nintendo. This marks a significant moment in a gradual shift in the games industry that’s been years in the making. The E3 convention in June is often where we hear about all the upcoming games for Xbox Series X |S, Nintendo Switch , and PS5 . Whether updates on games already announced or big reveals of new titles, the show has traditionally been a fixture in the games industry’s calendar. However, IGN (opens in new tab) says it “has heard from multiple knowledgeable sources that Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo won’t be part of E3 2023 or have a presence on the Los Angeles Convention Center show floor.” We may still hear from the big three platform holders in showcases around the event, but according to the report, they won’t attend the show to make their games playable for the press or consumers. In January, Microsoft confirmed plans … [Read more...] about It looks like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony will skip E3 2023

The best Motorola phones offers a wide range of mobiles for all users. In fact, Motorola has an offering at every price range, from budget options in the G and E lines to pricey flagships like the Motorola Edge line. The brand also has foldables and rugged phones. So, whether handheld you're looking for, you'll likely find one from its line-up. What's more, Motorola excels in all those areas, with its top handsets often ranking among the best phones and the best cheap phones . Of course, some of those models are better than others, and you have to do your research so you end up with the ideal Motorola phone to meet your needs. And, you have to make sure that you know what you want and what you need before you commit. The first thing to decide when picking a Motorola phone then is how much you're looking to spend, and whether you want a conventional smartphone or a foldable one. We've extensively tested and reviewed most Motorola handsets, and we know which ones are worth … [Read more...] about The best Motorola phones 2023: top Moto smartphones for you

Security company Check Point Research (CPR) has flagged the popular Dingo Token as a live scam. For those unaware, Dingo Token is a protocol layer that provides a new world of NFT . According to the report, the threat actors behind the token have embedded a backdoor function into the smart contract to manipulate fees going up to as much as 99%. The function has also been used 47 times. The Dingo Token is currently ranked at 774 by market capitalisation at $10,9 million. As per the report, investors of Dingo Token are at risk of potentially losing all their money. CPR has also warned about the growing interest in cryptocurrency scams by hackers. 99% contract fee The smart contract in Dingo Token charges a 95% tax fee and a 4% liquidity fee. This means that the platform will charge a 99% fee on any transaction with a contract that will steal your funds. The report also shares an image of how the transfer amount is calculated. Apart from this, the report also offers … [Read more...] about nft: This NFT token is a ‘live scam’, researchers warn

Indian Institute of Technology Madras ( IIT Madras ) will be provided a grant of Rs 242 Crore over a period of five years to undertake research on Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD). This research will be focused on driving indigenization of the LGD manufacturing process. Presenting the Budget 2023, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Lab grown Diamonds (LGD) is a technology and innovation-driven emerging sector with high employment potential. These environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds. To encourage indigenous production of LGD seeds and machines and to reduce import dependency, a research and development grant will be provided to one of the IITs for five years.” The research grants will go towards various departments and research groups of the Institute that are involved in this field. IIT Madras has a history of undertaking cutting-edge and translational research with significant applications in industry … [Read more...] about iit madras: IIT Madras to receive Rs 242 crore for research on Lab Grown Diamonds in Budget 2023