Friday, September 22, 2023

Tecno Phantom V Flip vs Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5: How the two flip phones compare

Tecno has introduced its latest foldable smartphone, the Tecno Phantom V Flip. It features a clamshell design, MediaTek Dimensity chipset, and a 4,000 mAh battery. The phone has a circular external display, leather finish back panel, and a 64MP dual rear camera. It runs on Android 13 and comes with fast charging support. https://ift.tt/A5p4xUn

Coalition: ransomware victims reported an average $365K+ loss in H1 2023, up from $227K+ in H2 2022; the average ransom demand was $1.62M, up 74% from 2022 (James Reddick/The Record)

James Reddick / The Record:
Coalition: ransomware victims reported an average $365K+ loss in H1 2023, up from $227K+ in H2 2022; the average ransom demand was $1.62M, up 74% from 2022  —  A cyber insurance firm reported a significant jump in the number of claims during the first half of the year, adding that damages caused by attacks has also increased.



Thursday, September 21, 2023

Cisco plans to acquire cybersecurity company Splunk for $157 per share in cash, up 31% on Splunk's September 20 closing price, in a deal valued at ~$28B (Molly Schuetz/Bloomberg)

Molly Schuetz / Bloomberg:
Cisco plans to acquire cybersecurity company Splunk for $157 per share in cash, up 31% on Splunk's September 20 closing price, in a deal valued at ~$28B  —  Cisco will pay $157 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement Thursday.  That represents a 31% premium to Splunk's previous closing price on Wednesday.



Layer 2 blockchain Optimism sells 116M tokens worth $157M to seven buyers in a "private" sale, after airdropping 19.4M tokens to 31K+ users earlier this week (Oliver Knight/CoinDesk)

Oliver Knight / CoinDesk:
Layer 2 blockchain Optimism sells 116M tokens worth $157M to seven buyers in a “private” sale, after airdropping 19.4M tokens to 31K+ users earlier this week  —  The token sale was described as a “planned event.”  —  The foundation behind layer2 blockchain Optimism …



Source: Google has extensively discussed dropping Broadcom for AI chips as early as 2027 to design its own TPUs, aiming to save billions of dollars annually (Wayne Ma/The Information)

Wayne Ma / The Information:
Source: Google has extensively discussed dropping Broadcom for AI chips as early as 2027 to design its own TPUs, aiming to save billions of dollars annually  —  Google executives have extensively discussed dropping Broadcom as a supplier of artificial intelligence chips as early as 2027 …



Japanese chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric plans to raise ~$750M in an IPO on October 25 in Tokyo at a ~$2.95B valuation, pricing shares at ~$12.78 (Reuters)

Reuters:
Japanese chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric plans to raise ~$750M in an IPO on October 25 in Tokyo at a ~$2.95B valuation, pricing shares at ~$12.78  —  Chipmaking equipment maker Kokusai Electric said on Thursday it plans to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Oct. 25 …



Korean game publisher Krafton says Dead Space developer Striking Distance's CEO Glen Schofield, COO, and CFO are leaving, months after its new game flopped (Jason Schreier/Bloomberg)

Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Korean game publisher Krafton says Dead Space developer Striking Distance's CEO Glen Schofield, COO, and CFO are leaving, months after its new game flopped  —  Video-game developer Striking Distance Studios, a subsidiary of Korean publisher Krafton Inc., is appointing new management several months …



The Biden administration awards $238M via the Defense Department to set up eight chip research hubs, one of the earliest releases of the nearly $53B CHIPS Act (Ana Swanson/New York Times)

Ana Swanson / New York Times:
The Biden administration awards $238M via the Defense Department to set up eight chip research hubs, one of the earliest releases of the nearly $53B CHIPS Act  —  The $238 million in grants will set up eight research hubs, as a small slice of the federal money that will go to chip companies and research facilities in the coming months.



Amazon's Eero announces the Eero Max 7, its first router to support Wi-Fi 7, offering 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz and "up to 4.3 Gbps" wireless throughput, for $600+ (Wes Davis/The Verge)

Wes Davis / The Verge:
Amazon's Eero announces the Eero Max 7, its first router to support Wi-Fi 7, offering 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz and “up to 4.3 Gbps” wireless throughput, for $600+  —  Eero has announced a powerful new top-of-the-line router called the Eero Max 7.  It's Eero's first router to support …



Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Sources and analysis: four of the eight CPUs in the Kirin 9000S SoC use Arm designs and four use Huawei-modified Arm designs, HiSilicon made the GPU, and more (Qianer Liu/Financial Times)

Qianer Liu / Financial Times:
Sources and analysis: four of the eight CPUs in the Kirin 9000S SoC use Arm designs and four use Huawei-modified Arm designs, HiSilicon made the GPU, and more  —  Facing US sanctions, Chinese company emulates Apple by using its own designs in chips for Mate 60 Pro



Copenhagen-based Corti, which offers an AI chatbot for hospitals, raised $60M co-led by Atomico and Prosus, sources say at a $260M valuation (Mark Bergen/Bloomberg)

Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
Copenhagen-based Corti, which offers an AI chatbot for hospitals, raised $60M co-led by Atomico and Prosus, sources say at a $260M valuation  —  Investors value company behind AI co-pilot for medical professionals at $260 million.  —  Corti ApS, a medical software startup …



Acer Nitro V gaming laptop with NVIDIA GeForce graphics launched in India, priced at Rs 76,990

Acer has launched its new gaming laptop, the Acer Nitro V, which features NVIDIA GeForce graphics and 6GB RAM. It is powered by the 13th Generation Core i5 processor and has a 15-inch display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. The laptop also includes dual-fan, dual-intake cooling technology for optimal performance, as well as AI-powered noise reduction technology. It is priced at Rs 76,990 and is available through various retailers including Acer's online store, Amazon, and Flipkart. https://ift.tt/4PARWgu

How to mark your Google Maps Saved Places using an emoji

Google Maps has introduced a new feature that allows users to add emoji labels to their favorite places. This feature adds a personal touch and simplifies the process of recognizing and locating special spots. Users can access their favorite places on any device and can assign emoji icons to their saved lists. https://ift.tt/36DEpbn

LimeWire, the infamous piracy site that pivoted to content creation, acquires AI image tool BlueWillow, which has a 2.5M-strong Discord and created 500M+ images (Ingrid Lunden/TechCrunch)

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
LimeWire, the infamous piracy site that pivoted to content creation, acquires AI image tool BlueWillow, which has a 2.5M-strong Discord and created 500M+ images  —  In the Wild West of generative AI, a new, unlikely cowboy is riding into town.  LimeWire — once infamous for music piracy …



After Meta criticizes potential UK encryption rules, the UK says Meta "failed to provide assurances" over keeping its platforms "safe from sickening abusers" (BBC)

BBC:
After Meta criticizes potential UK encryption rules, the UK says Meta “failed to provide assurances” over keeping its platforms “safe from sickening abusers”  —  Facebook's owner Meta has hit back at a new government campaign strongly critical of its plans to encrypt messages.



Docs: Israeli AI chip startup Hailo is pursuing an urgent IPO via a SPAC merger at a valuation of less than $500M; it was last valued at $1.2B in 2024 (Meir Orbach/CTech)

Meir Orbach / CTech : Docs: Israeli AI chip startup Hailo is pursuing an urgent IPO via a SPAC merger at a valuation of less than $500M; ...