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In yet another instance of Aussies getting the short end of the stick when it comes to online services, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced that a slightly worse version of the newly revamped PlayStation Plus will be arriving Down Under in June. While most overseas subscribers will have the option of Essential (free monthly games, online multiplayers, exclusive discounts, cloud saves), Extra (access to up to 400 PS4 and PS5 titles for download) and Premium tiers, Aussies will instead receive a downgraded version of the top tier dubbed PlayStation Plus Deluxe. Essentially, PS Plus Deluxe is the same as PS Plus Premium, only without access to the PlayStation Now cloud streaming functionality that's been added to PS Plus in the US, Japan, UK and other European territories. Simply put, territories that don't already offer PlayStation Now as a service (such as Australia) will continue not to have it when the new PS Plus launches. No official reason has been g...

Samsung and Western Digital have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the two work together to further develop new SSD technology. As part of the new MOU, both companies will collaborate to standardize and drive broad adoption of next-generation data placement, processing and fabrics (D2PF) storage technologies. However, Samsung and Western Digital will initially focus on creating an ecosystem for Zoned Storage solutions. For those unfamiliar, Zoned Storage is a class of storage devices which enable both host and storage devices to cooperate in order to achieve higher storage capacities, increased throughput and lower latencies. EVP and GM of Western Digital's Flash Business Unit, Rod Soderbery provided further details in a press release on how the new MOU will advance the Zoned Storage ecosystem, saying: “In order for a technology ecosystem to be successful, overall frameworks and general solution models must come together so they do not suffer from f...

We’re well into 2022, and a brand new line-up of Samsung TVs is upon us. The South Korean brand has introduced new 4K and 8K QLEDs and its first OLED TV in close to a decade that uses Samsung Display's QLED-OLED tech .  According to new information, these TVs should be available starting at the end of March and early April, with a global rollout following shortly. New this year are updated versions of the award-winning Samsung QN900A and Samsung QN90A QLED TVs and a few roll-over models from last year like The Premiere projector, The Terrace outdoor TV and The Serif. We’re hopeful about Samsung’s TV output for 2022, then, given that 2021 was a pretty stellar year for the brand. 2021 saw the launch of the stunningly impressive (albeit very expensive) Samsung Neo QN800 8K QLED TV , alongside new 4K beauties like the mini-LED-infused QN95A Neo QLED 4K TV . Read on to find out more about Samsung’s 2022 line-up of TVs and the new tech that’ll hopefully set the brand apart from the...

WhatsApp’s voice messaging feature will soon get some nifty updates to help compose, send, and listen to those convenient audio messages. The Meta-owned app is the main mode of communication for over two billion people every month. It’s free, highly accessible, and end-to-end encrypted, making it an important app for users around the globe to connect with family and friends. These updates could enhance the already pretty good voice messaging feature of the app by helping avoid miscommunications in audio messages and helping listeners speed through long-winded conversations.  Included features are: Out-of-chat playback will let you continue listening to a message after leaving the chat in which you received it. Play and pause buttons will allow you to pause your recording and resume where you left off. Waveform visualization will show you how loud a message is, in case you need to prepare by adjusting your volume. Draft previews will let you listen to a message before se...

As long as gaming laptops have existed, there have only been two companies that have produced GPUs for them. Nvidia and AMD have had an iron grip on the market for years, and now Intel Arc mobile graphics processors are finally here . I don't know if an Arc 7 GPU is going to be faster than an RTX 3080 Ti – it probably won't – but since it's Intel at the helm, I at least know it's going to result in a good experience.  To be clear, while Intel has said that laptops using its Arc 3 graphics are available now, I have not even seen one in person, so all I have to go off of is the information that Intel has provided. I'm not exactly in the business of trusting internal benchmarks, and neither should you.  But let's be honest, while AMD and Nvidia both make mobile graphics solutions, the best gaming laptops on the market are using a combination of Intel processors and Nvidia graphics. AMD Navi started to chip away at Team Green's dominance, but Intel can hit ...

Although a bit later than initially expected, the US Department of Defense ( DOD ) has announced that it plans to award up to $9bn in cloud infrastructure contracts in December of this year. Following the controversy surrounding its now canceled Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure or JEDI contract, the Pentagon announced its new Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability ( JWCC ) initiative back in November of this year. Unlike with the previous JEDI contract, the US military will now rely on multiple cloud providers as opposed to just a single one. Although Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and other cloud providers competed to win the $10bn JEDI contract, in the end the Pentagon awarded it to Microsoft before deciding to cancel it altogether . In a recent call with reporters, Pentagon CIO John Sherman explained that the US military's timeline was a bit too bold which is why it will now be wrapping up bidding for the JWCC initiative in December. When JWCC was first announced in July of l...

Microsoft has set the date for its Build 2022 developer conference, May 24-26, and decided, for the third year in a row, to make it all-virtual. While Microsoft's desktop operating system, Windows, is often the star of the show, Microsoft Build is the Redmond, Washington-based company's chance to unveil updates across a wide array of software products, services, and development tools. There's also usually a theme. At Microsoft Build 2021 , it was about Tech Transformation and the responsibility technology has in shaping the future. Aside from "Designed for development" and "What's next in tech," the Microsoft Build site offers no hints about what to expect. It does outline, though, one change: market-specific experiences for France, Germany, Latin America, and the UK. The FAQ goes into a tiny bit more detail, explaining: "New for this year, experience market-specific content and connection opportunities for France, Germany, Japan, Latin Am...

If you've been looking for an opportunity to upgrade your original Nintendo Switch , or even buy the hybrid console for the first time, here's your chance to do so while saving some money in the process. Right now, Amazon AU has brought the price of the Nintendo Switch OLED down to an all-time low on its site, with the console's AU$539.95 RRP slashed to just AU$449 – that's a saving of AU$90.95! It's worth noting that AU$449 price point applies only to the white version of the Nintendo Switch OLED. That said, the neon version of the console has received a smaller discount, and is currently available for AU$489. This isn't the cheapest price we've seen on the Nintendo Switch OLED – it was down to AU$424.15 on eBay during Afterpay Day, but this price isn't too much more if you missed out on that deal. Nintendo Switch OLED (white) AU$539.95 AU$449 (save AU$90.95) Nintendo's updated Switch OLED console is rarely discounted, which makes ...

Businesses have enough on their plates. Digital security threats shouldn’t have to be a constant worry, and keeping systems protected against ever-shifting threats need not be a monumental effort for IT departments. The latest AMD PRO security integrated into AMD Ryzen™ PRO mobile processors simplifies and strengthens security with top-to-bottom protection that covers the hardware, OS, and OEM system levels. AMD Ryzen™ PRO mobile processors are built with the Microsoft Pluton security processor integrated right onto the chip, making them the first x86 processors on the market to offer this technology. With the Pluton Security Processor, the system receives chip-to-cloud security for users’ data, applications, and identities.  The Microsoft Pluton security processor also makes it easier to keep systems safe over time. Straightforward Windows updates provide Pluton-enabled systems with the latest hardware and firmware protection. Working together with the other security technologi...

At a time when consumers are finding it difficult to get their hands on a new Raspberry Pi , MangoPi is teasing a new single-board computer that is slightly smaller than an SD card . In a recent post on Twitter, MangoPi showed off several pictures of its new unnamed module that features a Linux -capable SoC and no ports whatsoever. In addition to being much smaller than the Raspberry Pi 4B , the new device is actually even smaller than the Raspberry PiZero 2 W . According to a new report from Tom's Hardware though, MangoPi's new single-board computer could be called the 'Linux Box” as there is both a blank product page with the name on the company's site as well as a discussion about it on its forum. Based on the photos shared by MangoPi, the so-called Lunch Box will feature four Arm Cortex-A53 cores just like the Raspberry Pi 3 and the Zero 2 W. The device will also run Allwinner's embedded Tina Linux distro which is based on OpenWRT. Carrier board require...

My OnePlus 9 Pro battery is so swollen it split open the case. I discovered this potentially dangerous situation by accident when I noticed the one-year-old Android phone sitting imperfectly in its carbon-fiber case. Absentmindedly, I reached over and pushed one corner of the phone down, trying to reseat it. It popped back out. After a few attempts, I removed the case and discovered the truth: The battery had expanded and split the chrome case along one long-glued seam, creating, in one area, a quarter-inch chasm. "Not again," I thought. A few years ago, a Google Pixel 3 XL that I mostly keep on a Pixel charging stand by my bed appeared to jump off the charger of its own accord. It turned out that the battery has expanded so much that the case no longer sat flush with the charging base. I eventually sent the phone back to Google and got a replacement; at least that phone was more than a few years old. But I reviewed the OnePlus 9 Pro just over a year ago. At the time, ...

The iPad Air 5 , launched in March, was a surprising jump up in terms of power from the Air 4 , touting the same Apple M1 chip that newer iPad Pro models use, but something about it didn't sit right with me. At first I thought it was that Apple was presenting it as a device for creatives when it didn't have the specs to match - but something caused me to change my mind. We recently heard a leak about the new iPad for 2022 - that's the entry-level slate that Apple refreshes every year. This leak suggested that the device could get a big design update , possibly including the removal of the home button and a sizeable reduction in the bezel size, to bring it more in line with Apple's more modern tablets. If this information is true, Apple is bringing its last family of tablets in line with its new design, which it's slowly been rolling out to its different iPads for the last few years.  This design matches the specs of these tablets, and suits them well for busi...

Security experts are growing concerned about the potential implications of the EU's new Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the effects it could have on WhatsApp and other secure messaging services . For those unfamiliar, the DMA aims to reign in big tech platforms in Europe so that smaller companies can better compete with Meta, Google, Microsoft and others. As part of the new bill, large tech companies with a market capitalization of over €75bn and a user base of more than 45m in the EU would be required to create products that are interoperable with smaller platforms. While this will likely be fine for online collaboration tools and office software , there are a number of security risks for messaging services like WhatsApp that included end-to-end encryption as part of their offerings. TechRadar needs you! We're looking at how our readers use VPNs with different devices so we can improve our content and offer better advice. This survey shouldn't take more than 60 seco...

A report broke last week about a new iPhone subscription service - according to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a way to get iPhones in your hands, without you having to pay a hefty one-off fee (or giving loads of money to cell companies). This would apparently start with iPhones, but roll out to other Apple devices later down the road, and would let many more people get their hands on an iDevice, since it's easier to break down the cost into monthly payments, rather than see it as one huge lump sum. However since TechRadar's team covered the news when it broke last week, I've been unable to stop scratching my head (no, it's not headlice) - I just don't understand what's happening here. It's already a service The main question I kept asking myself is: "isn't that already a thing?". It is. Apple's iPhone Upgrade Program lets you pay monthly to get your hands on a new iPhone - it starts at $30 or equivalent for the iPhone 13 mini , an...

AI researchers at Nvidia have developed a way to covert a handful of 2D images into a 3D scene almost instantly by using ultra-fast neural network training alongside rapid rendering. Known as inverse rendering, the process leverages AI to approximate how light behaves in the real world to turn 2D images taken at different angles into 3D scenes. Nvidia's researchers applied their novel approach to a popular new technology called neural radiance fields or NeRF for short. The result, which the company has dubbed Instant NeRF, is the fastest NeRF technique to date and it is more than 1,000 times faster in some cases. The neural model used takes just seconds to train on a few dozen still photos though it also requires data on the camera angles they were taken from. VP for graphics research at Nvidia, David Luebke provided further insight between the difference between NeRF and Instant NeRF in a blog post , saying: “If traditional 3D representations like polygonal meshes are akin ...

The transition to hybrid work is leading businesses to purchase new equipment for both their remote workers and offices which is why HP has announced that it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Poly . If approved, the all-cash transaction at $40 per share would see HP acquire Poly for $1.7bn though the deal itself is valued at $3.3bn as it also includes Poly's net debt. While employers and employees alike upgraded their devices and peripherals when working from home during the pandemic, the rise of hybrid work is creating sustained demand for technology that enables seamless collaboration across home and office environments. At the same time, traditional office spaces are being upgraded to better support hybrid work and collaboration with a focus on meeting room solutions.  According to a recent study from Frost & Sullivan, of the more than 90m meeting rooms today, less than ten percent have video capability and HP aims to capitalize on this through its acqui...