Matter, the smart home standard that promises an interoperable future for home automation, even if it's scattered and a bit buggy right now, is out with a new version, 1.4. It promises more device types, improvements for working across ecosystems, and tools for managing battery backups, solar panels, and heat pumps.
"Enhanced Multi-Admin" is the headline feature for anybody invested in Matter's original promise, one where you can buy a device and it doesn't matter if your other gear is meant for Amazon (Alexa), Google, Apple, or whatever, it should just connect and work. With 1.4, a home administrator should be able to let a device onto their network just once, and then have that device picked up by whatever controller they're using. There have technically been ways for a device to be set up on, say, Alexa and Apple Home, but the process has been buggy, involves generating "secondary codes," and is kind of an unpaid junior sysadmin job.
What's now available is "Fabric Sync," which sounds like something that happens in a static-ridden dryer. But "Fabrics" is how the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) describes smart home systems, like Alexa or Google Home. In theory, with every tech company doing their best, you'd set up a smart light bulb with your iPhone, add it to your Apple Home, but still have it be able to be added to a Google Home system, Android phones included. Even better, ecosystems that don't offer controls for entire categories, like Apple and smart displays (because it doesn't make any), should still be able to pick up and control them.
On Tuesday, Elwood Edwards, the voice behind the online service America Online's iconic "You've got mail" greeting, died at age 74, one day before his 75th birthday, according to Cleveland's WKYC Studios, where he worked for many years. The greeting became a cultural touchstone in the 1990s and early 2000s in the early Internet era; it was heard by hundreds of millions of users when they logged in to the service and new email was waiting for them.
The story of Edwards' famous recording began in 1989 when Steve Case, CEO of Quantum Computer Services (which later became America Online—or AOL for short), wanted to add a human voice to the company's Quantum Link online service. Karen Edwards, who worked as a customer service representative, heard Case discussing the plan and suggested her husband Elwood, a professional broadcaster.
Edwards recorded the famous phrase (and several others) into a cassette recorder in his living room in 1989 and was paid $200 for the service. His voice recordings of "Welcome," "You've got mail," "File's done," and "Goodbye" went on to reach millions of users during AOL's rise to dominance in the 1990s online landscape.
The recent U.S. election might appear bad for climate tech, but the energy transition has enough financial momentum that experts aren’t expecting investment trends to change anytime soon.
Ask a few random people about Apple Intelligence and you’ll probably get quite different responses.
One might be excited about the new features. Another could opine that no one asked for this and the company is throwing away its reputation with creatives and artists to chase a fad. Another still might tell you that regardless of the potential value, Apple is simply too late to the game to make a mark.
The release of Apple’s first Apple Intelligence-branded AI tools in iOS 18.1 last week makes all those perspectives understandable.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has notified Chinese chip design companies that it will suspend production of their most advanced artificial intelligence chips, as Washington continues to impede Beijing’s AI ambitions.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, told Chinese customers it would no longer manufacture AI chips at advanced process nodes of 7 nanometers or smaller as of this coming Monday, three people familiar with the matter said.
Two of the people said any future supplies of such semiconductors by TSMC to Chinese customers would be subject to an approval process likely to involve Washington.
Among the decades-old Windows apps to get renewed attention from Microsoft during the Windows 11 era is Notepad, the basic built-in text editor that was much the same in early 2021 as it had been in the '90 and 2000s. Since then, it has gotten a raft of updates, including a visual redesign, spellcheck and autocorrect, and window tabs.
Given Microsoft's continuing obsession with all things AI, it's perhaps not surprising that the app's latest update (currently in preview for Canary and Dev Windows Insiders) is a generative AI feature called Rewrite that promises to adjust the length, tone, and phrasing of highlighted sentences or paragraphs using generative AI. Users will be offered three rewritten options based on what they've highlighted, and they can select the one they like best or tell the app to try again.
Rewrite appears to be based on the same technology as the Copilot assistant, since it uses cloud-side processing (rather than your local CPU, GPU, or NPU) and requires Microsoft account sign-in to work. The initial preview is available to users in the US, France, the UK, Canada, Italy, and Germany.
The Mac mini will celebrate its 20th birthday in January. And I think the M4 version of the Mac mini is far and away the most appealing one the company has ever made.
When it was introduced during the white plastic heyday of peak iPod-era Apple, the Mac mini was pitched as the cheapest way to buy into the Mac ecosystem. It was $499. And despite some fluctuation (as high as $799 for the entry-level 2018 mini, $599 for this year's refresh), the Mac mini has stayed the cheapest entry-level Mac ever since.
But the entry-level models always left a lot to be desired. The first Mac mini launched with just 256MB of RAM, a pretty anemic amount even by the standards of the day. The first Intel Mac mini in 2006 came with a single-core Core Solo processor, literally the last single-core Mac Apple ever released and the only single-core Intel Mac. The 2018 Mac mini's Core i3 processor left a lot to be desired for the price. The 8GB of RAM included in the basic M1 and M2 Mac minis was fine for many things but left very little headroom for future growth.
Apple's addition of 16GB RAM to the basic $1,299 model makes it a whole lot more appealing for the vast majority of people who just want to take the computer out of the box and plunk it on a desk and be done. New USB-C accessories eliminate some of the last few Lightning ports still skulking around in Apple's lineup. The color options continue to be eye-catching in a way that evokes the original multicolored plastic ones without departing too far from the modern aluminum-and-glass Apple aesthetic. The $200 nano-texture display option, included in the review loaner that Apple sent us, is lovely, though I lightly resent having to pay more for a matte screen.
The back of the iMac, where the color is the most visible.
Credit:
Andrew Cunningham
New USB-C accessories. Yes, the charging port is still on the bottom.
Credit:
Andrew Cunningham
A mildly improved 12MP webcam with a wide enough field of view to support Desk View mode in macOS.
Credit:
Andrew Cunningham
For models with an Ethernet port, it's still on the power brick, not the back of the machine.
Credit:
Andrew Cunningham
This is all I really have to say about this iMac, because it's externally nearly identical to the M1 and M3 versions of the same machine that Apple has been selling for three years now. The M4 isn't record-setting fast, but it is quick enough for the kinds of browsing and emailing and office stuff that most people will want to use it for—the fully enabled 10-core version is usually around as fast as a recent Intel Core i5/Core Ultra 5 or an AMD Ryzen 5 desktop CPU, though using just a fraction of the power, and with a respectable integrated GPU that's faster than anything Intel or AMD is shipping in that department.
Seagrass punches above its weight. The marine plant only occupies 0.1% of the ocean floor but can be credited with supporting marine ecosystems of plants and fish, filtering ocean water, and capturing quite a bit of carbon. Seagrass is also being destroyed, due to climate change and other factors, with meadows reducing 7% globally each […]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Tuesday that it will be taking action against the online cash app and neobank Dave, which it says used “misleading marketing to deceive consumers.” At issue is how Dave marketed $500 cash advances to consumers that it rarely offered, and the “Express Fee” it charged if customers wanted […]
The European Commission (EC) has opened an antitrust investigation into US-based glass-maker Corning, claiming that its Gorilla Glass has dominated the mobile phone screen market due to restrictive deals and licensing.
Corning's shatter-resistant alkali-aluminosilicate glass keeps its place atop the market, according to the EC's announcement, because it both demands, and rewards with rebates, device makers that agree to "source all or nearly all of their (Gorilla Glass) demand from Corning." Corning also allegedly required device makers to report competitive offers to the glass maker. The company is accused of exerting a similar pressure on "finishers," or those firms that turn raw glass into finished phone screen protectors, as well as demanding finishers not pursue patent challenges against Corning.
"[T]he agreements that Corning put in place with OEMs and finishers may have excluded rival glass producers from large segments of the market, thereby reducing customer choice, increasing prices, and stifling innovation to the detriment of consumers worldwide," the Commission wrote.
Amber Hill spent 14 years as a medical researcher. She didn’t mind the work, but there was one thing she consistently hated: administrative tasks. “I think most people do, especially in research,” she told TechCrunch. She would rather be analyzing data or building relationships with patients, she said. “But I was spending so much time […]
Many people who want to have children can’t, or shouldn’t, carry a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Gestational surrogacy can be a great option for those individuals — if they can endure the lengthy wait times and afford to pay for the costly service. New York-based Nodal looks to make the process less expensive, […]
EPICS in IEEE, a service learning program for university students supported by IEEE Educational Activities, offers students opportunities to engage with engineering professionals and mentors, local organizations, and technological innovation to address community-based issues.
The following two environmentally focused projects demonstrate the value of teamwork and direct involvement with project stakeholders. One uses smart biodigesters to better manage waste in Colombia’s rural areas. The other is focused on helping Turkish olive farmers protect their trees from climate change effects by providing them with a warning system that can identify growing problems.
No time to waste in rural Colombia
Proper waste management is critical to a community’s living conditions. In rural La Vega, Colombia, the lack of an effective system has led to contaminated soil and water, an especially concerning issue because the town’s economy relies heavily on agriculture.
Vivian Estefanía Beltrán, a Ph.D. student at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, addressed the problem by building a low-cost anaerobic digester that uses an instrumentation system to break down microorganisms into biodegradable material. It reduces the amount of solid waste, and the digesters can produce biogas, which can be used to generate electricity.
“Anaerobic digestion is a natural biological process that converts organic matter into two valuable products: biogas and nutrient-rich soil amendments in the form of digestate,” Beltrán says. “As a by-product of our digester’s operation, digestate is organic matter that can’t be transferred into biogas but can be used as a soil amendment for our farmers’ crops, such as coffee.
“While it may sound easy, the process is influenced by a lot of variables. The support we’ve received from EPICS in IEEE is important because it enables us to measure these variables, such as pH levels, temperature of the reactor, and biogas composition [methane and hydrogen sulfide]. The system allows us to make informed decisions that enhance the safety, quality, and efficiency of the process for the benefit of the community.”
“It’s been a great experience to see how individuals pursuing different fields of study—from engineering to electronics and computer science—can all work and learn together on a project that will have a direct positive impact on a community.” —Vivian Estefanía Beltrán
Beltrán worked closely with eight undergraduate students and three instructors—Maria Fernanda Gómez, Andrés Pérez Gordillo (the instrumentation group leader), and Carlos Felipe Vergara-Ramirez—as well as IEEE Graduate Student Member Nicolás Castiblanco (the instrumentation group coordinator).
The team constructed and installed their anaerobic digester system in an experimental station in La Vega, a town located roughly 53 kilometers northwest of Bogotá.
“This digester is an important innovation for the residents of La Vega, as it will hopefully offer a productive way to utilize the residual biomass they produce to improve quality of life and boost the economy,” Beltrán says. Soon, she adds, the system will be expanded to incorporate high-tech sensors that automatically monitor biogas production and the digestion process.
“For our students and team members, it’s been a great experience to see how individuals pursuing different fields of study—from engineering to electronics and computer science—can all work and learn together on a project that will have a direct positive impact on a community. It enables all of us to apply our classroom skills to reality,” she says. “The funding we’ve received from EPICS in IEEE has been crucial to designing, proving, and installing the system.”
The project also aims to support the development of a circular economy, which reuses materials to enhance the community’s sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Protecting olive groves in Türkiye
Türkiye is one of the world’s leading producers of olives, but the industry has been challenged in recent years by unprecedented floods, droughts, and other destructive forces of nature resulting from climate change. To help farmers in the western part of the country monitor the health of their olive trees, a team of students from Istanbul Technical University developed an early-warning system to identify irregularities including abnormal growth.
“Our system will give farmers feedback from each tree so that actions can be taken in advance to improve the yield,” says Akgül, an IEEE senior member and a professor in the university’s electronics and communication engineering department.
“We’re developing deep-learning techniques to detect changes in olive trees and their fruit so that farmers and landowners can take all necessary measures to avoid a low or damaged harvest,” says project coordinator Melike Girgin, a Ph.D. student at the university and an IEEE graduate student member.
Using drones outfitted with 360-degree optical and thermal cameras, the team collects optical, thermal, and hyperspectral imaging data through aerial methods. The information is fed into a cloud-based, open-source database system.
Akgül leads the project and teaches the team skills including signal and image processing and data collection. He says regular communication with community-based stakeholders has been critical to the project’s success.
“There are several farmers in the village who have helped us direct our drone activities to the right locations,” he says. “Their involvement in the project has been instrumental in helping us refine our process for greater effectiveness.
“For students, classroom instruction is straightforward, then they take an exam at the end. But through our EPICS project, students are continuously interacting with farmers in a hands-on, practical way and can see the results of their efforts in real time.”
Looking ahead, the team is excited about expanding the project to encompass other fruits besides olives. The team also intends to apply for a travel grant from IEEE in hopes of presenting its work at a conference.
“We’re so grateful to EPICS in IEEE for this opportunity,” Girgin says. “Our project and some of the technology we required wouldn’t have been possible without the funding we received.”
“Technical projects play a crucial role in advancing innovation and ensuring interoperability across various industries,” says Munir Mohammed, IEEE SA senior manager of product development and market engagement. “These projects not only align with our technical standards but also drive technological progress, enhance global collaboration, and ultimately improve the quality of life for communities worldwide.”
For more information on the program or to participate in service-learning projects, visit EPICS in IEEE.
On 7 November, this article was updated from an earlier version.
In 2014, Ivan Crewkov moved his family from Siberia to the U.S. as his startup, Cubic.AI, was preparing to launch a Kickstarter campaign for its smart speaker. A week before the campaign was supposed to go live, Amazon launched its Echo smart speaker, rendering Cubic.AI essentially dead in the water. “It was a disaster,” Crewkov […]
Microsoft reported quarterly earnings that impressed investors and showed how resilient the company is even as it spends heavily on AI.
Some investors have been uneasy about the company's aggressive spending on AI, while others have demanded it. During this quarter, Microsoft reported that it spent $20 billion on capital expenditures, nearly double what it had spent during the same quarter last year.
However, the company satisfied both groups of investors, as it revealed it has still been doing well in the short term amid those long-term investments. The fiscal quarter, which covered July through September, saw overall sales rise 16 percent year over year to $65.6 billion. Despite all that AI spending, profits were up 11 percent, too.
Apple's week of Mac announcements has wrapped up this morning with the launch of the new M4 MacBook Pros, and we now have a full picture of the M4 chip lineup that will drive the Mac for the next year or so (excepting the M4 Ultra, if we end up getting one).
Because Apple staggered its product and chip announcements, we've gathered some basic specs from all versions of the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max to help compare them to the outgoing M2 and M3 chip families, including the slightly cut-down versions that Apple sells in the cheaper new Macs. We've also rounded up some of Apple's performance claims, so people with older Macs can see exactly what they're getting if they upgrade (Apple still likes to use the M1 as a baseline, acknowledging that the year-over-year gains are sometimes minor and that many people are still getting by just fine with some version of the M1 chip).
At least as far as the Mac is concerned, Apple has technically released six different chips this week under three different brand names. The M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max all have one slightly cut-down entry-level version with fewer CPU and GPU cores and one more-expensive, fully enabled version.
Generally, in the places where Apple offers both versions of each chip, you can upgrade to the better CPU/GPU without also having to pay for more RAM or anything else. But the M4 Max is an exception—buying the fully enabled M3 Max also requires you to pay for a jump from 36GB to 48GB of memory, making the total cost an additional $500. Apple's site lists it, somewhat misleadingly, as a $300 addition, but toggling the selection also automatically selects the $200 RAM upgrade.
So it is that privacy-focused Swiss firm Proton has released a Proton VPN app for Apple TV. The firm notes that it "offers over 6,200 servers across 100 countries" and its own guides to accessing various regional content providers, such as Britain's BBC and France.tv, or sports and live event channels, "no matter where you are."
That this—virtual geolocation—is mentioned ahead of "privacy and security benefits" is notable, but only if you haven't looked. I typed "VPN" into an Apple TV's App Store search interface today and learned that Proton was now one among dozens and dozens of VPN offerings for Apple TV. "Dozens" is as far as I can go, because I eventually got tired of clicking to keep scrolling down.
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