Monthly Archives: March 2024

ASUS ROG NUC mini PC offers a small gaming box with a big catch

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Handheld gaming PCs might be the buzzword in the industry, but they’re not the only small-form gaming-oriented computers around. In fact, it’s probably thanks to the relative success of the likes of the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion GO, and ASUS ROG Ally that the formula for compact gaming computers has been tested and proven. It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that gaming desktops in mini PC form would be popping up more frequently, like this latest entry from ASUS’ ROG brand that carries in its compact body some pretty big specs, a big legacy, and, unfortunately, an equally big price tag.

Designer: ASUS ROG

Gamers, especially those on the PC side of the fence, might already be familiar with the Republic of Gamers brand, but “NUC” might sound alien to them. The name, which stands for “Next Unit of Computing,” actually came from Intel and was used for the chipmaker’s line of mini PCs. After a decade of existence, Intel decided the product line really bore no fruit, definitely not in terms of profit, and decided to shutter the hardware and license the name to ASUS. Thus, the ASUS ROG NUC is pretty much the merger of two DNAs, one from Intel’s somewhat proof-of-concept mini PCs and the other from ASUS’s gaming house.

Unlike Intel’s NUCs, which were pretty much barebone general-purpose budget computers in a small box, the ROG NUC has the beating heart of a gaming laptop, just crammed in a small box that’s just around two inches thick. That includes an Intel Core Ultra processor, the kind that boasts upgraded AI chops, and an integrated NVIDIA RTX 4060 or 4070, depending on the configuration. There are plenty of ports for connection, as well as options for expanded storage that you can easily access thanks to its tool-less chassis.

While those might sound like juicy features for a gaming mini PC, the starting price of $1,629 makes it look less palatable, or $2,199 for the next step up in specs. For that price, you can already get a respectable gaming laptop with nearly the same or even better specs, and you won’t need to hook it up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And unlike a desktop PC, you can’t upgrade anything other than memory and storage, so performance is pretty much a fixed value.

These raise the question of who the ASUS ROG NUC will be for, and the answer is quite a niche market. It will be for PC gamers who don’t exactly need mobility but do have limited desk space for a tower. It might even be for users who already have a more powerful gaming desktop and just need a secondary computer for their office. Either way, these scenarios make that high price tag even less appealing unless ASUS holds a sale immediately after launching the product.

The post ASUS ROG NUC mini PC offers a small gaming box with a big catch first appeared on Yanko Design.

SAG-AFTRA ratifies TV animation contracts that establish AI protections for voice actors

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SAG-AFTRA has ratified new contracts for voice actors working in TV animation after members’ votes came in at over 95 percent in favor of the terms. The three-year agreements put into place new protections around the use of AI, including a requirement that producers obtain an actor’s consent before using their name as a prompt to create an AI-generated voice. SAG-AFTRA announced the contracts’ approval on Friday night. They’ll be effective through June 30, 2026.

Per the new contracts, “the term ‘voice actor’ only includes humans.” The contracts also outline voice actors’ rights around studios’ use of their digital replicas, and require producers to notify and bargain with the union any time they use AI-generated voices instead of voice actors. “This is the first SAG-AFTRA animation voiceover contract with protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence,” TV Animation Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the agreement “represents a meaningful step forward in expanding our A.I. protections,” along with providing “important new terms in the areas of foreign residuals, high-budget SVOD [subscription video-on-demand] productions, late payments and much more.” The contracts establish a series of wage increases, starting with a 7 percent increase dated back to July 1, 2023, which actors will receive retroactive payments for. That will be followed by a 4 percent increase July 1 of this year, and a 3.5 percent increase the following year.

The union earlier this year announced that it had reached a deal with the AI voice generation company Replica Studios to give voice actors a way to “safely” license their digital voice replicas for video games. AI protection were also a crucial component of the strike-ending deal SAG-AFTRA reached with Hollywood studios late last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sag-aftra-ratifies-tv-animation-contracts-that-establish-ai-protections-for-voice-actors-190911363.html?src=rss

SAG-AFTRA ratifies TV animation contracts that establish AI protections for voice actors

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SAG-AFTRA has ratified new contracts for voice actors working in TV animation after members’ votes came in at over 95 percent in favor of the terms. The three-year agreements put into place new protections around the use of AI, including a requirement that producers obtain an actor’s consent before using their name as a prompt to create an AI-generated voice. SAG-AFTRA announced the contracts’ approval on Friday night. They’ll be effective through June 30, 2026.

Per the new contracts, “the term ‘voice actor’ only includes humans.” The contracts also outline voice actors’ rights around studios’ use of their digital replicas, and require producers to notify and bargain with the union any time they use AI-generated voices instead of voice actors. “This is the first SAG-AFTRA animation voiceover contract with protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence,” TV Animation Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the agreement “represents a meaningful step forward in expanding our A.I. protections,” along with providing “important new terms in the areas of foreign residuals, high-budget SVOD [subscription video-on-demand] productions, late payments and much more.” The contracts establish a series of wage increases, starting with a 7 percent increase dated back to July 1, 2023, which actors will receive retroactive payments for. That will be followed by a 4 percent increase July 1 of this year, and a 3.5 percent increase the following year.

The union earlier this year announced that it had reached a deal with the AI voice generation company Replica Studios to give voice actors a way to “safely” license their digital voice replicas for video games. AI protection were also a crucial component of the strike-ending deal SAG-AFTRA reached with Hollywood studios late last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sag-aftra-ratifies-tv-animation-contracts-that-establish-ai-protections-for-voice-actors-190911363.html?src=rss

SAG-AFTRA ratifies TV animation contracts that establish AI protections for voice actors

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SAG-AFTRA has ratified new contracts for voice actors working in TV animation after members’ votes came in at over 95 percent in favor of the terms. The three-year agreements put into place new protections around the use of AI, including a requirement that producers obtain an actor’s consent before using their name as a prompt to create an AI-generated voice. SAG-AFTRA announced the contracts’ approval on Friday night. They’ll be effective through June 30, 2026.

Per the new contracts, “the term ‘voice actor’ only includes humans.” The contracts also outline voice actors’ rights around studios’ use of their digital replicas, and require producers to notify and bargain with the union any time they use AI-generated voices instead of voice actors. “This is the first SAG-AFTRA animation voiceover contract with protections against the misuse of artificial intelligence,” TV Animation Negotiating Committee Co-Chairs Bob Bergen and David Jolliffe said in a statement.

SAG-AFTRA’s Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said the agreement “represents a meaningful step forward in expanding our A.I. protections,” along with providing “important new terms in the areas of foreign residuals, high-budget SVOD [subscription video-on-demand] productions, late payments and much more.” The contracts establish a series of wage increases, starting with a 7 percent increase dated back to July 1, 2023, which actors will receive retroactive payments for. That will be followed by a 4 percent increase July 1 of this year, and a 3.5 percent increase the following year.

The union earlier this year announced that it had reached a deal with the AI voice generation company Replica Studios to give voice actors a way to “safely” license their digital voice replicas for video games. AI protection were also a crucial component of the strike-ending deal SAG-AFTRA reached with Hollywood studios late last year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sag-aftra-ratifies-tv-animation-contracts-that-establish-ai-protections-for-voice-actors-190911363.html?src=rss

Rabbit R1 starts shipping to the first batch of US buyers next week

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The bright orange Rabbit R1 is easily one of the most memorable devices to have debuted this year, and if you’re among the lucky few who were able to put in an order before the first batch sold out, yours will soon be on its way to you. According to Rabbit, the first batch of US pre-orders will ship out on March 31 (Easter Sunday). It’ll take a few weeks for the devices to get to their destinations, though. The company estimates the first R1 orders will be in customers’ hands “around April 24.”

Rabbit is also hosting a pickup party in New York City on April 23 that it says is open to all buyers, not just batch one. It plans to release more information on the party and the first deliveries next week.

The company’s Rabbit R1 demo, which came in parallel to CES, sparked a lot of hype and a lot more questions about the purpose of dedicated AI hardware in the era of smartphones. It’s positioned as a more useful AI assistant that can go with you anywhere, powered in large part by San Francisco startup Perplexity’s LLM. Co-designed by Teenage Engineering, the Rabbit R1 features a physical scroll wheel and a rotating camera, plus an adorable animated bunny that serves as its mascot.

The company started taking pre-orders for the $199 Rabbit R1 back in January, and the first several batches of 10,000 devices each sold out fast. While batch one starts shipping soon, buyers who got in later will still have to wait several months for theirs to arrive. Pre-orders are currently open for batch seven.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-starts-shipping-to-the-first-batch-of-us-buyers-next-week-162804743.html?src=rss

Rabbit R1 starts shipping to the first batch of US buyers next week

Posted on by

The bright orange Rabbit R1 is easily one of the most memorable devices to have debuted this year, and if you’re among the lucky few who were able to put in an order before the first batch sold out, yours will soon be on its way to you. According to Rabbit, the first batch of US pre-orders will ship out on March 31 (Easter Sunday). It’ll take a few weeks for the devices to get to their destinations, though. The company estimates the first R1 orders will be in customers’ hands “around April 24.”

Rabbit is also hosting a pickup party in New York City on April 23 that it says is open to all buyers, not just batch one. It plans to release more information on the party and the first deliveries next week.

The company’s Rabbit R1 demo, which came in parallel to CES, sparked a lot of hype and a lot more questions about the purpose of dedicated AI hardware in the era of smartphones. It’s positioned as a more useful AI assistant that can go with you anywhere, powered in large part by San Francisco startup Perplexity’s LLM. Co-designed by Teenage Engineering, the Rabbit R1 features a physical scroll wheel and a rotating camera, plus an adorable animated bunny that serves as its mascot.

The company started taking pre-orders for the $199 Rabbit R1 back in January, and the first several batches of 10,000 devices each sold out fast. While batch one starts shipping soon, buyers who got in later will still have to wait several months for theirs to arrive. Pre-orders are currently open for batch seven.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/rabbit-r1-starts-shipping-to-the-first-batch-of-us-buyers-next-week-162804743.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Neuralink’s first human patient plays chess with his mind

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Good morning. I hope you're having a good weekend so far. Unfortunately, our recording schedule meant I didn't get to shoehorn in the fact that the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple — it'll pop up again and again for the next six months — but we do have Apple striking a possible deal with Google to use its Gemini AI in future iPhones. Yes, I didn't see that coming, either. 

If you're one of our money-to-spend readers, prepare for Dyson's next-gen robot vacuum, which is finally debuting in the US. It's a mere $1,200. Sorry, $1,199.

This week's stories:

🧠➡️💻 The first human Neuralink patient controlling a computer with his thoughts

🤖🧹Dyson enters the US robot vacuum market with the 360 Vis Nav

🍎🤖 Apple wants to bring Google's Gemini AI to iPhones

And read this:

Just read as Engadget Editor (and Doctor Who critic) Daniel Cooper punches Disney+ in the solar plexus with its awful global release strategy for the next series featuring the timelord. The first two hour-long episodes land on May 11 and will then air on BBC One later that day in prime time. But that initial online launch is midnight if you're in the UK. Dan lives in the UK. Daniel is not happy. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-neuralinks-first-human-patient-plays-chess-with-his-mind-150031220.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Neuralink’s first human patient plays chess with his mind

Posted on by

Good morning. I hope you're having a good weekend so far. Unfortunately, our recording schedule meant I didn't get to shoehorn in the fact that the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple — it'll pop up again and again for the next six months — but we do have Apple striking a possible deal with Google to use its Gemini AI in future iPhones. Yes, I didn't see that coming, either. 

If you're one of our money-to-spend readers, prepare for Dyson's next-gen robot vacuum, which is finally debuting in the US. It's a mere $1,200. Sorry, $1,199.

This week's stories:

🧠➡️💻 The first human Neuralink patient controlling a computer with his thoughts

🤖🧹Dyson enters the US robot vacuum market with the 360 Vis Nav

🍎🤖 Apple wants to bring Google's Gemini AI to iPhones

And read this:

Just read as Engadget Editor (and Doctor Who critic) Daniel Cooper punches Disney+ in the solar plexus with its awful global release strategy for the next series featuring the timelord. The first two hour-long episodes land on May 11 and will then air on BBC One later that day in prime time. But that initial online launch is midnight if you're in the UK. Dan lives in the UK. Daniel is not happy. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-neuralinks-first-human-patient-plays-chess-with-his-mind-150031220.html?src=rss

M3 Apple iPad Pro: More Details Revealed (Video)

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M3 iPad Pro

If you’ve been eagerly awaiting the next big thing in Apple’s tablet lineup, you’ll be pleased to know that the M3 iPad Pro is shaping up to be an exciting addition. While anticipation has reached fever-pitch levels, a slight delay has pushed its expected launch to early April. Let’s dive deeper into what we can […]

The post M3 Apple iPad Pro: More Details Revealed (Video) appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.

Authorities reportedly ordered Google to reveal the identities of some YouTube videos’ viewers

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Federal authorities in the US asked Google for the names, addresses, telephone numbers and user activity of the accounts that watched certain YouTube videos between January 1 and 8, 2023, according to unsealed court documents viewed by Forbes. People who watched those videos while they weren't logged into an account weren't safe either, because the government also asked for their IP addresses. The investigators reportedly ordered Google to hand over the information as part of an investigation into someone who uses the name "elonmuskwhm" online. 

Authorities suspect that elonmuskwhm is selling bitcoin for cash and is, thus, breaking money laundering laws, as well as running an unlicensed money transmitting business. Undercover agents reportedly sent the suspect links to videos of YouTube tutorials for mapping via drones and augmented reality software in their conversations back in early January. Those videos, however, weren't private and had been collectively viewed by over 30,000 times, which means the government was potentially asking Google for private information on quite a large number of users. "There is reason to believe that these records would be relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation, including by providing identification information about the perpetrators," authorities reportedly told the company. 

Based on the documents Forbes had seen, the court granted the order but had asked Google to keep it under wraps. It's also unclear if Google handed over the data the authorities were asking for. In another incident, authorities asked the company for a list of accounts that "viewed and/or interacted" with eight YouTube livestreams. Cops requested for that information after learning that they were being watched through a stream while they were searching an area following a report that an explosive was placed inside a trashcan. One of those video livestreams was posted by the Boston and Maine Live account, which has over 130,000 subscribers.

A Google spokesperson told Forbes that the company follows a "rigorous process" to protect the privacy of its users. But critics and privacy advocates are still concerned that government agencies are overstepping and are using their power to obtain sensitive information on people who just happened to watch specific YouTube videos and aren't in any way doing anything illegal. 

"What we watch online can reveal deeply sensitive information about us—our politics, our passions, our religious beliefs, and much more," John Davisson, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told Forbes. "It's fair to expect that law enforcement won't have access to that information without probable cause. This order turns that assumption on its head."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/authorities-reportedly-ordered-google-to-reveal-the-identities-of-some-youtube-videos-viewers-140018019.html?src=rss