Victoria Fox's Blog, page 132

BusUp boosts its business and reaches 30 million revenues

The Barcelona-based emerging company BusUp, specialized in managing corporate mobility programs, has closed 2023 with a turnover of 30 million euros, 75% more than the previous year. According to its CEO, Rui Stoffel Fe

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Artificial Intelligence: OpenAI develops AI application for video production

The US company OpenAI, developer of the chatbot ChatGPT and the image generator Dall-e, has developed an AI application for producing realistic videos. The San Francisco-based company announced this. The application called Sora can produce videos up to a minute long using a prompt, a short command in text form. The application can also turn a photo into a video or extend a short video.

At X, OpenAI boss Sam Altman announced that the model would initially be made available to selected creatives. Before the program can be used widely, experts should explore possible security risks. Politicians, teachers and artists worldwide may raise concerns.

Sora has a right-left weakness

However, Altman encouraged suggestions for videos. Sora would present “convincing results” just moments later. As an example, OpenAI showed, among other things, a video in which a creature “half duck, half dragon” flies in front of a “beautiful sunset” while carrying a “hamster in an adventure outfit” on its back.

However, Sora still has some weaknesses: For example, the AI confuses left and right. In general, errors could sometimes occur in the implementation of physical laws and continuity. For example, it could happen that someone takes a bite of a cookie in a video, but it still looks whole afterwards.

Companies such as Meta, Google or Runway AI already offer similar applications – they are either working on it or have already published versions. Such technologies could transform video production over time. At the same time, there is concern that fake videos could be created on a large scale that would be difficult to distinguish from real recordings. The developers of the technology are therefore working on ways to incorporate unique identifying features such as watermarks into the videos. Sora videos should also show that they were created by AI.

The US company OpenAI, developer of the chatbot ChatGPT and the image generator Dall-e, has developed an AI application for producing realistic videos. The San Francisco-based company announced this. The application called Sora can produce videos up to a minute long using a prompt, a short command in text form. The application can also turn a photo into a video or extend a short video.

At X, OpenAI boss Sam Altman announced that the model would initially be made available to selected creatives. Before the program can be used widely, experts should explore possible security risks. Politicians, teachers and artists worldwide may raise concerns.

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Sora by OpenAI: This new AI conjures videos out of thin air

The mammoths look really good. The fur billows with every step, individual hairs stick out from the ears into the light of the winter sun, and notches on the tusks show wear and tear. At first glance you might assume that the excerpt was filmed with a camera (if you forget for a moment that mammoths are extinct).

The ten seconds of video material are actually generated by artificial intelligence (AI). More precisely: from Sora, a system that the company OpenAI presented on Thursday. It can apparently produce videos based only on short text input. Such systems are the evolution of AI image generators such as Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-E. The latter also comes from OpenAI.

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AI in the election campaign: Mr. President, is it really you?

“Nonsense!” This is how a call that some voters in the US state of New Hampshire received at the end of January began. On the phone: the voice of US President Joe Biden. In it, he allegedly asked people not to vote in the state’s primary election and to reserve their vote for November 2024. When a new president is elected in the USA. The automated call was fake and the voice was probably artificially generated.

Whether audio files, images or videos: it has never been easier than today to create misleading content using artificial intelligence – and so difficult to quickly identify it as such. During election campaigns, fake content can be used as a weapon to discredit opponents and unsettle voters. Now the big tech companies want to present a guideline against the use of artificial intelligence to undermine democratic elections at the Munich Security Conference. Adobe, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok want to develop tools that can be used to identify AI-generated images, videos and audios.

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"Skull and Bones": Calm of the Caribbean

How many beers would you order in the pub? Maybe the answer to that is a pretty good indicator of how good a game is. The twilight afterlife in Cyberpunk 2077 exudes coolness and danger, the Scumm Bar in Monkey Island is cozy and crazy at the same time, and in the Pelican Inn from Uncharted 3 you can still drink like a real English pub. These are bars for lots of beers. The harbor bar from Skull & Bones on the other hand? A dozen pirates stare silently at bungholes in the wall, in the silence, because no one is playing the fiddle, the ship’s piano or anything else that could set the mood. And even worse: Nobody here will give you a decent jug of rum. How are you supposed to feel as a real pirate?

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Artificial intelligence: Tech companies want to prevent election manipulation through AI

Leading technology companies have committed to working together to combat election manipulation through artificial intelligence (AI). They want to prevent AI-generated content from affecting political elections worldwide. At the Munich Security Conference, representatives of 20 companies signed an agreement on cooperation in detecting and combating manipulated content.

The companies involved include companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, X and Adobe – as well as OpenAI, the company that developed the AI chatbot ChatGPT. Above all, the companies are targeting AI-generated audio, video and image files that deceptively imitate or change the appearance or voice of political candidates, election workers and other participants in democratic elections. The initiative also targets digital content that provides voters with false information about when, where and how elections will take place.

The USA in particular has recently had experience with manipulative AI content in ongoing election campaigns. There, during the primary election in the state of New Hampshire, a telephone robot urged people not to cast their vote with the vote of President Joe Biden. The voice generated by an AI was almost indistinguishable from the president’s real voice. Since then, the US communications regulator has banned automated advertising calls with AI voices.

AI tools should not become “weapons”.

Elections are the beating heart of democracies, said the head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, in view of the agreement. The tech companies’ statement is a crucial step to promote the integrity of elections, increase social resilience and create trustworthy tech practices.

The agreement is a step not only to protect elections, but also to protect opportunities created by AI, said Kent Walker, president of global affairs at Google parent Alphabet. “We must not allow digital misuse to threaten the chances of artificial intelligence to improve our economies, create new jobs and advance progress in health and science,” he said.

Microsoft President Brad Smith said the signatories of the agreement have a responsibility to ensure that AI tools are not weaponized. As part of the agreement, the companies involved want, among other things, to re-evaluate their AI models to understand risks they could pose in connection with fraudulent election content. The companies also want to help raise public awareness. The companies also want to promote greater media literacy in society.

Leading technology companies have committed to working together to combat election manipulation through artificial intelligence (AI). They want to prevent AI-generated content from affecting political elections worldwide. At the Munich Security Conference, representatives of 20 companies signed an agreement on cooperation in detecting and combating manipulated content.

The companies involved include companies such as Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, X and Adobe – as well as OpenAI, the company that developed the AI chatbot ChatGPT. Above all, the companies are targeting AI-generated audio, video and image files that deceptively imitate or change the appearance or voice of political candidates, election workers and other participants in democratic elections. The initiative also targets digital content that provides voters with false information about when, where and how elections will take place.

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'Nothing Phone (2a) will cost around 400 euros'

The rumor mill is running at full speed regarding the Nothing Phone (2a). The usually well-informed leaker Roland Quandt has also received information about the alleged upcoming smartphone.

For example, Quandt indicates that the basic model will have a recommended retail price of “less than 400 euros”. This refers to the configuration with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, and a variant with 12/256 GB is also expected. For reference, the basic edition of the Nothing Phone (1) has a suggested retail price of 469 euros, while the Phone (2) costs at least 699 euros. The latter has at least 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage.

There is a lot of talk in the corridors about the specifications, which should include a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel (1,084 x 2,412 pixels) and a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC. Smartprix recently reported on the camera system, which is said to consist of a 50MP main lens (Samsung S5KGN9) and a 50MP ultra-wide-angle lens (Samsung S5KJN1). For selfies, a Sony IMX615 with a resolution of 32 MP is mentioned.

Smartprix also shared the wallpapers that would come with the device.

For this amount, this phone could well be an attractively priced mid-range device. Currently it looks like it will be announced during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This fair takes place from February 26 to 29.

Sources: Roland Quandt (Twitter), Smartprix

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The most read reviews on Hardware Info

Introduction

Reviews are Hardware.info’s core business. We would like to inform consumers well, so that they can make well-considered choices when purchasing hardware. We have been doing this since 1999, and an important role is played by the leading test lab, where we test almost 1,500 products every year in a professional manner. We have special testing equipment, which allows us to provide an expert opinion on the tested products. Anyone who has been on Hardware.info for a while knows that our reviews include both comparison tests and ‘single product’ reviews.

We have listed the twenty reviews that received the most views, and also take a look at the reviews that generated the most responses.

Advertisement The top 10 most read reviews on HWI

Below you will find the top 10 of our reviews based on views.

What is the best multi-room WiFi system? 21 mesh sets tested Sixteen rechargeable AA batteries tested 25 AMD X570 motherboards review: Putting it to the test with a 3900X Upgrade your socket: 15 smart plugs tested Penlite AA batteries review: 21 units tested Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) review Upgrade your TV speakers: 15 soundbars tested TP-Link Deco M4 review: how the M4 came, saw and conquered The best CPU coolers of the moment – July 2020 Time for ultrawide: 36 ultrawide and superwide monitors tested 1: What is the best multi-room WiFi system? 21 mesh sets tested

This article dates from December 9, 2019 and was written by David de Jong. It is a comparative test in which 21 different mesh sets were examined. That enormous number is not surprising, since mesh sets were on the rise at the time and were not easy to compare due to the large number of models. This article also gave an example of a prototype test that Hardware.info was good at: professionally comparing a whole range of products so that the consumer can make a good choice. Our Innovation, Great Value, Excellent and Ultimate Awards in particular give consumers something to choose from, taking their budget into account. So something for everyone.

Our extensive test results also show the consumer what he or she can choose. It’s also nice if you see a good offer somewhere: is it worth buying the set or is it better to go for the Great Value Award winner? This article had 590,000 views.

2: Sixteen rechargeable AA batteries tested

This is an article from August 17, 2018, written by Eric van Ballegoie. This involved a comparative test of sixteen rechargeable batteries. This article attracted 410,000 views. It seems somewhat remarkable that an article about a relatively boring subject did so well with us. But everyone uses batteries, and rechargeable batteries can be a great solution to save money, and they’re better for the environment, too.

What is nice to see in this article is that larger brands do not always do better than private labels. The batteries from IKEA and Conrad performed very well in this test. Action’s model performed less well.

3:25 AMD X570 motherboards review: Putting it to the test with a 3900X

The article that takes third place on the list concerns a test of 25 motherboards with an AMD X570 chipset. This article is by Tomas Hochstenbach and dates from September 23, 2019. This comparative test of several products also did well on Hardware.info. X570 was the second generation Ryzen supported chipset introduced with the release of the 3000 series. At first it was a comparison between fifteen motherboards, but later ten more were added.

This review also went through all the details in detail and looked at PCI Express & SLI, storage, USB & network, audio & video, VRMs & OC features, appearance, cooling and RGB, so that you could make an informed choice between the different motherboards. In the conclusion of this extensive review, recommendations are mentioned in categories with affordable, luxury and extreme motherboards. Furthermore, the well-known awards have been awarded.

4: Upgrade your socket: 15 smart plugs tested

Number 4 on the ranking is an article by David de Jong about smart plugs. This article was published on May 16, 2020. Also in this case we are dealing with a comparative test that attracted many readers on Hardware.info. It is striking that an Action product – the LSC Action Smart Plug – won the Great Value Award. In addition, three other smart plugs turned out to have completely different qualities than the Action model. This article had 326,000 views.

5: Penlite AA batteries review: 21 units tested

This article from January 12, 2017, written by Eric van Ballegoie, did quite well with 270,000 views. Striking, because a comparison test of normal alkaline batteries doesn’t sound that exciting, you might say. The test showed that it is better to ignore zinc-carbon batteries altogether, and that the best alkaline batteries are sometimes twice as good as the worst alkaline batteries. For example, the private label batteries from IKEA and Lidl performed well in the test, and the batteries from Maxell scored on price-performance.

6: Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) review

This article, ranked 6th in our review rankings, was written by Tomas Hochstenbach and published on April 30, 2018. It was about the Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) and attracted 267,000 views. This ‘single product’ review did not make the top 5, but is in 6th place. This article explains all the new features of the Windows 10 1803 update in detail. Since Windows still has the lion’s share of the market, it is not surprising that there is a lot of interest in these types of reviews.

7: Upgrade your TV speakers: 15 soundbars tested

In this article, Hardware.info tested fifteen soundbars. Sander Almekinders wrote this review, which was published on February 26, 2017. The article received 250,000 views. This also involved a comparative test of several devices. An interesting conclusion: if you want surround sound, it is better not to buy a soundbar, because it always remains a kind of compromise. In this product category there is quite a choice for different budgets, depending on whether or not you want a separate subwoofer.

8: TP-Link Deco M4 review: how the M4 came, saw and conquered

This was a ‘single product’ review of the TP-link Deco M4 WiFi mesh set. The article was written by David de Jong and posted on April 13, 2019. It attracted 240,000 views; not bad for a cheap mesh set. A possible reason why this review was so popular is because the set was also offered as a WiFi booster by providers such as Ziggo. Consumers may have wanted to read up to find out if it was something. This product that offered a 3-pack of WiFi points for 169 euros was definitely worth a Great Value Award.

9: The best CPU coolers of the moment – July 2020

This article by Tomas Hochstenbach, which appeared on July 16, 2020, was about the best CPU cooler of the time. The article had 235,000 views, and this time it was also a comparison between multiple products. A selection was also made within different price ranges, with a winner emerging from the test and a few other options worth considering.

10: Time for ultrawide: 36 ultrawide and superwide monitors tested

This article by Friso Weijers was published on February 25, 2020 and concerned a comparative test of 36 ultrawide and superwide monitors. The article received 230,000 views. Here too, this was a comparison test with several products – this time wide monitors. The design of the article was somewhat different; The best ultrawides and superwides were immediately mentioned on the first page. This allowed the reader to choose which monitors he or she wanted to read more about.

Advertisement Top 11 to 20 reviews:

42 AMD and Intel CPUs review: which is the best processor?

When we look at the articles in positions 11 to 20, a few things stand out. You guys are Wi-Fi mesh kit enthusiasts; This list also contains two reviews about these routers – while two were already included in the top 10. There are also two articles about headsets, another battery comparison, and USB sticks are also a topic that attracts many readers. Furthermore, the larger comparative tests continue to score well. A few more interesting facts: the top-scoring article scored twice as well as number 5 and came from 2019. The second most-read article was from 2018, number three on the list was from 2019, and number four was from 2020.

Advertisement Top 5 most comments

Finally, a top 5 of articles that elicited the most responses. Articles about processors such as AMD or Intel in particular provoke reactions and sometimes lead to rather heated discussions. The article with the most comments is from 2017; this compared the gaming performance of a Ryzen 5 with that of an Intel i5. Second place on this list is a review of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X & Ryzen 9 3900X.

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Disappointed Singles Sue Tinder and Hinge for Defrauding Those Seeking Love

For Valentine’s Day, Match Group, the company that owns the most famous dating applications such as Tinder, Hinge or Meetic, received a lawsuit filed by several users who accuse it of defrauding them of their promises to find love.

The class action lawsuit, to which anyone who feels disappointed can join, arrived on Wednesday at the Northern District Court of California, in the city of San Francisco, on behalf of six clients spread across several states such as New York, California and Florida.

Those aggrieved maintain that the parent company “gamifies” the platforms’ services to transform users into gamers addicted to the search for psychological rewards to generate more profits instead of helping them establish relationships.

While Hinge’s advertising slogan boasts that the app is “designed to be deleted,” the lawsuit claims that the company created its services to hook users on a fruitless search for true love that is sustained by purchasing subscriptions. and other benefits that maintain the revenue flow of the listed company.

The plaintiffs consider this a “predatory” business model based on defrauding candidates by instilling in them the fear of missing out with an algorithm that rewards “compulsive use” of their platforms that encourages them to pay hundreds of dollars a year for subscriptions.

The company, they allege, thus violates state and federal consumer protection, false advertising and defective design laws. “Corporate profits are prioritized over its marketing promises and customer relationship objectives,” the lawsuit says.

Another claim is the addiction caused by automatic notifications that users receive similar to those used by other applications such as Instagram or Facebook. As well as those known as ‘match’, the ‘likes’ that connect the candidates, which keep users glued to the screens in an irresistible way.

Match Group Response

The dating giant, which also owns Match.com, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish and OurTime, with 2,000 employees worldwide, called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and “senseless.”

A Match Group spokesperson explained that the business model “is not based on advertising or engagement metrics” and that the daily effort consists of users “going on dates every day and leaving the apps.” “Anyone who says anything else does not understand the purpose and mission of our entire industry,” he added.

If we take Hinge as an example, with 23 million users in the US, the application offers four versions. The free one that limits ‘likes’ to a minimum to contact candidates. The basic one is $19.9 per month where only mutual ‘likes’ are visible, which represents an expense of about $240 per year.

The third option for $39.9 per month, which is equivalent to about $480 per year, where the ‘likes’ are unlimited and can be filtered by characteristics such as height. The most recent is the premium version, called ‘HingeX’, for $49.9 per month, $600 per year , which benefits from preferential treatment by the algorithm to have greater exposure or access to the most coveted singles in the world. application. Additionally, users can spend $3.99 to send virtual roses.

In his last appearance before analysts on January 31, Match CEO Bernard Kim explained that the Dallas-based company has adopted a “rapid response” mentality to failures to leave behind services that do not work. He also announced that the most popular, Tinder and Hinge, have begun to use artificial intelligence to improve user experiences.

A July 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center found that one in 10 American adults who are married, cohabiting with a partner, or in committed romantic relationships met their loved ones on dating sites or apps. If they work, many will likely stop using them, reducing companies’ revenues.

This is the first time that dating apps have been involved in a legal dispute similar to those that harass the main social networks. Alphabet, parent of Google, Meta, parent of Facebook and Instagram, China’s ByteDance, parent of TikTok, and Snap, parent of Snapchat, have already been sued for deliberately designing features to generate millions of addicts to their platforms.

The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages for people who paid to use Tinder, Hinge or The League in the past four years. As well as eliminating false promises in its advertisements and public warnings about the risks of addiction.

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Orange's revenue grew by 1.1% in Spain in 2023

Orange ‘s total revenue in Spain grew by 1.1% during fiscal year 2023, up to 4,698 million euros, “thanks to the growth of retail services (the sale of the operator’s services, +1.8% to 3,192 million ) during the four quarters, driven by convergence services (landline+mobile+TV)” according to the company. The arpo (average revenue per client) has grown every quarter. It is the first time that Orange Spain has managed to increase retail income since 2018.

Wholesale income, one of the fundamental pieces of Orange ‘s business in Spain, decreased by 9.6%, and stood at 793 million, while the sale of equipment – fundamentally the sale of mobile phones, tablets and other devices – it shot up 12.5% to 711 million.

The company has noted that “in a very competitive market, Spain continues to maintain its growth by concentrating on customer value management, along with a rigorous promotions policy.” This trend has become widespread in the industry, especially in the high and medium segment, and for at least two years now the competition for promotions between operators in the market has been substantially reduced, which has in turn caused a lowering of portability, when the client changes operators. The French group has also indicated that its business is growing in all B2B segments, that is, the corporate business, from the self-employed and the SME to the large account,

The gross operating margin (ebitdaal) stood at 1,246 million and achieved a strong rebound, with a growth of 12.2%. At the same time, capex (material investment, mainly in telecom networks and IT systems) was reduced substantially, by 12.2% to 755 million.

Fourth trimester

In the fourth quarter of 2023, total revenues fell 0.5% year-on-year, to 1,198 million, fundamentally dragged down by the sharp drop in wholesale revenues, which fell 16% to 197 million, as revenues for retail, of 802 million, they achieved an increase of 1.5%. This increase in retail income in the fourth quarter of 2023 compares with the falls of 10.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020, -5.4% in the last quarter of 2021 and -0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2022, reflecting a trend of improvement in the fundamental segment of the operator’s income.

Margins

The company highlighted in its presentation that ebitdaal for the second half of the year grew by 13.3% after also growing by 11% in the first half. And this increase in ebitdaal, together with the decrease in investments (capex) have catapulted the cash, (ebitdaal minus capex) which has experienced a growth of 243 million year-on-year.

Merger with Orange

The French company indicated that it expects the financial and legal closing of its merger with MásMóvil in Spain at the end of the first quarter of 2024, since it “trusts” that the European Commission will rule on February 22, as was already announced by the Community executive. Orange and MásMóvil have already reached a final agreement with the European Commission, as EXPANSIÓN announced yesterday, about the remedies they must grant to Digi, to achieve the community green light.

Fewer broadband customers

Fixed broadband clients stood at 3,938 million, which represents at least 8 consecutive quarters of decline, since in the first quarter of 2002 they stood at 4,022 million. In the fourth quarter of 2022 they stood at 3,982 million, so the 3,938 million now represents a year-on-year drop of 44,000, 1.1% less. On the other hand, FTTH fiber clients rose to 3.6 million, compared to 3.56 a year before, adding 37,000 in the year. The operator already only has 214,000 ADSL customers, on copper lines, which will be gradually turned off throughout the year. All operators have been transferring their customer bases from ADSL to fiber optic services in recent years and Orange is no exception.

In the mobile market, contract customers (excluding M2M or IoT customers that connect machines to each other) stood at 11,523 million, with a drop of 50,000 compared to the third quarter of 2023, although it represents an increase of another 50,000 over the 11,473 with which 2022 ended.

More fiber

The operator has continued to deploy its fiber optic network and has reached coverage of 17,101 million real estate units (homes, offices and premises), which means having added 379,000 more homes in the last year.

Downsizing

The total workforce of Orange subsidiaries in Spain, including telemarketing platforms, stood at 6,528 employees at the end of fiscal year 2023, which is 95 less than in the previous quarter and 70 less than the 6,598 workers at the end of 2022.

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