Victoria Fox's Blog, page 148

CES 2024: These are the tech trends of the year

Looking old is never pleasant. However, as a trade fair that claims to be a “platform for innovators”, it is particularly unpleasant. That’s exactly what happened at CES last year: While the whole world was talking about artificial intelligence (AI), the tech trade fair had little to show about it. She was simply unlucky: the program was set, the exhibition stands were ordered, and in the few weeks between the publication of ChatGPT in November 2022 and the start of CES in January, an entire trade fair could no longer be canceled.

The fact that the CES doesn’t want to let this go can now be seen in Las Vegas . The organizers had already declared artificial intelligence to be the top topic of the trade fair in advance, and this was also confirmed on site: Before the trade fair officially opens on Tuesday, ZEIT ONLINE was able to get an impression of the latest tech trends at the preliminary event CES Unveiled and in various press conferences . And one thing is clear: it no longer works without AI. But what do you do with this technology? Tech companies find very different answers to this question.

The entire home becomes AI

Samsung made it clearest that everything now revolves around AI. The South Korean company announced “ AI for All ” as its motto (bonus points for homographic puns!). This means: Samsung wants to bring artificial intelligence into all of its products. For example, the new Bespoke 4-Door French Door refrigerator, in which a camera uses AI to detect whether there are enough eggs and milk in the refrigerator to make pancakes. All devices in the house should then be networked with one another via Samsung’s SmartThings smart home system and can be controlled via the voice assistant Bixby. Samsung wants to expand the smart home beyond their own four walls: Through a partnership with Hyundai, users will in future be able to send voice commands such as “turn on the heating” home in their car.

It is remarkable how united Samsung and LG, also a South Korean company, are in their vision of an AI-powered, fully connected home. LG is also playing puns and plans to bring AI to all of its products. However, the company would like to understand AI as affectionate intelligence instead of artificial intelligence . Both companies talk about how AI will make household work easier (LG very optimistically calls this Zero Labor Home). Robot assistants should also contribute to this in both cases: the Ballie (look: Star Wars BB-8 droid) from Samsung and the Smarthome AI Agent (look: Chihuahua with headphones) from LG. They should drive around, control smart devices, talk (LG) or play films with a built-in projector (Samsung).

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The companies also agree that the television, which is often said to be dead, is anything but. For LG, Samsung and Panasonic, the television will in future become the control center of the smart home. Instead of just streaming Netflix, in the future you should be able to check the weather, switch on the surveillance cameras and manage your shopping list. LG cooperates with Google and Panasonic with Amazon. Samsung and LG also demonstrated a transparent television in Las Vegas – in LG’s case, you can switch between transparent and opaque. It is still unclear for both when they will appear and how many thousand dollars they will cost – but they certainly looked fascinating.

A new best friend

The companies at CES agreed on one more point: Anyone who is self-respecting will do well with Microsoft. This is somewhat surprising, considering that Microsoft has long been the ugly duckling of the tech industry – Windows has been a lot of things, but certainly not cool. Since Microsoft’s billion-dollar investment in OpenAI paid off in the form of the hype surrounding ChatGPT, Microsoft managers apparently prefer to be invited to the press conference.

Samsung announced that Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot will be included in the upcoming Galaxy Book 4 laptops – whether they will also receive the new Copilot key (the first change to the Windows keyboard in almost 30 years!) is unclear not said. Microsoft is working with Siemens on using Copilot for industrial applications; Microsoft is cooperating with Sony and Honda for applications in cars. They showed their Afeela electric car prototype again. Apparently it can not only be controlled with a Playstation controller, but should also contain a voice assistant powered by Microsoft Copilot – if it ever comes onto the market. Volkswagen is taking the more direct route: from the second quarter, the German company wants to install ChatGPT in its cars, so the IDA language assistant will provide more natural answers.

Apple is not there – and yet omnipresent

What’s striking about all of these announced collaborations is that almost every major tech company is showing up in Las Vegas – only Apple isn’t taking part. As always, the iPhone company is not at the trade fair (or only on the sidelines), but it is often present in silence. Perhaps more strongly this year than ever before: It is certainly no coincidence that Apple announced the start of sales for the Vision Pro glasses just in time for the opening of the big CES press conferences on Monday morning local time – and thus immediately stole attention from its competitors.

But even without this announcement, Apple’s mixed reality glasses were always a topic between the lines. Las Vegas was also about “ spatial computing , ” as Apple calls the connection between the real and digital worlds (even if the term is older). Sony and Siemens jointly presented a device for ” spatial content creation ” that might not exist without Apple’s attention boost. The headset looks similar to the PS VR 2 gaming glasses, but instead of gaming, it is intended for viewing, creating and editing 3D models. A spokesman for Red Bull Racing’s development team explained on the CES stage how the glasses would be used to develop a new Formula 1 car.

Sony supplies the hardware for the glasses, Siemens the software. It is scheduled to appear later this year. The larger framework for this is an idea presented by Siemens CEO Roland Busch: The turning point for the “ Industrial Metaverse ” will come in 2024, said the CEO. By this, Siemens means that virtually everything – from aircraft to factories to human hearts – can now be realistically simulated digitally. These “digital twins” can then be used to experiment, optimize processes and thus accelerate innovation. A car factory planned in this metaverse would be significantly more productive and energy efficient. At least that’s what Siemens says.

It doesn’t get any greener

All tech companies unanimously claim such and similar energy savings. Samsung and LG talked for minutes about their sustainability initiatives, Panasonic based its entire presentation on the motto ” Green Impact “, while Bosch mainly talked about the energy transition in the transport sector, for which hydrogen is central (Volker Wissing likes that). If you look at the glittering green powerpoints, you could almost forget that these are the same companies that are contributing to ever-increasing energy requirements and ever-increasing mountains of electronic waste with new products.

But the most convincing innovations may be found away from the big conference stages anyway. For example, with the app from the Dutch start-up Whispp. With AI-supported voice generation, it gives people back the voice they have lost due to diseases such as throat cancer. Even if those affected can only whisper, Whispp makes calls and voice messages understandable again. This worked impressively well at a small demonstration on the sidelines of the trade fair. And that is much more innovative than a talking car or an AI refrigerator.

Looking old is never pleasant. However, as a trade fair that claims to be a “platform for innovators”, it is particularly unpleasant. That’s exactly what happened at CES last year: While the whole world was talking about artificial intelligence (AI), the tech trade fair had little to show about it. She was simply unlucky: the program was set, the exhibition stands were ordered, and in the few weeks between the publication of ChatGPT in November 2022 and the start of CES in January, an entire trade fair could no longer be canceled.

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Stefan Konst about the blockchain: “In very few cases does it make sense”

Nobody knows who invented Bitcoin . But you can visit the man who did important preparatory work for the cryptocurrency. He lives on a construction site in a new development area in Braunschweig and offers his visitors snacks. “Go for it,” he says and sits down on a garden chair in the middle of a half-finished room that will one day become his study.

The computer scientist Stefan Konst was the first to describe a general theory of a blockchain . The technology on which cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are based. About 23 years ago, on August 9, 2000, Konst submitted his thesis to the Technical University of Braunschweig, in which he dealt with “cryptographically chained entries”. Bitcoin has only been around since 2008.

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Playstation Portal: Can I finally play FIFA in the subway?

Some things don’t change the world. But they make our everyday lives a little more pleasant. Or they are just nice to have. Or even both. The ZEIT-ONLINE series “ nice and useful ” is about these gadgets and apps.

You can have lots of New Year’s resolutions, more jogging, more vegetable soup, less screen time. All worthy of honor, but if you ask me: it’s all nonsense. Why optimize every last ounce of joy out of life? At some point, Kantian reason is enough. A colleague recently told me her resolution for 2024 was to start gaming. Play more, have a little more fun in life, that’s a good idea.

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"Journal" from Apple: Dear diary… er, iPhone

Diaries were never for me. I lasted two weeks, during the summer holidays, when there was actually something to experience. But when school started again, I didn’t feel like it anymore. Psychologists say that journaling is good for your mental health.

Maybe writing a diary would be easier for me with an app, after all I always have my smartphone with me. Thousands of users swear by apps like Day One or Daylio. But they now have competition: With the iOS 17.2 update, Apple has been installing its own diary app called Journal on all current iPhones since mid-December. It would certainly be a good New Year’s resolution to find more mindfulness with a diary. Is the journal app the right one for this?

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Europe's clumsiness in the face of the assault of Chinese 'teleco' technology

Huawei’s Luxeed S7, presented in late 2023, has a huge ecosystem of sensors.

The obstacles to Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei or ZTE have been applied slowly and partially, while other threats such as the future invasion of connected cars have been disregarded.

The Government of Pedro Sánchez took advantage of Royal Decree-Law 8/2023 of December 27, the so-called omnibus law, to give itself the power to decide the supplier policy of Spanish telecommunications companies in their 5G networks. The decision, yes

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Telefónica will open this Tuesday the registration period for the ERE

This coming Tuesday, January 9, Telefónica will open the registration period for the Employment Regulation File (ERE) that it has launched in Spain and which will affect up to a total of 3,421 workers.

According to the calendar of the agreement for the collective dismissal that management and unions signed on January 3 , the deadline to sign up will be open until February 8 , and the company will answer the requests on February 14.

Departures will mostly take place on February 29, although the ERE will be open until March 31, 2025.

Workers from the related companies Telefónica de España, Móviles y Soluciones who turn 56 years of age or older during 2024 and who have been working for more than 15 years may join the file. However, the company has reserved adhesion limits in critical areas or additional separations in areas with greater functional surplus for business reasons.

Those born in 1968 will receive 68% of the regulatory salary until age 63 and 38% until age 65. Workers born in 1967, 1966, 1965 or 1964 will receive 62% of the regulatory salary until age 63 and a 34% up to 65, and the voluntary premium is increased to 10,000 euros for this section. People born in 1963 or earlier will receive 52% of the regulatory salary until age 63 and 34% until age 65, with the same voluntary bonus, as specified by Servimedia.

In the chapter on complements, the ERE includes reversibility of income (in the event of death, the legal heirs will receive the pending income), payment of the employee’s social security discount during unemployment, and group insurance up to age 63 (and up to 65 years for survival).

The 3,421 affected by the ERE represent 21% of the nearly 16,000 employees of the three affected companies of Telefónica Spain. The final number of those included in the ERE that management and unions have agreed on represents 33% less than the 5,124 departures that the company initially proposed.

To face the ERE, the teleco has planned a provision of about 1,300 million euros before taxes . The company has said that this money will not have an impact on cash and estimates that the file will mean average annual savings in direct expenses of 285 million euros starting in 2025, but with positive cash generation and savings capture starting in 2024 . since the departure of employees will occur in this first quarter of the year.

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Family calendar apps: Get your everyday life organized with these family calendar apps

Many parents’ messenger buzzes for half the day. Brr: Anna now has Corona, so the weekend meeting is canceled. Brr: The sports tournament in eight days has been postponed. Brr: Can your partner arrange to meet your buddy for a beer the day after tomorrow?

If you don’t want to hang a large wall calendar in your living room that you have to visit every day and constantly have to delete or move appointments around, the only possible solution is a shared digital calendar. But where is the best place to put it? Do you need a planning app specifically aimed at families or do you simply use the calendar pre-installed on your smartphone? And how do you avoid having to record the same appointments in multiple locations?

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Telefónica devastates its rivals in the deployment of fast 5G networks

Movistar ends the year with 3,951 5G nodes in the 3.5GHz band, which is more than doubling Orange’s 1,932 and more than tripling the 1,283 that Vodafone has installed so far.

The race to lead 5G in Spain has a clear winner in 2023: Telefónica . The leading operator by customers and revenue has pressed the accelerator in the past year and has distanced itself from its rivals Orange and Vodafone in the deployment of the

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Julian Assange: In democracies it's called journalism

In a few weeks a decision will be made that will say a lot about the state of democracies in the USA and Great Britain. The British High Court, England’s highest court, has scheduled a final hearing in Julian Assange ‘s case for February 20th and 21st. Negotiations are underway as to whether the WikiLeaks founder can be extradited to the United States. Assange has appealed a previous decision. If the judges reject his appeal, Assange may be loaded onto a plane to America from the maximum security prison in Belmarsh near London. There he is charged under the Espionage Act, a law that has been forgotten for decades and was once enacted against traitors and spies during the First World War and has now been brought out again. It would be the sad culmination of more than a decade of persecution that is unprecedented in the modern history of Western democracies.

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Hardware Info: The End

The End

First of all: thank you very much from all of us. Thank you for your many years of loyal visits to Hardware Info, your membership of Hardware Info Magazine, watching Hardware Info TV and your presence during our events. Your mostly constructive, honest comments have kept us on our toes in recent years. Partly because of this, we have been able to innovate, create better articles and reviews and further improve the site.

Making Hardware Info was a team sport. Many different people have contributed to this site over the years. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to those people. People with endless passion, knowledge and love for technology and this brand.

Today is the last day that Hardware Info gets editorial updates. This article is written by me, Frank Everaardt, with a heavy heart. Personally, I would have liked to continue for years. The motivated crew and the wonderful developments in this market have given me enormous energy and drive. Thanks to that, I was able to run this site 24/7 and write over 260 reviews this year.

Saying goodbye hurts. I remember well that I met Koen Crijns in person for the first time in 1999. That was at a Gigabyte event in Dordrecht. We got to know each other there. Ultimately it led to us supporting Hardware Info, until then a hobby project of Koen. At the time I wrote for Computer!Totaal, ComputerPartner and InfoWorld. In the meantime, I studied computer science in The Hague.

Ultimately, I started working with Eric van Ballegoie in Rijswijk and Koen in Maastricht. Later it became Voorburg and Hardware Info expanded further. In collaboration with HUB Uitgevers in Haarlem, we launched Hardware Info Magazine. Thanks to this magazine we were able to survive in those not so digital times. In the early days of online video we also started making Hardware Info TV, an online program about developments in this technical world.

We worked together with VARA Kassa, among others, where we discovered, among other things, the cause of the problem that the Xbox scratched the discs of expensive games. The company grew from three nerds – Koen Crijns, Frank Everaardt and Eric van Ballegoie – literally in the attic, into a real small company with more employees.

The company outgrew the three technicians and in 2016, Hardware Info was sold to De Persgroep, now DPG Media. The year before I was out of action for a few months due to an unfortunate fall. I still think about the many cards I received from you. Including a card with duct tape: you can patch up anything with it, including a Frank. And yes, I kept all your cards. Thanks again. As I type this, it moves me.

The years that followed were different. A small company like Hardware Info is different from a large organization like DPG Media, with many great colleagues and great brands.

Since September 2021, I have been at the helm of this site again. We have been working on a huge editorial improvement. I am extremely proud of the team that made this possible, and thank the many brands that helped us. With more than 440 reviews since March 2022 and many background articles, we have brought HWI back up to standard. I am extremely grateful to everyone who helped with this.

We are on the eve of a new year. First of all, I wish you a fantastic and healthy 2024. Unfortunately, the time has now come when the site is closing and I am closing the door of DPG Media behind me. I will remain active in this market, but no longer with this brand that is so familiar to me and in this now familiar house.

Again, thank you
Frank Everaardt

Follow me on LinkedIn, because there are great things ahead.

PS: The website is being archived. The user accounts are anonymized.

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