Americans are leaving millions in free money on the table
Americans are leaving millions in free money on the table
Every year, millions of dollars in credit card rewards go unclaimed — money that could be covering travel, everyday expenses, or even cash back in your pocket. If you’re not redeeming those rewards, you’re leaving money on the table.
As someone who leverages credit card rewards, I was somewhat surprised by the recent Bankrate survey revealing that 25% of Americans didn’t redeem their rewards last year.
That represents big money. For example, in 2022, consumers using general-purpose credit cards from major issuers earned more than $40 billion in rewards, according to a 2024 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report. “Issuers forfeit, expire, revoke, or otherwise take away hundreds of millions of dollars in earned rewards value each year,” the agency said.
With so much content from social media influencers to financial experts highlighting these benefits, the real issue isn’t just awareness; it’s execution.
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Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.
Knowing about the reward programs is one thing, but implementing is what actually matters. Like any other aspect of financial planning, without a strategy, these perks may go unclaimed.
Here are some key points for consumers to know.
Overlooked value of credit card rewards
Many consumers sign up for credit cards without thoroughly reviewing the rewards structure and benefits. Financial institutions often bury perks in fine print, making them easy to overlook. Many people think of rewards as a “bonus” rather than a tangible financial asset that could offset expenses.
Unlocking hidden benefits
Beyond standard rewards, many credit cards often offer embedded perks such as travel insurance, purchase protection and exclusive event access. These benefits offer cardholders added security and savings beyond traditional points or cashback.
Understanding which card offers which benefit can help maximize the value of your credit card and prevent you from leaving money on the table.
My family’s real-life success story
I want to share a personal experience to show how easily overlooked credit card perks can make a real difference.
Several years ago, my son received an iPad as a Hanukkah gift from his grandparents. A few days later, at his brother’s hockey game, he put it down for just a moment to celebrate a big win — and in an instant, it was gone.
He was heartbroken, and my in-laws were frustrated, assuming it was gone for good. I encouraged them to check the benefits offered by the credit card they used to buy it.
After a call to the financial institution, they discovered the credit card they purchased the item with had purchase protection, which can reimburse you for recently purchased items that are stolen or damaged.
Thanks to that, the cost of the iPad would be reimbursed to them after they submitted some paperwork. Within weeks, they got their money back, allowing them to replace the item. It was a great reminder that so many people are unaware of various perks.
Knowing what your credit card offers can turn an unexpected loss into a valuable lesson and soften the financial impact.
Consumer takeaways
D3sign | Moment | Getty Images
Credit card perks aren’t just about points and cashback — they offer hidden protections that can save consumers thousands.
Ignorance is costly. If you’re not using your perks, you’re effectively giving money back to the financial institution; especially if you have a credit with a yearly fee.
If a newly purchased item is lost or stolen or if an expensive item breaks after the warranty expires don’t assume you are out the money. If you paid with a credit card, reach out to your financial institution to check for possible coverage via embedded purchase protection and extended warranties.
If you run into an issue on vacation — such as a delayed flight, lost luggage, or canceled reservation — and you booked the trip on a credit card, call the issuer. You may be able to get reimbursement from embedded travel insurance that will cover your losses or unexpected expenses.
If you’re concerned about accumulating a balance you can’t pay in full at the end of the month, consider making weekly payments or paying off large purchases immediately. This approach allows you to leverage the benefits, protections and rewards of a credit card while maintaining the discipline many find in using a debit card.
— By Lawrence D. Sprung, a certified financial planner and founder/wealth advisor at Mitlin Financial Inc.
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Return of bodies marks day of anguish for Israel
Return of bodies marks day of anguish for Israel
On a bleak late winter’s day, under leaden skies and occasional driving rain, this was the moment all Israelis had been dreading.
The return of the dead.
It began, as all the handovers so far have begun, with a politically charged display by ****** and other ************ armed groups involved in holding Israeli hostages for over 500 days.
Once again, there was a stage, flanked by huge posters highlighting the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the ************ determination to stay put.
But instead of haunted, sometimes emaciated, survivors, there were four ****** coffins, each bearing a photograph and a name – Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir – accompanied by the image of Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Missile casings bore the slogan: “They were killed by US bombs”. ****** has long argued that all four were killed by Israeli air raids on Gaza, something which has not been verified.
As previously, Red Cross officials were on hand to oversee the process. In a rare public statement on the matter, they had urged ****** to conduct the handover in a private, dignified fashion.
Their efforts had clearly been in vain, but they attempted to screen the coffins from public scrutiny, draping each one in a white sheet before driving them away.
The watching crowd was smaller than usual, perhaps because of the heavy rain.
After Thursday morning’s handover, at a military ceremony on the edge of the Gaza Strip, the coffins carrying the hostages were draped with Israeli flags and prayers offered by the army’s chief ******.
A convoy of vehicles then made its way north towards the Abu Kabir forensic institute, in Jaffa, where formal identification of the bodies is taking place.
Along the route, small groups of Israelis stood silently in the rain, carrying Israeli flags and yellow banners – the colour associated with the hostages and their supporters.
In Karmei Gat, where displaced members of kibbutz Nir Oz are living, waiting to go home, the vigil was particularly sombre.
All four of Thursday’s released hostages were seized from Nir Oz on 7 October 2023.
Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square was a study in grief, with people crying or sitting on the ground, heads in hands.
The faces of the red-headed Bibas boys – Ariel and Kfir – are plastered on walls, road signs and in windows up and down the country. Fearing the worst, Israelis have nevertheless clung to the hope that the brothers might have survived, along with their mother, Shiri.
“We were devastated by the news,” Orly Marron said, outside Abu Kabir.
“I have red-headed grandchildren and seeing the photographs is really very heartbreaking.”
Oded Lifschitz’s son, Yizhar, meanwhile told Israel Radio that he had always feared for his father’s health, since his violent abduction in October 2023.
Oded was 84 years old at the time. He and his wife, Yocheved, were both taken to Khan Younis in Gaza, where they were separated, never to see each other again.
Yocheved was released by ****** two weeks after the attack.
“We need to close this wound and move forward,” Yizhar said, adding that his father, a noted journalist and peace activist, had long had a vision about how to resolve the conflicts of the Middle East.
“It’s sad that we went through this whole cycle and didn’t solve it,” Yizhar said. “We left it as something simmering, and look where we are now.”
Meanwhile, back in Gaza, some Palestinians expressed their anger that Israeli bodies had been handed over, while an unknown number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s military campaign remain buried in the apocalyptic wreckage of the Gaza Strip.
In addition, as many as 665 bodies are being held by Israel in numbered cemeteries, according to a ************ protest group, The National Campaign to Recover the Bodies of the Martyrs. It says some have been held for decades.
“I don’t like this agreement at all,” Ikram Abu Salout said in Khan Younis. “They didn’t remove the rubble and we don’t even know where our children and families are.”
As she was speaking, bulldozers flying Egyptian flags were finally arriving in northern Gaza. Israel allowed the equipment to enter, in exchange for Thursday’s handover and the release of six more living hostages this coming Saturday.
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Claws & Chaos is madcap animal mayhem with autochess and a quirky story, now in pre-registration
Claws & Chaos is madcap animal mayhem with autochess and a quirky story, now in pre-registration
Fight for a space on the boat with adorable animal friends
Campaign mode and two PvP arenas
Launching on February 27th
Parhelion Studios has announced the upcoming launch of Claws & Chaos, the studio’s frenetic autobattler that’s coming to mobile on February 27th. The auto-chess mechanics will have you unleashing your inner tactician across the campaign and PvP content, all with adorable woodland creatures taking vengeance on a king who wronged them all.
Based on the trailer, it feels a tad similar to Super Auto Pets but with quirkier and more creative critters to choose from. The campaign features an equally quirky narrative where your ultimate goal is to go up against King Chipmunk (who apparently barred you from entry into a boat during a flood), while the PvP modes are divided into the asynchronous Arena and Rapture.
What makes this even more appealing to me is that the characters are dressed in too-cute costumes – there’s a Harry Potter-esque bear with what seems like the Elder Wand and a grey cat in a suspiciously Assassin’s Creed-looking outfit, for instance.
There’s a schoolgirl penguin who apparently got an F in a failed exam somewhere, as well as a bald eagle in military camouflage. There’s even a capybara in a wooden onsen with a yuzu lemon on its head, and oh my goodness – when there are capybaras, there’s fun. Did I mention that it has a shield and that the wooden tub has wheels?
In the meantime, if you’re eager to join in on all the fun, you can do so by pre-registering for Claws & Chaos on the App Store and on Google Play. It’s free-to-play with in-app purchases.
You can also join the community of followers on the official Twitter page to stay updated on all the latest developments, visit the official website for more info, or take a little peek at the embedded clip above to get a feel of the vibes and visuals.
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AMD has another chance at greatness, but will it grasp it?
AMD has another chance at greatness, but will it grasp it?
Come on Lisa. You can do it. AMD
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The emperor isn’t wearing any clothes
AMD’s shot
The delay better be worth it
Red tinted glasses
There have been a number of inflection points in the PC component space over the past couple of decades. Nvidia taking a dominant position in the GPU market in the late 2000s, AMD’s Ryzen processors hailing a return to true competition in the CPU space, or Apple upending the laptop dynamic with its M chips. And now it feels like we might be on the cusp of another, with the impending launch of AMD’s RX 9000 series graphics cards.
Not because they’re going to blow the doors off on performance, or introduce new features that we haven’t seen before. Indeed, if they can just match Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti with their own frame generation tech, I think we’d all be happy enough.
It all comes down to pricing and availability.
The emperor isn’t wearing any clothes
Nvidia is the undisputed ruler of the consumer graphics card space. And a major portion of the professional GPU space. And one of the largest manufacturers of AI hardware in the world. It’s one of the world’s richest companies for a reason. But when it comes to graphics cards for gamers, its taken its foot off the gas. A lot.
OK, maybe he has a leather jacket on, but that’s it. Taiwan Presidency Office
The last three generations of graphics card have been impressive, taking generous leaps in rasterization performance, improving raytracing and upscaling gen over gen. But this has come at massively increasing power requirements, and with the RTX 5080 and 5090, there wasn’t even that much of a return for it. Beyond melting power connectors, that is.
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There’s also an ever greater reliance on upscaling to deliver the kind of performance jumps people expect. But that’s just lead to Nvidia leaning more heavily into hyperbole in its marketing, further skewing expectations. Stock shortages have driven up prices on the latest new Nvidia GPUs to truly ridiculous heights, further highlighting Nvidia’s lack of interest in putting gamers first.
Melting power cables have once again raised their head this generation. ivan6953 on Reddit
There’s an argument to be made from a corporate financial perspective, that gaming just isn’t a major earner for Nvidia compared to its other ventures — it accounted for less than 10% of its revenue in Q3 2024. But that doesn’t make the situation any better for gaming fans who want big generational improvements: Nvidia just isn’t delivering them.
If AMD can’t do that either, it could at least make what is available more affordable.
AMD’s shot
AMD has a real chance with its RX 9000 series to truly offer something value oriented. It categorically ruled out competing at the top end for this generation of graphics cards, which isn’t the end of the world when very few people buy XX90-series class GPUs anyway, even if it is a shame — the hype around the 6000-series “Big Navi” reveal was very exciting.
AMD
So it’s focusing on the mid-range. The cards that most gamers actually buy. And we’re getting a look at them in just a few days, with them hitting store shelves a week or so later. Expectations of performance have been revised down in recent weeks, prompting many to just hope they can keep up with the new RX 50 series and won’t be too outplayed by their own last-generation flagship cards.
But as with almost everything in the PC component space, it all comes down to price. Nvidia’s cards aren’t just expensive at their suggested price, they’re practically non-existent. The 5070 Ti and 5070 are likely to go the same way, even if stock numbers are higher. Nvidia GPUs are popular among gamers, and that means they’re even more popular among scalpers.
AMD’s cards won’t be immune to that, but it can thwart it. If prices are low and stock is high enough, AMD can give gamers an affordable, sensible upgrade with most of the features offered by the Nvidia competition. Even if the 9070 and 9070 XT don’t blow the doors off in performance, that would be enough.
The delay better be worth it
AMD ceded a lot of ground to Nvidia with this generation of graphics cards by not going hard with its CES debut. Nvidia garnered incredible press and gamer attention with its over the top claims about what the 50-series can do, and its multiple frame generation technology is super impressive in the right scenario. DLSS 4’s new transformer upscaling is excellent, and the day one support for it was just as impressive. If you can actually get your hands on an RTX 5080 or 5090, you’re going to have a great time — even if you probably paid a lot for the privilege.
AMD had a lot of cards at CES 2025, but they’ve not gone on ***** almost two months later. TechPowerUp / Gigabyte
But AMD may have given itself the chance it needs by taking that time. That extra couple of months may have allowed it to stockpile cards so that when they do go on *****, people who want one can actually get them. Just having enough at a fair price will even get around most of the problems of scalpers, too. If you know an RX 9070 is going to be available at $450 or there abouts, why would you buy from a scalper?
Red tinted glasses
This is probably all wishful thinking. AMD has had moments like this in the past with its graphics cards. We all hoped that the 6000 series would finally offer a credible performance alternative to Nvidia, and it didn’t quite manage it. We hoped that the RX 7000-series would be more efficient and more affordable than Nvidia, by enough to matter. It only sort of did.
It’s also clear that AMD is taking the opportunity with its CPU dominance against Intel to cement higher prices, rather than continue to be the plucky underdog on pricing and performance simultaneously. AMD doesn’t exactly make a tonne of money off of its gaming divisions these days either.
But I hold out hope. As Nvidia becomes ever-more an AI and datacenter-first company, gamers need someone making hardware for it that makes them a priority. Someone that considers what most gamers want and need: affordable, sensible upgrade opportunities so they can continue to enjoy the best PC gaming has to offer.
If AMD misses its shot here and just gives us another $500+ graphics card that sells out super fast, that’d be a real shame — and some of us expect that’ll come to pass. In that case, I might start to pin my hopes on Intel expanding its future offerings to give us more 1440p-tier graphics card options.
But there’s still a chance AMD pulls this off. Here’s hoping.
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AppLovin Up Nearly 1000%, Can It Keep Delivering for Investors?
AppLovin Up Nearly 1000%, Can It Keep Delivering for Investors?
AppLovin (NASDAQ:), one of the hottest stocks in the market in 2024, just had another fantastic quarter. In the two days following the stock’s Feb. 12 earnings release, shares spiked 34%. As of the Feb. 14 close, the tech stock’s return over the past 52 weeks is nearly 1000%. So, what’s to make of this skyrocketing stock? Is there still significant room to run, or is its value maxing out? I’ll break down what’s allowed the stock to perform so well and give my outlook on this name.
AppLovin: Earnings Show This Ad-Tech Train Is Full Steam Ahead
In Q4 2024, AppLovin posted strong revenue growth of 44%. Its total sales came in just under $1.4 billion, around $110 million higher than Wall Street expected. The company’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) more than tripled and were way above expectations.
For AppLovin, it’s particularly important to look at the firm’s advertising revenue. The company is selling off the rest of its business. Growth was extremely impressive at 73%, an acceleration from 66% growth in Q3 2024. The company’s margins continued to increase strongly. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin rose to 62%. This is an increase of 1,200 basis points from Q4 2023.
What Wall Street Is Saying: Price Targets Rise More Than Shares
The response from Wall Street analysts was highly positive. Six analysts tracked by MarketBeat raised their targets by an average of 41%. Overall, their targets average out to $558 per share. Compared to the company’s Feb. 14 closing price of $510, this implies over 9% upside in shares. That might not sound like much, but it is important to note that the average price target of these analysts only showed 5% upside prior to the earnings release. This demonstrates that if a firm can continue to impress, price targets can continue to rise.
What’s Next for AppLovin, and Is Its Success Poised to Continue?
With AppLovin now trading at a sky-high forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 64x, it is important to analyze what the future holds.
Strong initiatives need to be implemented to support this high multiple and allow the stock price to continue rising.
AppLovin has traditionally explicitly worked in the mobile gaming ad-tech space. The company helps mobile game developers advertise their games in other mobile games. The goal is to get the players currently playing the game being advertised to download another game. This has done well for AppLovin, but it is a very small chunk of the overall advertising market. The company has now started placing e-commerce advertisements.
AppLovin reported that non-gaming advertisers had performed well and captured holiday spending ad dollars. It also said there was progress in non-direct-to-consumer advertising. The company’s management said, “Early pilots have shown positive outcomes for a range of advertisers, suggesting that any business in any vertical can harness the power of our platform.” AppLovin’s expansion into new verticals presents a major opportunity with plenty of untapped potential. The company is “very confident” that e-commerce will significantly boost revenue in 2025, signaling expectations for strong progress this year.
Another smart move by the company is selling its game development business, which had slow growth and lower margins than its advertising segment. This ***** allows the firm to focus on its core revenue driver and strengthen its expertise.
This is important as the firm must compete against AI advertising juggernauts like Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:).
Lastly, the firm is prioritizing growth without greatly increasing its headcount. In 2025, it wants to launch a self-service dashboard powered by AI to manage customer onboarding and customer service. This can not only allow the firm to grow faster by being able to onboard more clients, but it can also help increase margins. These initiatives can allow AppLovin to continue its success if executed properly.
Still, it is possible that AppLovin could face a massive drop in stock price, like what happened to Trade Desk (NASDAQ:) recently. The company’s fantastic performance means the bar keeps getting set higher. If it slips up one quarter as it looks to implement these big changes, the market may punish it severely. However, in my opinion, AppLovin is doing what it takes to allow the stock to perform strongly long-term.
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Six Nations 2025: Scotland’s Finn Russell fit to face England but Darcy Graham out
Six Nations 2025: Scotland’s Finn Russell fit to face England but Darcy Graham out
Scotland: Kinghorn, Rowe, Jones, Jordan, Van der Merwe, Russell (co-captain), White; Schoeman, Cherry, Z Fagerson, Gray, Gilchrist, Ritchie, Darge (co-captain), Dempsey.
Replacements: Ashman, Sutherland, Hurd, Skinner, Brown, M Fagerson, Dobie, McDowall.
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Microsoft’s “Muse” AI model could create truly competitive bots
Microsoft’s “Muse” AI model could create truly competitive bots
Today, Microsoft announced its first World and Human Action Model, or WHAM, a generative AI capable of generating game visuals and controller actions. Nicknamed “Muse,” this AI was built in collaboration with Microsoft Research Game Intelligence and Teachable AI Experiences alongside the game studio Ninja Theory.
Muse is designed “to effectively support human creatives,” according to Microsoft. The AI was trained on Bleeding Edge, a multiplayer arena battler, but the intended applications go far beyond just creating an AI-controlled character (although that is one possible outcome.)
“What’s groundbreaking about Muse is its detailed understanding of the 3D game world, including game physics and how the game reacts to players’ controller actions. This allows the model to create consistent and diverse gameplay rendered by AI, demonstrating a major step toward generative AI models that can empower game creators,” says Fatima Kardar, Corporate VP for Gaming AI.
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Credit: Microsoft Research Blog
The team has great expectations for this new AI, even though it’s still in a relatively early stage of development. Muse could make it possible to bring back older games that are no longer playable on modern hardware by optimizing the game — or potentially rebuilding it from the ground up. “To imagine that beloved games lost to time and hardware advancement could one day be played on any screen with Xbox is an exciting possibility for us,” Kardar said.
Taking that a step further, Kardar suggests Muse has the potential to create new content for existing games, and perhaps one day inject it on the fly. As AI models like Muse develop, they could have a massive impact on not only how games are made, but also how quickly.
Microsoft is touching on the kind of AI explored in popular culture, all the way from anime like Sword Art Online to popular novels like Ready Player One. And it isn’t so far away that you won’t be able to experience this for yourself. “We’ll create opportunities for people to participate in this exploration, starting with short interactive AI game experiences for you to try on CoPilot Labs very soon.”
Despite the potential, the use of AI raises concerns. The Muse team also addressed this, promising that it will “continue to be built on our commitment to Responsible AI” and that it would be guided by six principles: “fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability.”
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MacBook Pro M5: Here’s everything we know so far
MacBook Pro M5: Here’s everything we know so far
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
When might we see it?
Design: A familiar look and feel
Performance and features
If you’re in the market for one of Apple’s best MacBooks, the MacBook Pro should be top of your list. The latest M4 MacBook Pro brought some significant improvements to the range, and with the M4 MacBook Air just around the corner, you might be wondering what Apple has up its sleeve for the next MacBook Pro in the pipeline.
That model — complete with Apple’s upcoming M5 chip — is an intriguing prospect. Will Apple offer a total revamp, or will it be a more modest upgrade? What can we expect from the M5 chip? And will Apple finally launch its first OLED MacBook Pro when the M5 chip makes its debut?
We’ve examined these ideas and many more to bring you everything we know about the M5 MacBook Pro. Read on to find out what could be on the way.
When might we see it?
Apple
Apple typically introduces new MacBook Pro models in October, and that’s been the case for the M1, M3 and M4 models, which arrived in 2021, 2023 and 2024, respectively. And while the M2 MacBook Pro launched in January 2023, it was widely rumored that this was a delay from an originally planned release date of October 2022.
This time, there’s no reason to believe that Apple will pick anything other than October 2025 for its M5 MacBook Pro. Mark your diaries for that timeframe.
That would make it the first Apple product to launch with the M5 chip, as the M5 iPad Pro is now expected to hit store shelves in the first half of 2026. That’s a reversal of the pattern with the M4 chip, which made its way into the iPad Pro before the MacBook Pro.
There’s no word on pricing yet, but given the M5 MacBook Pro is expected to be a small update (more on that later), keeping the same $1,599 starting price as the current model would make sense. There’s a chance that US government tariffs could affect the price, but by how much (and if at all) is anyone’s guess.
Design: A familiar look and feel
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
Put simply, a major redesign of the MacBook Pro is unlikely this year. We’ve heard plenty of rumors that the M6 MacBook Pro due out in 2026 could be a “true overhaul,” with a thinner chassis and an OLED display, and that seems to preclude anything significant happening this year.
Apple tends to space out its major design revamps. For instance, the last big MacBook Pro overhaul was in 2021, while the M4 model released last year came with lots of feature changes, including an improved webcam, more memory, and Thunderbolt 5 connectivity.
Given Apple’s tendency to wait a few years between design changes — and with the aforementioned overhaul expected in 2026 — serious updates to the outward appearance of the laptop don’t seem to be in the cards for the M5 model.
Performance and features
Chris Hagan / Digital Trends
Without much in the way of design alterations, the main improvement we’re anticipating in this year’s MacBook Pro is the arrival of the M5 chip. This will probably be a fairly incremental upgrade of around 15%-25% over the M4. Given past patterns, the MacBook Pro will almost certainly also get the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes the M5 series will be made using manufacturer TSMC’s N3P method. This is a 3nm process (like that used to make the M4 chip series), albeit with TSMC’s System on Integrated Chip (SoIC) tech that allows chip components to be stacked in 3D space and results in improved thermal management. But if you’re waiting for a 2nm process and the performance increase it will bring, you probably won’t find that in the M5 chip.
You also shouldn’t hold your breath for an OLED display, as the OLED MacBook Pro isn’t anticipated to launch before 2026. That’s also the case with Apple’s in-house 5G modem that appeared in the recent iPhone 16e. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman believes Apple is considering adding a modem to its MacBooks, but it seems like that’s still several years away from coming to fruition.
In more positive news, there’s a good chance that the entry-level M5 MacBook Pro will be outfitted with Thunderbolt 5 ports for improved data transfer speeds. You can get that tech in the current MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and M4 Max chips, but it’s missing from the base-level M4 version.
We’ve also heard that future MacBook Pro models could get Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, but that doesn’t seem to be something we’ll see in the M5 MacBook Pro. The technology is very new and adoption has been slow, and while it’s present in the iPhone 16 range, Apple doesn’t appear to be in any rush to add it to the MacBook Pro. Given the lack of solid rumors that are saying it will happen imminently, we feel we can rule this one out for now.
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This 8.5% Dividend Is the ‘Comeback Kid’ of 2025
This 8.5% Dividend Is the ‘Comeback Kid’ of 2025
We contrarians love a beaten-up corner of the market—especially these days when cheap stocks (and funds) are so thin on the ground.
Right now, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are that corner of the market: unloved, cheap and boasting high, stable dividends. And they have even more appeal with interest rates stabilizing and likely to move lower over time.
We’re not taking advantage of this opportunity by purchasing our REITs individually or through an ETF, though. Instead, we’re looking to REIT-holding closed-end funds (CEFs). These income machines, kicking out 8%+ dividends, are no less than my top contrarian income plays for 2025.
Let’s delve into the (fading) headwinds that are dogging REITs. Then we’ll delve into one of my top picks among REIT CEFs: a holding of my CEF Insider service that’s:
Cheap now, with a 4% discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying holdings) that’s shrinking.
Paying a high dividend that’s grown: This 8.5% payer hiked its payout in 2023, and I expect more in the years ahead.
Before we get to that, let’s talk about the reasons for real estate’s struggles, which are pretty obvious, ranging from a shock rise in interest rates to come-out-of-nowhere trends like the pandemic shift to work-from-home.
The go-to REIT index fund, the SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSE:), has fallen by about 1% over the last three years in response, far below the fund’s 8.6% average annual return since inception.
Also, keep in mind that this 8.6% annualized gain includes the big drop from the subprime mortgage crisis, which still wasn’t enough to keep REITs’ momentum from slowing over the long term.
REITs Deliver in the Long Haul, Even With Recent Turbulence
The fact that REITs are lagging the market by a wide margin now, and have been for a ******* of years, tells us this is a strong buying opportunity, especially with the 8.5% yield on offer from the REIT CEF we’ll get to in a bit.
Look to CEFs for Superior Yields (and Sweet Discounts, Too)
Sure, plenty of investors buy individual REITs on the open market. But buying our REITs through CEFs lets us diversify across the sector all in one go. And REIT CEFs deliver yields that are about double what you’d get from most individual REIT stocks—typically around 7% to 9%.
On top of that, CEFs often trade at discounts to net asset value (NAV). That’s another way of saying our CEFs let us buy REITs for less than we’d pay for them on the open market. ETFs and mutual funds can’t match these deals.
So with that all said, let’s take a look at that CEF we’ve been touching on throughout this article so far—it checks all the boxes we’re looking for here.
RLTY: A Deep-Value CEF Kicking Out an 8.5% Yield
The Cohen & Steers Real Estate Opportunities and Income Fund (NYSE:) is a young fund, having only been launched in 2022. That youth is partly why it has consistently traded at a discount (which sits around 4% as I write this): CEF investors are conservative, and they generally favor funds with long histories.
What we really like from this monthly payer is that it’s not only kept its dividend steady—it’s even rewarded us with a 5.8% hike, announced in June 2023. RLTY yields a rich 8.5% today.
Source: Income Calendar
RLTY is run by top talent at real estate investor Cohen & Steers. And they’ve packed the fund’s portfolio with top-quality REITs. One of its largest positions is in American Tower (NYSE:), a cell tower owner that benefits from our bottomless demand for data.
Another key holding is Welltower (NYSE:), which profits from rising demand for senior housing. Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:), a giant in the data centre space, is also a top holding, benefiting from the surge in cloud computing and AI’s thirst for ever more computing power.
Of course, RLTY has also gained as interest rates have stabilized in the last couple of years, as well as the fading work-from-home trend and surging demand for computing and infrastructure as a whole.
Despite all that, commercial REITs remain cheap, setting us up for gain potential while we collect the fund’s rich 8.5% payout.
RLTY also highlights our proven CEF Insider service strategy: Buy CEFs at an undeserved discount and then sell at a premium, which we plan to do when RLTY’s premium grows especially large. That day does still look like it’s a ways off, but the fund’s discount has narrowed over the last couple of years. That suggests the market is beginning to pick up on this high-quality fund.
Fortunately, there’s still time to buy at a decent discount and start collecting RLTY’s strong 8.5% income stream while we wait for its sizable premium to appear.
Disclosure: Brett Owens and Michael Foster are contrarian income investors who look for undervalued stocks/funds across the U.S. markets. Click here to learn how to profit from their strategies in the latest report, “7 Great Dividend Growth Stocks for a Secure Retirement.”
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This 8.5% Dividend Is the ‘Comeback Kid’ of 2025
This 8.5% Dividend Is the ‘Comeback Kid’ of 2025
We contrarians love a beaten-up corner of the market—especially these days when cheap stocks (and funds) are so thin on the ground.
Right now, real estate investment trusts (REITs) are that corner of the market: unloved, cheap and boasting high, stable dividends. And they have even more appeal with interest rates stabilizing and likely to move lower over time.
We’re not taking advantage of this opportunity by purchasing our REITs individually or through an ETF, though. Instead, we’re looking to REIT-holding closed-end funds (CEFs). These income machines, kicking out 8%+ dividends, are no less than my top contrarian income plays for 2025.
Let’s delve into the (fading) headwinds that are dogging REITs. Then we’ll delve into one of my top picks among REIT CEFs: a holding of my CEF Insider service that’s:
Cheap now, with a 4% discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying holdings) that’s shrinking.
Paying a high dividend that’s grown: This 8.5% payer hiked its payout in 2023, and I expect more in the years ahead.
Before we get to that, let’s talk about the reasons for real estate’s struggles, which are pretty obvious, ranging from a shock rise in interest rates to come-out-of-nowhere trends like the pandemic shift to work-from-home.
The go-to REIT index fund, the SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSE:), has fallen by about 1% over the last three years in response, far below the fund’s 8.6% average annual return since inception.
Also, keep in mind that this 8.6% annualized gain includes the big drop from the subprime mortgage crisis, which still wasn’t enough to keep REITs’ momentum from slowing over the long term.
REITs Deliver in the Long Haul, Even With Recent Turbulence
The fact that REITs are lagging the market by a wide margin now, and have been for a ******* of years, tells us this is a strong buying opportunity, especially with the 8.5% yield on offer from the REIT CEF we’ll get to in a bit.
Look to CEFs for Superior Yields (and Sweet Discounts, Too)
Sure, plenty of investors buy individual REITs on the open market. But buying our REITs through CEFs lets us diversify across the sector all in one go. And REIT CEFs deliver yields that are about double what you’d get from most individual REIT stocks—typically around 7% to 9%.
On top of that, CEFs often trade at discounts to net asset value (NAV). That’s another way of saying our CEFs let us buy REITs for less than we’d pay for them on the open market. ETFs and mutual funds can’t match these deals.
So with that all said, let’s take a look at that CEF we’ve been touching on throughout this article so far—it checks all the boxes we’re looking for here.
RLTY: A Deep-Value CEF Kicking Out an 8.5% Yield
The Cohen & Steers Real Estate Opportunities and Income Fund (NYSE:) is a young fund, having only been launched in 2022. That youth is partly why it has consistently traded at a discount (which sits around 4% as I write this): CEF investors are conservative, and they generally favor funds with long histories.
What we really like from this monthly payer is that it’s not only kept its dividend steady—it’s even rewarded us with a 5.8% hike, announced in June 2023. RLTY yields a rich 8.5% today.
Source: Income Calendar
RLTY is run by top talent at real estate investor Cohen & Steers. And they’ve packed the fund’s portfolio with top-quality REITs. One of its largest positions is in American Tower (NYSE:), a cell tower owner that benefits from our bottomless demand for data.
Another key holding is Welltower (NYSE:), which profits from rising demand for senior housing. Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:), a giant in the data centre space, is also a top holding, benefiting from the surge in cloud computing and AI’s thirst for ever more computing power.
Of course, RLTY has also gained as interest rates have stabilized in the last couple of years, as well as the fading work-from-home trend and surging demand for computing and infrastructure as a whole.
Despite all that, commercial REITs remain cheap, setting us up for gain potential while we collect the fund’s rich 8.5% payout.
RLTY also highlights our proven CEF Insider service strategy: Buy CEFs at an undeserved discount and then sell at a premium, which we plan to do when RLTY’s premium grows especially large. That day does still look like it’s a ways off, but the fund’s discount has narrowed over the last couple of years. That suggests the market is beginning to pick up on this high-quality fund.
Fortunately, there’s still time to buy at a decent discount and start collecting RLTY’s strong 8.5% income stream while we wait for its sizable premium to appear.
Disclosure: Brett Owens and Michael Foster are contrarian income investors who look for undervalued stocks/funds across the U.S. markets. Click here to learn how to profit from their strategies in the latest report, “7 Great Dividend Growth Stocks for a Secure Retirement.”
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#Dividend #Comeback #Kid
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I’ve been waiting for this possible Windows 11 transfer tool
I’ve been waiting for this possible Windows 11 transfer tool
A new transfer app for Windows 11 may be in the works, as Dongle and Microsoft watcher Phantomofearth discovered it in a preview build, as Windows Latest reports. If released, the transfer app could offer options like “Back up to this PC” and “Transfer files to a new PC,” streaming the migration process without needing an external storage device or cloud services.
Once you’ve made your selection, the process continues. The app could ask you to connect your old PC to the same Wi-Fi network, highlighting that it’ll use wireless transfer mode. If you’ve used Nearby Sharing, the transfer app’s process will feel familiar since it might be used to make the transfer process possible. The app could ask you to pair the two PCs to begin the transfer. The app should start the transfer session on the new PC and recommend connecting to a power source since the process could take a while. However, the app could not show the available controls or the set of files it’ll copy.
The Migration app is reportedly part of Windows 11’s Backup app, but its final form remains uncertain. Microsoft has not officially announced its development, though we hope it becomes official soon. However, we shouldn’t get too excited just yet since the code is hidden in Windows 11 and not being tested. Microsoft could abandon it at any time.
However, it’s about time Windows users had an app that would make setting up a new PC easy. The thought of transferring files could be why many decide to keep their PCs longer than they would like. Hopefully, if this app sees the light of day, it will allow you to choose all the files you want to transfer and will not charge you if the file is huge.
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Ozempic helps curb alcohol use in new study
Ozempic helps curb alcohol use in new study
Steve Christo | Corbis News | Getty Images
A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.
Novo Nordisk‘s blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic may also help people drink less alcohol.
That’s according to new government-funded research published in JAMA Psychiatry last week.
It was a small study of just 48 adults that lasted over two months, but it appears to be the first clinical trial confirming that so-called GLP-1 drugs could help reduce the risks of consuming too much alcohol. Multiple analyses of real-world data, along with studies in animals, have suggested that link.
The findings could be huge for those with alcohol-use disorder, which is when a person can’t stop drinking even when it puts their health and safety at risk. The condition affects almost 30 million people in the U.S., and encompasses what people generally refer to as alcohol abuse, alcohol dependence or alcoholism, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
Alcohol use accounts for 2.6 million deaths per year, and increases the risk of common diseases such as different cancers, the study authors wrote. There are three medications already approved for alcohol-use disorder, but the authors said only a small share of patients with the condition receive treatment.
The new data adds to growing evidence that GLP-1s, such as Ozempic and its weight loss counterpart Wegovy, can help people manage cravings – and not just for food and alcohol.
Some preliminary research has suggested the drugs may dampen cravings for smoking, opioid use, gambling, and excessive shopping by hampering activation of the brain’s reward pathways. GLP-1s mimic hormones produced in the gut to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate their blood sugar.
But larger and longer studies will need to confirm the effect of those drugs on addictive behaviors.
Let’s dive into the data.
Researchers recruited people ages 21 to 65 who reported symptoms of alcohol-use disorder but weren’t actively seeking treatment for it. Patients with diabetes and those who have previously used a GLP-1 or other weight loss medications were excluded from the study.
The patients spent two hours in a lab room stocked with their preferred alcoholic beverages – once before they started taking any drugs in the study, and once after to see what had changed. Around half of the people took low doses of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, and half received placebo shots weekly for nine weeks.
They also reported their drinking habits and desire for alcohol throughout the study.
Results suggested that Ozempic injections decreased weekly alcohol cravings, cut the average number of beverages consumed on drinking days and led to greater reductions in heavy drinking days when compared to the placebo. Notably, Ozempic’s effect on curbing several drinking outcomes appeared to be greater than what is often seen with existing medications that aim to reduce alcohol cravings.
By the second month of the study, people who took Ozempic were drinking 30% less on average on days they consumed alcohol. That compared to an average reduction of about 2% in the placebo group.
Nearly 40% of people who took Ozempic reported no heavy drinking days in the second month of treatment, compared with 20% in the placebo group.
The study authors noted that they used the two lowest clinical doses of semaglutide in the trial. Higher doses of the drug would “presumably yield greater effects on alcohol reduction,” they added.
“These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” senior author Klara Klein of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said in a statement. “Larger and longer studies in broader populations are needed to fully understand the safety and efficacy in people with alcohol use disorder, but these initial findings are promising.”
Among a small subgroup of people who smoked, those who took Ozempic had significantly greater reductions in average cigarettes per day compared to those in the placebo group. That suggests Ozempic may reduce both alcohol and nicotine use.
Eli Lilly plans to study whether its weight loss drugs can help treat addictive behaviors like alcohol and drug abuse. The company has said it will start large-scale clinical trials in 2025.
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Latest in health-care tech: Primary care doctors are concerned about patients accessing GLP-1s through third-party telehealth providers, survey says
A box of Ozempic and contents sit on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, Britain, October 31, 2023.
George Frey | Reuters
As demand for blockbuster GLP-1 weight loss drugs has skyrocketed in recent years, some patients have turned to digital health companies like Hims & Hers Health, Ro, Sesame and Noom to access the medications. Primary care physicians don’t think it’s such a good idea.
Metabolic health startup Omada released a survey of more than 2,000 primary care physicians last week that assessed their attitudes toward GLP-1s and various treatment plans. By and large, the doctors said they are concerned about third-party telehealth providers.
Less than 20% of physicians surveyed said they would be comfortable with patients using third-party telehealth providers to access GLP-1 medications. Two-thirds of respondents said they agree that accessing the prescriptions through a third-party telehealth provider could put patients’ health at risk.
“That was alarming, I didn’t even think it would be that high,” Omada President Wei-Li Shao told CNBC in an interview.
Omada does not prescribe GLP-1s, but the company offers a companion program that supports patients who are taking the medications. It also aims to help patients maintain their weight loss if they decide to stop taking the drugs.
The company found that primary physicians are mainly worried about third-party telehealth providers for two reasons: overprescribing and continuity of care. In other words, they’re concerned patients could access GLP-1s when it is not clinically appropriate, and that they might not receive the support they need through additional touch points like follow-up visits.
Additionally, many of the doctors surveyed are on the fence about the role of compounded GLP-1s, which are custom-made alternatives to brand-name drugs designed to meet a specific patient’s needs. Compounded medications can also be produced when brand-name treatments are in shortage.
The FDA doesn’t review the safety and efficacy of compounded products, but they can serve as alternatives to branded medications for patients who are navigating complex supply hurdles and spotty insurance coverage.
Around 45% of physicians surveyed said compounded GLP-1s are not going to be a long-term supply strategy, though they agreed that they can be helpful for addressing current shortages. And 30% of respondents said they agreed or strongly agreed that they are comfortable prescribing compounded GLP-1s.
“Patients or people that are searching for solutions are confused,” Shao said. “What our position has been is talk to your doctor, talk to your primary care doctor, who knows you, knows your history, knows what you’ve been on, and knows what your goals are, and has a perspective on what is the right treatment in partnership with you.”
Read the full report here.
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Health plans grapple with costs of new sickle cell gene therapies
It has been just over a year since the FDA approved sickle cell gene therapies. But in some ways the breakthrough drugs are still waiting to launch to treat patients at scale.
With more than half of sickle cell patients covered by Medicaid, expanding coverage for sickle cell therapies could be difficult. States are already facing high medical costs in the joint program with the federal government, and are bracing for potential funding cuts in Congress. Private insurers are facing higher medical costs, too.
CVS Health CEO David Joyner told me private and government health plans alike are looking at new ways to manage the costs of breakthrough gene therapies.
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Is spending all day on your feet at work an occupational hazard?
Is spending all day on your feet at work an occupational hazard?
NEW YORK (AP) — While traveling in Europe, Margaux Lantelme noticed something different about the store cashiers: they did their work sitting down. It was a stark contrast to Chicago, where Lantelme works the register at REI and cashiers typically spend eight hours a day on their feet.
For Lantelme, a former kayaking instructor, prolonged standing can trigger flare-ups of chronic pain that limit her mobility. She requested a chair to use during her shift and got one. But after a change in management, she had to fill out paperwork to keep the chair, which required multiple doctor visits and insurance co-payments over a ******* of months. She’s still waiting for final approval.
“Not having access to a chair without approval from a doctor, which costs money and time and energy, is really ridiculous,” Lantelme said. “I personally think that people should be able to have access to seating at work anytime they need it.”
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Aches, pains and complications
Standing for long periods can lead to low back pain, fatigue, muscle pain and leg swelling, and it can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems and pregnancy complications, according to a review conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Researchers there concluded that movement, whether walking or shifting from a standing to a seated or leaning position, appeared to be the best way of reducing those health hazards.
Being on one’s feet for an extended time also can lead to chronic venous insufficiency, a disease in which damaged veins impact blood circulation, according to the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, which represents operating room nurses.
The association recommends trying “fatigue-reducing techniques such as alternate propping one foot on a footstool, the use of anti-fatigue mats, using a sit-stand stool and wearing supportive footwear,” said Lisa Spruce, senior director of evidence-based perioperative practices at AORN.
The right to sit down
Many jobs besides nursing require extended standing: department store sales clerks, hairdressers, surgeons, restaurant cooks and airport workers are just some of the people who perform their roles on their feet.
Cecilia Ortiz, 43, used to work as an airport wheelchair attendant in Phoenix. “It takes a really hard toll on the knees,” she said. The break room had three or four chairs, which wasn’t enough for everyone, so workers often went to the hallway and sat on the floor, Ortiz said.
She said she once got written up by her boss for sitting down at an electronic device charging station for 15 minutes after she’d been on her feet for five hours without a break.
Ortiz now works for a warehouse that provides supplies to the airport, and when she needs to sit, she can.
“It’s not so strict over there. If we needed to sit down for any reason there wouldn’t be a problem,” Ortiz said.
Her former employer, Prospect Airport Services, said it adheres to all local, state and federal labor regulations regarding breaks. “Our employees are welcome to take their breaks and meals in our designated break room or in any common-use space throughout the airport,” company spokesperson Jackie Reedy said. “This policy allows our employees to choose the location that best suits their needs.”
Unionized workers at the Barnes & Nobles store in Manhattan’s Union Square have made access to chairs and the right to sit down under certain conditions a part of their negotiations for their first contract.
“The longer I’ve been at the job, I’ve started noticing knee issues, especially because we do a lot of bending down and standing back up when we’re shelving books and showing customers things and creating displays,” bookseller Bear Spiegel, 28, said. “Being able to have a stool available would be really useful just so I could rest my knees for a couple of minutes throughout the day while I’m doing things on the computer while I’m at the registers.”
Spiegel’s coworkers suggested wearing a knee brace and athletic tape, and those solutions have helped, but it’s hard for him to predict what days he’ll need the extra support because his symptoms vary each day, he said.
“There have been days that I’ve requested a stool and thankfully my managers have allowed me to take them out and use them when needed,” Spiegel said.
Barnes & Noble uses chairs or stools routinely for those working off the sales floor when it’s sensible to do so, but a lot of a bookseller’s work is done on the move, including unpacking, sorting and shelving books, a company spokesperson said.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents about 100,000 workers, has been pushing to include in the contracts it negotiates, including at Barnes & Noble, a guaranteed right to sit during work that can be done seated, said Stuart Appelbaum, the union’s president.
During one bargaining session, an employer objected to the demand. Union negotiators used a break that emptied the conference room to underline their position. “The employer came back and saw we had removed all chairs from the negotiating table,” Appelbaum said. “I think the point was made.”
In the end, the union got the chairs it wanted written into the contract, he said.
Sitting once was a protected right
Around the turn of the 20th century, most states in the U.S. had laws requiring seating for female workers. Women were increasingly entering the workforce, and there was a fear that if their jobs were too physically taxing, they might not become pregnant, said Eileen Boris, a labor historian and professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Women were seen as the “mothers of the human race, and thus we have to protect motherhood,” Boris added. “Almost every state had laws, but they weren’t enforced.”
Those laws were repealed over time because they applied only to women. One reason was that the women’s movement was pushing for equal rights, rather than special treatment, Boris said.
Labor movements in other countries were more successful in establishing requirements about seating. “The English shop movement was much stronger and had more men in it than the U.S.,” Boris said.
In 1964, the International Labour Organization, a U.N. agency, adopted workplace standards requiring employers to furnish sufficient and suitable seats, as well as reasonable opportunities for workers to use them. More than 50 countries ratified the agreement, but the U.S. was not one of them.
Today, California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, Oregon and Wisconsin are among the states with “right to sit” laws that obligate employers to provide suitable seating for all workers, regardless of gender, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, approved an ordinance in October that requires manufacturers, retail stores, laundromats, hotels, restaurants, hairdressers, barbers and skin care professionals to let workers sit down as along as sitting doesn’t interfere with their duties. A statewide bill also was introduced in Michigan last fall.
___
Have you overcome an obstacle or made a profound change in your work? Send your questions and story ideas to *****@*****.tld. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at [Hidden Content].
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Warriors: Abyss Review | TheSixthAxis
Warriors: Abyss Review | TheSixthAxis
TSA writes: Following Koei’s landmark success with Dynasty Warriors: Origins, this new roguelite bids farewell to classic Musou.
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Google’s AI can now tell you what to do with your life
Google’s AI can now tell you what to do with your life
Andrew Tarantola / Google Labs
Got a degree and no idea what to do with it? Google’s newest AI feature can help. The company announced on Wednesday the release of Career Dreamer, an AI tool that can recommend careers that best suit you based on your experience, education, skills, and interests.
The process begins with the user constructing a Career Identity Statement (CIS), which can be included in their resume or professional profile, by sharing the title of their current or previous professional position, such as “freelance technology journalist” or “Senior Editor — AI,” and the industry within which they work. Once entered, the AI will return a list of potential tasks performed in those positions for the user to choose from, like “Research and analyze emerging technologies and trends” or “Interview industry experts and thought leaders.” The user will then be prompted to select at least three skills, such as “research,” “self-motivation,” and “editing” before the system activates Gemini to generate the CIS.
In this writer’s tests, Career Dreamer returned the following as my CIS:
I am a technology journalist and content creator with a proven ability to translate complex technical information into engaging narratives for diverse audiences. Through interviews with industry leaders and in-depth research, I unpack emerging trends and technologies, crafting compelling multimedia content that informs and inspires. My adaptability, self-motivation, and time management skills allow me to thrive in the fast-paced media landscape.
That’s a good enough summation of what I do for a living, I suppose, if not a bit bland and sounding nothing like how I actually write. Still, it’s a decent starting point for further iterations and revision, especially for people who aren’t professional writers.
The system then presents users with an idea cloud of related careers and positions, ranging from obviously related fields like Technical Writer and Copywriter, to nearly off-topic suggestions like becoming a Software Engineer or a Public Relations Specialist. Hovering your mouse over any of the ideas listed will pop a window that shows the typical minimum education and experience requirements as well as a link that navigates to the position’s information page that lists the average salary, job responsibilities and offers for Google certifications that could help increase your chances of landing that job.
“We hope Career Dreamer can be helpful to all kinds of job seekers,” Google wrote in its announcement post. “During its development, we consulted organizations that serve a wide range of individuals, such as students navigating their first careers, recent graduates entering the workforce, adult learners seeking new opportunities, and the military community, including transitioning service members, military spouses and veterans. If you’re ready for a career change, or just wondering what’s out there, try Career Dreamer.”
The tool is free to use on Google Labs’s Experimental site. Note, however, that while Career Dreamer can help you find a position that matches your skill set and interests, it will not actually show you active job listings for it. You’ll still have to seek them out manually on the likes of Career Builder or LinkedIn.
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Eli Lilly Dan Skovronsky discusses weight loss drugs
Eli Lilly Dan Skovronsky discusses weight loss drugs
Dan Skovronsky knows what makes a good obesity drug.
As chief scientific officer at Eli Lilly, he’s already done it once with the company’s weekly shot, Zepbound. He’s trying to do it again with a more convenient daily pill, then repeat the feat with a shot that could be even more powerful than Zepbound. And that’s not counting the other nine obesity drugs Lilly’s testing in clinical trials.
Skovronsky said the race to create the next great drug is not just about weight loss anymore, something more investors and analysts are starting to say.
Take Amgen‘s experimental drug MariTide: people lost up to 20% of their body weight in a Phase 2 study and Amgen shares fell about 5% on the day the results were released in November. Why? Investors worried that it wouldn’t be enough to compete with Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, both of which will have a yearslong head start.
An Eli Lilly & Co. Zepbound injection pen arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Thursday, March 28, 2024.
Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Skovornsky sees improving ease of use and making more potent drugs as two paths to move the field forward. He envisions pills like Lilly’s orforglipron reaching people around the world. He sees drugs that can deliver more weight loss – possibly including Lilly’s own retatrutide – as another area with potential.
But he’s most excited to see how many other health conditions that incretin – or gut hormone – medicines can treat. Lilly’s Zepbound recently was approved to treat sleep apnea. The company’s also exploring whether it can treat addiction, heart disease, inflammation and gastrointestinal conditions.
You can watch to the full interview for more from Skovronsky on Lilly’s work in obesity and where he sees the market going.
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Why Lewis Hamilton feels revitalized at Ferrari: ‘I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be’ – The Athletic – The Athletic
Why Lewis Hamilton feels revitalized at Ferrari: ‘I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be’ – The Athletic – The Athletic
Why Lewis Hamilton feels revitalized at Ferrari: ‘I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be’ – The Athletic The AthleticExplained: Key tech changes to Ferrari SF-25 F1 2025 car CrashMUST-SEE: Watch all the best moments from F1 75 Live Formula 1‘There is magic here’: Lewis Hamilton bullish on title challenge with Ferrari The GuardianHamilton in no doubt Ferrari switch was the right move after SF-25 debut Motorsport.com
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Lost Records: Bloom and Rage gives digital camcorders the love they deserve
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage gives digital camcorders the love they deserve
The first half of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage is out now, and it’s a must play. Don’t Nod’s new narrative adventure game, which tells of a band of high school girls who get wrapped up in a supernatural mystery, is an excellent evolution of the studio’s Life is Strange formula (even eclipsing last year’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure). There’s a lot to love about it, from its 90s setting, to its choice-driven dialogue that makes conversations feel more natural. It’s a much smaller feature that has me singing Lost Records’ praises, though: a modest camcorder.
In Part 1, titled Bloom, players follow Swann in both first-person present day segments and 90s flashbacks, where the bulk of the story takes place. Bloom largely plays out as a coming of age story about Swann befriending a squad of cool punk rockers and embracing rebellion (April’s second chapter, Rage, seems like it’ll get more the supernatural mystery that comes from that). Swann is a shy, self-conscious girl looking to find her identity, but she has one defining trait. She’s a budding videographer who always brings a camcorder everywhere she goes, turning her into a documentarian for her pals’ band.
That isn’t just a quirky character trait, but a standout gameplay system too. While exploring in third-person during flashbacks, I can pull up Swann’s camera with the press of a button and film. That’s sometimes used as a way to progress the story, as I’m asked to film certain things, like one of my bandmates’ practices. It’s also used as a clever collectible system too, as I can capture stray birds, graffiti, scenic views, and more. It’s more active than simply finding a shiny object and pressing a button to grab it; I actually need to observe the world through my camcorder and use my zoom to find little critters and whatnot scattered around the woods.
Once I’ve filmed everything in a collection, my shots get edited together into a clip reel, complete with an archaic VHS title screen and some narration from Swann over the footage. Those clips look like they’re coming from a tape, with digital imperfections and old TV screen lines to sell the look. I can even reorder my clips or replace them with better ones if I so choose, turning a simple idea into a creative video editing minigame.
It’s a cute idea, but one that feels incredibly authentic to me, a kid who also spent my youth glued to a camcorder. This isn’t just a glorified Photo Mode where I snap my shots through a first-person camera. It actually feels like using a clunky camera with a speedy zoom and no image stabilization. Lost Records especially makes great use of the PS5’s DualSense controller, as the gamepad’s gyroscope translates even tiny controller movements to hand shakes. I found that I was able to create shots that actually felt like they were created from tech of the era rather than making standard video game clips with a 90s filter over them.
This isn’t just a design flex for the heck of it; authenticity is key to Lost Records. Even with a mysterious presence rumbling beneath its grounded surface, it tells a human story about Swann finding her place in the world without conforming to it. Early in Bloom, we get a sense of her insecurity when she’s bullied over her weight. There’s a sense that interactions like that have weighed on her over her life, making her feel imperfect. It’s only once she meets her new friends, a bunch of messy garage rockers who can barely play their instruments, that she begins to accept herself and grow.
Don’t Nod
The digital camerawork of yesteryear is a fitting symbol for that. Old Hi-8 and VHS cameras were clunky pieces of tech. Even the smallest hand shakes showed on screen, and zooming in too close usually left the image nauseously swaying back and forth. Every bit of human error is both preserved and amplified in clumsy videos. And that makes them special. Have you ever looked back at an old family home movie and found a breathtakingly beautiful shot that someone just naturally stumbled into? Or does even seeing old footage of the era make you indescribably emotional? You might be responding to the humanity in the image, which makes you feel the actual person behind the camera.
Home movies don’t just capture visual memories; they hold on to physical ones too. You can tell how rambunctious a kid is depending on how they move the camera, or how emotional a father filming his newborn child is. The modern cameras we use today have largely wiped that personality from the image in the name of stabilization. It’s tech conformity, trying to solve for human error rather than embracing it.
Lost Records allows your mistakes — and Swann’s, by extension — be part of the image. It bakes them into clever collectibles that will live on in your save file, ready for you to rediscover them one day and remember the person who was holding the controller at that time. Maybe you’ll catch a shot where you forgot to stop filming and wound up capturing a few aimless seconds of nothing in particular. Maybe you’ll see the moment you tried to get creative and tilt your controller to get an awkward Dutch angle.
Whatever you find in that time capsule, it’ll be you.
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage’s first chapter is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Part 2, Rage, will launch on April 15.
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Apple rolls out its C1 modem six years after buying in the technology from Intel
Apple rolls out its C1 modem six years after buying in the technology from Intel
Apple on Wednesday formally introduced its first in-house developed 5G modem that will be used in the company’s new $599 6.1-inch iPhone 16e smartphone, aimed at the mainstream audience. The modem is the first fruit from Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s 5G modem business unit six years ago.
Apple says that its C1 is the “most power-efficient modem ever on iPhone” and delivers “fast and reliable 5G connectivity.” Indeed, the modem supports all key 4G and 5G technologies, including sub-6 GHz 5G with 4×4 MIMO, Gigabit LTE with 4×4 MIMO, FDD-LTE, TD-LTE, as well as 3G and 2G capabilities for compatibility.
Yet, the company does not disclose how this energy efficiency was achieved. Apple could use its own custom Arm or RISC-V-based cores with optimized power consumption. Also, the company uses one of TSMC’s 4nm-class process technology (presumably N4P) to make C1 chips (according to an interview with Reuters), which assists in reducing power consumption. Since Apple tends to tightly integrate its hardware (C1) and software (iOS 18), it can enable its own proprietary power states that allow it to cut power consumption without performance degradation.
For now, Apple’s C1 is used exclusively inside the iPhone 16e, which is a mainstream handset that does not support a number of performance-enhancing yet power-hungry capabilities, such as Wi-Fi 7, mmWave 5G, TDD (time division duplex) 4G and 5G networks, and DC-HSDPA.
mmWave 5G can deliver very high data rates, but to achieve them, the phone has to pack phased-array antennas and rely heavily on beamforming. 5G handsets with mmWave support must constantly adjust beams and manage multiple antenna elements in real-time, which means greater signal processing, more frequent power amplifier usage, and higher power consumption.
TDD networks use a single frequency channel for both uplink and downlink transmissions but at different time intervals, which adds flexibility and improves spectrum efficiency, making them beneficial in dense urban areas. However, TDD networks require strict timing synchronization between the phone and the base station, as well as switching between UL and DL, so the phone has to continuously adjust its transmission timing and radio circuits, which adds processing overhead and increases power consumption. Also, in weak signal areas, a phone has to increase its transmission power to maintain a connection, which is more taxing in TDD than in FDD.
The same applies to DC-HSDPA: the feature increases data rates by using two carrier frequencies instead of one, which inherently means that the device’s radio components are working harder, leading to increased power consumption. However, this can all be optimized.
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At this point, we do not know whether Apple’s C1 lacks support for certain power-hungry features altogether, or if it is the iPhone 16e that omits certain features to cut its costs and power consumption. For example, the smartphone does not feature Apple’s ultra-wideband chip, Thread networking technology, or MagSafe charging (although it does support Qi wireless charging and lacks magnets for MagSafe), and even the Camera Control button — four features that are cheap and easy to implement.
On the bright side, Apple’s iPhone 16e is based on a rather powerful A18 processor with six cores and a cut-down quad-cluster GPU that comes equipped with enough memory to run Apple Intelligence applications.
Apple tends to use its own silicon instead of third-party chips whenever possible, so expect the C1 and its successors to be used more widely over time. For now, the C1 enables Apple to cut its costs (as it does not need to pay a premium to Qualcomm) and perhaps use it as bargaining leverage when negotiating prices with Qualcomm. Nonetheless, over time, Apple plans to use its own modems across all of its devices.
“C1 is the start, and we’re going to keep improving that technology each generation, so that it becomes a platform for us that will be used to truly differentiate this technology for our products,” Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, told Reuters.
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Six Nations 2025: Wales give wing Ellis Mee debut against Ireland
Six Nations 2025: Wales give wing Ellis Mee debut against Ireland
Gatland’s second reign as head coach ended on the back of the dire display in Rome which was an eighth successive Six Nations defeat to equal Wales’ worst record in the tournament.
It was Wales’ 14th successive Test loss and within 72 hours Gatland had gone – with Cardiff boss Sherratt appointed on an interim basis for the remaining Six Nations fixtures against Ireland, Scotland and England.
Wales have dropped to a lowest position of 12th in the world rankings and have not won a Test match since October 2023.
They have lost seven successive internationals at the Principality Stadium since defeating England in a World Cup warm-up game in August 2023.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of facing Ireland,” said Sherratt.
“We have spoken this week about being brave, but not reckless and making sure everyone knows their roles. We also know that keeping our discipline will be huge.
“Everyone is excited for our first home game of the Six Nations. The atmosphere Wales fans create at Principality Stadium is incredible and playing at home is something the players look forward to.”
In contrast, Ireland are ranked second in the world and bidding to create history by winning a third consecutive Six Nations title.
They remain on course for a Grand Slam having defeated England and Scotland in the opening rounds of this tournament and can clinch their 14th Triple Crown in Cardiff by beating Wales this weekend.
With Andy Farrell away with the British and Irish Lions, Ireland also have an interim head coach in Simon Easterby, who has been linked with the Wales top job.
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Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Chip Could Be a Game Changer
Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Chip Could Be a Game Changer
There’s a type of particle called a Majorana fermion that was hypothesized in 1937. This particle has some unique properties, and it’s long been theorized that Majorana particles could prove useful for quantum computing. In a surprise announcement on Wednesday, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) unveiled a quantum-computing chip, Majorana 1, that successfully harnesses a small number of exotic Majorana particles to encode quantum information.
Microsoft started going down this road nearly 20 years ago, and that research has now yielded what looks like a significant quantum-computing breakthrough. The Majorana 1 chip contains eight qubits, or quantum bits, far fewer than top-tier quantum computers currently in operation.
However, Microsoft sees a path to scale up the number of qubits to 1 million. At that scale, quantum computing would likely be useful for solving real-world problems.
One of the major roadblocks preventing quantum computers from scaling is error correction. Qubits are fragile and can be compromised by various environmental factors. This introduces errors, which can derail a computation before completion. A future quantum computer capable of useful calculations will need a way to correct those errors.
A benefit of the Majorana particles that Microsoft has harnessed is that they tend to be more stable and less susceptible to errors than other approaches to quantum computing. Errors are still introduced, and that will need to be overcome to scale up the chip to 1 million qubits.
The process of measuring the system introduces errors, for example, but Microsoft has already identified ways to reduce these errors. The company is also working on new methods of error correction that will be necessary to boost the qubit count.
What Microsoft has successfully done is demonstrate that quantum information can be encoded using Majorana particles. The next step is to start working toward a quantum chip that’s useful.
Microsoft will start with a single-qubit device and build up to devices with larger arrays of qubits, quantum error detection, and eventually, quantum error correction. The property of Majorana particles that tends to protect quantum information will make error correction a simpler affair than previous approaches.
“Microsoft intends to build a fault-tolerant prototype based on topological qubits in years, not decades,” reads a Microsoft Azure blog post detailing the Majorana 1 chip. There are two things for investors to understand.
First, there’s no telling what complications and issues Microsoft could run into as it works toward quantum error correction with its new quantum-computing technology. “To be clear, continuing to refine those processes and getting all the elements to work together at accelerated scale will require more years of engineering work,” Microsoft noted in a separate news release.
Story Continues
Second, going from a prototype to a large-scale quantum computer capable of solving real-world problems could take years in and of itself. The largest quantum computers in operation today are just over 100 qubits in size. Pushing that number up to 1 million will be a huge lift and could be derailed in any number of ways.
Still, the prize if Microsoft beats the competition to useful quantum computing will likely be enormous. Quantum computers could be particularly useful for modeling nature in a way that’s simply impossible for even the most powerful supercomputer to achieve. Solving complex problems in chemistry, materials science, and other areas could lead to significant breakthroughs.
By focusing on quantum chips that can easily be installed in its cloud data centers, Microsoft is building the foundation for what could be an enormous new line of business in the long run. Quantum computing could eventually deliver hundreds of billions of dollars of economic value, according to some estimates.
A lot still must go right for Microsoft. It needs to demonstrate full-fledged error correction, then scale up to a qubit count that’s useful, while not running into any intractable roadblocks. The company also needs its approach to prove superior to all others. As Microsoft pushes toward useful quantum computing, Alphabet, IBM, and a host of other companies are doing the same.
While useful quantum computing is still many years away, Microsoft may have just accelerated the timeline with its innovative Majorana 1 chip.
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Microsoft’s Quantum Computing Chip Could Be a Game Changer was originally published by The Motley Fool
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xAI’s Grok 3 is available for free to everyone ‘for a short time’
xAI’s Grok 3 is available for free to everyone ‘for a short time’
You can now access xAI’s most advanced large language model, Grok 3, even if you don’t pay for a subscription on X. Grok 3 is available for free “for a short time,” according to xAI founder Elon Musk, though the company didn’t say until what “short time” means exactly. When you go to Grok on X or the web, and when you launch the standalone app, you’ll now see new “Think” and “DeepSearch” options that are only available with xAI’s latest LLM family. Just make sure you’re using Grok 3 instead of Grok 2 in the chatbot interface’s drop-drown menu. If you’re paying for X Premium+, which now costs $40 a month, or the chatbot’s standalone $30-per-month SuperGrok plan, you’ll get “increased access” to Grok 3’s features, as well as early access to advanced features like Voice Mode.
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The company launched its Grok 3 model family a couple of days ago during a livestream, wherein Musk described it as “an order of magnitude more capable than Grok 2.” Some of the models in the family are capable of “human-like reasoning,” which you can trigger when you choose the “Think” option. They’re best used for more complex queries, like those with mathematics, science and programming questions. Meanwhile, xAI described DeepSearch as the “next generation search engine” that can generate summaries for research inquiries.
I asked the free version of Grok 3 how it differs from the paid option. The chatbot replied that “free interactions might hit server limits if too many people pile in at once” and that paid users get priority. Paid users get access to “Big Brain” mode, which can answer tough math, science or coding problems that need extra processing power, and there’s no limit to the number of images SuperGrok subscribers can generate.
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ASRock Taichi TC-1300T power supply review
ASRock Taichi TC-1300T power supply review
ASRock, a well-established name in the PC hardware industry, is widely recognized for its high-quality motherboards and innovative design approach. Over the years, the company has diversified its product portfolio to include graphics cards, small form factor PCs, and now power supply units (PSUs). ASRock typically uses the same series classifications for their product ranges, placing multiple ranges of products under the same design and marketing umbrella. The Taichi series, one of ASRock’s flagship product lines, is known for its premium designs, cutting-edge features, and reliable performance, with the company marketing its best products under that series name.
We closely examine the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T PSU, a flagship model in ASRock’s power supply lineup, to see how it stacks up against the best power supplies on our list. This high-performance unit features Titanium-level efficiency and a power rating of 1300W at 50°C, targeting users with very demanding power requirements. It fully complies with ATX 3.1 and PCIe 5.1 standards, ensuring compatibility with modern hardware, especially GPUs with high transient power needs. The unit also incorporates a few unique features, such as temperature sensors for PCIe 5.1 cables and a “5V boost” switch.
Specifications and Design
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Power Specifications (Rated @ 50 °C)
RAIL
+3.3V
+5V
+12V
+5Vsb
-12V
MAX OUTPUT
25A
25A
108.3A
3A
0.3A
130W
130W
1300W
1300W
3.6W
TOTAL
1300W
1300W
1300W
1300W
1300W
AC INPUT
115 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz
115 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz
115 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz
115 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz
115 – 240 VAC, 50 – 60 Hz
PRICE
$390
Row 5 – Cell 2
Row 5 – Cell 3
Row 5 – Cell 4
Row 5 – Cell 5
In the Box
The ASRock Taichi TC-1300T comes packaged in a durable, large cardboard box with a stardust-themed design that prominently features the Taichi series logo and an image of the PSU. The packaging is visually striking, with the designer trying to showcase the unique identity of the Taichi series. Inside, the power supply is securely protected by a nylon pouch and dense foam inserts to ensure safe transport.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The included bundle is comprehensive, consisting of mounting screws, several cable ties, five cable straps, clear cable combs, a jump-start testing adapter, and an AC IEC C19 power cable.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Taichi TC-1300T features a mix of cable designs, with the ATX and PCIe 5.1 cables wrapped in nylon sleeving, while the rest of the cables feature individually sleeved wires. The unit includes two PCIe 5.1 12V-2×6 connectors with built-in temperature sensors that can shut down the PSU if overheating occurs, eight PCIe 8-pin connectors, nine SATA connectors, and three PATA connectors. The number of PCIe connectors is very generous, at the expense of SATA/PATA connectors.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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FSP VITA GM 850W
Connector type
Hardwired
Modular
ATX 24 Pin
–
1
EPS 4+4 Pin
–
2
EPS 8 Pin
–
–
PCI-E 5.0
–
2
PCI-E 8 Pin
–
8
SATA
–
9
Molex
–
3
Floppy
–
1
External Appearance
The ASRock Taichi TC-1300T features a distinctive and robust design. The PSU deviates from standard ATX dimensions, measuring 180mm in length, significantly longer than the ATX design guide limit of 140mm. Compatibility with most advanced ATX cases should not be an issue but should be verified before installation.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Its chassis is coated with satin ****** paint, complemented by titanium-colored decorative plates etched with gear-like patterns, reflecting the unique Taichi series aesthetic. The fan finger guard is integrated into the chassis and prominently displays the series logo at its center. The sticker with the electrical specifications and certifications is at the top side of the unit. The overall design strives to balance a visually striking appearance without going over the top.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The rear panel houses the IEC C20 AC power inlet, a large on/off switch, and a hybrid fan mode button. Enabling hybrid fan mode allows the PSU to operate passively at lower loads – disabling it forces the fan to spin continuously, even if at minimal speeds. The front side is fully populated with labeled cable connectors for straightforward installation, alongside a “5V boost” switch that “helps the 5V voltage to maintain optimal performance” by increasing the 5V rail voltage to 5.15V when activated. Albeit an interesting feature, it should not have a practical use for the vast majority of users considering this unit has no trouble maintaining the 5V line output very stable regardless of its load.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Internal Design
The ASRock Taichi TC-1300T is equipped with a rebranded Power Logic PLA13525S12M 135mm fan featuring a hydro-dynamic bearing. It is a very high quality fan with a modest maximum speed of 2000 RPM.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Internally, the PSU is based on a platform developed by FSP, a well-known OEM in the PSU industry. FSP is a well-established manufacturer of PC PSUs, recognized both for retailing products under its own brand and serving as the OEM for other brands. As the OEM behind the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T, FSP introduces a unique platform that we have not seen in any other PSU to this date.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The input filtering stage is borderline weak, consisting of four Y capacitors, only one X capacitor, and two filtering inductors for EMI suppression. The input conversion stage features an advanced design with four rectifier MOSFETs on vertical PCBs, eliminating the need for rectifying bridges and improving efficiency. The APFC stage also incorporates four additional MOSFETs, two diodes, and three Rubycon 470μF capacitors in an interleaved topology to ensure high reliability and efficiency.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The primary inversion stage utilizes four MOSFETs in a full-bridge LLC topology, mounted on vertical PCBs adjacent to the APFC heatsinks. The secondary stage consists of two arrays of six MOSFETs each, located beneath the main PCB, to generate the primary 12V rail. The 3.3V and 5V rails are produced by DC-to-DC circuits located on a vertical daughterboard.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Unfortunately, most of the active components in our sample were unmarked or processed, forbidding us from identifying them. All capacitors used throughout the PSU are supplied by Rubycon and Nippon Chemi-****, highly reputable Japanese manufacturers. The layout is well organized to optimize airflow and thermal performance.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Cold Test Results
Cold Test Results (25°C Ambient)
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts.
Image 1 of 5
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
During cold testing, the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T demonstrated exceptional efficiency, meeting both the 80Plus Titanium and Cybenetics Titanium certification requirements with a 115 VAC input. However, it fell short of the 80Plus Titanium certification requirements with a 230 VAC input, as it could not achieve 96% efficiency at half load. The PSU achieved an average nominal load efficiency of 92.7% at 115 VAC and 94.0% at 230 VAC. Efficiency peaked at roughly 50% load and remained highly stable across the entire nominal load range (10–100%). At very low loads, the unit maintained commendable efficiency levels but not as high as we would have hoped.
The fan remained inactive until the load exceeded 600 watts, enabling the PSU to operate passively under lower power conditions. When activated, the fan maintained low speeds and generated minimal noise up to 80% load, after which it sharply increased in speed. Thermal performance during cold testing was excellent, with internal temperatures remaining very low despite the PSU’s high power output. This highlights the efficiency of the design, as it manages to maintain such temperatures with very small to no heatsinks.
Hot Test Results
Hot Test Results (~45°C Ambient)
During hot testing, the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T exhibited a marginal drop in efficiency compared to cold conditions. The unit achieved an average nominal load efficiency of 92.5% at 115 VAC and 93.8% at 230 VAC, reflecting a negligible decrease of 0.2% from cold testing results. This reflects the PSU’s resilience to a significant increase in ambient temperature.
Image 1 of 5
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The fan activated slightly earlier during hot testing, starting operation at approximately 500 watts compared to 600 watts in room temperature conditions. The cooling profile keeps the fan at very low speeds at first, followed by a sharp when the load exceeds 800 watts, reaching its maximum speed when the unit is at 90% capacity. Thermal performance remained excellent, with internal temperatures staying relatively low for a PSU of this capacity. All internal components operated well within safe limits, showing no signs of thermal stress or degradation.
PSU Quality and Bottom Line
Power Supply Quality
The ASRock Taichi TC-1300T demonstrates exceptional electrical stability and power quality, as expected from a product of such a high tier. The 12V rail maintains a very strict regulation at 0.7%, while the 5V and 3.3V rails hold at 1.1% and 1.3% respectively. Ripple suppression is very good as well, with maximum ripple levels measured at 36 mV on the 12V rail, 22 mV on the 5V rail, and 18 mV on the 3.3V rail. Electrical performance seems better at medium loads and degrades when the load is either too low or too high.
During our thorough assessment, we evaluate the essential protection features of every power supply unit we review, including Over Current Protection (OCP), Over Voltage Protection (OVP), Over Power Protection (OPP), and Short Circuit Protection (SCP). All protection mechanisms were triggered and functioned correctly. The OCP thresholds are set at 120% for the 12V rail, 112% for the 5V rail, and 110% for the 3.3V rail. The OPP engages at 116%, which is very sharp for an ATX 3.1 compliant unit.
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Main Output
Load (Watts)
261.66 W
Row 0 – Cell 2
653.51 W
Row 0 – Cell 4
974.43 W
Row 0 – Cell 6
1298.06 W
Row 0 – Cell 8
Load (Percent)
20.13%
Row 1 – Cell 2
50.27%
Row 1 – Cell 4
74.96%
Row 1 – Cell 6
99.85%
Row 1 – Cell 8
Amperes
Volts
Amperes
Volts
Amperes
Volts
Amperes
Volts
3.3 V
2.32
3.36
5.79
3.35
8.68
3.32
11.58
3.31
5 V
2.32
5.06
5.79
5.04
8.68
5.01
11.58
5
12 V
20.06
12.07
50.16
12.06
75.24
11.99
100.32
11.98
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Line
Regulation (20% to 100% load)
Voltage Ripple (mV)
Row 0 – Cell 3
Row 0 – Cell 4
Row 0 – Cell 5
Row 0 – Cell 6
Row 0 – Cell 7
Row 1 – Cell 0
Row 1 – Cell 1
20% Load
50% Load
75% Load
100% Load
CL1 12V
CL2 3.3V + 5V
3.3V
1.3%
16
10
14
18
14
16
5V
1.1%
14
12
16
22
16
16
12V
0.7%
22
18
22
36
34
20
Bottom Line
The ASRock Taichi TC-1300T is a high-end power supply unit designed for users with highly demanding power needs and wanting exceptional performance, delivering 1300W of output at 50°C with Titanium-level efficiency. As part of ASRock’s Taichi series, the TC-1300T embodies premium design principles both inside and outside, with a distinctive aesthetic that combines satin ****** paint with titanium-colored decorative plates etched with gear-like patterns. A notable feature is the inclusion of temperature sensors on PCIe 5.1 cables, which can trigger a shutdown in case of overheating, and a “5V boost” switch that enhances the 5V rail voltage. The number of connectors for power-hungry devices is very generous, including eight PCIe 8-pin connectors and two PCIe 5.1 12V-2×6 connectors, making it suitable for high-performance gaming builds.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In terms of overall performance, the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T excels in efficiency, meeting both the 80Plus Titanium and Cybenetics Titanium certification requirements at 115 VAC, although it falls slightly short at 230 VAC under medium loads. The unit achieves impressive nominal load efficiency, with 92.7% at 115 VAC and 94.0% at 230 VAC during cold testing, and maintains excellent efficiency throughout the load range. More importantly, it shows minimal degradation in efficiency in hot conditions, demonstrating the PSU’s stability and resilience under higher temperatures. The electrical performance and power output quality peaks at half load and reduces when the load is either too low or too high.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Thermally, the TC-1300T impresses with its ability to keep internal temperatures low even at high power outputs, even though its heatsinks are very small and the fan not powerful, thanks to its highly efficient design. Acoustic performance is also commendable – the fan remains relatively quiet even under load, only ramping up at higher power draws, ensuring a quiet operation for most users. The fan speed control system may be overreacting when the load is very high but, generally, does a good job at keeping the noise levels very low and the unit cool enough.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In conclusion, the ASRock Taichi TC-1300T is an excellent choice for users looking for a high-efficiency power supply with low thermal output and solid overall performance. With its high-quality build, efficient power delivery, and advanced features, it stands out in the premium PSU market. However, its $390 retail price is quite high, though reasonable for a Titanium-rated unit, but it also is more frequently out of stock than not. The price may be a barrier for some, but for those who demand the best in efficiency and low heat generation, the TC-1300T represents a solid investment. It is particularly well-suited for enthusiasts or those building cutting-edge gaming systems with extreme power requirements.
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Pelican News
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The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap – The Verge
The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap – The Verge
The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap The VergeChinese smartphone firm Oppo launches slim $1,870 folding phone to rival Samsung, Huawei CNBCOPPO Find N5 – Ultra Slim Foldable Phone | OPPO Global OPPOOppo Find N5 review: the final evolution of foldables The VergeI tested Oppo’s super-thin foldable for a week, and it made my iPhone 16 Pro feel ordinary ZDNet
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#worlds #thinnest #foldable #phone #doesnt #cheap #Verge
Pelican News
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