Google’s Gemini wants to get to know the real you
Google’s Gemini wants to get to know the real you
Google has announced that it is rolling out a new feature for Gemini that will enable the chatbot to remember specific details about its users and recall those facts in later conversations.
“This helps Gemini provide even more helpful and relevant responses, tailored precisely to your needs,” the company wrote in the new feature’s release notes Tuesday.
Google wants users to think of the new memory feature as “giving Gemini a user manual, designed by you.” It will, according to the company, provide more consistent and predictable results without repeating details, better integrate the AI into your existing workflows, and provide at least the appearance of control over your personal data. The feature is purportedly only interested in your interests and preferences, “whether it’s about your work, your hobbies, or your general aspirations in life,” the release notes read.
Rolling out starting today, you can ask Gemini Advanced to remember your interests and preferences for more helpful, relevant responses. Easily view, edit, or delete any information you’ve shared, and see when it’s used.
Try it in Gemini Advanced → pic.twitter.com/gR354OZxnV
— Google Gemini App (@GeminiApp) November 19, 2024
You’ll be able to enter your details either through Gemini’s “Saved Info” page or by simply conversing with the chatbot. The latter method is a bit worrisome as you might let slip details over the course of a conversation that you may not want expressly shared. You will be able to manage what information Gemini holds on to through the saved info page as well. “Define how you want Gemini to interact with you, and it will adapt accordingly, giving you full authority over the information it saves and uses,” the company wrote.
The new feature is initially being made available in English to Gemini Advanced users. In order to get access, you’ll need to have a Google One AI Premium Plan, which costs $20 a month.
Gemini’s new recall capacity closely matches the Memories feature that OpenAI previewed in February and released for ChatGPT Plus subscribers in May. Its availability has since been expanded to all subscription tiers, including free. That feature also remembers details like food preferences and **** names across conversations and, as with Gemini, ChatGPT’s saved information can be reviewed, edited, and deleted at the user’s discretion.
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Top executives announce retirements from Rockford area waste water treatment system
Top executives announce retirements from Rockford area waste water treatment system
Telling trustees that he could sense they are moving in a new direction, Tim Hanson, Four Rivers Sanitation Authority executive director, has announced his retirement effective in mid-April.
Two of Hanson’s top lieutenants — Julia Scott-Valdez, director of management services, and Greg Cassaro, director of plant operations — also announced their plans to retire at a board meeting Monday night.
“The last three months, I kind of sensed that the board was looking in a different direction, maybe even being active in looking for another executive director,” Hanson told trustees. “I don’t want to be that person that sticks around that long, that’s just not welcome anymore. So I’m going to announce my retirement.”
Tim Hanson is the executive director of the Four Rivers Sanitation Authority.
Trustees told Hanson there had been no plan to replace him.
Hanson was hired in 2016, leaving a job as director of Public Works for the city of Rockford. Scott-Valdez and Cassaro also worked for the city before leaving for jobs with the regional waste water treatment system.
Among a litany of accomplishments including a shift to monthly billing from quarterly, Hanson is overseeing a $200 million improvement of the 92-year-old system in response to EPA mandates to reduce phosphorous levels in rivers.
Scott-Valdez said she was brought in as a change agent in 2019. She led a rebranding effort from Rock River Water Reclamation District to Four Rivers, which was better meant to symbolize the organization’s commitment to protecting the community and the watershed.
After a 25-year career with the city of Rockford, Cassaro has for four years overseen treatment plant operations, treating 40 million gallons of wastewater per day.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at *****@*****.tld and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Tim Hanson, others plan to leave Rockford area sanitation system
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What’s New in the Darktide Grim Protocols Update?
What’s New in the Darktide Grim Protocols Update?
Like many, I gave Warhammer 40,000: Darktide a fair shake. I spent nearly 100 hours leveling multiple classes, completing every mission, and checking out the most recent updates. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game recently, and it appears the experience will improve vastly in December. The launch of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Grim Protols offers a new game mode, missions, weapons, and limited-time events across all systems.
New Features in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide The Grim Protocols
As mentioned, the brand-new update for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide features a new game mode, mission, ******* families, limited-time events, quality-of-life improvements, bug fixes, and more. There’s even a fantastic narrative trailer to help get you in the mood for its launch!
New Game Mode – Havoc: Think you’ve mastered the threat over Tertium? Think again. Havoc is a new end-game experience that will test the resolve of the most seasoned operative. Be ready to face daunting challenges and earn new cosmetic rewards.
New Mission – Dark Communion: Return to the Carnival and explore its darkest corners. Steel yourself as you face hordes of cultists who will stop at nothing to achieve their dark communion.
Three New ******* Families: tear through waves of enemies by wielding the destructive might of the Two-Handed Force and Power Swords, and the Ogryn Heavy Stubber.
Anniversary Special Event: to celebrate the second anniversary of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, the game will host an event that will reward players with a unique ******* trinket.
And more: including the expansion of the Penance progression track with new challenges and rewards, as well as quality of life improvements such as an extension of the Party Finder feature.
Related: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Drops for PS5 This December
When Does the Next Darktide Update Come Out?
Darktide Grim Protocols launches alongside the PlayStation 5 release on December 3. The first-person horde shooter is now available on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and it’s an enjoyable time if you don’t mind paying $40 for admission. It does go on ***** frequently, though, especially with the upcoming holiday sales Steam intends to run for Fall and Winter, so keep an eye out for a deal!
What did you think of Darktide? Let us know in the comments below! If you need a squad to play with, don’t forget to visit our community forum, where you’re sure to find like-minded players!
If you enjoy titles like Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, then you’ll be ecstatic to know Remedy Entertainment, the team behind Alan Wake 2 and Control, announced its first multiplayer game, FBC Firebreak, and it’s a lot like Darktide!
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Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 review: as small as it is big
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 review: as small as it is big
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360
MSRP $1,700.00
“The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 gets great battery life and sports a nice display, but performance doesn’t live up to the large format.”
*****
Great build quality
Excellent OLED display
Superior battery life
Incredibly thin
Reasonably light
*****
Disappointing keyboard
Performance is only OK
Limited configurations
Sometimes, you want a large display but you don’t want a large laptop. Manufacturers have responded with very good 15- and 16-inch laptops that still possess surprisingly thin and light chassis. The Apple MacBook Air 15 and the Microsoft Surface Laptop are two examples.
Samsung has taken that approach with an even larger 16-inch display with the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360. It’s a convertible 2-in-1 that’s incredibly thin and packs in Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset for more efficiency. It has a few downsides but makes up for it with its great battery life and OLED display.
Specs and configuration
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360
Dimensions
13.99 x 9.93 x 0.50 inches
Weight
3.73 pounds
Display
16.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1800) AMOLED, 120Hz
CPU
Intel Core Ultra 7 256V
GPU
Intel Arc 140V
Memory
16GB LPDDR5X RAM
Storage
1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Ports
2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack 1 x microSD card reader
Camera
1080p
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetoth 5.4
Battery
76 watt-hour
Operating system
Windows 11
Price
$1,500
Samsung has a whole line of Galaxy Book laptops, and the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is the first to be launched in this fifth generation. Samsung will likely flesh out this lineup in the future, including smaller 13-inch models, clamshell-only devices, and more powerful options with discrete GPUs.
There’s also only one configuration of the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 sold by Samsung, which cost $1,700 for a Core Ultra 5 226V chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 16.0-inch 2.8K OLED display. Best Buy, however, is selling a 512GB model, which costs $1,450 and still has the OLED screen.
Either way, that’s quite an expensive laptop. The 512GB model does, however, come in $50 cheaper than the base Apple MacBook Air 15, and Surface Laptop 7th Edition, both of which cost $1,499. Neither of those laptops have an OLED display. Samsung is also currently selling the 1TB model for $200 off, which is a good sign for future price cuts and discounts.
It would be nice to see some additional configurations available, however, especially with different memory and storage options since those are all soldered down and aren’t user-upgradeable.
Design
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
The Galaxy Book5 might just be the thinnest 16-inch laptop around at just 0.50 inches. The Apple MacBook Air 15 is thinner at 0.45 inches, but that’s not by much and it has a smaller display. Not only that, but the Galaxy Book5 is a 360-degree convertible 2-in-1, which requires a more complex hinge to support revolving through clamshell, media, tent, and tablet modes and providing a pen-enabled touch display.
The Galaxy Book5 is a relatively large laptop in width and depth, though, and that’s due in part to a large bottom ***** on the display. Samsung also managed to keep the 2-in-1 fairly light at 3.73 pounds — not the lightest 16-inch laptop but close enough. It’s still light enough — and thin enough — to use as a very large tablet for writing and drawing on the display.
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
The build quality is also very good. That’s where some extremely thin laptops have issues, but there’s zero bending, flexing, or twisting in the lid, keyboard deck, or chassis. The Surface Laptop 7th Edition is equally well-built, while the MacBook Air 15 has a lid that’s a little bendable. The 2-in-1 hinge feels great and keeps the lid reasonably stable.
Aesthetically, there’s not a lot to say. It’s a dark-gray ****** way with ****** keycaps on the keyboard. There’s really nothing that stands out. The Surface Laptop and MacBook Air are both more attractive machines with a mix of elegance and streamlined designs that just look better. It’s not a strike against the Samsung, really; it’s just not a particular strength.
Keyboard and touchpad
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
One of my least favorite keyboards of all time was Apple’s butterfly keyboard that it abandoned several years ago, which had very shallow switches that felt a bit like typing on a block of wood. The Galaxy Book5’s keyboard isn’t quite that bad, but unfortunately, they give the same vibe. It’s the same keyboard Samsung has been using for years, and it’s not my favorite. In addition to the shallow travel, the keycaps are a little small, making it hard to get used to.
There’s plenty of spacing but the numeric keyboard — an anachronism today — pushes the touchpad a little off center. Some people need a numeric keyboard, but most probably don’t. In general, I just didn’t enjoy using this keyboard very much, and I suspect others might not, either.
The touchpad is plenty large, though, and it works well enough. It uses an old-school mechanical switch, though, and I wish Samsung had opted for a haptic feedback unit. Both the Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air 15 have haptic trackpads, and Apple’s Force Touch version is the very best. So unfortunately, again, the Samsung’s touchpad isn’t my favorite.
The display is pen- and touch-enabled, and it all works fine. That’s to be expected with a 2-in-1.
Connectivity and webcam
Connectivity is pretty decent for a thin-and-light laptop. There are a couple of Thunderbolt 4 ports and some legacy ports in USB-A and HDMI. That’s better than both the Surface Laptop and the MacBook Air 15, the latter of which is all-in on Thunderbolt 4. You do have to use one of the Galaxy Book5’s Thunderbolt 4 ports for power, while the MacBook has a MagSafe 3 connection and the Surface Laptop has Microsoft’s proprietary Surface port. But still, the Galaxy Book5 is fine here, even offering a microSD card reader that’s becoming increasingly uncommon. Wireless connectivity is fully up-to-date as well.
The webcam is a 1080p version, in line with many of its competitors. As a Microsoft Copilot+ PC, the Galaxy Book5 supports enhance Studio Effects software and the full complement of AI features as they roll out. Those will run reasonably fast and efficient on-device thanks for a fast neural processing unit (NPU).
Performance
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
The Galaxy Book5 is available with the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V, a member of the Lunar Lake chipset, otherwise known as Core Ultra Series 2. Like all Lunar Lake versions, it’s an 8-core/8-thread chipsets consuming 17 watts, and it runs at just a slower clock speed than the Core Ultra 7 258V chipsets used in the other Lunar Lake laptops we’ve reviewed. Its primarily focused on efficiency, and its performance falls somewhere between the older 15-watt U-series and 28-watt H-series Meteor Lake chipsets.
As you can see in our benchmarks, there’s not a huge difference in performance in CPU-intensive tasks. It’s considerably slower than the other efficiency option, the Qualcomm Snapdragon X chipsets, which are a lot faster. The Core Ultra 5 226V also uses the slower Intel Arc 130V integrated graphics, and that shows up in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme benchmark.
The Galaxy Book5 is fast enough for productivity work, but gamers and creators won’t be too excited. You’ll need to opt for the previous-gen Galaxy Book4 Ultra or wait for a next-gen option.
Cinebench R24 (single/multi)
Geekbench 6 (single/multi)
Handbrake (seconds)
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (Core Ultra 5 226V / Intel Arc 130V)
114 / 573
2587 / 10260
92
4740
HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V)
116 / 598
2483 / 10725
99
7573
HP Spectre x360 14 (Core Ultra 7 155H / Intel Arc)
102 / 485
2176 / 11980
93
N/A
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V)
109 / 630
2485 / 10569
88
5217
Asus Zenbook S 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V)
112 / 452
2738 / 10734
113
7514
HP OmniBook X (Snapdragon X Elite / Adreno)
101 / 749
2377 / 13490
N/A
6165
MacBook Air (M3)
141 / 601
3102 / 12078
109
Battery life
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
With a large, 16.0-inch OLED display and only a 76 watt-hour battery, I wasn’t expecting great battery life. But the Lunar Lake chipset is meant to help with just that.
As it turned out, the Galaxy Book5 did pretty well in our suite of battery tests. At almost 13 hours of web browsing and 19.5 hours of video looping, you’re bound to get a full day’s work out of the machine. That’s pretty impressive. The MacBook Air 15 still leads, especially in web browsing, but Windows laptops are getting much stronger.
Web browsing
Video
Cinebench R24
Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (Core Ultra 5 226V)
12 hours, 50 minutes
19 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 18 minutes
HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V)
11 hours, 5 minutes
15 hours, 46 minutes
2 hours, 14 minutes
HP Spectre x360 14 (Core Ultra 7 155H)
7 hours, 9 minutes
14 hours, 22 minutes
N/A
Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Core Ultra 7 258V)
14 hours, 16 minutes
17 hours, 31 minutes
2 hours, 15 minutes
Asus Zenbook S 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V)
16 hours, 47 minutes
18 hours, 35 minutes
3 hours, 33 minutes
Microsoft Surface Laptop (Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100)
14 hours, 21 minutes
22 hours, 39 minutes
N/A
HP Omnibook X (Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100)
13 hours, 37 minutes
22 hours, 4 minutes
1 hour, 52 minutes
Apple MacBook Air (Apple M3)
19 hours, 38 minutes
19 hours, 39 minutes
3 hours, 27 minutes
Display and audio
Mark Coppock / Digital Trends
The Galaxy Book5’s AMOLED display is spectacular, of course. It’s 16.0 inches at 2.8K (2880 x 1800) running at 120Hz. The resolution isn’t the sharpest, but around 212 ppi (pixels per inch), it’s only slightly less dense than the MacBook Air 15-inch. You likely won’t notice the difference. Otherwise, it’s bright, insanely colorful, and it has OLED’s usual inky ******. Reviewing so many OLED laptops has completely spoiled me in this regard.
My colorimeter agrees that this is a very good display. It’s bright at 401 nits, which is well above the 300-nit threshold that we should probably adjust. Almost every display we’ve reviewed in the last couple of years are at least 350 nits and 500-nit displays are becoming more common. Colors are incredibly wide at 100% sRGB, 95% AdobeRGB, and 99% DCI-P3, and they’re very accurate at a Delta-E of 1.08 (just above the 1.0 or less that’s considered excellent). And contrast comes in at 28,020:1 with near-perfect *******.
Audio quality is only OK, with two downward-******* speakers that are good enough for all but gaming and movie watching. Some other 16-inch laptops have much better sound.
There’s so much to like, and only a few things to complain about
I really like the way the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 feels in hand. It’s so thin and reasonably light for a laptop with a spectacular 16-inch OLED display. And it’s also very well-built, and it gets great battery life. There’s a lot to like here.
But when you buy such a large laptop, you tend to want more performance. The Galaxy Book5 is fast enough as long as you’re doing typical productivity tasks. But it’s not the gaming and creator’s laptop that many larger machines represent. And the keyboard is really disappointing.
For those that really like the idea of a large-format laptop that is still easy to pack around, however, the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 delivers just enough value to make it worthy of recommendation.
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Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead massive Medicare, Medicaid agency CMS
Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead massive Medicare, Medicaid agency CMS
Pennsylvania *********** U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz poses for a portrait outside of a poling location during the primary election in Rockledge, Pennsylvania, U.S. May 17, 2022.
Hannah Beier | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity TV host physician, to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS operates or oversees health-care programs that provide coverage to about 1 out of every 2 Americans, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Obamacare marketplace exchange Healthcare.gov.
Those four programs account for $1.6 trillion in spending, or nearly 25% of the entire federal budget.
CMS is an agency within the Health and Human Services Department.
Trump last week said he would nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic and *********** theorist, as HHS secretary.
“Our broken Healthcare System harms everyday Americans, and crushes our Country’s budget,” Trump said in a statement announcing his intention to nominate Oz.
“Dr. Oz will be a leader in incentivizing ******** Prevention, so we get the best results in the World for every dollar we spend on Healthcare in our Great Country,” Trump said. “He will also cut waste and ****** within our Country’s most expensive Government Agency, which is a third of our Nation’s Healthcare spend, and a quarter of our entire National Budget.”
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is the current CMS administrator.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
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Rafael Nadal Davis Cup analysis: Nadal loses to Botic van de Zandschulp of Netherlands
Rafael Nadal Davis Cup analysis: Nadal loses to Botic van de Zandschulp of Netherlands
Follow live coverage of Rafael Nadal’s last Davis Cup here
MALAGA, Spain — Botic van de Zandschulp beat Rafael Nadal in the Davis Cup quarterfinals at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday.
Van de Zandschulp prevailed over Nadal in a match decided by their serves. Nadal’s physical issues hampered his ability to get free points behind his first serve, dragging him into long rallies that his body can no longer sustain. Van de Zandschulp hit double faults and at times, appeared overcome by the occasion, but recovered with calm efficiency. Despite a first break of serve from Nadal in the second set, the Dutchman kept him — and a raucous Spanish crowd — at arm’s length to seal victory.
The result leaves the Netherlands 1-0 up in the tie, with Carlos Alcaraz to face Tallon Griekspoor in the second singles rubber. If Alcaraz wins, it will come down to the doubles between Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers and Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof. Should Spain lose, Nadal’s tennis career will be over.
The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman analyze the match…
How did Nadal’s serve hinder him?
Nadal’s serve is driving him away from tennis more than anything else.
It was never the strongest part of his game — when he first burst onto the scene, it was probably the weakest — but he improved it significantly. He revved up his speeds with the help of coach Carlos Moya, and he could hit spots as well as anyone. What he lacked in power, he could make up for in precision.
In 2024, having a big first serve is regulation; it’s on return where the edge of the great players *****. Men’s tennis now involves collecting as many free points on missed returns or aces or easy ****** that float back as possible, but Nadal’s average first serve on Tuesday floated around the 110mph (177km/h) mark.
That’s not going to garner many free or easy points. Against Van de Zandschulp and just about everyone else he faced this year, that limitation sucked him into multi-shot rallies that his body just doesn’t can’t cope with anymore.
Rafael Nadal’s lack of access to easy points behind his serve made every game a grind. (Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images)
Serves look like they are about arms and shoulders, but really they are about the spine and the abdominal muscles and the hips. They bend and snap and torque and whip the arm through the ball. Spine, abdominal muscles and hips? That could be a rundown of Nadal’s injury problems over the past two years — before considering the inevitable loss of speed that ageing brings.
Through the first set, Nadal landed 61 percent of his first serves and won 70 percent of those points. Despite four double faults in that set, Van de Zandschulp was serving at 76 percent and winning 90 percent of those points. Those numbers are tough to overcome.
GO DEEPER
Over 12,000 fans, an inside-out forehand, and a dream: Rafael Nadal makes magic in Madrid
Matt Futterman
And how did Van de Zandschulp get hold of his serve?
When Van de Zandschulp hit two consecutive double faults at 40-0 up in his first service game, it seemed his nerves at playing his idol could undermine his chance of winning.
When he hit two more at 3-4 in the first set, the first of which was a foot fault, that feeling strengthened. But the Dutchman escaped from the game, broke Nadal straight after and then served the set out comfortably.
The Dutchman escaped from a string of double faults on multiple occasions. (Thomas Coex / AFP via Getty Images)
Van de Zandschulp counterbalanced those four double faults in the first set with five aces and, aside from those extremely shaky moments, he served well as the numbers above indicate. As against Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open, he was mostly unflustered, whether sending serves into the net or manoeuvring a 22-time Grand Slam champion around the court with relative ease.
The start of the second set saw another shaky moment, as he double-faulted for 15-30 when up 1-0. He responded with three unreturned first serves to avert the danger and consolidate the break.
Van de Zandschulp’s next service game followed a similar pattern: he started with two double faults, the second another foot fault, before reeling off the next four points with first serves to hold. He won his first seven service games despite all the doubts and having been broken in the eighth, he recovered from 0-30 down in the ninth.
Then he did the hardest thing of all: serving out against Nadal in front of a crowd that wanted him to play forever.
Charlie Eccleshare
How did the home crowd respond to the travails of their hero?
This was what the Malaga crowd had come to see, what some had paid thousands of euros for. Nadal playing singles — and for most of the first set, looking like he could deliver the win that almost everyone in the packed arena was willing into existence.
The home supporters couldn’t have done much more. They went wild after every point Nadal won, and regularly serenaded him with chants of, “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa!” He celebrated a couple of big points with that trademark clenched fist, as he tried to get himself going.
Trailing 4-1 in the second set but up break point, he asked the crowd for more noise. When he clinched his first break of serve, more than 10,000 fans roared as if their man had just won a Grand Slam title. Nadal roared back, with interest.
Rafael Nadal was on home turf, as he was for much of his 2024 comeback. (Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images)
Credit must go to Van de Zandschulp for staying zen. Based on his body language, it would have been tough to tell whether he was playing in the biggest match of his career or against a friend in his local park.
Credit too for the Dutch fans, who massed together in their distinctive orange and made plenty of noise as they revelled in their nation’s role as the ultimate tennis party *******.
Despite Nadal’s defeat and possible farewell, this felt more like a celebration than a wake.
GO DEEPER
‘I beat him because he was still a ****’: Reliving the 2004 Davis Cup that birthed Rafael Nadal
Charlie Eccleshare
How will Nadal release his competitive spirit in retirement?
Ask any player how they view Nadal and they all say some version of the same thing: the ultimate competitor.
World No. 4 Taylor ******, who Nadal beat in a tiebreak with a torn abdominal muscle at Wimbledon in 2022, thinks that Nadal could be down 6-0, 5-0 40-love and play points like the match was ***** even.
That ***** was still there Tuesday, even as Van de Zandschulp made it increasingly clear that he would be too tough for Nadal. There Nadal was, down a set and 0-2 and desperate not to go down a double break, sprinting to the back of the court to catch up with a lob and ***** back a desperate spinning overhead as his body kept barrelling toward the back fence.
Two games later, he ripped off an ace down break point; needing to shorten points, he kept pushing into the net. When he did go down a double break, he followed it with his best return game of the evening, bull-whipping his forehand to earn one break point, then standing on the baseline in the rallies to earn another.
Nadal’s competitiveness has never faded — but the ability of his body to sustain it has. (Thomas Coex / AFP via Getty Images)
When Van de Zandschulp floated a backhand wide and the break finally came, he pumped one fist and then another and then the first one another time. The crowd roared with the ‘olé’ chant. A game later and back within one, he knew Van de Zandschulp was starting to feel the weight of it all.
Nadal came at him like the ocean. Van de Zandschulp stemmed his tide.
Nadal, ultimately, was here for it as he always has been, healthy or not. It’s what kept him around, kept him trying to come back amid all the injuries.
The big question he will have to answer beginning next week is how he can feed that hunger. Casper Ruud has said he is a ******* on the golf course. He’s **** for the Parchisi board game. Will that be enough?
It’s hard to think so. Maybe competing like life and ****** are on the line will just have to be something he did for a while before he went on to do something else.
GO DEEPER
What’s it like to play Rafael Nadal on clay? We asked the players
Matt Futterman
What did Van de Zandschulp say after the match?
Speaking to Tennis Channel post-match, Van de Zandschulp, said: “In the beginning, we were both nervous. The first serves didn’t go smoothly, the crowd was tough, of course. Understandable.
“That’s what it is to play here in Spain against Rafa. It was a really special event.
“It’s tough to close out a match against him, knowing it could be his last (match) or not. I was hoping a bit more than going for it, so I just went for it and that did help in the end.”
Van de Zandschulp added that the Dutch support carried him through.
“It was unbelievable, I needed it. There were too many people here cheering for him!
“I needed them a lot today.”
Recommended reading
(Top photo: Jorge Guerrero / AFP via Getty Images)
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One of Them Literally Uses AI for Better Gameplay
One of Them Literally Uses AI for Better Gameplay
After years of delays, STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is finally hitting the shelves and will allow gamers to return to the iconic Exclusion Zone. While its multitude of delays has got fans sweating, each trailer that’s been revealed has brought more exciting features and additions to the long-awaited sequel.
Game Pass continues to shock gamers with brand-new additions. | Credit: Microsoft
One of the biggest talking points about the game is its availability on Xbox Game Pass on day one. With this release, it’s clear that Microsoft is finally getting the edge over Sony’s subscription service model. However, the tech giant has another horde of games soon joining the Game Pass, and one of them uses AI to great lengths to enhance gameplay.
Xbox Game Pass has Added AI-Enhanced Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Microsoft’s latest flight sim game uses tons of AI to enhance gameplay. (Image via Microsoft)
Microsoft has revealed that the next set of games will arrive on Xbox Game Pass in November! Next week, we can expect to see Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Nine Sols, PlateUp!, Little Kitty, Little City, Big City, and Aliens Dark Descent.
The three titles that will join Microsoft’s service on November 20th will be STALKER 2, PlateUp!, and Little Kitty, Big City. As we’ve said before, STALKER 2 is a day-one release for Game Pass Ultimate and PC. Nine Sols is set to debut on November 26th. In the end, we’ll see Aliens: Dark Descent arriving for all Game Pass members on November 27th.
We also have a surprise entry among all these incredible games: Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024. The flight-sim will be available for PC and Ultimate subscribers starting today, November 19th.
The latest entry in the long-running flight sim franchise was originally unveiled back at the June 2023 Xbox Game Showcase. Due to the fact that it’s been developed by Xbox Game Studio’s subsidiary Asobo Studio, it was destined to hit Xbox Game Pass on day one.
What’s really shocking is the extent of AI’s involvement in making this game ten times better. It’s been confirmed that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 uses data from Microsoft’s Azure tools, Blackshark.ai, and Binge Maps to bring enhanced terrain and building details.
This has allowed the game to be incredibly detailed, featuring real-world textures and patterns. It’s truly a technological marvel that the community will absolutely love!
Xbox Game Pass Might Be Getting a New Feature Soon
Microsoft is planning brand-new features alongside Xbox Game Pass additions. (Image via Microsoft)
It isn’t just blockbuster games; Microsoft looks to be planning another Xbox feature that will allow players to stream titles that aren’t currently available on Game Pass.
This might indicate that Microsoft is all set to roll out Project Lapland, the reported codename for the feature to stream all the games you own. Rumors suggest that this feature could be rolled out as soon as November 2024, and things might be coming to fruitarian.
The feature will allegedly begin with a testing ******* for all Xbox insiders before rolling out globally later. Previously, only a game in the Game Pass library could be streamed, but Microsoft plans to expand to more games soon.
Microsoft is planning to bring such features to shape the new vision for Xbox’s future that goes beyond the console.
With that said, are you excited to play Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on Xbox Game Pass? Let us know in the comments below.
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AMD crafts custom EPYC CPU for Microsoft Azure with HBM3 memory – CPU with 88 Zen 4 cores and 450GB of HBM3 may be repurposed MI300C, four chips hit 7 TB/s
AMD crafts custom EPYC CPU for Microsoft Azure with HBM3 memory – CPU with 88 Zen 4 cores and 450GB of HBM3 may be repurposed MI300C, four chips hit 7 TB/s
Microsoft announced its latest high performance computing (HPC) Azure virtual machines powered by a custom AMD CPU that may have once been called MI300C.
The HBv series of Azure VMs are focused on delivering high amounts of memory bandwidth, an important specification for HPC; Microsoft calls it the “biggest HPC bottleneck.” Previously, Microsoft had used Milan-X and Genoa-X server CPUs with AMD’s 3D V-Cache to provide this extra bandwidth, but for the latest HBv5 VMs, Microsoft clearly wanted something even more performant.
The custom AMD CPU used for HBv5 VMs leverages HBM3, usually the memory of choice for the latest data center-class GPUs, such as AMD’s MI300X. With a bandwidth of 6.9TB/s from four of the chips in a single VM, the VMs are almost nine times faster than the Genoa-X CPUs that Microsoft offers in HBv4 VMs, and nearly 20 times faster than Milan-X chips in HBv3 VMs.
When paired with a CPU, the HBM3 fulfills a similar role as 3D V-Cache. Still, instead of expanding the pool of L3 cache, it effectively adds a massive L4 cache with even greater bandwidth and presumably much worse latency. However, the latter isn’t as important in certain types of workloads.
Each HBv5 VM gets four of these custom AMD CPUs, and with all the bells and whistles, a single HBv5 VM offers 450GB of HBM3, 352 Zen 4 cores that clock up to 4GHz, and double the normal Infinity Fabric bandwidth that’s available on regular Epyc CPUs. SMT (hyperthreading) has, however, been disabled. The VMs also have 800Gb/s of Nvidia’s Quantum-2 InfiniBand for network switching.
At 352 cores across four CPUs, that’s 88 cores for each, though it’s likely not every core on the processor is exposed to the VM. Each Zen 4 CCD has either eight or 16 cores, depending on whether it’s Zen 4 or Zen 4c; the custom CPU either uses 11 Zen 4 CCDs or six Zen 4c CCDs, with eight cores on one CCD disabled. It’s more probable that the CPU has 96 fully functional cores, with eight of them reserved for operating the VM, perhaps in an orchestration or hypervisor role.
This “custom” AMD CPU might not be so custom either, as it sounds quite a bit like last year’s rumored MI300C chip. This CPU was expected to essentially be an MI300A APU but equipped exclusively with Zen 4 CCDs instead of CDNA 3 graphics, allowing for a 96-core CPU with HBM3. MI300A’s CPU cores clock up to 3.7GHz, not far off from the CPU used for HBv5, indicating that the custom Azure processor and MI300C may be one and the same.
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However, while the HBv5 CPU may not be custom on a technical level, it’s nevertheless Microsoft’s exclusive CPU. “It is only available on Azure,” Microsoft engineer Glenn Lockwood said on Bluesky, responding to a user wondering whether the AMD CPU would ever become available as a regular Epyc CPU.
If the HBv5 processor was formerly MI300C, AMD may have initially wanted to sell it to the general public but had trouble finding a market for it, according to AMD memory engineer Phil Park.
“Why haven’t we seen EPYC+HBM sooner? EPYC has been focused on high volume markets, which is why you don’t see EPYC with more than 2 sockets,” Park posted on Bluesky. “You can’t swap out your DDR5 controllers and add HBM controllers/stacks and call it a day. HBM forces certain design choices (e.g., every HBM3 stack requires sixteen 64-bit channels).
“Flexibility: with HBM, you can’t upgrade capacity or have lower cost versions with fewer channels populated,” he added. “Generally, CPUs don’t require that much bandwidth.”
This explanation lines up with the thus-far short history of HBM-equipped CPUs. Intel has already launched HBM-infused CPUs based on Sapphire Rapids, called Xeon Max, which are used in the Aurora supercomputer and are also generally available.
However, Intel confirmed last year there won’t be a version of Xeon Max based on Emerald Rapids, and it’s unclear if Granite Rapids will get a Xeon Max variant either, which may indicate they’ve not been a huge commercial success. The pragmatic decision for AMD may have been to secure a deal with Microsoft and focus MI300C production towards Azure.
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Trump will nominate transition adviser and billionaire Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary
Trump will nominate transition adviser and billionaire Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary
President-elect Donald Trump says he’ll nominate Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, to be commerce secretary, a position in which he’d have a key role in carrying out Trump’s plans to raise and enforce tariffs.
Trump announced his pick Tuesday in a social media post.
Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who was the Small Business Administration administrator in Trump’s first administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration.
File: Howard Lutnick, Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and Co-Chair of the Trump 2024 Transition Team speaks at a rally for former US President and *********** presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York, October 27, 2024.
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
Lutnick has also donated millions to the effort to re-elect Trump and other Republicans. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump in August that raised $15 million and also gave $5 million to the Make America Great Again PAC, according to Federal Election Commission records.
As commerce secretary, Lutnick, if confirmed, would be in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.
An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use — we need to protect the ********* worker.” During his campaign, Trump proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China — and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the U.S. imports.
“I think we’ll make a bunch of money on the tariffs,” Lutnick said, “but mostly, everybody else is going to negotiate with us, and we will be more fair.”
Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity.
During the campaign, Trump campaign allies, including Lutnick, were asked about Project 2025, the multi-pronged initiative overseen by the ************* Heritage Foundation that includes a detailed blueprint for the next *********** president to usher in a sweeping overhaul of the executive branch.
Trump and his campaign worked to distance themselves from Project 2025 in the months leading up to Election Day, with the former president going so far as to call some of the proposals “abysmal.” Lutnick told CNBC he had read Project 2025 but had not met with any of its authors.
“I won’t touch them. They made themselves nuclear,” Lutnick said in September.
Lutnick, who’s worked on Wall Street for over 30 years, has been with Cantor Fitzgerald since 1983 and became its president and CEO when he was 29 years old, in 1996. On 9/11, Cantor Fitzgerald lost about two-thirds of its New York-based workforce in the ********** attacks, 658 employees in all, including Lutnick’s brother. Lutnick survived the ******* because he was late to work that day, dropping off his young son at his first day of school. In the years since the *******, Lutnick and the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund have donated $180 million to 9/11 families, according to Trump’s social media post on Lutnick’s selection.
Lutnick, who is also a cryptocurrency enthusiast, was also under consideration for treasury secretary, a role that has been at the center of high-profile jockeying within the Trump world. At the same time, the treasury position is closely watched in financial circles, where a disruptive nominee could have immediate negative consequences on the stock market, which Trump watches closely.
Billionaire Elon Musk and others in Trump’s orbit were calling on Trump to dump the previous front-runner for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, in favor of Lutnick. Musk said in his post that “Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change.”
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Super Micro shares soar after company names BDO as new auditor
Super Micro shares soar after company names BDO as new auditor
Charles Liang, chief executive officer of Super Micro Computer Inc., during the Computex conference in Taipei, Taiwan, June 5, 2024.
Annabelle Chih | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Super Micro Computer shares jumped 31% on Tuesday after the embattled server maker said it named BDO as its new auditor and submitted a plan to Nasdaq detailing its efforts to regain compliance with the exchange.
The stock has now climbed more than 50% over the last two trading days on optimism that it will keep its Nasdaq listing. Still, the company has lost about three-quarters of its value since its stock peaked in March, a decline that’s wiped out roughly $54 billion in market cap.
Super Micro is late in filing its 2024 year-end report with the SEC and said earlier this month that it was looking for a new accountant after its previous auditor, Ernst & Young, stepped down in October. Ernst & Young was new to the job, having replaced Deloitte & Touche as Super Micro’s accounting firm in March 2023.
Super Micro said in a statement late Monday that it told Nasdaq that the company believes it will be able to file its annual report for the year ended June 30, and quarterly report for the ******* ended Sept. 30. The company said it will remain listed on the Nasdaq pending the exchange’s “review of the compliance plan.”
Analysts at Mizuho, who previously suspended their rating on the stock, wrote in a note that Nasdaq still has to approve the plan, which could take two to five weeks.
Super Micro CEO Charles Liang said in Monday’s statement that appointing BDO marks “an important next step to bring our financial statements current, an effort we are pursuing with both diligence and urgency.”
Shares of Super Micro soared more than twentyfold over a two-year ******* from early 2022 until their peak in March. But the stock has been hammered on troubling news about its compliance with Nasdaq.
Super Micro has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence *****, due to its relationship with Nvidia. Sales last fiscal year more than doubled to $15 billion.
On Monday, Super Micro announced it is selling products featuring Nvidia’s next-generation AI chip called Blackwell. The company competes with vendors such as Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise in packaging up Nvidia AI chips for other companies to access.
Super Micro was added to the S&P 500 in March, reflecting its rapidly growing business and then-soaring stock price. Less than two weeks after the index changes were announced, Super Micro reached its closing high of $118.81.
The troubles began within months. In August, Super Micro said it wouldn’t file its annual report with the SEC on time. Noted short seller Hindenburg Research then disclosed a short position in the company, and said in a report that it identified “fresh evidence of accounting manipulation.” The Wall Street Journal later reported that the Department of Justice was at the early stages of a probe into the company.
The month after announcing its report delay, Super Micro said it had received a notification from the Nasdaq, indicating that the delay in the filing of its annual report meant the company wasn’t in compliance with the exchange’s listing rules. Super Micro said the Nasdaq’s rules allowed the company 60 days to file its report or submit a plan to regain compliance. Based on that time frame, the deadline was Monday.
WATCH: Super Micro is a sell due to accounting irregularities
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Apple’s next Pro Display XDR could use this high-end TV tech
Apple’s next Pro Display XDR could use this high-end TV tech
CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants Ross Young recently revealed that Apple’s M4 MacBook ***** are using quantum dot technology for the first time — and now he’s predicting that the Pro Display XDR 2 will use it too.
Apple didn’t announce the switch from KSF to quantum dot itself, but the expert consultant firm confirmed the change by using a spectrometer on the new M4 MacBook Pro.
According to Young, the use of a quantum dot film in an LED display offers equal or better ****** accuracy and improved motion performance. If you’re interested in how it works, we’ve got a breakdown of QLED technology right here.
Big Apple display news, they have adopted quantum dots for the first time. The latest MacBook Pro’s (M4) use a quantum dot (QD) film rather than a red KSF phosphor film.
In the past, Apple went with the KSF solution due to better efficiency and lack of cadmium (Cd), but the… pic.twitter.com/5olq9lEHs9
— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) November 14, 2024
The technology has been around for a while in televisions and even some of the best monitors, but it previously used a toxic material called cadmium, which caused Apple executives to allegedly ******* it in the past. Now, however, there are cadmium-free quantum dot films available, and they also run at an improved efficiency — making them no more expensive than KSF.
Young’s statement that the Pro Display is next could just be a personal prediction rather than information based on industry sources — but since quantum dot technology can improve display quality without affecting consumer prices, it does seem likely that it will come to more devices in the near future.
As for the not-so-near future, tandem OLED technology still wins out in terms of quality, and rumors around Apple’s plans for an OLED MacBook Pro continue to circulate. Predicted dates range from 2025 to 2027, however, and plenty of products could be upgraded to quantum dot displays in the meantime.
The Pro Display XDR hasn’t received any hardware upgrades since 2019, and although we don’t know when a successor might be released, people are hoping for a range of improvements — including a built-in camera, speakers, and a higher refresh rate.
The $5,000 price tag made it hard to stomach in 2019, especially when adding on the $1,000 adjustable “Pro Stand.” But it’s become significantly more blatantly overpriced given the ********** of more affordable OLED monitors over the past couple of years. When you look at even some of the best OLED monitors, many are falling around or under $1,000. Most of those are made for gaming, though, leaving creators looking to edit HDR video out in the cold. It’ll be interesting to see if Apple makes a price correction in the next Pro Display XDR or perhaps brings some extra capabilities to its more affordable Studio Display.
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Eli Lilly’s cholesterol pill impresses in trial
Eli Lilly’s cholesterol pill impresses in trial
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.
A sign with the company logo sits outside of the headquarters of Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 17, 2024.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
Analysts say Eli Lilly may have a future blockbuster ***** on its hands: An experimental pill designed to lower an inherited form of high cholesterol.
The pharmaceutical giant presented mid-stage trial data on the pill, muvalaplin, at the ********* Heart Association Scientific Sessions meeting in Chicago on Monday. The treatment demonstrates the diversity of Eli Lilly’s ***** pipeline beyond its top-selling weight loss and diabetes treatments.
Here’s what makes the daily pill so important: Muvalaplin is the only ***** treatment among several injectable therapies being developed to treat high levels of lipoprotein(a) – or Lp(a) – in the blood, an inherited risk factor for heart ********. That includes Eli Lilly’s own late-stage injectable *****, lepodisiran, and injections from Novartis and Amgen.
About one in five Americans, or 63 million people, have elevated levels of Lp(a), according to the Family Heart Foundation.
There are currently no approved treatments to lower Lp(a,) which can significantly increase the risk of heart *******, ******* and a buildup of fatty plaques in the arteries. Lp(a) levels are determined by a person’s genes, so lifestyle changes such as diet or exercise have no effect, Ruth Gimeno, Lilly’s group vice president for diabetes and metabolic research, said in an interview.
That is unlike low-density lipoprotein, also known as LDL or “bad cholesterol,” which can be treated with lifestyle changes and statins.
Let’s ***** into the data.
The phase two trial compared three daily doses of the pill – 10, 60 and 240 milligrams – with a placebo for 12 weeks in adults with high cardiovascular risk due to very high levels of Lp(a). Eli Lilly researchers tested Lp(a) levels using both a traditional blood test and a new method developed by the company that more specifically measures intact Lp(a) particles in the blood.
The highest dose of the pill decreased Lp(a) levels by 70% compared to the placebo based on the traditional blood test, and almost 86% relative to the placebo based on the more specific test, according to the results.
The 60-milligram dose similarly reduced levels by 81.7% compared to the placebo based on the more specific test, while the 10-milligram dose decreased them by 47.6%.
In terms of safety, side effects were similar among those who received Eli Lilly’s ***** and the placebo group.
“We were very, very happy with the safety profile of this molecule,” Gimeno said. “There’s really no red flags at all.”
She said the company is discussing the next steps for the ***** with the FDA, including how to design a phase three trial on the pill. Eli Lilly estimates that “it’s probably going to be four or five years until we see the final results” from a late-stage study, Gimeno noted.
She added that late-stage trials will likely show whether the pill can reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes.
In a research note Tuesday, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said Eli Lilly’s pill appears to be competitive with injectable therapies in development based on the phase two trial data.
Risinger added that muvalaplin has “megablockbuster potential” if late-stage data shows that it can help prevent outcomes like heart attacks and strokes before they occur.
He noted that Novartis’ experimental injection, pelacarsen, could be the first treatment to show the benefits of lowering Lp(a) levels in reducing cardiovascular risks. The company is slated to release data from a late-stage trial on the injection in mid-2025.
Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at *****@*****.tld.
Latest in health-care tech: Dexcom invests $75 million in Oura, companies ink new partnership
The Dexcom logo is seen on a smartphone screen and in the background.
Pavlo Gonchar | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Dexcom on Tuesday announced its glucose biosensors will be compatible with Oura’s smart rings as part of a new integration. Dexcom also kicked off Oura’s latest funding round by investing $75 million, which values the company at more than $5 billion, according to a release.
Additional investors in the round have not been determined, an Oura spokesperson told CNBC.
Oura’s rings track sleep, exercise, stress, heart health and other metrics. The company launched new hardware and a refreshed app last month. Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitors are small sensors that poke through the skin to measure real-time blood sugar levels.
Through the new partnership, data will flow between Dexcom and Oura products so that users can access a more complete picture of their health, Dexcom said. The first app integration between the two companies will launch in the first half of next year.
Oura and Dexcom will also begin cross-selling and co-marketing their products, the release said.
Dexcom’s devices have historically been designed for patients with diabetes, but it has started to push into more consumer-friendly markets this year. The company in August released a new over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor called Stelo, which can be used by any adults who do not take insulin. The launch of Stelo means many wearable users, like Oura customers, can access Dexcom’s technology for the first time.
“This powerful combination [with Oura] will attract new shared customers who want to better understand the link between activity, sleep, nutrition and their glucose,” Matt Dolan, Dexcom’s executive vice president of strategy and corporate development, said in a statement Tuesday.
Oura ***** the groundwork for its partnership with Dexcom by signaling its interest in the metabolic health space this year. In September, Oura announced that it has agreed to acquire Veri, a company that uses continuous glucose monitors to help users eat healthier and lose weight.
Oura CEO Tom Hale called metabolic health the “natural next dimension of the Oura Ring experience,” in a blog post following the September announcement. The company’s acquisition of Veri has been completed, the spokesperson said.
Read CNBC’s review of the Oura Ring 4 here. Read CNBC’s review of Dexcom’s Stelo here.
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Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead massive Medicare, Medicaid agency CMS
Trump picks Dr. Oz to lead massive Medicare, Medicaid agency CMS
Pennsylvania *********** U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz poses for a portrait outside of a poling location during the primary election in Rockledge, Pennsylvania, U.S. May 17, 2022.
Hannah Beier | Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS operates or oversees health-care programs that provide coverage to about 1 out of every 2 Americans, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Obamacare marketplace exchange Healthcare.gov.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure is the current CMS administrator.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
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Trump to name Howard Lutnick to lead Commerce Department
Trump to name Howard Lutnick to lead Commerce Department
Reuters
Donald Trump is expected to name investor Howard Lutnick, the co-chair of his transition team, to lead the US commerce department, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
If confirmed, Lutnick would oversee a department that helps boost domestic manufacturing and US companies.
It is often a key player in areas where business and national security interests collide, such as restricting technology exports to China or enacting tariffs to protect US steel.
Lutnick, the chief executive of financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, had also been in the running for treasury secretary, a more high-profile role.
Trump has yet to make a decision about that post, which has sweeping authority in areas such as economic and tax policy.
The ****** has spilled into public view, with advisers such as billionaire Elon Musk promoting Lutnick for the position and criticising one of the alternative candidates, Scott Bessent, as too “business as usual”.
Commerce is smaller than the treasury department, with a workforce of about 50,000 people. Beyond its role in the US-China trade and tech war, its responsibilities include patent approvals, publishing economic data, and conducting the US census.
Lutnick, a native of Long Island, New York, is a long-time *********** and supporter of Trump, with whom he overlapped in the New York social scene.
He has explained his support for the president-elect by describing himself as a “strong capitalist” and saying Trump has a “competitive growth model”.
During the campaign, he served as a spokesman for some of Trump’s most ******** plans, including wide-ranging tariffs and the elimination of the income tax.
His embrace of those views put him out of step with some on Wall Street, which has historically seen tariffs as bad for corporate America.
Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald right after his 1983 graduation from Haverford College, which he attended on scholarship. He lost both of his parents as a teenager – his mother to ******* and his father to a medical mistake.
Within 10 years, he rose to be president and chief executive of the firm. It is known today in part for its investments in crypto and its affiliate in the property industry, the Newmark brokerage.
Lutnick’s public profile rose after the September 11 attacks, which ******* more than 600 people working in the company’s offices that morning, including his brother. He was not at work because he was taking one of his children to kindergarten.
Lutnick, who speaks with a New York accent and is known for his blustery style, wept on TV in the days after.
Twenty years later, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said the day was a dividing line in his life, “before 9/11 and after” and for years following “it was still so raw it felt like yesterday”.
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Why Wrexham captain James McClean has been allowed to bypass soccer rules about how to leave a pitch
Why Wrexham captain James McClean has been allowed to bypass soccer rules about how to leave a pitch
Wrexham captain James McClean will be allowed to leave the pitch using the shortest route to the tunnel in a bid to improve his safety due to the supporter ****** he receives.
The English Football League (EFL) has written to the safety officers at all 72 of its clubs to inform them of McClean’s exemption, and the same process can be introduced for other players should they face similar incidents of ******.
Substituted players have been required to leave the field of play via the nearest touchline or goal line following a law change brought in ahead of the 2019-20 season in a bid to address time-wasting.
The 35-year-old former Republic of Ireland international has regularly been the subject of ****** from opposition supporters while playing in England since declining to wear a poppy on Remembrance Sunday in 2012.
Multiple teams have been charged by the Football Association (FA) for misconduct following behaviour towards him, and he has claimed to be the subject of “more ****** than any other player in England”.
The letter states it hopes the proposed substitution process will “help to reduce these incidents and also help to manage Mr McClean’s departure from the pitch without incident”.
In September, McClean appeared to have objects thrown at him from supporters situated in the home end at St Andrew’s as he left the pitch after being substituted in the 83rd minute of Wrexham’s defeat to Birmingham City.
The letter sent by the EFL and first reported by the Daily Mail reads: “You will be aware that James McClean is often on the receiving end of ****** from some sections of support. This has, in the past, resulted in FA sanctions against the club due to the chanting becoming racially, or religiously motivated and therefore, classed as a hate ******. Missiles have also been thrown.
“It has now been agreed that on occasions in the future when Mr McClean has to leave the field of play, for whatever reason, he will leave by the shortest route towards the tunnel.”
McClean was born and grew up in the Northern Ireland city of Derry, and does not wear a poppy on Remembrance Weekend because he feels it would be a mark of disrespect to his community over the Troubles and, in particular, ******* Sunday, when 14 men, all **********, were shot ***** by British soldiers during a protest march in 1972.
In June 2023, Millwall were charged with three cases of misconduct by the FA over anti-********* chants aimed at McClean, then at Wigan Athletic, from sections of supporters during their Championship fixture.
Blackpool faced similar charges during the 2022-23 season and were fined £35,000 by the FA, after supporters were deemed to have behaved in a way that was “improper, offensive, abusive, indecent, or insulting with either express or implied reference to religion”.
Barnsley were fined £20,000 and told to implement an action plan in 2020 after a section of their supporters aimed anti-********* and anti-Irish chants at McClean during his time at Stoke City.
Kirk Broadfoot, then a defender for Rotherham *******, was banned for ten matches after an FA commission found him guilty of using “abusive and/or insulting words” towards McClean in 2015.
McClean joined Wrexham from Wigan in 2023 following spells with Stoke, West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland.
GO DEEPER
James McClean, Wrexham’s new signing who suffers ‘more ****** than any other in England’
(Ben Roberts Photo/Getty Images)
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Control 2: everything we know so far
Control 2: everything we know so far
Alan Wake 2 was the game that fully connected the entire Remedy universe, but it all started with Control. Set in The Oldest House, home of the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC), Jesse Faden became the new director as she used her transforming **** and powers to defeat the Hiss. A DLC chapter connected her with Alan Wake, and now another piece of DLC for Alan Wake 2 has shifted the focus back on the FBC. Control 2 is the next chapter of this dark and paranormal story unlike anything else on our list of upcoming video games. It will still be a while before we return to the world of altered items of objects of power, so thankfully we have games like Civilization VII and *********’s Creed Shadows to hold us over, but there’s nothing that can scratch that specific ***** Control did. This is our declassified document on everything we know about Control 2.
If you’re still on the lookout for the best upcoming PS5 games, we’ve got you covered there too.
Release speculation
Remedy Entertainment
There’s no word on when Control 2 will launch as of now. The game was first officially announced at the end of 2022 when it was first entering production, but in October of 2023 revealed that the game was still only in its “proof-of-concept” stage. Based on that, we might not see Control 2 until 2026 or later.
Platforms
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy games since Quantum Break have never been platform-exclusive and we don’t anticipate that changing for Control 2. You should expect to see it on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC at least, but possibly Switch 2 as well.
Trailers
Remedy Entertainment
No footage for Control 2 has been shared yet, but it sounds like Remedy may be ready to show us the game soon based on how much it is talking about it. Who we play as, where, and what we’ll be doing is all up in the air.
Gameplay
News from our Capital Markets day:
Alan Wake 2 has sold over 1.8M units Control Ultimate Edition will release on Mac February 12th, 2025 Control 2 will be an action RPG Control will receive a free update in early 2025, unlocking some previously released content
… pic.twitter.com/AX1jqpNTkt
— Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) November 19, 2024
The only concrete detail we know about Control 2‘s gameplay is that it will be an action RPG. This was revealed by Remedy Entertainment itself, which lines up with how the first game played. It will also have a budget of approximately $52.9 million. This is low for most modern games, but quite a bit more than the first game’s $30 million budget.
Control 2 will almost certainly still be a third-person shooter with various ******* modes, psychic powers, and skill trees. How Remedy expands on those elements or what it decides to add is yet to be seen.
Preorder
There will be no preorder details until Control 2 has a solid release date. As soon as they are available, we will update this article.
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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launch gets stranded on the runway amid launch woes
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launch gets stranded on the runway amid launch woes
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 officially launched today, at 8am PST. And that’s about the best we can say about the game so far. Xbox Game Studios declined to provide reviewers pre-launch access, offering up this statement:
“Due to the availability of online services and scope of the planned Day One patch update, we will distribute codes on launch day rather than in advance. We also want to avoid reviewers being under unrealistic timelines to complete their reviews, and thus made the decision not to have a shortened review *******.”
As you can imagine, that’s going to have the opposite result. Instead of being able to play through the game in advance and figuring out what to say, reviewers and testers will now be scrambling in a **** race to see who can post content first. Except… you can’t post anything about how the game runs and how good or bad it is when you can’t get into it at all.
We were able to download the game, via Steam, without any trouble. It didn’t take long, probably because the initial download was only 11.6 GiB. Steam knows how to handle massive game launches, including games that might be up to 200 GiB in size. But once you launch the game, it needs you to log in to your Xbox / Microsoft account. That shouldn’t be a problem, and everything seemed to go fine, until I was greeted with the loading screen.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
The loading screen took forever, and it wasn’t clear what exactly was going on in the background. Initially, it said “0% — Loading language…” but that stuck around for at least ten minutes on my first launch. I stopped paying attention and after about 30~40 minutes, I noticed that the game had apparently finished loading. I also found another 16 GiB of data downloaded (into the AppData\Roaming folder), but it’s not clear when that happened or at what rate. It definitely didn’t happen quickly, on a gigabit internet connection.
Once into the game proper, after poking around at the settings, I tried to launch a flight. And I was stymied. The “go” buttons for various flight options, including the tutorial, were all greyed out. I went into the Activities menu as well, and almost all of the screens there were blank (except for tutorials). Basically, things seemed like maybe I needed to restart, so I did… and then I was effectively locked out.
Microsoft has a status page for the Xbox Series S|X that says it’s aware of the problems and working on a fix, but there’s no word on when it might be available. It also says in a tweet that “a subset of users may be experiencing slow download and install times” for the game. That seems a ****** understatement, as we have three different people scattered around the US that are all experiencing the same problems.
We’re sure things will eventually get fixed, but how long that will take and what state the game will be in at that point ******** to be seen. The loading screen video looks pretty nice, so we’re excited to see how the game runs. Maybe it won’t be quite as CPU-limited as the previous Flight Simulator 2020 release? That’s probably wishful thinking. We’ll update this with our actual performance testing and analysis once we’re able to get into the game and run some benchmarks, so stay tuned.
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Nvidia Q3 Earnings Preview: 9% Stock Move Likely Amid High Expectations
Nvidia Q3 Earnings Preview: 9% Stock Move Likely Amid High Expectations
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) is poised to release its , with analysts projecting earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74 on revenue of $33 billion.
The technology giant, known for its innovations in graphics processing units and artificial intelligence (AI), continues to capture market attention with robust growth expectations across its key segments. The Data Center segment is anticipated to generate $29 billion, marking a 100% increase from the previous year, while gaming revenue is expected to rise by 7% to $3 billion.
****** margins are forecasted to hover around 75%, reflecting the company’s efficiency in managing production costs and maximizing profitability. As Nvidia contends with Microsoft (NASDAQ:) for the title of the most valuable publicly traded company by market capitalization, investors are keenly watching for any updates from CEO Jensen Huang on the highly anticipated Blackwell AI chips, set to ramp up production in the fourth quarter.
NVDA Faces High Expectations, Stock Likely to See High Volatility with a +/- 9% Move Expected
Nvidia has established a reputation for exceeding Wall Street expectations in recent quarters, having surpassed analyst EPS estimates in seven of the last eight quarters by an average of 15%. This consistent outperformance has historically driven the company’s stock upward, with an average post-earnings rise of more than 9%. Year-to-date, Nvidia’s stock has surged by an impressive 189% (at the time of writing).
However, past performance also highlights the volatility associated with high expectations; Nvidia’s stock dipped by 6% following the second-quarter earnings despite beating expectations, underscoring the high bar set by the market.
As the third-quarter results approach, the implied volatility on options suggests a potential stock movement of +/- 9%, emphasizing the market’s anticipation and the potential for significant price swings based on the latest financial disclosures.
Nvidia Stock Brief
As of November 19, 2024, Nvidia’s stock opened at $141.325 and reached a current price of $146.38 at the time of writing.
This positions the stock closer to its 52-week high of $149.77, far above its 52-week low of $45.01, reflecting the company’s substantial growth trajectory over the past year. Nvidia’s market capitalization stands at a staggering $3.56 trillion, supported by strong financial metrics, including a trailing PE ratio of 67.22 and a forward PE ratio of 34.18.
Despite a modest dividend yield of 0.03% on a dividend rate of $0.04, the stock’s robust price-to-book ratio of 60.46 and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 17.221 highlight the company’s solid financial health and investor appeal. Analysts maintain a “Strong Buy” recommendation with a mean target price of $160.67, indicating confidence in further upside potential.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Nvidia’s guidance for the fourth quarter, with revenue expectations set at $37 billion. The focus will be on CEO Jensen Huang’s insights regarding the Blackwell AI chips, particularly in terms of supply and demand dynamics, which could significantly impact future earnings and market positioning.
Nvidia’s ability to navigate these dynamics will be crucial in maintaining its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. The company’s strategic investments and innovations continue to capture investor interest, driving expectations of sustained growth and profitability.
***
Neither the author, Tim Fries, nor this website, The Tokenist, provide financial advice. Please consult our website policy prior to making financial decisions.
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Democrats suffered devastating losses in 2024 elections. The race to take over the party has begun
Democrats suffered devastating losses in 2024 elections. The race to take over the party has begun
Two candidates have officially launched their campaign to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, kicking off the race to determine who will lead the party’s recovery after widespread losses in 2024.
Martin O’Malley, a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Governor, became the first notable figure to jump into the race on Monday. Ken Martin, who is the chair of Minnesota’s arm of the Democratic party, and a DNC vice chair, announced his campaign Tuesday morning.
Democrats are sifting through the fallout of the 2024 presidential election, where they not only lost the White House and control of the Senate but also ******* to win back control of the House. The party finds itself without a clear leader and unified vision for the future, representing both a hurdle for the next DNC chair but also an opportunity to overhaul Democrats’ approach with voters across the country in the coming years.
Whoever the party’s over 440 members elect to lead the party’s national committee will be in charge of the party’s top-level infrastructure, organizing and fundraising. And while DNC members tell CBS News that the eventual chair won’t determine the widespread policy of the party, that person will serve as a notable mouthpiece to help craft the Democratic message.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris hugs Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Jamie Harrison on Nov. 5, 2024.
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
While the party itself was locked out of federal control after the elections, fundraising remained strong. As a candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris raked in over $1 billion within the few months she was in the race. Her sum includes money raised by the DNC.
Jamie Harrison, the current DNC chair, has said he would not seek reelection.
The timeline for the election is not yet determined, though it will be addressed in a DNC Rules & Bylaws committee meeting on Dec. 12. DNC members expect the election itself to take place at their widespread member meeting before early spring 2025.
In their launches, O’Malley and Martin both said prioritizing the party’s message on the economy is essential. The state of the economy was a big issue that bolstered President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office, according to a CBS News exit poll.
“When I’m traveling around the country, most people I chat with want the same things: to stay ahead on their bills, to give their families a better life and to live in safe and healthy communities. That’s exactly what Democrats stand for, but we need to reconnect our ideas,” Martin said in his campaign video.
Chuck Rocha, a political strategist who worked for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and Sen-elect Ruben Gallego’s campaign, told CBS News he is “seriously considering” a run for chair and has fielded calls from a handful of DNC members and nonprofits.
Rocha said he’s still waiting to see how the field develops before jumping in, and “if there’s a better candidate that really stands for what I want to see done with the party.”
But Rocha has set several action items he would take as chair: eliminate education requirements for senior DNC positions, mandating that state parties “be more inclusive” and diverse with consultant hiring, and to focus on building party infrastructure in all 50 states.
Asked about Martin’s and O’Malley’s campaigns, Rocha called them “names that are from the institution.”
“I think we need somebody from the outside and a strategist to come in and rebuild the party,” said Rocha, who noted that his non-college background and upbringing in East Texas could be an advantage as the party looks to reconnect with working-class voters.
Other names that could potentially run include Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, who is “seriously considering” a run for chair according to a source familiar with his thinking.
Rahm Emanuel, the current U.S. ambassador to Japan and former Chicago Mayor, is also mulling over a run according to Axios. But potentially choosing Emanuel, a polarizing figure in the Democratic party, has been panned by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and progressive groups.
Martin, a DNC member since he became a state party chair in 2011, may be the early favorite. Alan Clendenin, an executive DNC board member who is already supporting Martin, said he has “a lot of friends in the DNC” and pointed to relationships built from his time as President of the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC). Clendenin said Martin already has support from just under 100 DNC committee members.
“The party is in a place where we have to have someone who has a really solid understanding of existing party infrastructure. What’s there, what’s not there. People who have walked the walk. Talked the talk. People who have had to deal with the frustration of what’s lacking and be able to understand what it takes to turn things around,” Clendenin said about Martin and the chair position.
Democrats’ lack of success in 2024 could linger over any of the candidates in the race. While Minnesota has been a reliably blue state under Martin’s watch, it’s not seen as a presidential battleground state. But if Democrats wanted to gravitate towards someone from any of the seven presidential battlegrounds, the fact that the Harris-Walz ticket lost every one of them may prove to be a hindrance for a party incredibly eager to avoid a repeat performance in 2028.
“We just need to win,” said one DNC member about the stakes of the chair race. “We need to know who’s coming with the game plan to make it happen… We don’t make policy. We win elections, and we win presidential elections. That’s our priority.”
Aaron Navarro
Aaron Navarro is a CBS News digital reporter covering the 2024 elections. He was previously an associate producer for the CBS News political unit in the 2021 and 2022 election cycles.
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Listen: Farmer v Starmer
Listen: Farmer v Starmer
And, Ukraine uses US long range missiles inside Russian territory for first time.
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Kuntillet Ajrud: The Ancient Fortress that Puzzles Archaeologists
Kuntillet Ajrud: The Ancient Fortress that Puzzles Archaeologists
In the Sinah desert stands Kuntillet Ajrud, a remote settlement that was found in 1975 by the archaeologist Ze’ev Meshel of the University of Tel Aviv. The settlement is dated to the 8th century BC and is suggested to be one of the border fortresses built by King Solomon. The name of the fortress in Arabic, means ‘Hill of the Water-Source’.
Religious Syncretism: Yahweh, El, and Baal Worship at Kuntillet Ajrud
Two major buildings were found preserved at Kuntillet Ajrud. The largest one contained numerous inscriptions—of early Hebrew and Phoenician writings—and paintings on the walls, door posts, pottery and stone jars, as well as numerous drawings of men, animals and gods. It is interesting to note that in addition to Yahweh (the **** of the ******) being mentioned in the inscriptions, the Canaanite gods, El and Baal, were also worshipped. It was only later that Baal was ‘transformed’ to a ****** and was considered evil in the scriptures.
Baal with Thunderbolt (Public Domain)
The Connection Between Yahweh, Baal, and El in the Inscriptions
Even if it has been proposed that Kuntillet Ajrud was used as a fortress, the actual nature and function of the place is not clear. Various ******** that were found, including the inscriptions, suggest that it also served as a kind of religious center, with one phrase of particular importance creating debate amongst archaeologists: “I have blessed you to Yahweh of Shomron (Samaria) and to His Asherah”. Asherah was a Semitic mother goddess. The question has therefore been debated among scholars as to whether she may have been the wife of ****? Asherah was known to be the consort of the **** El, however it seems that she disappears at some point from Phoenician/Canaanite inscriptions.
Under that inscription is a drawing of two figures, possibly **** and Asherah, and one that resembles the Egyptian **** Bes, which is a collective name for a group of dwarf deities. A few scholars have suggested that the drawings were added after the initial inscriptions and may not be related, but both of the drawings are very interesting in terms of how they present the **** and his possible wife—if that is their purpose, of course.
Painted on a jar found in Kuntilat Ajrud in the Sinai Peninsula. Might point to a local polytheistic belief. Polytheism was outlawed in ******* Sinai, though some local mystery cults still continued with the practice, though were often stoned or *********. (Public Domain)
Another inscription found on the walls says the following:
“When **** shines forth … Yahweh … The mountains will melt, the hills will crush … The Holy One over the gods … Prepare to bless Ba‘al on a day of war … to the name of El on a day of war”
Kuntillet Ajrud baffles archaeologists—especially biblical archaeologists—because of the complexity of early Israelite worship and the mixing of the **** of the ****** with many different deities, showing a different ‘face’ of the **** and a gradual movement towards monotheistic worship without any other ‘interferences’. The controversial inscriptions at Kuntillet Ajrud serve to shake the foundations of monotheism.
Top image: Painted on a jar found in Kuntilat Ajrud in the Sinai Peninsula. Right: Part of the first line of the inscription found on a large “Petus” type storage can at Kuntillet Ajrud in northern Sinai. The usual translation of the two lines is: 1: “Will live long and thrive… will give Yhowe Yemen and to his Ashera…”. 2: Yehowe… will help… The rest of the 2nd line is unclear. Source: Public Domain, Pashute/CC BY-SA 4.0
By John ******
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Asus ROG Ally Gaming Handheld Is Only $350 For ****** Friday
Asus ROG Ally Gaming Handheld Is Only $350 For ****** Friday
The Asus ROG Ally with the AMD Ryzen Z1 chip is discounted to $350 (was $500) at Target for ****** Friday 2024. This matches the lowest price ever for the handheld gaming PC.
Meanwhile, the more powerful ROG Ally Z1 Extreme is on ***** for $500 (was $650) at Best Buy. But you can get it for $450 with a My Best Buy Plus membership. If you aren’t a member, it makes sense to sign up since it only costs $50 per year; you’re essentially getting the membership for free.
$350 (was $500)
The base model ROG Ally comes with a sharp 1080p screen, AMD’s Ryzen Z1 processor, 16GB LPDDR5 6400 RAM, and an internal 512GB NVMe SSD.
If that’s not enough space, you can always make use of a microSD card for a quick and cheap storage upgrade. Alternatively, you can upgrade the internal SSD with the WD ****** SN770M 1TB or 2TB drive, which is on ***** at Best Buy, too. If you want to upgrade your SSD without spending over $100, the Corsair MP600 Core Mini 1TB SSD for only $70 at Amazon.
The ROG Ally offers impressive performance for the price. It’s not going to play graphically demanding games at high settings, but you still can play many AAA titles in 1080p resolution with at least 30fps. It’s an especially great little machine for older AAA titles and indie games that feel right at home on handhelds.
It’s worth noting that Windows can be cumbersome on gaming handhelds, unless you pair it with a traditional mouse and keyboard setup. We’d recommend grabbing a budget-friendly docking station, so you can use the device like a regular desktop PC when needing to do anything complex within Windows. Asus also makes a 65W Charger Dock, which has ports for USB-C, USB 2.0, and HDMI 2.0.
Asus has a proprietary app called Armoury Crate that gives you a more traditional console-like interface for gaming, which is quite helpful after you have things squared away on the Windows side.
The ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme chip has two additional CPU cores and a better GPU, which can make a difference for newer, more graphically demanding games.
The Z1 Extreme chip is also used in the newest addition to the Asus handheld PC family: the ROG Ally X. The ROG Ally X offers a more substantial performance leap with 24GB RAM and has other welcome improvements, including a 1TB SSD, better battery life, and upgraded joysticks. The ROG Ally X is pricey, though. All of these premium features will cost you $800.
If you’re interested in the ROG Ally X, it’s worth noting Asus is releasing a $900 edition with a 2TB SSD on December 9.
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Addlink G55 SSD review: More budget PCIe 5.0 love
Addlink G55 SSD review: More budget PCIe 5.0 love
If you’re looking for nearly-unparalleled performance and chart-topping power efficiency, the Addlink G55 is certainly worth a look. New hardware helps push this SSD to levels once unthinkable for a “budget” drive, although there are some caveats. Price is certainly the biggest one, but sometimes you have to pay for cutting-edge technology. The era of PCIe 5.0 drives that don’t require active or even passive cooling is here, and that’s a good thing for storage enthusiasts everywhere. The G55 helps usher that in, although you can still get a heatsink with the G55H if that’s your thing.
Addlink has done a good job of surprising us with its SSDs in recent times. Earlier this year we looked at the NAS D60, a drive with power loss protection and enterprise TLC flash that’s tailor-made for NAS use and is ready to go for server workloads. Last year, we reviewed the excellent A93, a budget drive with many similarities to the G55, including having a similar optional heatsink. Addlink caps off this good run with an entry-level PCIe 5.0 SSD, which sounds a little ridiculous — and, at this time, it is — but the G55 does deliver the goods.
The goods in this case refer to the drive’s excellent all-around performance and record-breaking power efficiency. Gone are the days of needing a heatsink to cool a 12W PCIe 5.0 SSD. You can throw the G55 into a laptop and, even if it’s being used in a 4.0 slot, it’s going to give you excellent performance with low power draw. We already saw this recently with the Corsair MP700 Elite, with the G55 standing out from that drive by having lower street prices and a promised 4TB SKU. It ******** to be seen where prices will end up on these drives, but for the time being you do pay a decent premium for the courtesy of running cutting-edge SSD hardware.
The Phison E31T controller used in these drives is ostensibly a budget solution. The “T” suffix means there’s no DRAM cache, which reduces cost and can boost power efficiency. That should make the drives less expensive as well, but while these newcomers do undercut the existing Phison E26 PCIe 5.0 drives, it’s not by much. At the same time, paying more than you would for a good PCIe 4.0 drive makes sense, considering the potential boost in performance.
Addlink G55 Specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Product
1TB
2TB
4TB
Pricing
$115.44 / $116.44
$195.44 / $197.44
N/A
Form Factor
M.2 2280 SS
M.2 2280 SS
M.2 2280 SS
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 5.0 x4 / NVMe 2.0
PCIe 5.0 x4 / NVMe 2.0
PCIe 5.0 x4 / NVMe 2.0
Controller
Phison E31T
Phison E31T
Phison E31T
DRAM
N/A (HMB)
N/A (HMB)
N/A (HMB)
Flash Memory
Kioxia 218-Layer (BiCS8) TLC
Kioxia 218-Layer (BiCS8) TLC
Kioxia 218-Layer (BiCS8) TLC
Sequential Read
10,2000 MB/s
10,300 MB/s
10,300 MB/s
Sequential Write
8,300 MB/s
9,000 MB/s
9,000 MB/s
Random Read
1,300K IOPS
1,300K IOPS
N/A
Random Write
1,500K IOPS
1,500K IOPS
N/A
Security
TCG Pyrite
TCG Pyrite
TCG Pyrite
Dimensions
22mm x 80mm x 2.3mm
22mm x 80mm x 8.75mm (HS)
22mm x 80mm x 2.3mm
22mm x 80mm x 8.75mm (HS)
22mm x 80mm x 2.3mm
22mm x 80mm x 8.75mm (HS)
Endurance (TBW)
600TB
1,200TB
2,400TB
Part Number
ad1TBG55M2P
ad1TBG55HM2P
ad2TBG55M2P
ad2TBG55HM2P
ad4TBG55M2P
ad4TBG55HM2P
Warranty
5-Year
5-Year
5-Year
The Addlink G55, or G55H with a heatsink, launched at 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. 4TB is a higher capacity than what we saw with the Phison E31T ES preview and in our Corsair MP700 Elite review. The possibility for 4TB was always there, but it’s up to the manufacturers to actually get those models to market. This can be somewhat challenging as there is dependence on Phison and flash makers to support this higher capacity with a cutting-edge drive like this.
At the time of review, we could not find a 4TB G55 or G55H, but the 1TB and 2TB models were going for $115.44 / $116.44 and $195.44 / $197.44. This is substantially less expensive than the MP700 Elite’s MSRPs but still significantly higher than many good PCIe 4.0 SSDs. The 2TB Crucial T500 is only $151.99, which is generally a much better deal. Prices will have to come down more on the E31T, but at least your options are expanding.
The G55 can achieve up to 10,3000 / 9,000 MB/s for sequential reads and writes and up to 1,300K / 1,500K random read and write IOPS. This is incredibly high for a DRAM-less drive with a four-channel controller. It doesn’t saturate the PCIe 5.0 link, but it’s almost as fast and powerful as original E26-based drives like the Corsair MP700 Pro. That’s pretty impressive. Addlink supports the drive with a five-year warranty at up to 600TB of writes per TB capacity.
Addlink G55 Software and Accessories
Addlink does offer its own SSD toolbox for download, which has the basic functionality you would expect. It’s useful for checking drive health with SMART sensor information and the application can also be used to securely erase the drive. There are many ways to safely format an SSD, but using the toolbox may be the most direct way. We recommend the free CrystalDiskMark for benchmarking, CrystalDiskInfo for checking drive health data, and Clonezilla for your backup and imaging needs.
Addlink G55: A Closer Look
Image 1 of 9
(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)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Addlink sent us the G55 version of the drive, along with a separate heatsink that turns it into the G55H. We did run some thermal tests with the G55H, but otherwise we expect performance to be identical (within the normal margin of error). From what we can tell, the G55H comes with the heatsink unattached, so you can use it or not, as you please.
It’s refreshing to see the company not charging obscene amounts for an inexpensive heatsink, so the extra dollar or two for the G55H to get the extra flexibility seems like the better option for most people. The heatsink itself is not much to write home about but should be enough to keep the drive from throttling in any environment where that condition might be a risk. That’s assuming you have space for the added height (thickness) that the heatsink requires. It would fit just fine in a PS5, while it’s doubtful most laptops could support the extra couple of millimeters.
The 2TB drive is single-sided — a bonus for compatibility and cooling — and should be single-sided at 4TB, too, even with just two NAND flash packages. It should be possible to orient four packages on one side or to do at least two per side, but the default layout of the E31T drives we’ve seen favors just two on top. This might be why we haven’t seen any 4TB models out in the wild yet. That configuration could also see higher pricing, which means that sticking with a budget 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSD makes more sense if you’re going for just one drive for games and storage.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Here we see the standard layout with the DRAM-less Phison E31T SSD controller and two NAND flash packages, as well as the Phison PMIC for power management. Each package is 1TB using eight 1Tb, 218-Layer BiCS8 TLC flash *****. There’s not much to this drive and that’s a good thing — this is an elegant, low-power design that superficially doesn’t look like much. However, it packs a punch, as we will soon see.
MORE: Best SSDs
MORE: How We Test HDDs And SSDs
MORE: All SSD Content
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