A little bit more to share: When Nintendo unveiled the Switch 2, it was vague about the chip powering the device, only mentioning that it was a custom design from Nvidia. It didn't list any specs besides general information - up to 120fps on device, 4K at 60fps, VRR, etc. Thankfully, Nvidia has shed a little more light on the subject. Nvidia has posted a blog highlighting the features offered by their hardware powering the Switch 2 beyond the information Nintendo provided. Among them is ray tracing support.While ray tracing is also available on other consoles, it took a while for developers to start actually using it. Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Cyberpunk 2077 were a couple of the first titles to implement RT in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The Shortcut notes that as of January, the list of PS5 titles with RT support has grown to 58. However, some only offer ray tracing on the PS5 Pro version.Another bragging right Nintendo can claim is DLSS support, now a mainstay for desktop gaming. Team Red's platform-agnostic alternative, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), has recently trickled into gaming laptops, consoles, and handheld PCs. Both technologies allow systems to increase image quality while maintaining performance, but Switch 2 is the first gaming handheld to offer Nvidia's arguably superior DLSS. Thanks to its Tensor Cores, Nvidia claims Nintendo's hybrid has 10 times the graphical performance of the original Switch.Elden Ring hits Switch 2 later this year, which would be a good testing ground for its DLSS and RT features.All of this looks great on paper, but here's the rub. While having DLSS and ray tracing on the Switch 2 is a plus, it's up to developers to implement it. We aren't just going to see games leveraging these features immediately. It took some time for studios to prioritize it in PS5 and XBSX games. Rockstar didn't add it to GTA 5 until 2022 two years after the consoles debuted. It will likely take even longer before developers implement them on a device with a comparatively smaller screen.Even considering the boost in resolution the Switch 2 offers while docked to a TV, there is a hard push to market the device as a handheld gaming unit. Its 8-inch display at 120fps in 1080p is more than adequate for that use case. So, developers probably won't rush to implement DLSS and RT in patches or new games for a while. Nvidia didn't mention any games in development that would implement either technology. // Related StoriesThe more pressing problems with the Switch 2 are its price point and that of its games. At $450 for sub-console performance, many Switch owners are taking a hard pass on the upgraded model. Nintendo's new $70 to $80 target for new and previously released games has also raised many fans' hackles. While the device is clearly a capable handheld, it is not on par with home consoles except in its price.

In a nutshell: The European Commission is developing a new strategy to enhance internal security across the entire European Union. The plan introduces a cultural shift in how internal security is perceived, but some aspects of the proposal could potentially weaken digital security instead. The recently announced ProtectEU plan aims to safeguard Europe from internal threats, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, emphasizing that security is a fundamental pillar of open societies and thriving economies. Among the most pressing threats identified by the European Commission are terrorism, organized crime, cybercrime, and attacks on critical infrastructure.The EC is positioning ProtectEU as a broad initiative in response to an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. With hybrid threats and state-sponsored cyberattacks wreaking havoc online, Europe urgently needs a significant overhaul of its internal security strategy. While ProtectEU does not yet include a detailed proposal, the official announcement outlines several key objectives as a foundation for the plan.ProtectEU advocates for a new security governance framework, aiming to transform the European Commission's approach to internal security. The initiative calls on EU member states to enhance intelligence-sharing practices through a newly proposed platform, the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity. Additionally, the Commission envisions expanding Europol's role, effectively transforming it into a European equivalent of the FBI, with enhanced operational capabilities.The most intriguing and concerning aspect of ProtectEU from a technological standpoint is its focus on Europol's expanded enforcement tools, which are intended to address increasingly complex criminal investigations involving digital information. The plan includes provisions for "lawful access to data," outlining a technology roadmap that targets encryption and evaluates the EU's current data retention rules.Granting Europol the ability to access encrypted data can only mean one thing: Brussels is proposing some form of government-mandated backdoor for communication platforms protected by end-to-end encryption. These systems are notoriously difficult to breach, making them a challenge for law enforcement. However, security researchers have repeatedly demonstrated that implementing so-called "lawful" backdoors is inherently flawed as such vulnerabilities would inevitably be discovered, accessed, and exploited by cybercriminals and black-hat hackers. // Related StoriesIt remains to be seen how the EU plans to move forward with its encryption-breaking ambitions, though expectations for a practical or effective outcome are low. Meanwhile, the ProtectEU initiative also includes proposals to strengthen digital infrastructure, tighten regulations against organized crime networks, and expand international cooperation, particularly with Latin America and the Mediterranean region.Notably, the European Commission makes no mention of new partnership initiatives with the United States.

Do you need to buy a new monitor but youre on a tight budget? Youre in luck because you wont even have to spend $100 with this offer from Amazon. From its original price of $145, the Asus VA27EQSB monitor is down to just $97, following a 33% discount. Were not sure how much time is remaining before you miss out on the $48 in savings though, so if you think this 27-inch monitor will be perfect for your needs, dont waste another second and proceed with the transaction immediately.With its affordable price, you cant expect the Asus VA27EQSB monitor to match up to the features and performance of the best monitors in the market. However, it will be more than enough as a dependable display for work-from-home employees and students. Its 27-inch screen is within our computer monitor buying guides recommended range of 24 inches to 32 inches, and with Full HD resolution, youll enjoy sharp details and bright colors for a great look at the projects that youre working on. The display also features a 75Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync technology to reduce screen tearing and avoid choppy frame rates.If youre going to be looking at the Asus VA27EQSB monitor for several hours a day, your eyes will be protected from fatigue because of its ultra-low blue light filter and flicker-free technology. You also have the option between mounting the monitor on your wall or adjusting its height, tilt, swivel, and pivot through its included stand, to be able place the screen at the most comfortable angle for you.RelatedThere are monitor deals for premium displays with all of the high-end features, but if youre looking for an affordable but reliable screen, you cant go wrong with the Asus VA27EQSB monitor. Its available from Amazon at 33% off for a lowered price of only $97 from $145. Youre going to have to be quick with your purchase if you want to pocket the savings of $48 though, as the offer may expire at any moment. Buy the Asus VA27EQSB monitor now while its still on sale for less than $100!Editors Recommendations

Samsung soundbars are a fantastic addition to any home theater setup, but theyre also a great investment for any situation where TV speakers simply arent cutting it anymore. Samsung has been perfecting soundbar tech over the last several years, and some older models are still available brand-new, including the HW-Q600C.For a limited time, this Samsung 3.1.2ch Dolby Atmos Soundbar is on sale for $330 at Amazon, Best Buy, Samsung, and a handful of other retailers. Thats a $270 discount from its usual $600.Serving as a perfect middle ground between entry-level soundbars and premium units that cost upwards of $2,000, the Samsung HW-Q600C is the upgrade your TV speakers have been waiting for.RelatedThanks to the 3.1.2 speaker configuration, the bar itself serves as the left-center-right portion of a surround system and has two side-firing drivers to create a wider soundstage. While a proper Dolby Atmos system is what youll want for complete three-dimensional immersion, the Q600C does a great job at filling small to medium-sized rooms with pulse-pounding audio. Expect a warm and balanced sound profile with solid stereo imaging and pretty decent surround sound emulation.Connecting the HW-Q600C to an existing TV is as easy as can be since youll only have to worry about choosing HDMI eARC or digital optical. Wed recommend the former for the best surround sound virtualization, but the latter will pass most 5.1 signals. Theres also a Bluetooth input you can switch to if youd like to wirelessly beam tunes from your phone or tablet to your Samsung soundbar.Save $270 when you purchase the Samsung HW-Q600C 3.1.2ch Soundbar today, and be sure to take a look at our lists of the best soundbar deals, best Samsung TV deals, and best Samsung deals for even more discounts on top Samsung AV products!Editors Recommendations

The Trump administrations deadline to sell or shut down TikTok is Saturday.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck direct a four-chapter film set in 1980s California that is unabashedly trashy and Tarantino-esque.

French director Franois Ozons latest film stars Hlne Vincent as a grandmother in Burgundy who makes a seeming mistake that sparks a wider drama.

Dying young Wealthy Americans have death rates on par with poor Europeans Some wealthy Europeans have death rates 35 percent lower than the richest Americans. Beth Mole Apr 3, 2025 6:18 pm | 18 Pensioners look out across Lake Zurich in central Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. Credit: Getty | Pascal Mora Pensioners look out across Lake Zurich in central Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. Credit: Getty | Pascal Mora Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreIt's well-established that, on the whole, Americans die younger than people in most other high-income countries. For instance, an analysis from 2022 found that the average life expectancy of someone born in Switzerland or Spain in 2019 was 84 years. Meanwhile, the average US life expectancy was 78.8, lower than nearly all other high-income countries, including Canada's, which was 82.3 years. And this was before the pandemic, which only made things worse for the US.Perhaps some Americans may think that this lower overall life-expectancy doesn't really apply to them if they're middle- or upper-class. After all, wealth inequality and health disparities are huge problems in the US. Those with more money simply have better access to health care and better health outcomes. Well-off Americans live longer, with lifespans on par with their peers in high-income countries, some may think.It is true that money buys you a longer life in the US. In fact, the link between wealth and mortality may be stronger in the US than in any other high-income country. But, if you think American wealth will put life expectancy in league with Switzerland, you're dead wrong, according to a study in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.A stark findingThe study, led by researchers at Brown University, found that the wealthiest Americans lived shorter lives than the wealthiest Europeans. In fact, wealthy Northern and Western Europeans had death rates 35 percent lower than the wealthiest Americans, whose lifespans were more like the poorest in Northern and Western Europewhich includes countries such as France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland."The findings are a stark reminder that even the wealthiest Americans are not shielded from the systemic issues in the US contributing to lower life expectancy, such as economic inequality or risk factors like stress, diet or environmental hazards," lead study author Irene Papanicolas, a professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown, said in a news release.The study looked at health and wealth data of more than 73,000 adults across the US and Europe who were 50 to 85 years old in 2010. There were more than 19,000 from the US, nearly 27,000 from Northern and Western Europe, nearly 19,000 from Eastern Europe, and nearly 9,000 from Southern Europe. For each region, participants were divided into wealth quartiles, with the first being the poorest and the fourth being the richest. The researchers then followed participants until 2022, tracking deaths.The US had the largest gap in survival between the poorest and wealthiest quartiles compared to European countries. America's poorest quartile also had the lowest survival rate of all groups, including the poorest quartiles in all three European regions.While less access to health care and weaker social structures can explain the gap between the wealthy and poor in the US, it doesn't explain the differences between the wealthy in the US and the wealthy in Europe, the researchers note. There may be other systemic factors at play that make Americans uniquely short-lived, such as diet, environment, behaviors, and cultural and social differences."If we want to improve health in the US, we need to better understand the underlying factors that contribute to these differencesparticularly amongst similar socioeconomic groupsand why they translate to different health outcomes across nations," Papanicolas said.Beth MoleSenior Health ReporterBeth MoleSenior Health Reporter Beth is Ars Technicas Senior Health Reporter. Beth has a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the Science Communication program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She specializes in covering infectious diseases, public health, and microbes. 18 Comments

How to avoid Terminators Google DeepMind releases its plan to keep AGI from running wild DeepMind says AGI could arrive in 2030, and it has some ideas to keep us safe. Ryan Whitwam Apr 3, 2025 5:43 pm | 0 Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAs AI hype permeates the Internet, tech and business leaders are already looking toward the next step. AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to a machine with human-like intelligence and capabilities. If today's AI systems are on a path to AGI, we will need new approaches to ensure such a machine doesn't work against human interests.Unfortunately, we don't have anything as elegant as Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. Researchers at DeepMind have been working on this problem and have released a new technical paper (PDF), which you can download at your convenience.It contains a huge amount of detail, clocking in at 108 pages before references. While some in the AI field believe AGI is a pipe dream, the authors of the DeepMind paper project that it could happen by 2030. With that in mind, they aimed to understand the risks of a human-like synthetic intelligence, which they acknowledge could lead to "severe harm."All the ways AGI could suck for humanityThis work has identified four possible types of AGI risk, along with suggestions on how we might ameliorate said risks. The DeepMind team, led by company co-founder Shane Legg, categorized the negative AGI outcomes as misuse, misalignment, mistakes, and structural risks. The four categories of AGI risk, as determined by DeepMind. Credit: Google DeepMind The four categories of AGI risk, as determined by DeepMind. Credit: Google DeepMind The first possible issue, misuse, is fundamentally similar to current AI risks. However, because AGI will be more powerful by definition, the damage it could do is much greater. A ne'er-do-well with access to AGI could misuse the system to do harm, for example, by asking the system to identify and exploit zero-day vulnerabilities or create a designer virus that could be used as a bioweapon.DeepMind says companies developing AGI will have to conduct extensive testing and create robust post-training safety protocols. Essentially, our current AI guardrails on steroids. They also suggest devising a method to suppress dangerous capabilities entirely, sometimes called "unlearning," but it's unclear if this is possible without substantially limiting models.Misalignment is largely not something we have to worry about with generative AI as it currently exists. This type of AGI harm is envisioned as a rogue machine that has shaken off the limits imposed by its designers. Terminators, anyone?To avoid that, DeepMind suggests developers use techniques like amplified oversight, in which two copies of an AI check each other's output, to create robust systems that aren't likely to go rogue. If that fails, DeepMind suggests intensive stress testing and monitoring to watch for any hint that an AI might be turning against us. Keeping AGIs in virtual sandboxes with strict security and direct human oversight could help mitigate issues arising from misalignment. Basically, make sure there's an "off" switch.If, on the other hand, an AI didn't know that its output would be harmful and the human operator didn't intend for it to be, that's a mistake. We get plenty of those with current AI systemsremember when Google said to put glue on pizza? The "glue" for AGI could be much stickier, though. DeepMind notes that militaries may deploy AGI due to "competitive pressure," but such systems could make serious mistakes as they will be tasked with much more elaborate functions than today's AI.The paper doesn't have a great solution for mitigating mistakes. It boils down to not letting AGI get too powerful in the first place. DeepMind calls for deploying slowly and limiting AGI authority. The study also suggests passing AGI commands through a "shield" system that ensures they are safe before implementation.Lastly, there are structural risks, which DeepMind defines as the unintended but real consequences of multi-agent systems contributing to our already complex human existence. For example, AGI could create false information that is so believable that we no longer know who or what to trust. The paper also raises the possibility that AGI could accumulate more and more control over economic and political systems, perhaps by devising heavy-handed tariff schemes. Then one day, we look up and realize the machines are in charge instead of us. This category of risk is also the hardest to guard against because it would depend on how people, infrastructure, and institutions operate in the future.AGI in five years?No one knows if the thinking machines are really just a few years away, but there are plenty of tech leaders who are confident enough to say so. Part of the problem in predicting the emergence of AGI is that we're still just speculating about how human-like intelligence would manifest itself in a machine. Anyone who has used generative AI systems over the past years has seen real, tangible improvements, but does that trajectory lead to true human-like capabilities?We recently talked about a range of AI topics, including AGI, with Google's Tulsee Doshi, director of product management for Gemini. "Different people have different definitions of AGI, and so depending on who you talk to, how close or far we are from AGI is a different conversation," said Doshi. "What I would say is LLMs, Gemini, and the training of smarter and smarter models is on the path to models that are going to be at extremely high intelligence. And that has a ton of value in and of itself."This paper is not the final word on AGI safetyDeepMind notes this is just a "starting point for vital conversations." If the team is right, and AGI will transform the world in five short years, those conversations need to happen soon. If not, well, a lot of people are going to look kind of silly.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 0 Comments

Carrie Pallardy, Contributing ReporterApril 3, 20256 Min ReadIngram Publishing via Alamy Stock PhotoThe potential impact of the breach of Oracle Healths Cerner Legacy servers has CISOs and CIOs from the health care arena planning how to respond.The health IT company has not publicly acknowledged the breach but it has been communicating with impacted customers, BleepingComputer reports. The company is also dealing with another incident involving its cloud servers.With patient data at risk, what should health care CIOs and CISOs think about these breaches and the ever-present cloud of third-party risk?Legacy System BreachesOracle did not respond to InformationWeeks request for comment on the Oracle Health breach. Thus far, the company is remaining tight-lipped about both breaches. This lack of transparency is engendering significant criticism.Hackers gained access to legacy Cerner servers with data that had not yet been moved to Oracles cloud storage, Reuters reports. Some health care customers were notified in January.The scope of the breach is not yet clear. As of April 3, the breach impacting Oracles health care customers has not been posted on the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) breach portal.Oracle acquired the electronic health records company Cerner back in 2022. As of January 2024, Oracle Cerner had a 21.7% share of the inpatient hospital EHR market, second only to Epic, according to Definitive Healthcare.Related:That's a significant amount of potentially impacted clients, says Scott Mattila, CISO and COO of Intraprise Health, a health care compliance and cybersecurity company.Already, there are reports of hospitals being extorted by a threat actor using the name Andrew, according to BleepingComputer. The actor is threatening to leak data if hospitals do not cough up millions in cryptocurrency.Scott MattilaThe second incident, involving Oracle Clouds federated SSO login servers, involves the alleged theft of 6 million records, BleepingComputer reports. The company initially denied the breach despite analysis from security researchers. It has since acknowledged the breach, informing some of its customers that old client credentials had been stolen from a legacy environment, Bloomberg reports.Legacy system risk is not new in the health care industry. It is typical for data migration, like the moving of data from old Cerner servers to Oracles cloud, to be a slow process, according to Mattila.We anticipate that with any type of data migration. You've got some clients that are obviously really small, and they're going to be easy because it's very linear, Mattila says. But then you're going to have these more complex organizations that are not going to be moving off of that on-prem infrastructure, and it's taking them time.Related:Those legacy systems represent a juicy target for threat actors looking for valuable data with a lower barrier to entry.A lot of these older legacy systems, they just get sort of stuffed in the corner a bit and get forgotten about as most of our energy is focusing on building the latest and greatest and the new thing, Jim Ducharme, CTO of ClearDATA, a multi-cloud security company for the health care industry, tells InformationWeek.Taking ActionSifting through the details of the two incidents and the limited information being shared is likely frustrating for potentially impacted organizations.The longer we wait and the less information we share as a community -- good, bad or indifferent -- is putting further harm and risk to even of the most critical organizations that are already running on thin margins and overly stressed teams, says Mattila.It is time for health care CIOs and CISOs that work with Oracle Health to break out their incident response plans.Has Oracle sent a notification to your organization? Are there any signs of data exfiltration or suspicious movement in your network?Related:Especially if you're going to do something that disrupts production in your organization, youve got to have a good reason to do it, Devin Shirley, CISO for Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, points out. So, you really need to dig in and [get] as much information you can.Devin ShirleyAccess management is essential. Look for identities that you dont recognize. Reset passwords and credentials. How many passwords need to be reset likely depends on how embedded an organization is with Oracle, according to Shirley. It may just be a small team, or it may be hundreds of people. An organization may need to rollout password resets in phases.There's a way to appropriately balance, and I think that's where the CISO and CEO can come to terms and agree on: How do we make sure we're not impacted by this, but how do we also keep people working and productive? says Shirley.Following any incident, security teams need to maintain continuous monitoring to ensure threat actors do not have any lingering access.Continue to monitor and stay as close to what's going on, Mattila recommends. I would at least anticipate that my security team would be giving me a daily update on any progress that's being made, anything that was identified, that we're addressing accordingly any risks or potential suspicious activity that has transpired over the course of the last 60 to even 90 days.The ongoing Oracle incident is a reminder for all health care leaders to think about their enterprises reliance on legacy systems. Upgrading this technology is often an expensive, multi-year project, and not every organization can afford to shoulder that right now. But that doesnt mean that risk should go unexamined.If you've got some really legacy infrastructure out there you may not be able to upgrade it immediately -- these may be big, longer term projects -- but you better think about compensating controls to keep it secure, says Ducharme.Third-Party Risk, AgainLast year, the health care industry was rocked by the ransomware attack on Change Healthcare. While that incident was an abject lesson in third-party risk, the industry is still learning.I can tell you that despite Change Healthcare, despite the Anthem breach before that, we still see the same patterns of attack that took down Anthem [and] that took down Change prevalent today in some of the largest health care organizations in the country, says Ducharme.A lack of multi-factor authentication on critical systems facilitated the attack on Change Healthcare, and the 2015 Anthem breach involved stolen login credentials.The two biggest ways that we see attackers trying to infiltrate these health care organizations: one is identity theft and two is infrastructure compromise on older systems, Ducharme stresses.Health care systems are so complex that it can be difficult to identify and mitigate all of the potential risks. There are so many broken windows in health care organizations that make them susceptible to breach, that sometimes it's tough to know which window to fix first, Ducharme explains.Despite the knowledge that these risks do exist, with the potential for devastating consequences, health care organizations may not be prioritizing their security posture.Were in a downturned economy. The natural instinct is to start cuttingeverything. And I think that's where CIOs, CISOs, CEOs, CFOs really have to think and look at things through a risk lens. Yes, we can cut any and everything: technology, security, but what's the risk potential? asks Shirley. You save $1 million or $2 million now and then you get breached six months later. Now, you might be paying out $200 million in class action lawsuits. Was it worth it?Third-party risk isnt going anywhere. What does that mean for the health care industry?We're going to [need] demonstrable change in the industry. There has to be. It is no longer acceptable to consider these types of events as business as usual, says Mattila.About the AuthorCarrie PallardyContributing ReporterCarrie Pallardy is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago. She writes and edits in a variety of industries including cybersecurity, healthcare, and personal finance.See more from Carrie PallardyWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore ReportsNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also Like