MacworldAt a glanceExpert's RatingProsChallenging society-survival gameExciting story modeReplayable Utopia modeConsComplex game mechanics Needs a simpler tutorial for beginnersDoesnt run on Intel MacsOur Verdict Its more demanding than a conventional strategy game, but this society-survival game will present a rewarding challenge for Stewards who want to guide their snowy dystopia through the hardships of a new ice age.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayThe original Frost Punk was a surprise hit when it was launched a few years ago, largely because it took a different approach from most conventional strategy games in fact, the developers at 11bit Studios refer to it as a society survival game instead. Rather than pitting you in combat against rival armies, Frost Punk told the story of an alternate 19th century world that has been plunged into a new ice age by a vast, global blizzard called the Great Frost. Instead of pitting your wits against an enemy army, the game challenged you to fight mother nature herself, as you battle the blizzards to find food and fuel for the last survivors, and establish a home in a city called New London.For more Mac games recommended by us read: Best Games for Mac. Frost Punk 2 is set 30 years later, when New London has grown dramatically in size. As the Steward of the city, its your task to find new sources of food and fuel for the growing population. There are other threats too, as the restless population struggles with hunger, crime and factional rivalries. And, of course, theres the ever-constant threat of snowy whiteouts that can strike New London at any time.Like its predecessor, Frost Punk 2 is quite a challenging game, even for people who have played strategy games before and are used to the standard techniques of resource management and developing new weapons and technologies. This sequel does have a Prologue that introduces the story for new players, and also acts as a tutorial, in which you struggle through the icy frostlands to reach a wrecked train and scavenge its resources. However, even basic tasks such as gathering resources can prove to be quite complex. Rather than simply chopping wood or collecting metal and other components, as you might do in an ordinary strategy game, you first have to frostbreak a path, picking your way across the rocky terrain to reach to the trains overturned wagons. You then have to construct an extraction district a small factory that can retrieve the supplies from the train, followed by housing districts for your workers, and food districts to keep them fit and healthy.This means that Frost Punk 2 is a little more abstract than its predecessor, as the Steward needs to step back and take more of an overview of the structure of this society, rather than just rolling up your sleeves and digging up some coal. However, the scale of New London and its complex society provides a rich tapestry for the story that unfolds under your stewardship. The main story campaign provides several difficulty levels, where you can adjust economic conditions, such as the scarcity of food and fuel. You can also modify the weather, choosing the frequency and severity of the whiteout storms, and even adjust social factors, such as the levels of crime and political unrest, to maintain the citys zeitgeist. There are also rival factions within the city, whose demands and aims must be managed, such as the Icebloods who believe that only the strong can survive in the wintry wastelands, and the Machinists who prefer to rely on technology to keep the people safe and warm.Once youve finished the main game theres also an endless Utopia mode that allows you to start a new city by choosing from a variety of locations, with different terrain and weather conditions. The game also looks great, with dramatic and imposing 3D graphics that look like Blade Runner with added snow. You can zoom out to get an overview of the wintry landscape, or zoom in to explore the districts of the city in more detail. The game only runs on Macs with Apple Silicon, but it ran at a smooth 45fps using medium graphics settings on my MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip. An M1 might struggle a little, but you should be able to adjust the graphics settings for a basic M2 processor if you need to. Frost Punk 2 is available on both Steam and the Mac App Store, but the Steam version of the game is slightly cheaper, and Steam also has a Deluxe Edition that includes some additional DLC if you want to keep the story going.Should You Buy Frost Punk 2?The Frost Punk games arent as approachable as strategy games such as the Civilization series, focusing as the developers say, on their society survival mechanics, rather than just building a big army to overwhelm your opponents forces. But the challenge of balancing all the demands of this complex dystopia will appeal to many people and its a game that you can continue to play long after the main story has finished.

MacworldApple is diversifying its products and services more than ever, but theres no question that iPhone is still king. No other Apple product, and perhaps not other product from any company, has a greater single cultural and economic impact.The iPhone updates in 2024 were mostly more of the samea new processor, improved cameras, and better battery life. The Camera Control button is maybe the biggest hardware innovation and its really just a new way to access the camera that isnt always an improvement. We still think theyre great phones, but it has been years since Apple changed up the design of its flagship iPhones, and the lower-cost iPhone SE is getting really old.In 2025, we expect both issues to be addressed. An all-new, super-slim iPhone (which many are calling iPhone Air in absence of an announced name) will be the biggest change to the iPhones look and feel in ages. And the new 4th-generation iPhone SE should address many of the missed opportunities in the 2022 model, bringing modern standards to Apples most affordable phone.Heres a look at what the latest rumors tell us to expect from Apples new iPhones in 2025.iPhone SE 4The first new iPhone of 2025 is likely to be the 4th-generation iPhone SE. (Most people call it the iPhone SE 4, and Apple may adopt that nomenclature as well it moved away from historical generation identifiers for most products in 2024, including the iPad and AirPods.) Apple has traditionally released the iPhone SE in the spring and we expect a similar launch next year.The iPhone SE 3 was a bit of a disappointment when it was released in March of 2022. It had a speedy processor but stuck with the same tired iPhone 8 body, with an aging display and cameras. Three years later, its downright ancient and in need of a major overhaul.In 2025 it will get one. The iPhone SE 4 will finally bring Apples mid-tier phone to modern standards. It should look roughly like an iPhone 14, with and edge-to-edge display and a notch. The home button will be gone in favor of Face ID (sorry Touch ID diehards, but that button takes up a LOT of space that Apple would rather use for a larger display).The iPhone SE 4 will finally dump the home button.IDGIt will probably have an A18 processor with 8GB of RAM so it supports Apple Intelligence. There is no firm word on storage, but we hope the base model offers 128GB, not 64GB like the iPhone SE 3. The iPhone SE 4 is also said to be the first product to use an Apple-designed 5G modem, which will support only sub-6 frequencies and perform about as well as a Qualcomm modem from two years prior.There will be one rear camera, upgraded to a 48MP sensor, so it will probably enjoy a 12MP optical 2x zoom. The front camera is expected to be the same 12MP camera you find in the iPhone 16. So expect the iPhone SE 4 to be very similar to the iPhone 16, but without the ultra-wide camera, no Camera Control button, and a mute switch instead of an Action button.Will it get a price hike as well? We think its very possible that Apple will raise the starting price to $449 or even $499, a slight increase from its current $429. But itll still be cheaper than the iPhone 14, which starts at $599.iPhone 17 and 17 Pro/Pro MaxNext fall (in September as usual), we expect Apple to once again release four new iPhones. However, the matric will be different. There will be an iPhone 17, an iPhone 17 Pro, and an iPhone 17 Pro Max, but the current rumors suggest that the iPhone 17 Plus will be replaced in the lineup by something totally new: an ultra-slim phone many are calling iPhone 17 Air. More on that phone in a moment.Most notably, the iPhone 17 line may include the first major change to Apples rear camera layout ever. Rumors point to at least some models, or maybe all of them, moving to a centered, wide camera bump that runs along the entire top back of the phone, similar in style to Googles Pixel line. Its also been rumored that the iPhone 17 Pro models may shift away from titanium and switch to aluminum, but that would be a surprising move just two years after Apple introduced titanium and used the new material as a main selling point.The iPhone 17 models will reportedly have a horizontal camera array for the first time.Chris Martin / FoundryFor the standard iPhones, we expect an A19 for the regular model and A19 Pro for the Pro and Pro Max, offering better performance and perhaps a boost to 12GB of RAM. There are conflicting reports about whether or not the regular iPhone 17 will get ProMotion and an always-on display for the first time in 2025, a feature that has been exclusive to the Pro phones since 2021. Apple has always made these Pro-only features, but most competing phones that cost $800 have had equivalent features for years.The front camera on all models is supposed to get an upgrade to 24 megapixels. The iPhone 17 Pro Max should have 48MP cameras for the wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto cameras. At least one iPhone 17 model is rumored to feature a mechanical aperture on the main camera, though were not sure which model yet.iPhone 17 AirThe biggest iPhone surprise next year will probably be a new ultra-slim model we have taken to calling iPhone 17 Air (or perhaps just iPhone Air). At around 6 mm thick, it will be the slimmest iPhone of all time, even thinner than the old iPhone 6 (6.9mm). It should be a larger phone, with a display just a little bit smaller than what youd find on a Plus modelfigure around 6.5 inches. It will likely support ProMotion and always-on, but that may be coming to the entire iPhone 17 line anyway.There will have to be a few compromises to achieve this devices thin designthe battery may not be as big as expected, there is said to be only a single speaker (where the earpiece is), and there may not be room for a SIM tray. Thats been gone from U.S. models for some time but is still required in places like China.This model will likely have the same processor as the regular iPhone 17 (the A19 rather than the A19 Pro), and may include Apples own 5G modem as well, while the other iPhone 17 models to retain Qualcomm modems. Like the other iPhone 17 models, were told to expect a top-center-aligned camera on the back of the phone rather than over in the upper left corner. Its rumored that it will only have a single 48MP camera like the iPhone SE, a somewhat significant downgrade from the other models.

Apple has been accused of knowingly financing a trade characterized by atrocities in criminal litigation launched by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It relates to use of so-called blood minerals in its devices.While Apple will be the first tech firm to be targeted, it is unlikely to be the last, given that every digital device makes use of these materials.The accusations reflect an unfortunate truth: that to some extent, the digital world and the devices used to drive it are built on slavery and other forms of human misery.Thats the take-home message at the heart of the litigation. It claims Apples supply chain is contaminated by blood minerals (also called conflict minerals) sourced in sub-Saharan Africa. Criminal complaints have been filed against subsidiaries of Apple in France and Belgium. In its complaint, the DRC argues that by enabling such contamination within its supply chain, Apple is contributing to atrocities taking place across the region.What exactly are blood minerals?They are rare materials, in this case including tin, tantalum, and tungsten, that are extracted by various forms of coerced labor, including slave and child labor, at mines controlled by armed groups in eastern Congo. These materials are in enormous demand across tech.To understand the vast suffering generated by the hugely profitable trade, it is important to note that the region has an estimated $24 trillion value of these materials remaining to be tapped and also has one of the worlds poorest populations. Blood minerals fuel instability and conflict, with armed groups using the profits to purchase weapons, creating a never-ending cycle of violence and misery.Millions have died as a result of the ongoing conflict. Thisis far from being a new problem.While attempts have been made to mitigate this trade by use of various verification schemes, it remains highly possible that at least one and possibly all of the electronic objects that you use contain at least some minerals sourced from this exploitation. After all, tin, tantalum, and tungsten are used in solder, semiconductors, batteries, memory, RF filters, and microprocessors, all of which youll find in almost any digital device.Most manufacturers have adopted some form of policy concerning the trade. In fact, the denials of any involvement in the mining and use of conflict minerals are so strong youd be forgiven for wondering how the trade actually makes any money. But that plausible deniability may not be all it seems.Apple perhaps not the biggest culpritWhile it is the whipping horse for this litigation, Apple may not be the biggest culprit.Eager to be recognized for its values, Apple has made big commitments to responsible sourcing,saying that while it doesnt source materials directly, it does require its suppliers to source materials responsibly.The companys Standards for Responsible Sourcing of Materials are based on leading international guidance, including the United NationsGuiding Principles on Business and Human Rightsand the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.In 2023, 100 percent of the identified tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold (3TG), cobalt, and lithium smelters and refiners in Apples supply chain completed assessments to verify compliance with our standards, the company said last year. We work with third-party audit programs at an industry-wide level to identify environmental and social, and governance risks at the smelter, refiner, and mining levels.The company also sits on the steering committee of the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI).Apple will presumably soon publish its 2024Conflict Minerals Report, as required by the SEC. Its last report covering 2023 appeared in March 2024. In it, Apple confirmed that it removed 14 smelters and refiners unwilling to face an audit to ensure lack of involvement in the conflict minerals trade. The company has cut ties with 25 manufacturing supplier facilities and 231 suppliers since 2009.We view removing a supplier from our supply chain as a last resort, because in our experience, it does not provide workers with needed remedy and could allow violations to continue elsewhere in the industry, Apple said in its report.Based on our due diligence efforts, including analyzing the information provided by third-party audit programs, upstream traceability programs, and our suppliers, we found no reasonable basis for concluding that any of the smelters or refiners of [tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold] determined to be in our supply chain as of December 31, 2023, directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country, that report said.A reliance on systemic wrongdoing?The DRCs litigation doesnt buy some of Apples arguments, claiming instead that the company is using them to mask the damage it is doing.In apress releasesupplied by Amsterdam & Partners, the litigants claim Apple uses minerals laundered through international supply chains. It is also accused of using deceptive commercial practices to assure consumers that the tech giants supply chains are clean.Reuters reports that the complaint filed in France states,It is clear that the Apple group, Apple France and Apple Retail France know very well that their minerals supply chain relies on systemic wrongdoing.The claim points to Apples use of the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI), arguing that Apple is using the discredited monitoring and certification scheme to falsely claim its supply chain is clean. The RMI a group Apple helps steer rejected ITSCI two years ago.The criminal complaint cites research from the United Nations, US State Department, and international NGOs that shows an extensive laundering enterprise through the illegal trade in conflict minerals sourced from Congolese territory.These organizations have demonstrated the dependent nature of relationships between perpetrators of this looting and some of the biggest producers of consumer electronics, such as mobile telephones and computers, and companies in the automotive, aviation and renewable energy sectors, the press release explains.A need for a united frontThat may be true, and Apple may be able to defend itself using the same argument.To truly combat this trade, a true industry-wide commitment must be reached, regulated or self-regulated. In its absence, conflict laundering will continue to be a problem.Paula Pyers, Apples then Senior Director of Supply Chain Social Responsibility,said as much in 2017: If more companies do not come to the table to press for change through their own supply chains, particularly in the absence of regulation, the types of systemic change we are all seeking are frankly not going to occur.Ultimately, the situation is hard to clarify, in part because alongside the conflict minerals there are also thousands of informal small-scale mines and miners, with some of the worlds poorest people taking great risks to make some money. Corruption and instability at some otherwise clean mining sites means conflict minerals can still get into the system, making it next to impossible to deliver a cast-iron guarantee.The inability to make that guarantee forms part of the argument the DRC is making in this case.However, it also forms part of Apples counter-argument, giving it the power to say that it is already doing everything it can to combat the trade using what resources it has available.The truth of that argument will be for the courts to decide.Putting them out of businessThe biggest way to prevent any illicit trade is simply to stop using the products based on it.And when it comes to electronics, one way to do that is to use recycled minerals. Thats precisely what Apple is doing, and fast rapidlyreplacing these minerals with recycled materials.Its most recent Environmental Progress Report promises that cobalt, tin soldering, gold plating, and rare earth elements will all be 100% recycled by 2025. Already, more than 99 percent of the tungsten in our products comes from recycled sources, the company said.While the criminal lawsuit against Apple may generate problems, it may also give the company a podium from which to promote the need for a more unified approach to policing the trade in blood minerals. It will certainly give it a pulpit from which to preach its move to recycled components and work toward a circular manufacturing system.What the truth of the matter turns out to be will be for the courts to decide.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, andMeWe.

When most businesspeople think of videoconferencing software, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Microsoft Teams or Zoom, but there are many other choices, each with its own strengths. Sometimes the choice of what tool to use comes down to whats standard corporate issue more often than not, thats Teams but its not uncommon for businesses to use a mix of tools.Some organizations dont want to be reliant on Microsoft for everything, or sometimes an executive likes another tool better, says Will McKeon-White, senior analyst for unified communications and conversational AI at Forrester Research.[ Download our editors PDF videoconferencing software buyers guide today! ]In this buyers guideVideoconferencing software: What it is, why enterprises need itCurrent trends in videoconferencing softwareWhat to look for in videoconferencing softwareBefore you shop: Key questions to ask yourself and your stakeholdersKey questions to ask videoconferencing vendors14 videoconferencing tools to considerEssential readingVideoconferencing software: What it is, why enterprises need itVideoconferencing services enable users to conduct online video meetings with one or more people who may join the call from their computers, phones, tablets, and room conferencing systems. They integrate with calendaring software for scheduling purposes, and usually include an audio call-in option, screen-sharing capabilities, and nonverbal communication features such as text chat, whiteboarding, and the ability to add reaction emojis.Business-grade tools also allow for administrative controls that restrict who can join and what can be shared, and offer enhanced security features such as multifactor authentication (MFA), bring your own key (BYOK) end-to-end encryption, and single sign-on (SSO). Many videoconferencing systems integrate with conference room video hardware from the same vendor and/or third-party vendors.Videoconferencing software has long been a useful tool for remote employees who needed to engage with their teams, and it was a nice-to-have for communicating with customers and partners when face-to-face meetings were impractical. Then, in 2020, everything changed. Videoconferencing rose to critical infrastructure status when, during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all office employees suddenly found themselves working from home. Licensing of videoconferencing software and services soared Zoom nearly doubled its revenue in 2021 and innovation increased as vendors competed for a piece of a much larger pie. The software saw rapid improvements as vendors raced to add new features, including better audio and video quality and enhanced security.Nearly five years later, large numbers of employees have returned to the office, but many still telecommute one or more days per week. Videoconferencing software remains an essential part of business communications.Current trends in videoconferencing softwareNowadays, videoconferencing software may seem like a well-defined, mature product space, but change is still afoot. The weird thing about the videoconferencing software market is that its being subsumed into unified communications [UC], says McKeon-White.IDCs term for this software category is unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), which the research firm describes as an advanced telephony solution integrated with messaging (i.e., email, voice, and fax), instant messaging (IM) or chat, presence, and conferencing platforms for web conferencing, audioconferencing, and/or videoconferencing. Many UC&C suites include additional collaboration features such as file sharing and virtual whiteboards. And while chat sessions in traditional, standalone videoconferencing systems typically end when the call terminates, vendor-hosted UC as a service (UCaaS) systems often include persistent chat functions that continue even after a videoconferencing session ends.Like Forrester, IDC says most standalone videoconferencing software is being folded into larger UC&C suites. Videoconferencing apps are also found in productivity app suites such as Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, which is one reason why Microsoft Teams has dominated the space. It has a 44.7% share of the $69 billion UC&C software market, according to IDC, while Zoom, its nearest competitor, sits at 6.4%.That domination was also driven by the fact that, until this year, Microsoft bundled Teams with most Microsoft 365 licenses. That got pushback from regulators, Forresters McKeon-White says, so now new enterprise customers must pay $5.25 per user per month for Teams as an add-on. But most companies already have Teams now and can purchase it through existing licenses, he adds.Innovative AI-based features such as real-time transcription, text insertion, and multiparty translation have also changed the user experience, according to McKeon-White. With some products, each user can see a translation of whats said in their native language through captioning. Thats happening now, he says.Another feature, image upscaling, sends lower-resolution audio and video to other participants devices, which can then upscale the quality. Its much easier now to have a smooth experience over poor connections, McKeon-White says.Finally, emerging AI features are closing the loop between what users say in a videoconferencing session and action items, he says. For example, if a participant needs to look up an account record in the CRM system to determine its status, a bot says, Would you like me to do that for you? or it identifies that it needs to be done and pulls the record right into the conversation. It can do so by rendering the CRM interface right into a chat window or by extracting the information and presenting it.Early experiments with AI didnt go well because the AI didnt comprehend exactly what people were asking in conversation, but the technology has seen massive improvements of late, McKeon-White says. While vendors are still experimenting with this function, you can expect to see more and better capabilities like this going forward, he says.What to look for in videoconferencing softwareEvery vendor offers similar features, but the user experience can vary significantly. Consider both user familiarity with a given tool and whether the user experience is good enough. If it doesnt meet expectations, some users may turn to more familiar, easy-to-use options such as Zoom.I see standardization on Teams, McKeon-White says, but sometimes an exception is better for the business, such as when communicating with people in external organizations who use different software.While a company standard is good to have, theres no reason to force everyone to use one videoconferencing service exclusively, says Jitesh Gera, research manager for UC&C at IDC. Its OK to opt for different tool choices that meet the needs of each kind of user, such as for sales, customer service, developers, or IT.Consider whether a given tool is the dominant one in your industry. For example, Zoom has a big footprint in healthcare and financial services, for Cisco its government, GoTo is the preference for IT teams because of its advanced screen-share capabilities, and Microsoft is virtually everywhere, says McKeon-White. And some tools offer Slack integration that lets users keep an audio or video line open while working on their own screens. That more Discord-like experience is a plus for software development teams, he says.Also, consider how well a product fits in with your UC&C suite, and what new and innovative AI-based features may be available or planned.Finally, the videoconferencing software you choose needs to integrate well with your existing meeting room conferencing systems. Companies have started to prioritize AI meeting room videoconferencing capabilities such as adaptive speaker framing [which zooms in on the participant whos talking], multiple camera layouts, and virtual meeting zones, which are the top three factors when choosing a UC&C system, says Gera.Before you shop: Key questions to ask yourself and your stakeholdersDo you already have software that you can use for videoconferencing? For example, is there a videoconferencing component in your UC&C suite?Are there needs that arent being met by your current solution? Is the tool currently in use easy to use, or do users dislike the user experience so much that they turn to other videoconferencing options?What types of communication needs does your organization have? Do they include internal only or also internal-to-external partners and customers? Are there specific needs for certain groups, such as sales, finance, IT, or software engineering?What types of room conferencing system hardware do you have and what are the compatibility options for videoconferencing software?Whats your budget?Key questions to ask videoconferencing vendorsHow effective is the videoconferencing software at enhancing productivity and collaboration? Do you have any metrics?In what ways is the experience better than the product(s) my organization already has?Is the software easy to use? How many clicks does it take to start a meeting?Does it support screen sharing?Is there a whiteboard function?Are there browser, desktop, and mobile app options?Does it integrate with my organizations calendaring system and other key systems, such as our project management software?Does it integrate seamlessly with our room conferencing system hardware?How do you secure it for enterprise use? Does it support SSO MFA? LDAP? Watermarking for shared documents? What type of encryption is offered? Does it support BYOK encryption?What administrative and data access controls does the software offer? For example, does it offer data sensitivity labeling, and can we restrict user or group access to specific documents?What regulatory compliance standards does it meet?What session quality enhancements does it support (image blurring, noise suppression, image upscaling, etc.)?Does it support session recording and retention policies?What is the vendors feature road map and plan for AI evolution? Are they too dependent on external providers for AI? If so, they may not be very innovative, says Gera.Does the software have features specifically tailored to my industry vertical?Where is data associated with videoconferencing sessions routed and hosted geographically? Weve seen instances where traffic was routed through countries that were less than desirable, says McKeon-White.What are the uptime and reliability guarantees?Does the software support hybrid on-premises/cloud deployments for high availability? For example, Microsoft offers the Survivability Branch Appliance for Teams that can keep sessions going when the cloud-based service is unavailable.What are my pricing options?14 videoconferencing tools to considerThe top four videoconferencing software products by market share are Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Google Meet, according to IDC and Forrester. Some tools are available only as part of broader UC&C offerings. Heres a brief summary of products from 14 vendors, listed alphabetically, that have offerings in the videoconferencing services space.88 Communications Platform88s videoconferencing software is just one feature of its 88 Communications Platform, a UC&C offering tailored to the needs of contact centers. It includes a 99.999% service level agreement with 247 technical support; can live stream meetings on YouTube; includes its own mobile, desktop, and web apps; and integrates with Teams as well as major CRM and service and support applications. The 88 Communications Platform supports polls and virtual break-out rooms for meetings; includes an intelligent assistant; and offers administrative controls, analytics, and reporting.Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise RainbowAlcatel-Lucent Enterprise, the French telecommunications hardware and software company, describes its Rainbow offering as a secure -la-carte cloud-based communications and collaboration platform. It supports meetings of up to 120 participants and 12 simultaneous video streams; is compliant with ISO 27001, GDPR, and CCPA; and can be deployed in on-premises or hybrid configurations. It offers integrations for Microsoft Teams as well as on-premises telephone systems. Other options include a system designed for use in conference rooms and another designed for virtual classrooms.Avaya SpacesAvaya Spaces, Avayas UC&C platform, includes one-click voice and videoconference calling as well as text chat, and supports meetings with up to 1,000 people. Its compatible with Google, Microsoft 365, Teams, Salesforce, and Slack and offers an API for custom integrations. Spaces can record meetings, has retention policy controls, is HIPAA and GDPR compliant, and offers single sign-on and encryption for data in transit and at rest.AI-driven features include background noise cancellation, meeting transcription, and closed captioning. Users can connect via browser, desktop, or mobile app, with user interface versions available in 26 languages.Cisco Webex MeetingsWebex Meetings is part of Ciscos comprehensive UC&C suite that also includes calling, event management, whiteboards, polling, messaging, webinar support, and other features. The software integrates with a wide array of general-business and vertical-specific enterprise apps.A free version supports meeting durations of up to 40 minutes. The entry-level paid version includes an AI assistant that can translate conversations through closed captions, write messages, and summarize meetings and messages. All versions offer end-to-end encryption and HIPAA/BAA compliance; the enterprise version is FedRAMP authorized and offers bring your own key end-to-end encryption and watermarking. Cisco also sells several Webex-compatible desktop and meeting room video hardware devices.DialpadDialpads videoconferencing service includes enterprise, small business, and free versions, with UC&C editions designed for general business, sales, and contact centers. Dialpad is strong in chat intelligencebusiness analyticsinternational support and real-time user insights, according to Forrester. It integrates with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and several CRM tools, and includes AI-driven meeting and call transcription, screen and meeting recording, data retention policies, and analytics and reporting functions.Dialpad adjusts video resolution to available bandwidth for each connection to reduce video freeze-ups. It can support up to 150 participants through browser, desktop, and mobile apps. A meeting room version is also available. Session encryption and single sign-on are supported, and Dialpad is HIPAA compliant.Google MeetGoogles cloud-based Google Meet videoconferencing software includes a free version that supports meetings up to one hour long. The Google One Premium version includes call recording, noise cancellation, and the ability to live stream meetings on YouTube. Chat is a separate app.The business version, bundled into the Google Workspace collaboration suite, supports longer meetings, offers higher-quality video and includes meeting recording with transcripts. It works with Googles Gemini AI assistant (which requires a separate subscription) for real-time translation and generating meeting summaries. The enterprise version of Meet includes more advanced security features such as bring your own key end-to-end encryption.GoTo MeetingGoTo Meeting (formerly LogMeIn), available in business and enterprise editions, is one element in a collaboration suite of UC&C offerings that also includes GoTo Webinars and GoTo Training. The GoTo UC&C offerings fall into three categories: business communications, contact centers, and IT management and support. The vendor promotes its security and privacy features (single sign-on, end-to-end encryption, HIPAA compliance, one-time meeting passwords, meeting locking) and 99.9999% uptime SLA.Key features include recordings and transcriptions for meetings with up to 250 participants, background noise suppression, screen sharing, drawing tools, and virtual breakout rooms. GoTo Meeting also works with H.323-enabled room conferencing systems. A14-day free trial version of GoTo Meeting Business is available.Microsoft TeamsMicrosofts Teams dominates in the enterprise videoconferencing space because its tightly integrated with Microsoft 365, the office productivity suite that many large organizations already use. Teams offers VoIP calling, webinar hosting, a whiteboard, and integration with PowerPoint, and its compatible with a wide range of room conferencing systems. Calls, meetings, chat sessions, and files can be encrypted.Another element, Microsoft Mesh, creates immersive 3D spaces where participant avatars can interact in a virtual meeting room. The optional Microsoft 365 Copilot AI assistant can summarize, suggest action items, and provide real-time translation for videoconference and chat sessions.Microsoft is increasingly dictating the direction of the UCaaS market, with many other vendors offering Teams integration, Forrester reports, although it adds that licensing is needlessly complicated. A basic version of Teams is available for free.Mitel MiCollabVideoconferencing is one element of the Mitel MiCollab UC&C suite, which includes voice, video, chat messaging, SMS messaging, web conferencing, and team collaboration tools. It can run on-site or over virtualized public or private cloud infrastructure. It integrates with the companys business phone system offerings as well as Microsoft 365, Teams, and the Zoom Workplace Platform. MiCollab apps are available for Windows, macOS, and mobile devices.Ooma MeetingsVoIP phone system provider Ooma offers Ooma Meetings as part of its Ooma Office Pro and Ooma Office Pro Plus collaboration and small business phone system services. It offers client software for macOS and Windows desktops as well as browser-based access. Features include a dashboard for scheduling meetings with up to 100 meeting participants, background noise cancellation, screen sharing, whiteboarding, chat, meeting recording (stored for three months), and integration with Microsoft and Google calendars.RingCentral VideoUC&C platform vendor RingCentral offers a standalone enterprise edition of its videoconferencing offering, RingCentral Video Pro+, as well as a more limited, free version. Video Pro+ supports meetings of up to 200 participants for up to 24 hours duration. Features include a whiteboard, content sharing, meeting recording, a collaborative notes space, and background noise cancellation.An AI assistant creates real-time closed captions, transcriptions, and meeting summaries. Security and administration features include end-to-end encryption, single sign-on, data retention policy controls, and usage and performance analytics. Versions for conference rooms and webinars are available as add-ons.Vonage MeetingsPart of the Vonage Business Communications (VBC) software suite, Vonage Meetings supports meetings with up to 200 participants; includes chat, whiteboard, and recording features; integrates with both Google and Outlook calendars; and has desktop and mobile clients for macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Security and privacy features include support for SSO, MFA, and encryption. VBC is HIPAA and GDPR compliant.Zoho MeetingZoho Meeting supports both videoconference meetings with up to 250 participants and webinars with up to 5,000 attendees for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS devices. It integrates with the Zoho Workplace calendar and offers chat, digital whiteboards, screen sharing, session recording, virtual breakout rooms, live polls, and AI-generated meeting transcriptions and summaries.Sessions can be streamed live on YouTube, and a version for meeting rooms is available as an add-on. It also offers session encryption and analytics for administrators. A feature-limited, free version supports up to 100 users per session for up to 60 minutes.ZoomZoom, which rose to fame during the pandemic for its easy-to-use interface, remains a major player in the videoconferencing software space Forrester says it offers a best-in-class video experience. Like its competitors, Zoom has expanded beyond video meetings, now offering a UC&C suite called Zoom Workplace that includes include chat, a whiteboard, meeting recording, email, a calendaring system for scheduling, and Zoom Docs, a built-in document creation tool. While consumers may gravitate to the basic, free version, the business versions allow for longer meetings and provide an AI assistant, Zoom AI Companion, that can summarize meetings (including a catch-up summary if a user comes into a meeting late), draft messages, and provide real-time translation. Zoom Phone, the companys VoIP telephony offering, is included with enterprise Zoom Workplace subscriptions and available as an add-on for small-business plans. A one-year subscription to Essential Apps, a set of third-party add-ons with functions ranging from meeting summarization to gamification to virtual breakout rooms, is also included with enterprise licenses, except for organizations in government, education, and healthcare. Bring-your-own-key end-to-end encryption is a standard feature.Essential reading UCaaS buyers guide: How to choose the right unified communications platformEnterprise buyers guide: Digital whiteboard software

Recorded on December 17, 2024The Worst Technology Failures of 2024Speakers: Antonio Regalado, senior editor for biomedicine, and Niall Firth, executive editor.MIT Technology Review publishes an annual list of the worst technologies of the year. This year, The Worst Technology Failures of 2024 list was unveiled live by our editors. Hear fromMIT Technology Reviewexecutive editor Niall Firth and senior editor for biomedicine Antonio Regalado as they discuss each of the 8 items on this list.Related CoverageThe 8 worst technology failures of 2024The worst technology failures of 2023The worst technology of 2022

They say you learn more from failure than success. If so, this is the story for you: MIT Technology Reviews annual roll call of the biggest flops, flimflams, and fiascos in all domains of technology.Some of the foul-ups were funny, like the woke AI which got Google in trouble after it drew Black Nazis. Some caused lawsuits, like a computer error by CrowdStrike that left thousands of Delta passengers stranded. We also reaped failures among startups that raced to expand from 2020 to 2022, a period of ultra-low interest rates. But then the economic winds shifted. Money wasnt free anymore. The result? Bankruptcy and dissolution for companies whose ambitious technological projects, from vertical farms to carbon credits, hadnt yet turned a profit and might never do so.Read on.Woke AI blunderGOOGLE GEMINI VIA X.COM/END WOKENESSPeople worry about bias creeping into AI. But what if you add bias on purpose? Thanks to Google, we know where that leads: Black Vikings and female popes.Googles Gemini AI image feature, launched last February, had been tuned to zealously showcase diversity, damn the history books. Ask Google for a picture of German soldiers from World War II, and it would create a Benetton ad in Wehrmacht uniforms.Critics pounced and Google beat an embarrassed retreat. It paused Geminis ability to draw people and agreed its well-intentioned effort to be inclusive had missed the mark.The free version of Gemini still wont create images of people. But paid versions will. When we asked for an image of 12 CEOs of public biotech companies, the software produced a photographic-quality image of middle-aged white men. Less than ideal. But closer to the truth.More: Is Googles Gemini chatbot woke by accident, or by design? (The Economist), Gemini image generation got it wrong. Well do better. (Google)Boeing StarlinerTHE BOEING COMPANY VIA NASABoeing, we have a problem. And its your long-delayed reusable spaceship, the Starliner, which stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Suni Williams and Barry Butch Wilmore on the International Space Station.The June mission was meant to be a quick eight-day round trip to test Starliner before it embarked on longer missions. But, plagued by helium leaks and thruster problems, it had to come back empty.Now Butch and Suni wont return to Earth until 2025, when a craft from Boeing competitor SpaceX is scheduled to bring them home.Credit Boeing and NASA with putting safety first. But this wasnt Boeings only malfunction during 2024. The company began the year with a door blowing off one of its planes midflight, faced a worker strike, agreed to a major fine for misleading the government about the safety of its 737 Max airplane (which made our 2019 list of worst technologies), and saw its CEO step down in March.After the Starliner fiasco, Boeing fired the chief of its space and defense unit. At this critical juncture, our priority is to restore the trust of our customers and meet the high standards they expect of us to enable their critical missions around the world, Boeings new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, said in a memo.More: Boeings beleaguered space capsule is heading back to Earth without two NASA astronauts (NY Post), Boeings space and defense chief exits in new CEOs first executive move (Reuters), CST-100 Starliner (Boeing)CrowdStrike outageMITTR / ENVATOThe motto of the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike is We stop breaches. And its true: No one can breach your computer if you cant turn it on.Thats exactly what happened to many people on July 19, when thousands of Windows computers at airlines, TV stations, and hospitals started displaying the blue screen of death.The cause wasnt hackers or ransomware. Instead, those computers were stuck in a boot loop because of a bad update shipped by CrowdStrike itself. CEO George Kurtz jumped on X to say the issue had been identified as a defect in a single computer file.So who is liable? CrowdStrike customer Delta Airlines, which canceled 7,000 flights, is suing for $500 million. It alleges that the security firm caused a global catastrophe when it took uncertified and untested shortcuts.CrowdStrike countersued. It says Deltas management is to blame for its troubles and that the airline is due little more than a refund.More: Crowdstrike is working with customers(George Kurtz), How to fix a Windows PC affected by the global outage (MIT Technology Review), Delta Sues CrowdStrike Over July Operations Meltdown (WSJ)Vertical farmsMITTR / ENVATOGrow lettuce in buildings using robots, hydroponics, and LED lights. Thats what Bowery, a vertical farming startup, raised over $700 million to do. But in November, Bowery went bust, making it the biggest startup failure of the year, according to the business analytics firm CB Insights.Bowery claimed that vertical farms were 100 times more productive per square foot than traditional farms, since racks of plants could be stacked 40 feet high. In reality, the companys lettuce was more expensive, and when a stubborn plant infection spread through its East Coast facilities, Bowery had trouble delivering the green stuff at any price.More: How a leaf-eating pathogen, failed deals brought down Bowery Farming (Pitchbook), Vertical farming unicorn Bowery to shut down (Axios)Exploding pagersMITTR / ADOBE STOCKThey beeped, and then they blew up. Across Lebanon, fingers and faces were shredded in what was called Israels surprise opening blow in an all-out war to try to cripple Hezbollah.The deadly attack was diabolically clever. Israel set up shell companies that sold thousands of pagers packed with explosives to the Islamic faction, which was already worried that its phones were being spied on.A coup for Israels spies. But was it a war crime? A 1996 treaty prohibits intentionally manufacturing apparently harmless objects designed to explode. The New York Times says nine-year-old Fatima Abdullah died when her fathers booby-trapped beeper chimed and she raced to take it to him.More: Israel conducted Lebanon pager attack (Axios), A 9-Year-Old Girl Killed in Pager Attack Is Mourned in Lebanon (New York Times), Did Israel break international law? (Middle East Eye)23andMeMITTR / ADOBE STOCKThe company that pioneered direct-to-consumer gene testing is sinking fast. Its stock price is going toward zero, and a plan to create valuable drugs is kaput after that team got pink slips this November.23andMe always had a celebrity aura, bathing in good press. Now, though, the press is all bad. Its a troubled company in the grip of a controlling founder, Anne Wojcicki, after its independent directors resigned en masse this September. Customers are starting to worry about whats going to happen to their DNA data if 23andMe goes under.23andMe says it created the worlds largest crowdsourced platform for genetic research. Thats true. It just never figured out how to turn a profit.More: 23andMes fall from $6 billion to nearly $0 (Wall Street Journal), How todelete your 23andMe data (MIT Technology Review), 23andMe Financial Report, November 2024 (23andMe)AI slopAUTHOR UNKNOWN VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONSSlop is the scraps and leftovers that pigs eat. AI slop is what you and I are increasingly consuming online now that people are flooding the internet with computer-generated text and pictures.AI slop is dubious, says the New York Times, and dadaist, according to Wired. Its frequently weird, like Shrimp Jesus (dont ask if you dont know), or deceptive, like the picture of a shivering girl in a rowboat, supposedly showing the US governments poor response to Hurricane Helene.AI slop is often entertaining. AI slop is usually a waste of your time. AI slop is not fact-checked. AI slop exists mostly to get clicks. AI slop is that blue-check account on X posting 10-part threads on how great AI isthreads that were written by AI.Most of all, AI slop is very, very common. This year, researchers claimed that about half the long posts on LinkedIn and Medium were partly AI-generated.More: First came Spam. Now, With A.I., Weve got Slop (New York Times), AI Slop Is Flooding Medium (Wired)Voluntary carbon marketsMITTR / ENVATOYour business creates emissions that contribute to global warming. So why not pay to have some trees planted or buy a more efficient cookstove for someone in Central America? Then you could reach net-zero emissions and help save the planet.Neat idea, but good intentions arent enough. This year the carbon marketplace Nori shut down, and so did Running Tide, a firm trying to sink carbon into the ocean. The problem is the voluntary carbon market is voluntary, Running Tides CEO wrote in a farewell post, citing a lack of demand.While companies like to blame low demand, its not the only issue. Sketchy technology, questionable credits, and make-believe offsets have created a credibility problem in carbon markets. In October, US prosecutors charged two men in a $100 million scheme involving the sale of nonexistent emissions savings.More: The growing signs of trouble for global carbon markets (MIT Technology Review), Running Tides ill-fated adventure in ocean carbon removal (Canary Media), Ex-carbon offsetting boss charged in New York with multimillion-dollar fraud (The Guardian)

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.If you drove by one of the 2,990 data centers in the United States, youd probably think little more than Huh, thats a boring-looking building. You might not even notice it at all. However, these facilities underpin our entire digital world, and they are responsible for tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. New research shows just how much those emissions have skyrocketed during the AI boom.Since 2018, carbon emissions from data centers in the US have tripled, according to new research led by a team at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That puts data centers slightly below domestic commercial airlines as a source of this pollution.That leaves a big problem for the worlds leading AI companies, which are caught between pressure to meet their own sustainability goals and the relentless competition in AI thats leading them to build bigger models requiring tons of energy. The trend toward ever more energy-intensive new AI models, including video generators like OpenAIs Sora, will only send those numbers higher.A growing coalition of companies is looking toward nuclear energy as a way to power artificial intelligence. Meta announced on December 3 it was looking for nuclear partners, and Microsoft is working to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant by 2028. Amazon signed nuclear agreements in October.However, nuclear plants take ages to come online. And though public support has increased in recent years, and president-elect Donald Trump has signaled support, only a slight majority of Americans say they favor more nuclear plants to generate electricity.Though OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pitched the White House in September on an unprecedented effort to build more data centers, the AI industry is looking far beyond the United States. Countries in Southeast Asia, like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, are all courting AI companies, hoping to be their new data center hubs.In the meantime, AI companies will continue to use up power from their current sources, which are far from renewable. Since so many data centers are located in coal-producing regions, like Virginia, the carbon intensity of the energy they use is 48% higher than the national average. The researchers found that 95% of data centers in the US are built in places with sources of electricity that are dirtier than the national average. Read more about the new research here.Deeper LearningWe saw a demo of the new AI system powering Andurils vision for warWere living through the first drone wars, but AI is poised to change the future of warfare even more drastically. I saw that firsthand during a visit to a test site in Southern California run by Anduril, the maker of AI-powered drones, autonomous submarines, and missiles. Anduril has built a way for the military to command much of its hardwarefrom drones to radars to unmanned fighter jetsfrom a single computer screen.Why it matters: Anduril, other companies in defense tech, and growing numbers of people within the Pentagon itself are increasingly adopting a new worldview: A future great power conflictmilitary jargon for a global war involving multiple countrieswill not be won by the entity with the most advanced drones or firepower, or even the cheapest firepower. It will be won by whoever can sort through and share information the fastest. The Pentagon is betting lots of energy and money that AIdespite its flaws and riskswill be what puts the US and its allies ahead in that fight. Read more here.Bits and BytesBluesky has an impersonator problemThe platforms rise has brought with it a surge of crypto scammers, as my colleague Melissa Heikkil experienced firsthand. (MIT Technology Review)Techs elite make large donations to Trump ahead of his inaugurationLeaders in Big Tech, who have been lambasted by Donald Trump, have made sizable donations to his inauguration committee. (The Washington Post)Inside the premiere of the first commercially streaming AI-generated moviesThe films, according to writer Jason Koebler, showed the telltale flaws of AI-generated video: dead eyes, vacant expressions, unnatural movements, and a reliance on voice-overs, since dialogue doesnt work well. The company behind the films is confident viewers will stomach them anyway. (404 Media)Meta asked Californias attorney general to stop OpenAI from becoming for-profitMeta now joins Elon Musk in alleging that OpenAI has improperly enjoyed the benefits of nonprofit status while developing its technology. (Wall Street Journal)How Silicon Valley is disrupting democracyTwo books explore the price weve paid for handing over unprecedented power to Big Techand explain why its imperative we start taking it back. (MIT Technology Review)

Following the release of the visionOS 2.3 developer beta on Monday, we now have evidence that Apple is already working on the next major versions of the Apple Vision Pro operating system.Apple is already working on visionOS 3.0, according to references accidentally left in sample documentation.visionOS is the operating system for the Apple Vision Pro. The device is Apple's first attempt at a virtual reality headset, with the company's CEO Tim Cook calling it an "early adopter product." Following the visionOS 1.0 release, visionOS 2 became available to the general public on September 16, 2024.The latest publicly available build of the Apple Vision Pro operating system is the visionOS 2.3 developer beta. Internally, however, Apple is already developing visionOS 3, the next major software update for its headset. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple Watch users everywhere, now including Brazil, can catch early signs of sleep apnea and take steps toward healthier sleep. Here's how it works.Sleep apnea monitoring comes to Brazilian Apple Watch usersApple's push to make the Watch a tool for preventive healthcare continues with the rollout of sleep apnea monitoring. Brazil celebrates its approval from Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria (ANVISA), while the feature is already available in over 150 countries, including the US, Japan, and the EU.Sleep apnea is a chronic disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, causing disruptions that can have severe consequences if left untreated. Undiagnosed cases can lead to hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, often without individuals realizing the cause. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

A TikTok trend makes an astounding claim that the iOS Photos widget displays who is reading your messages and may be looking back at your photos, and it is not based in reality at all.Photos widgets in iOS 18.2Social media users often make posts about Apple products and features, either to teach followers or to warn them of potential issues. Sometimes, these involve claims that are just false.One new trend is to accuse Apple of spying on users, in a way that doesn't make sense for a variety of reasons. It's apparently doing so via the Photos widget in iOS. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums