The UltraFine 32U990A is a serious competitor to Apples Pro Display XDR.

The Trump administration and Congress are expected to act quickly on pro-crypto bills, and likely without much focus on cybercrime prevention.

The H-1B visa program, which countless tech companies and other large employers rely on to recruit highly skilled talent from abroad, has recently sparked a debate between various factions of the Trump administration.On one side are the likes of Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and other tech industry figures who Trump has brought into the fold, who have been vocal about their support for welcoming more highly skilled workers into the U.S., in keeping with the industrys pro-immigration stance. Both Musk and Ramaswamy have argued there is a shortage of engineers and workers who can fill specialized jobs, though the latter recently went a step further to proclaim American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence. On the other end, however, are the Trump loyalists and right-wing supporters who believe in cracking down on immigration and hiring more U.S. workers. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, for example, has called the H-1B program a total and complete scam.As for Trump himself: Immigration policy has been a key part of his platform for nearly 10 years, across three presidential campaigns. Over the last year, he has promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrantsand during his first term, Trump put forth several policy changes and proposals that sought to limit legal immigration, as well. But lately, his position seems to be shifting, perhaps due to pressure from his allies in tech. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Trump suggested that he was actually in favor of the visas, in contrast to his previous criticism of the H-1B program.While Trumps ascent to the White Houseand new alliances with conservatives in techhas sparked this particular clash, the debate over the merits of immigration visas like the H-1B dates back decades, with calls for reform over the years from both sides of the aisle. In fact, that was illustrated by Senator Bernie Sanderss response to Musks support for the program. Sanders argued Musk was wrong about the H-1B visa being a crucial element of the U.S. economy. The main function of the H-1B visa program, he said in a statement, is not to hire the best and the brightest, but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.The history of the H-1B programFollowing its inception in 1990, the H-1B visa program quickly grew more popular, as the U.S. sought out highly skilled engineering talent from countries like India and China. But it didnt take long for the visa to be used for a somewhat different purpose. One of the things that happened very quickly after this new H-1B category was createdwhen its creators thought it would be for professional, highly skilled peoplewas it became a mechanism for this new business model of IT outsourcing, [which] continues, says Theresa Cardinal Brown, who is a senior advisor of immigration and border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.This was a departure from how the H-1B program was envisioned, Brown says, as a visa for highly skilled workers that was tied to a single employer. You started to see strains in the way the immigration system set up this category, and the way it was being used, she says. And that generated backlash and controversy.Now, the leading H-1B employers are not just tech companies but also consulting firms, which use the visa program in part to enable outsourcing. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), nearly half of the top 30 employers that were awarded H-1B visas in 2022 used outsourcing, and they accounted for 21% of the overall pool of H-1B visas (which is currently capped at 85,000).Beyond the nature of H-1B jobs, there are also critiques of the lottery system that was implemented in the 2000s, which many argue put big tech companies and consulting firms at a particular advantage. A large employer can afford to file thousands of H-1B petitions, which increase their chances in a lottery system, unlike smaller companies that might be looking to hire just one H-1B worker for a specific role. If you are a startup that has one person whos a key engineer on a project [that] you need to grow your company, and you only file one application, youre at a disadvantage, Brown says. So now the government is picking winners and losersnot based on need, not based on skill level, but literally based on a lottery.How this impacts H-1B workersThe H-1B visa is often viewed as a tech visa that can source the kinds of workers who are harder to find stateside, especially in the face of evolving technologies like AI. But the critique lobbed by Sanders echoes arguments that the H-1B program is not just used to recruit highly skilled talent, but also to undercut wages by bringing over foreign workers. While the H-1B program requires that employers meet a prevailing wage requirement, the Department of Labor offers four different wage levelswhich means H-1B workers can be paid below the median salary for a particular job. An EPI report from 2020 found that a majority of workers were being paid at the two lowest levels, which are intended for entry-level positions or roles that are one step above.What that says to me is that either these are the most skilled and talented workers, as employers say, but theyre being vastly underpaidor [the H-1B] is mostly being used for entry-level workers, says Daniel Costa, EPIs director of immigration law and policy research and one of the authors of the report. I think the program should be focused onor at least prioritizethe most skilled and talented workers, rather than the entry-level jobs. (Other experts, however, have concluded that most H-1B employers pay above market rate.) Costa also points out that there is no requirement for employers to look for local workers who might be a fit before hiring someone who needs an H-1B visa.With many work visa programs, theres limited mobility to move between jobs. The H-1B is better than most, Costa notes, in that it now allows workers to retain their statusbut it still requires them to find a new employer who will sponsor them, along with a new petition. Employers still have a lot of power over those workers because they have to go to an employer that is willing to sponsor them, he says. And that takes money and time and bureaucracy. So its not as simple as just finding a job.These workers are also especially vulnerable if they get laid off and are forced to find new employment on short notice. When tech companies conducted mass layoffs in 2022 and 2023, many H-1B workers were impacted and had just 60 days to find a job if they wanted to stay in the country.But one of the greatest challenges for H-1B workers is the backlog of green card applications, which had crossed seven million as of 2023. That can leave many workers in limbo for years, if not decades, even as they start families and build a life in the U.S.all without the guarantee of permanent residency.Even the prospect of a green card depends on an employers willingness to file on your behalf, and once you do file, it can further restrict job mobility. I wish the program was more about green cards, Costa says. Maybe after theyre here for 18 months on H-1B status they can petition for themselves. That would give the employer and the worker a trial period and take away the power from the employer, or at least reduce the power that the employer would have.H-1B workers who are holding out for a green card are also unable to take the risks that they might if they had the security of permanent residency. Theres another unintended consequence that is taking a huge toll on our economy, but its this unmeasurable thing, says Sophie Alcorn, an immigration lawyer who works with tech startups and founders. Theres a ton of brilliant people in the U.S. who would love to innovate and create startups and are not able to do so. And so we dont know what were missing out on, because those companies cant be started.What might happen under TrumpThere have been several attempts to reform the H-1B program over the years, some of which have stalled in Congress or faced strong opposition from the tech industry. In 2023, senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley reintroduced a bill that would secure greater protections for workers by changing wage requirements and requiring more transparency from employers. In fact, Musk himself claimed recentlynot long after arguing that the H-1B had enabled critical people like him to come to the U.S.that the program was broken and needs major reform. (The Biden administration did recently publish a final rule that will make certain changes to the H-1B program, including greater oversight and workplace site visit to prevent potential abuses of the visa.)Its not clear whether Trump will move to expand or curtail the program, given the disagreement within his camp. He has previously endorsed legal immigration but on other occasions has also said the H-1B takes jobs away from American workers. Before his first term, Trump had called the H-1B program very bad and unfair for U.S. workers and had argued the program should be more selective. While in office, he increased scrutiny of H-1B applicationsand last fall, there were reports that Trump had already drafted new plans to limit legal immigration, by pausing new applications for employment-based green cards.In a recent interview with the New York Post, however, Trump seemed to have changed his stance. I have many H-1B visas on my properties, he said. Ive been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. Its a great program. Still, he stopped short of disclosing any chances he plans to make once he takes officeso it likely depends on which faction of Trumps world ends up winning out.

Passionate John Lennon devotees may ardently visualize a utopian future, wistfully slipping the surly bonds of reality to imagine a perfect world of people living life in peace.It is indeed a glorious vision.But at some point, we need to open our eyes and come back down to earth.Lets call it like it is:If we cant purge unwanted drama in our own families, businesses, and places of worship, how can we possibly expect to bring about peace and harmony on a global scale?That very question, however, contains its own answer and points us in the right direction.As Admiral William McRaven expounds in his celebrated commencement address: First make your own bed; then you can start thinking about making the world a better place.Needless to say, its a lot easier to clean up your room than to eliminate drama from your environment. But once we better understand the mechanics of why drama arises, we can start implementing a methodology to stamp it out.And that brings us to this weeks entry into the Ethical Lexicon:The Drama TriangleA model describing how people adopt unhealthy roles in relationships and interpersonal interaction.The famed psychiatrist Stephen Karpman coined the term in the 1960s. By providing us with a description of how corrosive attitudes and mindsets contribute to dysfunctional social interactions, his model empowers us to avoid the swamp of drama and navigate our way toward a healthier culture. The first step is defining the three personality types contributing to the toxic drama.The Victim:Poor little me: In our age of entitlement, class warfare, and identity politics, its easier than ever to see ourselves as victims.Many of us do just that through persistent negativity and defeatist self-talk:I dont have control over my life.Im a victim of circumstance.Im incapable of solving my problems.We look desperately for those we can blame for our plight on the one hand and those who will rescue us from the malady of our lives on the other.Victims wallow in feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, seeing themselves as prisoners of unfairness and oppression.Their misery is their parents fault, their bosses fault, or the governments fault.The universe has conspired against them and theres nothing they can do about it.Consequently, they take no responsibility for either the obstacles they face or overcoming them.The Rescuer:Let me help you:At first blush, this appears to be a good thing. Shouldnt we all want to come to the aid of struggling friends and colleagues? Shouldnt we all lend support when others feel crushed by the weight of their problems?Of course, we should. But the more important question is:How will we show our support?If the underlying problem is that victims feel helpless, rescuers do no favors by trying to solve their problems for them.All that accomplishes is to strengthen the cycle of victimhood.Even worse is when those well-intentioned solutions are mere Band-Aids, short-term fixes that offer the appearance of help without genuinely addressing the core issues.Finally, rescuers may enjoy the ego gratification of acting as saviors, but they may end up feeling resentful for the time and energy they expend on others behalf, eventually experiencing burnout as they try to keep up with their own jobs and needs.The Persecutor:Its all your fault: Persecutors are the unhelpful critics who blame victims and naysay rescuers without offering any positive suggestions.Its easy to punch holes in other peoples ideas or excuses. Often, those criticisms may be sound.But they accomplish nothing helpful unless they contribute meaningful guidance to redirect the conversation.Persecutors generally come across as arrogant bullies, adding another caustic element to an already toxic cocktail of dysfunction.As with so many of our issues, reframing steers us toward a solution. Hall of Fame speaker Cy Wakeman, author of Reality-Based Leadership: Ditch the Drama, Restore Sanity to the Workplace, and Turn Excuses Into Results, offers an essential mindset shift in a simple three-word formula. Leaders, she says, are translators.With a modicum of perspective and creativity, any complaint can be recast as a proposal for constructive change.Rather than indulge or suppress chronic kvetching, leaders can prompt drama kings and queens to suggest a plan of action rather than wallow in the problem.By doing so, they open the door to rechanneling negative energy into potentially helpful strategies.Thats precisely how executive coach David Emerald Womeldorff addresses the challenge of the drama triangle in his book, The Empowerment Dynamic.By reconfiguring the corners of the drama triangle, leaders can truly restore cultural health and vibrancy. Heres how:Encourage Victims to see themselves as Creators:Rather than fixating on obstacles, visualize the outcomes they would like to achieve.Then empower them with responsibility for developing strategies, building consensus, and driving efforts to achieve those goals.Recast Rescuers as Coaches:Rather than reinforcing learned helplessness by assuming responsibility for Victims problems, direct them to become consultants and trusted advisors, showing confidence and compassion to help Victims resolve their own issues instead of micromanaging them.Charge Persecutors with becoming Challengers:Task critics with looking to refine, improve, or modify proposals in a way that generates creative discussion instead of pessimism and paralysis.By translating pervasive discontent into constructive action, leaders can dismantle the drama triangle, create an empowerment dynamic, and turn a vicious circle of negativity into a virtuous circle of positive, productive energy. And, perhaps, by eliminating drama from the workplace, we can truly imagineeven without rose-colored glassesa time when the world really will live as one.

Last year we spoke to Adobe, Pentagram, artists Shan Jiang and Guillermo Flores Pacheco and more...

A new report suggests that potential buyers anticipating an updated iPhone SE, or new iPads and their accessories, won't have much longer to wait.The next iPhone SE is likely to resemble the iPhone 14 in size and appearance.While 2025 will bring a slew of new and updated products to the table, Apple will be spacing those out across the year. A new report from Bloomberg speculates that while an updated MacBook Air lineup may be among the first hardware products announced in the new year, the iPhone SE will get a notable revamp in the spring as well.In line with recent reports, the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected around March or April 2025. As part of an overall redesign, the SE will finally lose the Touch ID home button in favor of FaceID, and bump up to the size of the iPhone 14. Rumor Score: Likely Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The expected Apple Home Hub that was believed to be coming in March may now ship later, claims a new report that also backs up rumors that Apple is working on a home camera.Mockup of a possible Apple Home HubRumors of Apple aiming to expand its home and particularly smart home offerings have chiefly centered on what's been described as a Home Hub. It's expected to have an iPad-like screen and may have the body of a HomePod.Now according to Bloomberg, the Home Hub will feature a 7-inch screen, and will run on a new operating system codenamed Pebble. Despite being a new operating system, perhaps the previously-rumored homeOS, the Home Hub will reportedly make extensive use of App Intents, that will come with the iPhone's iOS 18.4 and iOS 19. Rumor Score: Likely Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's Mac lineup for 2025 will include quite a lot of updates, with the Mac Studio anticipated to get a refresh early in the year alongside more typical updates.Mac StudioThe migration of Apple's Mac and MacBook lines in 2024 saw some get upgrades to the M4, but not all models. The Mac mini, the iMac, and the MacBook Pro models all migrated over to M4, leaving behind a lot of other models on earlier chips.According to Mark Gurman's newsletter for Bloomberg, the upgrades to M4 will continue early in the year, and continue throughout to cover most of the remaining range. Rumor Score: Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

There were a slew of innovations in robot vacuums on the CES show floor this year, from arms and legs to extendable mops, movable towers, and new navigation systems.As the industry races ahead in its quest to find the best way to clean our floors, it can be hard to see the function through all the hype. I spent the last week in Las Vegas hanging with our robot friends to find out just how much better theyre getting. Heres a look at all the new tech that came out and how it could help keep your floors sparklingly clean.Arms for picking up after youDreames concept robot with an arm. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeThe main focus of flagship robovacs over the last few years has been obstacle avoidance. Adding AI-powered camera navigation systems has helped robots avoid getting stuck on socks, slippers, and toys, but it means they havent actually cleaned all of your floor.The solution: adding a robotic arm to move the items out of the way. RoborocksSaros Z70 and Dreames concept vacuum both showed off what a robovac can do, given a robotic claw on top.The OmniGrip arm on the Roborock Saros Z70. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeBoth companies say they have software that will allow you to designate where items get placed, letting the vacuum tidy up for you in a whole new way. Roborock said you can designate an area for the bot to put things it cleans up, and Dreame said its concept vac will be able to put specific items in specific places, such as cat toys by the cat bed or shoes by the front door. Neither demoed their app, however, so I didnt get to see how this works. The biggest limitation for these arms is weight: Roborocks can only pick up light items up to 300 grams its currently programmed for socks, tissues, small washcloths, and sandals. Dreame says its will be capable of up to 500 grams, which means it can tackle shoes ( a sneaker up a mens size 42/9). But only Roborock actually demoed its robot picking anything up and that was just a sock.Dreames arm does look more robust. Its bigger and thicker with a fatter pincer claw. But I didnt get to touch it. I did get to play with the Saros Z70s arm, and it felt surprisingly strong, especially for how slim it is.What Dreames arm has that Roborocks doesnt (yet) are attachments. Dreame showed off a small toolbox that stored two brushes a sponge for wet messes and a bristle brush. The idea is that the robot can attach these to its arms and then get into nooks and crannies the main robot cant. I didnt get to see the robot actually do any of this, though, so it's all still a concept. Climbing to new heightsRobovac makers are adding appendages on the other side of their bots as well. Both Dreames concept vacuum and its new Ultra X50 have two little legs small appendages that extend from under their body to lift them up. Dreames concept robot vacuum can lift itself up and has an arm for moving items out of its way. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeTheyre not articulating legs; theyre just small levers that help propel the bot up onto a step, and then its forward momentum knocks them down as it passes the step. The benefit here is navigating high room transitions, not really stairs. So, if you have a small step between your living room and kitchen or a high transition between the tile floor in your bathroom and the carpet in your bedroom, these robots should be able to move between the two. This is mostly just an extension of the chassis lift technology weve seen from Roborock, Shark, and a few others. Dreames X50 Ultra adds larger heights with its tech up to 6 cm. Sadly, this doesn't feel like the precursor to actually climbing the stairs that Id hoped for. That appears to be still an entire chassis redesign and several years away.More moppingThe newest Narwal, the Narwal Flow, adds a roller mop that can extend to get into corners and along edges. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeA less eye-catching trend that emerged at CES was around mopping. Ecovacs, Switchbot, and Narwal all debuted robot vacuums with roller mops that can extend outwards to reach along baseboards and into corners. This is a shift from the spinning, oscillating mops that have been popular for the last few years.Roller mops started rolling out on the likes of the Eufy Omni S1 Pro and the SwitchBot S10 last year, and in my experience they are better than oscillating mops. They have a wider surface area and self-clean as they go, so they dont have to return to the base frequently to clean their mops. But current models fail to cover all of your floors, as they cant reach the edges, which most oscillating mops can as they extend out from the main body. Hopefully, these new extending roller mops will tackle this problem. New brand Mova showed off a mop-swapping station. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeEcovacs model the Deebot X8 Pro Omni also adds a hot water tank to the robot itself, not just in the base station. This means that not only can it clean your floors with hot water, but it can also keep its mop clean with it as its working.The other innovation on the show floor that caught my eye was a mop-swapping station from Dreame (and its sub-brand Mova). This lets you designate specific mop pads for specific rooms. The robot will go back to the station and swap its pads to use a fresh pair for the kitchen, say, after cleaning the bathroom. This can help with concerns about cross-contamination. Im interested in testing this out, but my initial impression is that the self-cleaning roller mop is a simpler, more streamlined solution. Less lidarThe Dreame X50 Ultra sucks it in to get under a low table. Video by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeThe other big robot navigation trend this year is retractable lidar towers. Lidar has long been the preferred navigation tech for most robot vacs, but that pesky tower on top can prevent them from getting under low furniture. The Dreame X50 Ultra, Roborock Saros 10, and Mova V50 Ultra are all new bots that can pop their towers down to get into more places. How well theyll do when theyre under the bed without their lidar tower, however, is something I will need to test.Lidar is also being augmented by more sensors and AI to help robot vacuums better understand your home. The idea here is a bot that can seamlessly navigate around your home and know about the unruly rug tassels in the living room, rather than you creating keep-out zones in the app to make sure it doesnt get derailed.Robororock demoing its StarSight navigation system you can make out faint radar imaging in on the dark walls visible in the video feed. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The VergeRoborock debuted a new StarSight navigation tech at IFA last year on its Qrevo Slim, which is designed to do exactly that. At CES, the company announced it's bringing a more advanced version of StarSight to its Saros Z70 and Saros 10R. According to Roborock, StarSight Autonomous System 2.0 ditches traditional Lidar for a dual-transmitter solid-state Lidar with 3D time of flight sensors for distance detection and AI-powered RGB cameras for navigation and maneuvering around obstacles. Roborock says StarSight helps the robot deal with more complex floorplans and homes by using more sensors to feed the onboard AI.While I had a poor experience with Ecovacs X2 Omni, which used solid-state lidar, Ive been testing the Qrevo Slim for a while now, and it has been largely reliable. So, Im excited to try out the more advanced version.Ultimately, the goal of all these innovations is better floor cleaning with less intervention by us. All I want is a robot vacuum that can reliably and effectively reach every inch of my floor without me tidying up before it runs or having to rescue it from under a chair leg. From what I saw at CES this week, were getting a lot closer to that.

Apple may have settled on iPhone 17 Air as the name for the rumored skinny iPhone thats expected this fall, reports Bloombergs Mark Gurman in todays Power On newsletter. He writes that the phone will be a testing ground for future technologies, including the tech that leads to the companys first foldables.The name wouldnt be surprising both the MacBook Air and iPad Air were the thinnest versions of their lines when they were released. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to carry that forward by being about 2 millimeters thinner than current iPhones, Gurman has written. Other recent rumors have put it between 5.5mm and 6.25mm thick, which is close to the M4 iPad Pros depth and less than the thinnest iPhone so far, the iPhone 6. RelatedThe thinness isnt just a flex realizing it will help Apple along toward future foldable iPads and iPhones, Gurman writes. And he says the phone could be one of Apples first proving grounds for its in-house cell modem, codenamed Sinope, after it debuts in the iPhone SE this spring. This years iPhone lineup is also expected to debut Apple-designed Wi-Fi / Bluetooth chips, though Gurman doesnt go as far as saying that includes the 17 Air.Past rumors have said the new 17 Air will get a 6.6-inch ProMotion OLED display Apples 120Hz variable refresh rate screen used only on iPhone Pro models so far and that it will have just a single 48-megapixel camera lens on the back, with a 24-megapixel selfie camera. It may have Apples A19 chip and, like the iPhone SE 4, is expected to pack 8GB of RAM to run Apple Intelligence AI features.