Data WIRED collected during the 2024 Democratic National Convention strongly suggests the use of a cell-site simulator, a controversial spy device that intercepts sensitive data from every phone in its range.

MacworldBack in 2022, Apple added a speaker to the AirPods Pro case to help find it when lost in a couch cushion or under a desk. But for years people have been hearing their cases make sounds all on their own. We finally know whysurprise, its not the case at all.As spotted by MacRumors, Apple has added an explanation for the occasional and unprompted noises made by AirPods. Tucked way down in the Use hearing health features with AirPodsPro2 section of the AirPods User Guide, Apple explains that its not actually the case making a noise but rather the AirPods inside the case:To help ensure that your AirPods microphones and speakers are operating at their best (for example, to help provide high-quality hearing test results), your AirPods may periodically play a quiet chime when theyre in their charging case.Users have wondered what the mysterious sound is, which sounds like a faraway chime as you can hear in the video on this Reddit thread. Its not clear what happens if the AirPods discover theyre not operating at their best, but they would presumably send an alert to your iPhone to let you know.Apple added hearing protection features to the AirPods Pro, which includes the high-quality hearing test described in Apples support note. Its not clear whether Apple plans to bring it to other models with noise-cancellation, including the AirPods 4 and AirPods Max.

MacworldAt a glanceExpert's RatingProsGood backup elements, functional scheduling, and fast copy speeds between volumesAntiviral Protection module caught a respectable amount of viral samples right off the batEasy to create a viable boot volume to work withConsClunky Acronis cloud dashboard interfaceErrors creating clone archives to the cloudUsers are unable to target specific drives to perform antivirus scans onOur Verdict Theres admirable antivirus protection, good copy speeds, and a boot module creation tool that works as well as you could want, but clunky interface elements, some errors while creating archives to the cloud, and a web-based dashboard with fewer controls than expected make things frustrating.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayWhile theres no shortage of good backup utilities for the Mac, sometimes the promise of a product is greater than whats actually delivered. Case in point, Acronis True Image for Mac, which functions as both a customizable backup utility as well as an antiviral/anti-malware piece of software. True Image, which requires macOS 11 (El Capitan) or later to install and run, is available as a 30-day free trial without having to enter your credit or debit card, and retails for $49.99/42.99 per year for one computer with local backup and anti-ransomware under the Essentials package, $72.99/62.99 for one year for one computer with 250GB of Acronis cloud storage under the Advanced package (there are also options for 50GB and 500GB), theres also a Premium package with up to 1TB to 5TB of Acronis cloud storage, the subscriptions renewing automatically unless you specify otherwise.Take a look at our other recommendations for backing up your Mac and other cloud based Mac backup options.Where features are concerned, True Image comes prepared. The software installed easily and was configured for full disk access without hassle, is centered around its Backup, Protection, Disk Cloning, and Archive modulesthe Protection module offering a good degree of antiviral protection and catching no less than 23 potential threats from a sample archive off the bat. (For more antivirus for Mac options, take a look at our round up of the best Mac Antivirus software).Malware being discovered and quarantined in Acronis True Image.FoundryAs expected, the Backup module allows you to designate source and destination volumes as well as choose which files are backed up and to where. Its easy to create exclusion lists as to which files can by bypassed when it comes to backing up, and the scheduling feature worked like a charm. The Backup module also leads to True Images Acronis Survival Kit, which allows for a bootable backup drive to be created that your Mac can boot and install a new operating system from. In addition to this, the Backup modules saves the archive in Acronis proprietary .itbx file format, so youll need a copy of True Image to restore your data. Selecting a backup destination volume in True Image.FoundryThe Backup module also makes use of Acronis cloud feature, and you can readily back up designated files, folders, and volumes to your cloud space. The Disk Cloning module works well, and makes quick copies of volumes as needed, perhaps offering the best value for the suite. Finally, the Archive module allows you to offload local data to Acronis cloud structure, which is handy for freeing up local space, but the cloud structure and web-based dashboard come with their own caveats, such as a lack of a clearly-defined delete button to clear files from your cloud space should you be looking to clear up that space as well.Setting up an Acronis cloud-based backup in True Image.FoundryStill, theres room for improvement. While True Image offers a good suite and things seem cohesive on the surface, there were bugs that couldnt be avoided and user interface elements that were either inconvenient or needed a complete overall. The lack of a percentage complete readout alongside the progress bar became annoying, the estimated time remaining for a long test copy remained stuck at 20 minutes for hours, which raises ones eyebrows. Following a Disk Clone function, the volumes seemed hidden on the Mac, something which required a reboot to mount and display everything again. Where Acronis cloud architecture is concerned, the product seems stuck on the name Cyber Protect Home Office when logged into the dashboard and True Image on the client end, which shows that a complete migration to the new product new has yet to take place on one end. While its easy to add encryption to an archive, elements like targeting a specific volume to scan in the Protection modules antivirus mode seem nowhere to be found. If theres a service to sell, Acronis will gently nudge you towards it, as the software provides easy links to subscribe to its identity protection service as well as additional cloud storage capacity, and I feel as if the focus is on offering whats available as opposed to making True Image elegant and functional.Should you buy Acronis True Image?Acronis True Image has always been something of a silent contender on the Mac end, and never spent vast amounts on marketing to show up in your Facebook or YouTube ad feed, instead chasing after the larger corporate and enterprise markets via its dozens of products and services. You cant blame them for this, but it still takes away from what the True Image for Mac application could be. Whats present here has its good moments, such as admirable antivirus protection, good copy speeds, and a boot module creation tool that works as well as you could want it (no mean feat these days considering how Apple has made this more difficult for developers on Apple Silicon-based Macs), but clunky interface elements, some errors while creating archives to the cloud, and a web-based dashboard with fewer controls than expected make things frustrating. Yes, this might be worth trying out the free 30-day demo, but there are more focused backup clients for the Mac that dont try to be everything at once, still pull off a range of features, are more reliable, and might deserve your attention more.

Apple Arcade is kicking off the new year with an exciting slate of game launches, along with big updates to existing hits.

The Los Angeles wildfires are causing some major problems to the city, beyond property damage. With events canceled and filming delayed, it's causing new logistical issues for Apple TV+.Apple TV+ logo - Image Credit: AppleThe LA wildfires are decimating homes and buildings in the area, as strong winds help the fire spread quickly. With over 30,000 acres hit by the fire, and thousands of structures affected by it, it will be a long time before restoration efforts return things to normal.The fire doesn't just cause long-term issues, as it also introduces many short-term ones as well. With livelihoods affected by it, the fire is already impacting production and event schedules in the media-centric city. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Genslers next foray into medical/life sciences research and development projects has been revealed for Seattles growing innovation cluster.Located next to the Space Needle, the nine-story 222 Fifth N is a 200,000-square-foot design defined by its dramatic, shifted volumes that prioritizes movement, flexible workspace layouts, and the possibility for new activations in order to "set it apart from traditional research buildings," according to architect Brian Di Maggio.Photo by Heywood ChanThe firm says furthermore the buildings massing and orientation "acknowledges the sculptural forms of Museum of Pop (MoPOP,) while the curvature of the facademirroring the skate park belowreflects the flow of pedestrian and cyclist traffic into Seattle Center."Photo by Heywood ChanA ribboning feature stair acts as its main circulatory route beginning at the corner of Thomas Street and standing prominently as a "beacon" for workers arriving from Seattle Center. Multiple ulterior roof decks of...

Publisher CI Games has revealed that developer HexWorks will continue to release new updates for Lords of the Fallen this year, and will ultimately take the game up to version 2.0. For context, Lords of the Fallen is currently on version 1.7.In a conversation with investors, CI Games senior vice president of development Tom OConnor stated that the plan is to maximise the sales of Lords of the Fallen, which means giving the game more meaningful updates and responding to player feedback.To continue maximising sales of Lords of the Fallen 2023 in line with strategic markdowns and the continued release of meaningful updates up to v2.0 in response to player feedback and external user testing, responded OConnor to a question about CI Games business plans for 2025.OConnor also spoke about other projects that CI Games is working on, including an unannounced game dubbed Project 3 which will be a follow-up to Lords of the Fallen. There is also a title dubbed Project H, which is currently in pre-production.With regards to our titles in development we have Project 3 in full production, the next instalment in the Lords of the Fallen franchise and during this year will have extensive player testing to ensure we achieve high-quality and maximise the games potential, he said. Both SGW Evolved and Project H are in pre-production, and we are closing in on the vision for these titles, with more details to follow at a later date.When the company asked about the potential for more free content being added to Lords of the Fallen to help build positive sentiments from the games players, marketing director Ryan Hill responded by stating that the company has seen positivity about the game on the rise thanks to the release of free updates and DLC over the last couple of years. This also means that the company plans on continuing this strategy.To date, we have released a considerable number of post-launch updates and content drops for Lords of the Fallen, and have observed the direct results by doing so; the recent Steam User Score has been gradually increasing throughout 2024, reaching an all-time high of 80 (very positive) in December, said Hill.We also track online sentiment using the Player XP audience sentiment tool; this clearly illustrates a strong ongoing increase in audience sentiment around the LOTF franchise across the online gaming landscape throughout 2024, Hill continued. As a result, we will continue with this strategy in 2025 with a robust content roadmap planned for Q1 with the releases of v1.8, v1.9 and v2.0, all of which will bring meaningful improvements to LOTF based on community feedback and external player testing. It is integral that we continue to increase the franchise sentiment ahead of the release of Project 3.Lords of the Fallen, not to be confused by the 2014 title of the same name, was released back in October 2023, and was met with a positive response both critically and commercially. The game crossed the 1 million copies sold milestone within its first month, and has since seen quite a few updates.These updates have been a mix of bringing new content to the game, as well as bug fixes and performance enhancements. More recently, Lords of the Fallen got support for the PS5 Pro to make use of its enhanced hardware, as well as adjustments to mob density and improvements to PC performance.For more details on Lords of the Fallen, check out our review.

It is no secret that the commercial reception of action adventure title Star Wars Outlaws was found disappointing by Ubisoft. According to VGC, the game only managed to be the 47th best-selling game in Europe. For context, this means that the much older Star Wars Jedi: Survivor sold more than Outlaws in 2024.This is contrast to expectations for Star Wars Outlaws, which got quite a bit of positive attention thanks to its trailers, as well as the fact that it was being developed by Massive. Critical reception, however, was lukewarm. Even our own review gave the game a score of 6, citing the games rough stealth mechanics and instant-fail gameplay sections as its biggest sticking points.This poor reception has had quite a few consequences, and might be one of the big reasons for Ubisoft founders, the Guillemot family, looking for a buyout in order to stem its falling stock prices. Ubisofts stock prices fell shortly after the release of Star Wars Outlaws, with physical sales in the UK reportedly being 55 percent lower than Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.Analysts have also not been kind to the company, with JP Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven stating that Star Wars Outlaws had failed to meet sales expectations, and ultimately lowering its own sales expectations for the title by 2 million copies.Since the games release, several updates have been released that attempt to fix some of its bigger issues. An update from back in November is notable for sweeping changes to how the stealth mechanics in Star Wars Outlaws work. Similar updates have been released to bring changes to combat and cover system as well.Star Wars Outlaws has also gotten a DLC release in the form of Wild Card, which also ended up being a disappointment thanks to lacklustre writing and dialogue, short length, and a bad final boss fight. The game has since also made its way on to Steam, rather than staying exclusive to the Ubisoft Connect store on PC.In the mean time, Ubisoft has revealed that it is working with advisors to best understand how to extract maximum value from its IPs and other assets. CEO Yves Guillemot has reportedly also been in talks with Tencent for a potential buyout for Ubisoft, with Tencent wanting more control over the decisions made by the board of directors.Other titles by Ubisoft are also facing issues, with the company having recently announced that XDefiant would be shutting down. The upcoming Assassins Creed Shadows has also been delayed to March 20.

Grinding Gear Games has announced it will reveal details for Path of Exile 2s next major update, Patch 0.1.1, on January 12th, 12:30 PM PST. Players can watch it on the games Twitch channel and tune into the Tavern Talk podcast, where game directors Jonathan and Mark Roberts will answer questions.The last major update dropped in December, lowering the cost of respeccing Passive Skill Points at higher levels and fast travel between checkpoints in an area. It also nerfed monster critical strike bonus damage in the endgame, removed the Volatile Crystals Modifier and optimized Trial of the Sekhemas to be less punishing. Rolling Slam, Ice Shot Shards, Shockchain Arrows, and other skills also saw improvements.Though the upcoming reveal will discuss known issues and how the team addresses them, there may be details about future content. Stay tuned for updates in the coming days.Path of Exile 2 is available via early access for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5. Check out our review here.

From left to right, Timea Jakab (studio director and senior associate, Gensler), Sonia Matheson (managing director and principal, Gensler), Julia Evangelista (director of business development, Govan Brown), Heela Omarkhail (vice-president of social impact, The Daniels Corporation), and Kate LaBrash (director of office leasing, QuadReal Property Group) were part of a panel on women in architecture, design and construction in late 2024. The panel was organized by Gensler in collaboration with the Toronto Construction Association. Photo credit: Shiraz AliLast year, I had the privilege of moderating a panel on women in leadership, specifically, in architecture, design, and constructionnotoriously male-dominated industries. With the goal of shedding light on the barriers facing women in these environments, the panel, organized by Gensler in collaboration with the Toronto Construction Association, also provided an opportunity for those in the audience to ask questions and network. The resulting conversation was a stark reminder that we still have a long way to go to achieve true equity in our industry.As an architect, I know firsthand the challenges of working in this industry. To be frank, working in architecture and design is a demanding job for both men and women at any stage of their career, but women are still disproportionately impacted by unequal pay, slower rates of promotion, and poor return-to-work training post-parental leave.As a mother, I also understand the pressures of working parents, and know that no amount of TikTok advice is a match for a toddler mid-tantrum. Juggling these two worlds can be difficult, but I truly love being both an architect and a mother. Its a profoundly rewarding career, and while I do spend most evenings logging on to work those invisible hours, I love knowing my children look up to me as a woman in leadership. Not only that, but I believe I became a better leader once I had children. Be it a greater capacity for empathy, time management, or more open communication, mothers add value to the role.As seen in the dismal drop off in women architecture graduates and those who actually become licensed to practiceonly 37.9 per cent of architects in Canada are womenthe visibility of women in leadership positions is key to attracting more women to the profession. Proving that women can be both architects, and parents, is especially important, as many women report feeling pressured to make the choice between having a career in architecture or having children. While these barriers are certainly not unique to architecture and design, our industrys reputation only continues this ongoing cycle of inequity.Since joining the industry in 2005, Ive witnessed real change, and am heartened by the recent influx of events advocating for women in the field, especially for equal pay and diversity of thought. As Ive witnessed, the continued dialogue of these events is crucial, as silence only begets the status quo. But while were moving away from the old boys club, we still need more women in architecture and design.Not only are diverse organizations more successful, making the inclusion of women an economic imperative, but diverse talent also leads to greater levels of innovation. By not addressing the current barriers facing women in our industry, and striving for gender parity, the industry is hindering its ability to access the best talent and design solutions.But gender parity isnt about window-dressing. To ensure women stay in the industry, leaders must provide them with agency. Every closed-door meeting is either an opportunity, or just another barrier, and the entire architecture and design communitymen and womenis responsible for clearing the way to better access for women.We also cannot underestimate the importance of fostering and participating in support-based communities. While pockets of our industry still tend to view burnout as a badge of honour, creating space for women to have an open dialogue is crucial in holding the industry accountable. Its also key to maintaining good mental health.After taking two maternity leaves in five years, I can attest to the difficulty of returning to an office where it feels like time accelerated in your absence. Having a reliable network of colleagues and mentors, both within and outside of the industry, is critical. Its also why we hosted our recent women in leadership event, to prove to the next generation that we are not defined by our industrys history, and do not need to abide by the old rules.After more than 15-years working as an architect, I still believe it to be among the coolest careerstheres a reason why Seinfelds George Costanza selected it as his alter egos profession of choice. Every single day, Im surrounded by hardworking, talented, and supportive women and mothers, both as a mentor, and as a mentee. But Im also keenly aware that the network Ive built over the entirety of my career was forged over shared difficulties, or experiences of prejudice. For the next generation, its time we do better as an industry.Photo credit: GenslerTimea Jakab is a Studio Director in Genslers Toronto office, who brings more than 15 years of experience in professional practice. She oversees a studio of 40+ architects and designers with responsibility for projects that span large-scale master planning, complex adaptive reuse, and ground-up buildings, as well as multiple practice areas including Retail, Repositioning, and Brand Design. A registered architect in Ontario, Timea believes in and promotes a holistic design approach that considers the many opportunities in shaping a strong customer-centric experience. Using her design background, Timea pairs an understanding of human behavior with the exploration of environmental, architectural, and graphic design solutions. Her diverse design education and experience allows her to be an effective collaborator, design synthesis, and an agile leader for Gensler.The post Op-ed: Career or kids? Paving the way for womenand mothersin architecture appeared first on Canadian Architect.