Humans possess an extraordinary ability to localize sound sources and interpret their environment using auditory cues, a phenomenon termed spatial hearing. This capability enables tasks such as identifying speakers in noisy settings or navigating complex environments. Emulating such auditory spatial perception is crucial for enhancing the immersive experience in technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). However, the transition from monaural (single-channel) to binaural (two-channel) audio synthesiswhich captures spatial auditory effectsfaces significant challenges, particularly due to the limited availability of multi-channel and positional audio data.Traditional mono-to-binaural synthesis approaches often rely on digital signal processing (DSP) frameworks. These methods model auditory effects using components such as the head-related transfer function (HRTF), room impulse response (RIR), and ambient noise, typically treated as linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. Although DSP-based techniques are well-established and can generate realistic audio experiences, they fail to account for the nonlinear acoustic wave effects inherent in real-world sound propagation.Supervised learning models have emerged as an alternative to DSP, leveraging neural networks to synthesize binaural audio. However, such models face two major limitations: First, the scarcity of position-annotated binaural datasets and second, susceptibility to overfitting to specific acoustic environments, speaker characteristics, and training datasets. The need for specialized equipment for data collection further constraints these approaches, making supervised methods costly and less practical.To address these challenges, researchers from Google have proposed ZeroBAS, a zero-shot neural method for mono-to-binaural speech synthesis that does not rely on binaural training data. This innovative approach employs parameter-free geometric time warping (GTW) and amplitude scaling (AS) techniques based on source position. These initial binaural signals are further refined using a pretrained denoising vocoder, yielding perceptually realistic binaural audio. Remarkably, ZeroBAS generalizes effectively across diverse room conditions, as demonstrated using the newly introduced TUT Mono-to-Binaural dataset, and achieves performance comparable to, or even better than, state-of-the-art supervised methods on out-of-distribution data.The ZeroBAS framework comprises a three-stage architecture as follows:In stage 1, Geometric time warping (GTW) transforms the monaural input into two channels (left and right) by simulating interaural time differences (ITD) based on the relative positions of the sound source and listeners ears. GTW computes the time delays for the left and right ear channels. The warped signals are then interpolated linearly to generate initial binaural channels.In stage 2, Amplitude scaling (AS) enhances the spatial realism of the warped signals by simulating the interaural level difference (ILD) based on the inverse-square law. As human perception of sound spatiality relies on both ITD and ILD, with the latter dominant for high-frequency sounds. Using the Euclidean distances of source from both ears and , the amplitudes are scaled.In stage 3, involves an iterative refinement of the warped and scaled signals using a pretrained denoising vocoder, WaveFit. This vocoder leverages log-mel spectrogram features and denoising diffusion probabilistic models (DDPMs) to generate clean binaural waveforms. By iteratively applying the vocoder, the system mitigates acoustic artifacts and ensures high-quality binaural audio output.Coming to evaluations, ZeroBAS was evaluated on two datasets (results in Table 1 and 2): the Binaural Speech dataset and the newly introduced TUT Mono-to-Binaural dataset. The latter was designed to test the generalization capabilities of mono-to-binaural synthesis methods in diverse acoustic environments. In objective evaluations, ZeroBAS demonstrated significant improvements over DSP baselines and approached the performance of supervised methods despite not being trained on binaural data. Notably, ZeroBAS achieved superior results on the out-of-distribution TUT dataset, highlighting its robustness across varied conditions.Subjective evaluations further confirmed the efficacy of ZeroBAS. Mean Opinion Score (MOS) assessments showed that human listeners rated ZeroBASs outputs as slightly more natural than those of supervised methods. In MUSHRA evaluations, ZeroBAS achieved comparable spatial quality to supervised models, with listeners unable to discern statistically significant differences.Even though this method is quite remarkable, it does have some limitations. ZeroBAS struggles to directly process phase information because the vocoder lacks positional conditioning, and it relies on general models instead of environment-specific ones. Despite these constraints, its ability to generalize effectively highlights the potential of zero-shot learning in binaural audio synthesis.In conclusion, ZeroBAS offers a fascinating, room-agnostic approach to binaural speech synthesis that achieves perceptual quality comparable to supervised methods without requiring binaural training data. Its robust performance across diverse acoustic environments makes it a promising candidate for real-world applications in AR, VR, and immersive audio systems.Check out the Paper and Details. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our65k+ ML SubReddit.(Promoted) Vineet Kumar+ postsVineet Kumar is a consulting intern at MarktechPost. He is currently pursuing his BS from the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Kanpur. He is a Machine Learning enthusiast. He is passionate about research and the latest advancements in Deep Learning, Computer Vision, and related fields. Meet 'Height':The only autonomous project management tool (Sponsored)

You Can Out-Compete OpenAI. 0 like January 18, 2025Share this postAuthor(s): Savvas Theocharous Originally published on Towards AI. Dont let the big dogs scare you. You have the advantage.This member-only story is on us. Upgrade to access all of Medium.This message is for those who genuinely love AI. This is a story I would like for people to save and come back to when demotivated or feeling hopeless.Photo by Mariia Shalabaieva on UnsplashI have seen many people in the space scared of engaging, learning and building projects, because they are scared.I am just going to waste my time. Sam Altman will achieve AGI, release all kind of mighty models, AI agents, making anything I do obsolete. I will let him take the wheel.I will show you and make you believe that anything you do is not a waste of time. Quite the contrary, you are sitting on a gold mine where your time learning and building with AI, is in fact the most valuable use of time. You shouldnt be discouraged by all these tech giants. They are unlocking a huge opportunity.Short answer: Marketing!OpenAIs o3 model for example, yes it did break AGI. Theoretically that is, as the arc-agi benchmark is not a conclusive test.In my opinion we will know we achieved AGI, once our models are too lazy to be our servants.Is it practical though? No. Yes Read the full blog for free on Medium.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

In November, Apple announced some additional 3% cash back partners for the Apple Card, Booking.com and Chargepoint. Those were welcome additions, but one of the existing partners will also be going away in a couple weeks: that being Panera Bread.While scrolling through the Merchant Benefits list in the Apple Card section of the Wallet app, theres now a new message under the Panera Bread section, stating the following:Starting February 1, 2025, using Apple Pay at Panera Bread will change from earning 3% Daily Cash back to the standard 2% with Apple Pay.After February 1st, youll no longer be able to take advantage of the boosted 3% cash back while dining out at Panera, which was Apples only dining partner.While its an unfortunate loss, the economics mightve just not worked out for Panera, so they decided to drop the deal.Apple began offering 3% daily cash at Panera in August 2020, so the deal lasted just over 4 years. Apple has also ran special Apple Card sign up offers for Panera customers, offering $50 cash back after users spend over $50 at Panera bread.While Panera Bread might be going away, the Apple Card still offers 3% cash back at Apple, as well as the following merchants:Ace HardwareBooking.comChargePointExxon/MobilNikeT-MobileUber/Uber EatsWalgreens/Duane ReadeIf youre interested in taking advantage of 3% cash back at Panera, you have under 2 weeks left to do so.Are you an Apple Card user? Are there any improvements youre looking for in Apples credit card? Let us know in the comments.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Oops!CyberBustPolice in England have impounded a Tesla Cybertruck that apparently made it across the Atlantic, for being "not road legal in the UK."According to a Facebook update by the Bury police department in the Greater Manchester area, the driver "was a permanent UK resident but the vehicle was registered and insured abroad which is prohibited in the UK."Even with the right paperwork, the Cybertruck would still be illegal to drive there. Officials have previously pointed out that the massive truck is simply too big and sharp for European roads, posing too much of a threat to the safety of pedestrians."Whilst this may seem trivial to some, legitimate concerns exist around the safety of other road users or pedestrians if they were involved in a collision with a Cybertruck," the Bury police's statement reads. "The vehicle was subsequently seized under S165 of the Road Traffic Act and the driver reported."Euro FOMOWe've already come across several other Cybertrucks being transported across the pond. In September, Russian warlord and leader of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov shared pictures of himself manning a machine gun mounted to a Cybertruck's bed.In July, Czechia saw the import of its first registered Cybertruck. The owner made several modifications to the sharp outside of the truck, like covering the hood with a rubber strip, before it could be classified as a truck by Czech authorities.As Carscoops points out, the latest impounded Cybertruck isn't the only one of its kind headed for the UK; YouTuber Yianni "Yiannimize" Charalambous is attempting to get his truck, which currently has Albanian plates, registered there.But whether the many changes he's had to make since, like changing the color of indicator lights and installing rear fog lights, will be enough for UK regulators remains to be seen.For one, the car's curb weight of over 6,600 pounds could still be a dealbreaker anyway due to strict vehicle class weight restrictions that would require a special permit.More on the Cybertrcuck: After Cybertruck Terror Attack, Elon Musk Screeches That Cybertrucks Are Bad for Terror AttacksShare This Article

While Spectrum is the best internet provider in Val Verde Park, there are other options to consider depending on your internet needs.

With Donald Trump stepping back into office, advocates are warning that access to important environmental and public health datasets could be at risk.Information about climate change vanished from federal websites under Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change a hoax. Now, federal agencies could face deep staff and budget cuts overseen by Trump cronies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The proposed cuts not only threaten what kind of data the government shares but also whether it can collect and organize it at all.The funding, the people, the cultural knowledge associated with these tools and the data are just as, if not more, important than the data itself.Federal agencies gather all kinds of data from air quality readings to research on extreme weather events. Researchers and advocates have been scrambling to save as much data as they can, a skill they honed during Trumps first term. Even so, relying on outdated information has its pitfalls. Gaps in government data collection or maintenance could leave city planners and community groups stuck with an incomplete picture of the risks posed by pollution and climate change in their area.The funding, the people, the cultural knowledge associated with these tools and the data are just as, if not more, important than the data itself, says Gabriel Watson, data science and applications lead at the Environmental Policy Innovation Center. Updating dataOne key resource that could languish under the Trump administration is the Environmental Protection Agencys Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, EJScreen.This tool helps urban planners, people who work in health and education, and community advocates understand whether certain populations are disproportionately impacted by smog, toxic waste, or other hazards in a specific area. The EPA uses EJScreen in its own environmental assessments and permitting decisions, while nonprofits use it for grant applications.Even if it stays online, the tool is not as useful without constant upkeep. Watson compares that scenario to a computer running on an old operating system. If we stopped development at Windows 95 and thats all we were still using, there would be a lot of questions asked in terms of, well, what happened? he says.Much of the environmental data included in EJScreen is collected by the EPA itself. The EPA isnt likely to abandon its air quality monitors anytime soon, but Project 2025 a conservative roadmap for the second Trump administration proposes eliminating the EPAs Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights that manages the tool.There are also socioeconomic indicators included in EJScreen, such as information about the percentage of people of color, low-income households, and residents with limited English language skills within a census block group.On the ground, realities change very fast.Project 2025, which Trump disavowed during the campaign but has since embraced after the election, proposes to reconsider questions about race and ethnicity in the decennial census. It also suggests adding a citizenship question, something Trump tried to do during his first term. Civil rights advocates warn that doing so could make it harder to collect responses from Latino and Asian American communities, which might further marginalize those groups and lead to less accurate data.The roadmap also calls for drastic staff cuts at federal agencies including the EPA. That sentiment is echoed in Musk and Ramaswamys plans for the new Department of Government Efficiency Trump tasked them with leading.To be sure, EJScreen managed to survive round one of PresidentTrump. The EPA released the tool publicly in 2015 on a shoestring budget, and the agency has been able to update it each year since then, according to Matthew Lee, who co-leads EJScreen at the EPA. Now we have a more robust budget associated with EJScreen whether or not we continue with that budget, I trust that well be able to get the annual updates out.Having that most up to date data is paramount to the success of the [EPA environmental justice] program, Lee adds. On the ground, realities change very fast, he says. People move in and out of a neighborhood, and new sources of pollution add to the existing mix.Archiving dataA scrappy, grassroots effort to archive government data cropped up in response to Trumps election in 2016. After he tapped a notorious climate change denier to head up his transition team for the EPA, researchers quickly came together to form the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI). They organized guerrilla archiving events, enlisting hundreds of volunteers to help them identify and save environmental datasets.RelatedThey were able to archive 200 terabytes of data and content from government websites between the fall of 2016 and the spring of 2017. Their work attracted so much attention that EDGI members think they might have deterred the Trump administration from outright deleting data; much of what they archived stayed up on federal websites.Even so, there were losses when it came to how much information agencies shared with the public about climate change. The group documented a near 40 percent decline in the term climate change across websites for federal environmental agencies. Access to as much as 20 percent of the EPA website was removed, according to EDGI.Trumps team is likely better prepared now to limit access to information, EDGI warns. I think its a much bigger threat this time around, says Gretchen Gehrke, EDGI cofounder and website monitoring program lead. We may see massive data deletion, but we also might see just the deterioration of data because its not being actively managed or becomes inaccessible.I think its a much bigger threat this time around.But EDGI and its partners are more prepared now, too. Back in 2016, it teamed up with the End of Term Web Archive project, an effort to save content on federal government websites during every presidential transition. Since 2008, it has saved snapshots of what those websites looked like from administration to administration through the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library of sorts. That work has been underway again since the fall. Instead of needing to organize impromptu guerrilla archiving events to identify datasets to save like it did in 2016, theyve been collecting suggestions from partners for months.Over the past four years, the Biden administration has launched new web tools to provide information about climate change and its effects on extreme weather and public health. Theres now Heat.gov to monitor heatwaves across the US, for example, and the Climate Mapping for Resilience & Adaptation (CMRA) website for a broader picture of disasters including drought, wildfires, and flooding.For more than 100 years, as the federal government published studies and other documents on paper, copies were distributed to some 1,200 libraries across the US through the Federal Depository Library Program. Thats been a deterrent in the past for any single government that might want to make information disappear because theyd have to physically destroy all of those copies, Mark Phillips, an associate university librarian at the University of North Texas, tells The Verge. Now, its easier for information to vanish if that content is housed in a single website.We want to make sure that this work that was done for United States citizens is available and that it can be used to further science, further policy, Phillips says. So that it doesnt go away and just become lost.

U.S. prosecutors have formally linked the arrest of a serving U.S. Army soldier in December to a massive theft of U.S. phone records from AT&T and Verizon last year.Authorities arrested Cameron John Wagenius, a U.S. Army communications specialist, in Texas on December 20 following a brief two-page grand jury indictment accusing the U.S. serviceperson of two counts of unlawfully transferring confidential phone records. Wagenius was later extradited to Washington state.In a new court filing on Friday, U.S. prosecutors confirmed that the charges against Wagenius are related to the earlier indictment of two alleged hackers, Connor Moucka and John Binns, who the U.S. government accuse of multiple intrusions at cloud computing company Snowflake that saw the mass-theft of data stored in its customer accounts. The Snowflake customers whose data was stolen include AT&T, which had nearly all of its customer call records through 2024 exfiltrated from its Snowflake account, and Verizon, from whom a substantial cache of customer call logs was taken.U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman told the Seattle court that, both cases arise from the same computer intrusion and extortion and include some of the same stolen victim information, and as such, these cases rely on overlapping evidentiary material and legal process and arguably present common questions of law and fact.This is the first public acknowledgement by prosecutors that Wagenius charges are connected to last years breaches at cloud computing company Snowflake. Security journalist Brian Krebs first reported on the link between Wagenius and the Snowflake hacks in November, and later broke the news of Wagenius arrest.The account hacks at Snowflake became one of the most wide-reaching cyberattacks of last year, affecting AT&T, LendingTree, Santander Bank, Ticketmaster, and at least 160 other companies. The hackers allegedly stole huge banks of personally identifiable and sensitive corporate data that companies stored in Snowflake, in part by using passwords stolen from employee computers with malware. Most of the affected Snowflake customers were not using multi-factor protection, which Snowflake did not require of its customers at the time.According to Krebs reporting, following the earlier arrest of Moucka by Canadian authorities, Wagenius claimed in a post on a known cybercrime forum to have access to the call logs of Vice President Kamala Harris and then-President-elect Donald Trump, and threatened to leak all of the stolen files unless Moucka was released.Prosecutors accuse the Snowflake hackers of stealing data that includes personal information, cell phone and IMEI numbers, dates of birth, postal and email addresses, passwords, Social Security numbers, government-issued identity numbers, as well as payment card and bank account numbers.Wagenius was ordered on January 8 to be detained, and is understood to be in custody in Washington state.

by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Note:This article was originally published in January 2017. It has been updated multiple times since then to reflect the most current information. The most recent update was on January 18, 2025.When Microsoft released Windows 10 in 2015, it offered the new operating system as a free, no-strings-attached upgrade for anyone still running a supported, fully activated previous version of Windows. That offer was only supposed to last for one year, but Microsoft quietly kept its activation servers running for more than eight years, granting free digital licenses to Windows 10 on hardware originally licensed for use with Windows 7 and Windows 8.1.That loophole officially closed on September 20, 2023, when Microsoft posted an inconspicuous announcement on a website for its hardware partners. (For details, see"It's official: No more free Windows 10 upgrades".)Also: Is Windows 10 too popular for its own good?Since that announcement, I've heard from multiple readers who tried to upgrade their Windows 7 and Windows 8.x systems and discovered they were not properly activated after the Windows 10 installer completed its work. (Systems that were previously activated still continue to work properly, though.) Surprisingly, I've also heard from a handful of correspondents who have been successful in activating their PCs after upgrading an old Windows version to Windows 10.I'm not surprised by those sporadic reports of success. Microsoft's activation servers work in mysterious ways, and they're often generous in terms of granting digital licenses even when an installation doesn't follow the letter of the licensing rules. Given that uncertainty, there's probably no harm in trying to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10, as long as you're prepared to deal with activation issues.But does it make sense to even try?Those upgrades made perfect sense in 2020, when people were pulling old PCs off the shelf to adjust to the new pandemic-era work-at-home mandates. Those old computers might have been more mature than a shiny new device, but they were perfectly capable of performing common business tasks and had at least five years of support ahead of them.Also: Can your old PC handle the Windows 11 upgrade? How to find out - before you tryToday, the situation is completely different. Any computer that was originally licensed to run Windows 8.x is at least nine years old, and a PC that was built for Windows 7 is probably 12 years old or more. In technological terms, those devices are dinosaurs, and even a dirt-cheap modern PC will run rings around them.More importantly, even if you are able to complete that upgrade, you have months, not years, of support ahead of you. Windows 10 reaches its end-of-life date on October 14, 2025. You can pay $30 to receive updates for an extra year, but that's the absolute end of the line, unless you can override Microsoft's strict compatibility requirements and upgrade that PC from Windows 10 to Windows 11. But that opens up a whole new can of worms.On the other hand, if you really love that old PC and can't bear to say goodbye, well, read on.Upgrades still work, but activation probably won'tMost hardware that originally shipped with Windows 7 or Windows 8.x is perfectly capable of running Windows 10. Under most circumstances, the upgrade succeeds, even if the system fails the activation check at the end. You can still install apps, play games, run productivity software, and install security updates on a PC running an unactivated copy of Windows 10; you won't be able to personalize the Windows interface, though, and some optional updates won't be available.You'll also see a message in Settings and on the desktop warning that the system is not properly activated.Also:How to downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10 (there's a catch)You can complete activation and remove those restrictions by entering a valid Windows 10 product key for your edition (Home or Pro). Your old Windows 7/8.x product keys no longer work, unfortunately.In this post, I cover the basics of how to install Windows 10 as an upgrade on older hardware. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing. And, of course, there's the looming end-of-support deadline for Windows 10. As of October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer offer updates to Windows 10 PCs unless you've paid for Extended Security Updates. (For details, see "If your Windows 10 PC can't be upgraded, you have 5 options before time runs out")Every technique I describe in this article works the same for Windows 11 as well, although most older PCs will be blocked from upgrading to Microsoft's newest operating system by the stringentWindows 11 hardware compatibility requirements. (It's possible to work around some of those restrictions, for hardware that's not too old.)How to upgrade an old PC to Windows 10If you have a PC running Windows 7/8/8.1 (Windows 7 Home, Pro, or Ultimate edition, or Windows 8.x Home or Business, properly licensed and activated), you can install Windows 10 as an upgrade.Before getting started, I recommend a few preliminary tasks that can head off potential problems:Confirm thatyour copy of Windows is activated. This is especially important if you recently reinstalled the original version of Windows in preparation for the upgrade.Check for any recent driver updates, especially for network and storage hardware.Download and install any available BIOS updates for your hardware; this step is especially important for systems that were originally designed in 2017 or earlier, when hardware makers were still shaking out issues with Windows 10.Back up your data files to an external hard drive or cloud storage (or both). Consider doing a full system backup to an external hard drive using the Windows 7 backup program, which is also available in Windows 8.x, Windows 10, and Windows 11. Just run the command Sdclt.exe, and then choose the "Create a system image" option.Temporarily uninstall third-party security software and low-level system software such as hard disk utilities that can interfere with the upgrade. You can reinstall those programs after the upgrade is complete.Finally, disconnect any unnecessary external devices, especially USB flash drives and external hard drives. (Several common installation errors can be traced to the Setup program being confused by these additional drives.) With those preliminaries out of the way, go to theDownload Windows 10webpage and click the "Download Now" button. After the download completes, double-click the executable file to run the Media Creation Tool. You can upgrade directly using this tool, or create separate media. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET If you've downloaded the Media Creation Tool on the machine you plan to upgrade, and you plan to upgrade that PC and only that PC, you can choose "Upgrade this PC now." That option installs the most recent version of Windows 10. It typically takes about an hour, depending on your hardware. (Having an SSD as your system drive is the best way to speed up the process.)Also: You can still upgrade old PCs to Windows 11, even if Microsoft says no: Readers prove itIf you know you'll want to install Windows 10 (as an upgrade or as a clean install) on more than one PC, or if you just want more flexibility in the event that the instant upgrade fails, choose the second option and save the installation files to a USB drive or as an ISO file. The download takes a little time, but when it's complete, you can run the Windows Setup program manually to install Windows 10 on any PC running any supported Windows version. (Sorry, this won't work with PCs running Windows Vista or Windows XP, but those PCs are probably so old that you'll encounter other issues anyway and maybe you should consider retiring them.)The exact steps depend on which download option you chose:USB flash drive: Insert the USB flash drive you just created into a free USB slot on the PC you want to upgrade. Then open File Explorer (Windows Explorer in Windows 7) and double-click Setup to install Windows 10. Note that youcannotboot from the newly created USB drive or DVD to perform an upgrade to Windows 10. You must run the Windows 10 setup program from your currently installed and activated copy of Windows.ISO file: After the download is complete, you'll need to mount the ISO file and open it in a Windows Explorer/File Explorer window. On a PC running Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, you can double-click the ISO file to open it in File Explorer as a virtual drive. On a PC running Windows 7, you'll need to install a third-party utility, such as the free, open-sourceWinCDEmu. After mounting the ISO file, double-click Setup to start the install process.Then, just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade to Windows 10. You will not be asked for a product key during the upgrade process. When the upgrade is complete and you've connected to the internet, all your apps and data files will be available. To check the system's activation status, go to Settings > Update & security > Activation. If you're lucky, you'll have a digital license that is valid for the most recent Windows 10 version. More likely, you'll see a message telling you Windows isn't activated and asking you to enter a valid product key.A Windows 10 digital license is associated with a specific device, which means you can reformat the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime. (If you're thinking of upgrading your old system drive to an SSD, I recommend you perform the upgrade to Windows 10 on the old hardware; after confirming that the new Windows 10 version is properly activated, install the SSD and then either restore from a backup image or boot from the USB flash drive to do a clean install. You won't need a product key, and activation is automatic.)Is your license valid?And now the big question: if you successfully upgrade an old PC to Windows 10, is the resulting license valid?The entire "free upgrade" offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put it politely, a bit squishy. And the language around the end of that offer was similarly vague. For example, see the answers I've highlighted here on Microsoft'sWindows 10 Upgrade FAQ: The wording here is remarkably vague. Screenshot by Ed Bott/ZDNET That's very odd language. The free upgradethrough the Get Windows 10 appended on July 29, 2016. Likewise, the discussion of product keys says a key will be necessary "for this tool to work" (not true), but it doesn't say a word about licensing.And unlike the weaselly "Genuine Windows" label on older upgrades, the activation screens for a Windows 10 upgrade specifically confirm the existence of a "digital license."Of course, I'm not a lawyer, and this column isn't legal advice. But I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of any PC that upgraded to Windows 10 and was granted a digital license using the Media Creation Tool.So why did Microsoft keep making these free upgrades available even after the original offer had officially expired? That was, I think, a very obvious nod and a wink, designed to make it easy for those who wanted a Windows 10 upgrade to still get it while placating the OEM partners who were none too happy about Microsoft's emphasis on upgrades rather than new PC sales during the original upgrade offer.I continue to hear from readers sharing their experiences. If you've used this technique on a PC, send a note to edbott (at) realworldwindows (dot) com and let me know how it went for you.Featured

Bluetti Elite 200 V2 portable power stationBluettiI think about portable power stations a lot these days. As I write this, my area is coming off a walloping snow storm, with the weather forecast calling for freezing rain or wet snow for the next two days, followed by a rapid plunge to sub-zero temperatures as a polar vortex settles in. Tough conditions for power lines, raising the specter of mass power outages like the one that took out electricity to over a million households last winter, or the 1998 ice storm that left over 4 million Canadians in the darksome losing power for weeks. A battery power station is a smart investment as insurance against outages. I just wrapped up testing on the latest model sent my way by Bluetti, the Elite 200 V2 Portable Power Station.This is a very capable power station with 2,073.6Wh capacity and 2,600W output, long-life LiFePO4 cells, fast-charging, advanced battery safety technology, plenty of outputs including four AC outlets, support for optional solar charging and it is more compact than many models with similar specs.Safety and LifespanLithium battery fires are a challenge to put out and that makes some people understandably nervous about storing and operating a high-capacity power station in their home. Bluetti tackles this concern head-on. The Elite 200 V2 is equipped with an AI-powered BMS (battery management system) that monitors battery performance in real time. It automatically adjusts fan speed and protects against overcurrent, over-voltage, and combustion.Bluetti takes battery safety and durability very seriouslyBluettiIn addition, the Elite 200 V2 uses automotive-grade LiFePO (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery cells. These are safer and more stable than Lithium-Ion batteries. They also last longer. While this power station represents an investment, it is one that will last, with the Elite 200 V2 rated to retain 80% of its original capacity after 6,000 charge cycles. Its expected to last for 17 years.MORE FOR YOUThe Bluetti Elite 200 has plenty of outputs and an LCD displayBrad MoonBluetti Elite 200 V2 Key Specs:2,073.6Wh capacityAutomotive-grade LiFePO (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries rated for 6,000 charge cycles to 80% original capacity2600W output, surge 3900WOutputs: 4 x 120V AC, 2 x 15W (5V/3A) USB-A, 2 x 100W USB-C, 1 x 12V/10A (car outlet)Inputs: AC, solar, 12V (car)TurboBoost fast charge to 80% in 1 hourSupports pass-though charging, 15ms UPS functionPure sine wave inverterAI-powered battery management system (BMS) including coolingOperating temperature -4F to 104FIntegrated LCD display screen and mobile app control via Wi-Fi and BluetoothWeighs 53.4 lbs, ABS case measures 13.8 9.8 12.7 inchesIncludes AC charge cable, solar charge cable, grounding screwMSRP $1,9995-year warrantyHands-On With the Elite 200 V2Running my MacBook Air media server off the Bluetti power stationBrad MoonAfter years of testing and experience with dozens of power stations, I know what to expect from something with this capacity and output when it comes to big tasks. The Bluetti AC200L (2048 Wh) I tested last year (review here) kept a full-sized fridge running for 24 straight hours. It can handle high-demand appliances like coffee makers, microwave ovens and even a portable heater. Expect to see similar numbers from the Elite 200 V2.This time, I decided to see how long the Elite 200 V2 could keep me working when the power went out or if I was camping at an unpowered site. I have an older, 13-inch MacBook Air equipped with an Intel i7 processor I use to host my iTunes media library. I mention the vintage because this is a more power-demanding machine than a MacBook equipped with one of Apples much more efficient M-series processors. The laptops battery is dead, so it is running purely off AC. Oh, and I have two external SSDs hanging off the laptop for additional storage, so it is powering those as well.A media library server isnt quite a direct comparison to a computer Im actively working on, but good enough.Over the course of several weeks, I repeatedly ran the MacBook Air and its drives off the Elite 200 V2, recharged the powerstation when it ran dead and repeated. The Bluetti Elite 200 V2 consistently kept the MBA and its drives running for almost exactly four days of 24/7 operation. If I was actually workingsay eight hours a day and with the display onI would easily get a solid week or more of use when plugged into this power station. With its TurboBoost fast charge, going from 0% to 100% took only about an hour and a half. During operation, it was silent, but the fan would kick in during charging, maxing out at around 54dB (about the same noise a refrigerator makes).With four AC outlets, dual USB-A, dual USB-C and a 12V car outlet, the Elite 200 V2 has the capability to power and/or charge up to nine devices simultaneously.TurboCharge means you won't spend much time recharging. Note, no power brick required.Brad MoonAnd it delivers this performance in a 53.4 pound package (equipped with dual handles for easy lifting) that, by my calculations, is 34% smaller and over 8lbs lighter than the Bluetti AC200L I tested last year. You dont get the ability to daisy chain external battery packs for extra capacity like the AC200L can do, but if youre looking at a standalone power station you wont care about that.Wi-Fi, Bluetooth support for mobile app control and monitoringBluettiRecommendationThe Elite 200 V2 is not inexpensive, but at time of writing, Bluetti had discounted its $1,999 MSRP to a very tempting $999. If your home is in an area where power outages are a possibility, or you could use portable power for camping or outdoor use, the Bluetti Elite 200 V2 is an excellent option. Especially if you want something for the long term that offers high capacity and high output without taking up a ton of space.Disclosure: Bluetti provided a power station for evaluation purposes but had no input into this review.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, on Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida.Evan VucciAPBy ASSOCIATED PRESSJanuary 18, 2025 1:59 PM ESTPresident-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he most likely would give TikTok 90 more days to work out a deal that would allow the popular video-sharing platform to avoid a U.S. ban.Trump said in an NBC News interview that he had not decided what to do but was considering granting TikTok a reprieve after he is sworn into office on Monday. A law that prohibits mobile app stores and internet hosting services from distributing TikTok to U.S. users takes effect on Sunday.Under the law passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year, TikToks China-based parent company had nine months to sell the platforms U.S. operation to an approved buyer. The law allows the sitting president to grant an extension if a sale is in progress.I think that would be, certainly, an option that we look at. The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because its appropriate. You know, its appropriate, Trump told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker in a phone interview. "We have to look at it carefully. Its a very big situation.If I decide to do that, Ill probably announce it on Monday, he said.Both White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco made clear Friday that the Biden administration would leave the laws implementation to Trump given that his inauguration falls the day after the ban takes effect.In a statement later Friday, TikTok asked for a definitive statement saying the Biden administration would not enforce the law or try to fine app store operators like Apple and Google and other U.S. companies if they don't stop making TikTok available Sunday.Without those assurances, TikTok said it will be forced to go dark. But the company did not provide details, including whether it would voluntarily shut down its U.S. platform at midnight or suspend its operations after losing access to service providers it relies on.The White House on Saturday called TikTok's statement a stunt.We see no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office on Monday," Jean-Pierre said. "We have laid out our position clearly and straightforwardly: actions to implement this law will fall to the next administration. So TikTok and other companies should take up any concerns with them.Neither Apple, Google or Oracle, which hosts TikTok's data on its servers, have responded to questions about what they plan to do on Sunday.More Must-Reads from TIMEL.A. Fires Show Reality of 1.5C of WarmingHome Losses From L.A. Fires Hasten An Uninsurable FutureThe Women Refusing to Participate in Trumps EconomyBad Bunny On Heartbreak and New AlbumHow to Dress Warmly for Cold WeatherWere Lucky to Have Been Alive in the Age of David LynchThe Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise HarderColumn: No One Won The War in GazaContact us at letters@time.com