close New tech can help save money on healthcare A new high-tech solution aims to help save money at the pharmacy with inflation remaining high. If your healthcare data hasn't been breached in 2024, then you either don't know it yet or should consider yourself very lucky.That's because 2024 was a nightmare year for healthcare institutions and patients in the U.S. A total of184,111,469 records were breached. That's 53% of the 2024 population of the United States.This staggering figure represents a significant increase from previous years, setting a new and alarming record in healthcare data breaches.The healthcare sector faced unprecedented challenges in cybersecurity, with attacks becoming more frequent, sophisticated and damaging than ever before. Illustration of a hacker at work stealing healthcare data (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Health check or data leak?Being admitted to a hospital is stressful enough. It caused additional stress for the100 million clients of Change Healthcare, whose data was exposed following a breach orchestrated by the BlackCat ransomware group. Not only did the breach expose sensitive health information, but it also caused widespread disruptions in claims processing. Patients and providers across the country faced chaos as the breach impacted their ability to access and pay for healthcare services.The second significant breach occurred at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, where the personal data of13.4 million individuals was compromised. This breach involved unauthorized access and the use of tracking technologies that transmitted user interactions to third parties. Illustration of healthcare data needing to be locked up (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Your health data gets breached, so what?Youll receive a notification letter, although be aware that it may take months before it reaches you (as was the case for victims of theAscension Health data breach). The consequences are real and can be very painful. Medical identity theft directly affects patients' health and safety. It happens when criminals use stolen personal health information to obtain medical services or medications under another persons name. It can result in incorrect medical records being created that can include inaccurate diagnoses, allergies or treatments.And as you may have guessed, it can also result in financial repercussions, such as patients getting fraudulent claims and bills for services they did not receive. Resolving these issues with insurers and healthcare providers takes time and mental strength. And youre probably not in a hurry to see your breached healthcare provider ever again. Thats normal. A study has shown thatup to 54% of patients consider switching providers after a data breach.WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? A doctor looking at healthcare data on a screen (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)When health data gets into the hands of data brokersSensitive health information can easily be combined with personal identifiers from data brokers, creating comprehensive profiles that criminals can exploit. As a reminder, data brokers are companies that specialize in collecting, processing and selling personal information from various sources, including public records, online activities and social media.They aggregate this data to create detailed consumer profiles that can be sold to marketers, insurance companies and other entities for various purposes. The more detailed the profile, the higher the chance of identity theft and potential discrimination in employment and insurance. Employers might make hiring decisions based on perceived health risks, while insurers could deny coverage or increase premiums.GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE A doctor and patient in a healthcare facility (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Wash your hands, remove your dataYou cant prevent a data breach, but you can minimize its consequences by reducing your digital footprint overall.1. Set your social media to private:Restrict access to your personal information and limit what strangers can see about your life and potentially your health status. Ensure your privacy settings are robust and regularly updated to prevent unauthorized data collection.2. Remove your personal data from data brokers databases: Either by searching for your name on people search sites and requesting removals, one by one, or by using a data removal service. Data removal services automate data removal for you and let you track where exactly your data has been found and whether it was removed, not only on people search sites, which are public data brokers, but also on hidden, private databases where you cant look yourself up (and these are the worst).Once your data is removed, data removal services monitor data brokers for your data and remove it again as needed (because it has a tendency to be re-listed after a while). This way, you prevent data broker companies from compiling a full profile on you and selling it to the first bidder, whether thats a hacker, a marketing agency or an insurance company.Check out my top picks for data removal services here.3. Delete all unused apps on your phone: Unused applications can be hidden gateways for data leakage and potential security vulnerabilities. Regularly audit andremove apps that you no longer use or need.4. Check the permissions of the ones you want to keep: Review each app'saccess to your personal data, location and device features to ensure you're not inadvertently sharing more information than necessary. Be particularly cautious with health and fitness tracking applications.5. Use a VPN (virtual private network) when browsing: Encrypt your online activities and mask your digital location to add an extra layer of anonymity and protection. A reliableVPN can help shield your personal information from potential interceptors and data miners.Kurt's key takeawaysThe reality of healthcare data breaches is daunting, but its not entirely out of your control. While you cant prevent breaches from happening, you can take steps to minimize the risks and protect your personal information. Think of it as adding locks to your digital doors: set your social media to private, use a VPN and clean up unused apps. Remember, the less information you leave out there, the harder it is for bad actors to exploit it. Stay vigilant and dont let your data become someone elses advantage.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPHow do you feel about the growing risks to your personal information, and what steps have you taken to protect your data? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

ra2 studio - stock.adobe.comNewsApple and Google app stores come under CMA scrutinyThe Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is looking at whether the Play Store and App Store support innovation and are pro-competitionByCliff Saran,Managing EditorPublished: 23 Jan 2025 15:52 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has begun an investigation of the Apple and Google mobile ecosystems.This is the second strategic market status (SMS) investigation that separately covers Apple and Google. Earlier in January, the CMA said it has started an investigation seeking to determine if Google has strategic market status in search and search advertising activities, and whether these services are delivering good outcomes for people and businesses in the UK.The CMA said that it is now looking at the two mobile tech giants because virtually all mobile devices sold in the UK are pre-installed with either Apple iOS or Google Android. Apples App Store and Google Play on Android devices have, the CMA said, either exclusive or leading positions on their platforms compared to alternative products and services.This means Apple and Google are also able to exert considerable influence over much of the content, services and technological development provided on a mobile device, the CMA said.The CMAs investigation is looking at whether there is effective competition to ensure consumers and businesses are treated fairly by Apple and Google in relation to the terms and conditions they impose.Computer Weekly previously spoke to a number of app developers who complained about the unfair pricing and technology restrictions Apple and Google imposed on them. With effective competition, the CMA said, businesses could deliver a range of content, services and technological developments to mobile device users.Among the areas the CMA plans to look into is whether Apple or Google are requiring app developers to sign up to unfair terms and conditions as a condition of distributing their apps on Apples and Googles app stores.Other areas covered by the investigation include Apples and Googles market power into other activities. The CMA said this will look at whether Apple or Google are using their position in operating systems, app distribution or browsers to favour their own apps and services, which often come pre-installed and prominently placed on iOS and Android devices. The CMA also plans to assess whether there is sufficient competition between the two rival mobile ecosystem providers.Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: More competitive mobile ecosystems could foster new innovations and new opportunities across a range of services that millions of people use, be they app stores, browsers or operating systems. Cardell believes the UK economy benefits if businesses are not prevented from offering new and innovative types of products and services on Apples and Googles platforms.Commenting on the CMAs latest investigations, Alex Haffner, a competition partner at Fladgate, noted that since the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Act 2024 was passed into legislation, the tech giants have fallen under the CMAs regulatory remit.What is more interesting is how this fits into the current sea change which is engulfing the broader organisation of the CMA and, in particular, the very clear steer it is getting from central government to ensure that regulation is consistently applied with its pro-growth agenda, he said.We can expect this to feature heavily once the CMA gets its teeth stuck into the specifics of the DMCC regime and its dealings with the tech companies involved.Read more stores about Apple and Google mobile ecosystemsCMA gets ready to take on Apple and Google over mobile browsing: Preliminary investigation finds a lack of fairness and choice of mobile browsing on iOS devices like the iPhone is holding back innovation.Google to appeal Play Store ruling: Googles ongoing fight with Epic Games is game-over, after a judge ruled in favour of the developer to open up access to Android apps.In The Current Issue:Can the UK government achieve its ambition to become an AI powerhouse?A guide to DORA complianceDownload Current IssueQdrant squares up for real-time AI apps with GPU-accelerated vector indexing Open Source InsiderData engineering - Pryon: Turning chaos into clarity CW Developer NetworkView All Blogs

BillionPhotos.com - stock.adobe.NewsNAO flags shortcomings in government preferential pricing deals with big tech suppliersShortcomings in the UK governments tech buying power have been highlighted in separate reports in recent days by the National Audit Office and The Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologyByCaroline Donnelly,Senior Editor, UKPublished: 23 Jan 2025 12:49 The governments multi-year, volume pricing discount deals with the likes of Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are under scrutiny by the National Audit Office (NAO), which claims the arrangements do not take full advantage of the public sectors collective buying power.The spending watchdog outlined its misgivings about the arrangements, which typically offer public sector IT buyers discounts on goods and services from a select group of suppliers, in a 55-page report into the UK governments approach to technology procurement.These arrangements are overseen by the governments procurement arm, the Crown Commercial Service (CCS), and there are currently 11 technology-focused memorandums of understanding (MoUs) listed on its website.The creation of these MoUs involves CCS using its national buying power to agree preferential pricing and discounts on products and services across the technology landscape, according to the CCS website.The agreements are also described on the CCS website as being an important part of the work we do with our suppliers to make sure [public sector buyers] get the very best prices.However, in the NAOs view, there is insufficient information available about the benefits generated by these MoUs, which puts the government at a disadvantage when negotiating terms with big tech suppliers.Governmenthasnegotiated memoranda of understanding with individual suppliers to be treated as a single customer for the purposes of volume discounts, which it regards as a strategic approach to relationship management, said the NAO in the Governments approach to technology suppliers: Addressing the challenges report.But there is insufficient information about the pipeline of demand from departments for digital services; no evaluation to compare it against suppliers appetite; and, under the current system, very little information on supplierperformance is available to inform decisions about future sourcing and contract awards.As a result, the NAO said the UK government lacks the data needed to properly gauge future demand for the services these suppliers provide.[This data] is needed to credibly inform decisions to take full advantage of governments buying power when negotiating with largetechnologysuppliers, the report stated.The NAO said there are also broader issues with regard to how government spending with tech suppliers is recorded, with the organisation raising concerns about knowledge gaps and inconsistencies in how spending data is tracked. Government does not know ... how much is spent on digital change programmes or with major digital suppliers [which] makes it difficult for government to make informed decisions and fully use its buying power National Audit Office reportSpecifically, it said there are issues with how government organisations capture, hold and provide tech spending data.Government does not know the overall picture for how much is spent on digital change programmes, or with major digital suppliers this makes it difficult for government to make informed decisions and fully use its buying power, the report continued.Available estimates from third parties suggest that government spends at least 14bn annually on digital procurement, but this is likely to be incomplete, and government has not provided a more reliable figure.The report also flagged an instance where CCS appeared to have lost track of when its MoU with major government supplier Microsoft was due to expire, which required it to call in reinforcements from elsewhere in government to help it negotiate terms.Specifically, the report stated that the now defunct Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) was brought in to assist with renegotiating a renewal of CCSs three-year, cloud-focused Digital Transformation Agreement 2021 (DTA21).The three-year agreement which the Crown Commercial Service negotiated was largely a pricing agreement for aggregated demand discounts [but] CCS and Microsoft had not agreed renewal terms by the time of its original expiry at the end of April 2024, the report stated.The Government Commercial Function and CCS agreed to involve CDDO in a reset of the negotiations, [and a] short extension was agreed on current terms.Computer Weekly contacted CCS for a response to the NAOs findings, but no response was forthcoming by the time of publication.Shortcomings in the public sectors ability to harness its buying power have also been flagged in recent days within the pages of the State of digital government review, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 21 January 2025.The document stated that the public sector does not realise the value of its buying power because it has no cohesive digital sourcing strategy and a fragmented approach to tech purchases because it lacks a collective buying drive.To reinforce this point, the report cited the fact that each of the NHSs 209 secondary care entities buy their own infrastructure, and more than 320 local councils also negotiate their own purchasing agreements.Commercial teams often have insufficient category expertise to drive optimal terms, and digital teams commonly lack the capability to properly manage vendors, the review added.Work by the Crown Commercial Service, the Government Commercial Function and Central Digital and Data Office has created common frameworks and constructs which consolidate the buying power of central government, but these are not mandatory or universally adopted.Read more about government tech procurementProcurement, legacy systems, data fragmentation and the changing IT market are among the issues highlighted in a review of digital services.Legacy IT and the use of tech contractors is costing taxpayers billions. The government aims to fix the public sector with AI and new digital services.In The Current Issue:Can the UK government achieve its ambition to become an AI powerhouse?A guide to DORA complianceDownload Current IssueData engineering - Pryon: Turning chaos into clarity CW Developer NetworkData engineering - Alteryx: Investing for scale with an eye on value CW Developer NetworkView All Blogs

ZDNETWhether you're running a business or managing a project, data organization is a must. There are plenty of apps and websites available to help you stay organized, but nothing beats the tried-and-trueMicrosoft Excel.It can be a useful tool in anyone's arsenal -- even someone looking to map out their household finances or family schedules. Whatever reason you have for using Excel, drop-down lists are one of the many useful features you can and should use if you're looking for ways to speed up data entry.This guide will show you how to quickly create drop-down lists in Excel. These lists let you choose from preset options instead of typing everything out in every cell. This not only simplifies data entry but also helps reduce mistakes and maintain consistency across your sheet or workbook.How to easily add drop-down lists in ExcelWhat you'll need: A Microsoft Office subscription is required to access Excel, whether it's on the web or via the desktop suite. I'm using Excel on a desktop for this guide. Go to Microsoft's support hubif you find any differences when using the web version. Alternative software like Google Sheets has similar drop-down list functions, but the processes for adding them will likely differ. 1. Select the cells where the drop-down lists are needed This guide uses an example spreadsheet with a list of clients in column A on the left and their Communication Preferences in column B on the right. You'll need to select cells in column B. We're adding drop-down lists to the Communication Preferences column, so you can specify whether each client prefers to be contacted by email, phone call, or text message. Show more Selected cells to add to drop down list. Maria Diaz/ZDNET 2. Select Data Validation in the menu Go to Data in the menu bar and select Data Validation or Validation, depending on whether you're using Excel on Windows, Mac, or the web. After clicking on Data Validation, a Data Validation popup will appear. Show more Go to Data and select Data Validation. Maria Diaz/ZDNET 3. Select List as your validation criteria In the Settings tab of the Data Validation popup, locate the drop-down menu under Allow and select List from the validation criteria options. Show more Under Allow, select List. Maria Diaz/ZDNET 4. Enter the values for your drop-down list After selecting List from the options, you'll see a Source field appear. Enter the values or items you want for your drop-down list here -- each separated only by a comma with no spaces in between.For example, I used "Call,Email,Text,NS". This will add Call, Email, Text, or NS to the drop-down list options in Column B, to represent each client's communication preferences (with "NS" meaning "not specified"). Show more Enter data for the drop-down list. Maria Diaz/ZDNET 5. Click "OK" to create your drop-down list When you click OK in the Data Validation pop-up to save your changes, your drop-down lists will be inserted into your Excel spreadsheet and ready to use immediately. Now, whenever you click on a cell, a drop-down arrow will appear next to it. Click on that arrow to see the drop-down list and all your options to choose from. When you pick a value or item from the list, it will automatically fill the cell. Show more A drop-down list Maria Diaz/ZDNETFAQs Show more Can you edit a drop-down list after creating it?Yes, you can edit a drop-down list by selecting the cells with the list, going to Data > Data Validation, and updating the values in the Source field.Is there a limit to the number of items in a drop-down list?Excel does not have a strict limit for drop-down items (it's over 30,000), but large lists can make navigating and using your sheet difficult. Consider breaking up long lists into smaller, more categorized drop-downs for better usability.How do you create a yes/no drop-down in Excel?Creating a yes/no drop-down in Excel uses the process we followed for the example above. Just change what you put in the Source field to say "Yes,No". Here are the exact steps to follow:Select the cells that you want to contain the drop-down lists.Click on Data > Data Validation or Validation from the menu bar.In the Settings tab of the Data Validation pop-up window, select List under Allow for your validation criteria.Insert "Yes,No" in the Source field on the pop-up, separated by a comma only and no spaces.Click OK in the Data Validation pop-up to save your yes/no drop-down list.Can you add colors to drop-down options?Yes. You can use Conditional Formatting to apply colors to cells. Here are the steps to follow:Create your drop-down list using Data Validation.Select the cells containing the drop-down list.Open Conditional Formatting by going to Home, then Conditional Formatting, and selecting New Rule.Set a rule for a value by choosing "Format only cells that contain," entering a value, and assigning a color through Format and Fill.Repeat the process for other drop-down options.Click OK to save and apply the color-coding.Do you need a formula to create drop-down lists?No. A formula is not needed to create drop-down lists in Excel. All you need to do is data validation.Is a drop-down list the same as data filtering?Although they are often mistaken, Data Filtering is different from drop-down lists. Data filtering is added to the headers of each column, so you can filter the visible data by category -- for example, filter the data in a column by month, name, place, and more. A drop-down list lets you select an item to fill the cell with.Featured

ZDNET's key takeaways JMGO's N1S Ultimate 4K projector is available now for $2,099 at Amazon.It features astounding color and brightness, and is particularly portable.The case won't win any durability awards, and it needs a soundbar to really sound cinematic. more buying choices Last September, laser TV manufacturer JMGO released its 2024 flagship model, theN1S Ultimate 4K -- the third in the N1 series. It comes with several upgrades from previous models, which you'll notice as a discerning viewer of video quality.Initially retailing for $2,799, you can currently find it onAmazonandJMGO's sitefor $2,099. If you're considering a new purchase for your home theater, how does the N1S Ultimate stack up to TVs in the same price range?Also:This Samsung projector is secretly the best gaming console you can buyI don't mean to compare apples and guavas here; projectors and TVs are in wholly different metaphorical bushels (although inching closer together). If you want to go big, though, you can find exceptional quality in the N1S while massively magnifying your screen size -- if you have room for it in your home. details View at Target Assuming you're ready to make a purchase now, what can $2,100 get you? The top two TVs that come to mind are both 75-inch screens made by tech giants in a different league: the Samsung QN90D and the Sony Bravia 7 Mini LED. Both these TVs have amazing displays and, by nature, their picture quality has an intrinsic advantage over most projectors. The thing is, the N1S Ultimate can blow up its projection to a staggering 180 inches, and still look incredible.JMGO N1S Ultimate tech specsTechnologyDLP (0.47" DMD) w XPRDisplayed Resolution3840 x 2160Brightness3,500 ANSI lumens (2,600 peak lumens)Light SourceRGB triple laserContrast1,600:1Zoom Lens RatioFixedLens ShiftNoLamp Life30,000 HrsSound System10w x2 stereoHDRHDR10, HLGSuperb sharpness, brightness, and color(!) Chris Bayer/ZDNETWith 3,500 ANSI lumens, the N1S maintains its brightness without compromising its 1600:1 FOFO contrast ratio and 110% BT.2020 gamut coverage. I saw this first-hand, noting its vivid coloration and detail while testing on UHD footage of birds, coral reefs, and big jungle cats. With 4K content, individual feathers, scales, and hairs were discernible even from 14 feet away with a 150-inch projection.The brightness intensity of the N1S adjusts automatically based on the lighting in its environment, but as with many projectors, you'll get the best results when running it in a dim room. During my testing in the dedicated viewing area of our lab, I modulated the rheostat of our ambient ceiling LEDs to see how truly ambient light affected the N1S's picture. As it turns out, it didn't affect it much at all.In that low-light environment, dark scenes featured deep blacks and detailed shadows -- not equivalent to that of an OLED screen of course, but convincing enough. Simply shutting the door to the testing room so no exterior light could creep in made a notable difference in whether the projection's full border was crisp and visible.The N1S Ultimate employs a 0.47-inch digital micromirror device (DMD) chip with extended pixel resolution (XPR) technology to upscale 1080p resolution to 2160p, translating to a beautiful picture even when watching the 1998 throwback "Rush Hour". The only place I noticed fuzziness or halo was around text (especially white text), such as on the menu screens. The N1S Ultimate is equipped with high-resolution CMOS cameras and intelligent features like Smart Object Avoidance and Smart Eye Protection that helps prevent being blinded by walking in front of the lens. It also offers Lossless Zoom and a Smart Wall Color Adaptation feature, which could prove highly useful in established viewing areas, like a basement or living room.No focus and keystone adjustment required Out of the box, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the N1S automatically adjusted its focus and keystone. With multiple time-of-flight (ToF) sensors running on the JMGO-developed Microstructure Adaptive Laser Control (MALC 2.0, in this case) and triple-color laser optics, I've never seen a more instantly appreciable picture quality from a projector.Loading times were speedy with the N1S being powered by a MediaTek MT9629 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. Those advanced ToF sensors, by the way, also allow for viewing Blue-Ray 3D videos. JMGO even has abundle optionavailable that includes a set of rechargeable "Active 3D" shutter glasses.Also:This small 4K projector is worthy of replacing your TV - and gets plenty bright for its sizeNo matter where I placed it within its prescribed range (about 5 to 16 feet) and regardless of its lateral position in relation to the screen wall, the N1S immediately produced a perfect 16:9 frame that assumed the dimensions of its available throw space.There was no visible skew to the image frame, and no futzing around with settings to get a good picture. Being able to simply point and swivel a projector to get this result is partly what puts the N1S in its premium price range. Just note that the N1S Ultimate is not a UST projector. You'll need at least five feet between the unit and your screen or wall, but you can push it as far back as almost 16 feet for a 180-inch screen throw.Set up, portability, and form factorThe N1S is dense but extremely portable, and quite the looker. I don't hesitate to name it the prettiest projector I've reviewed. I like its two-tone dark grey aesthetic and sleek, elegant, simple design. It blends in just fine with any modern dcor. Its out-of-the-box gimbal construction makes it a breeze to set up and swiftly find your best angle.The base hinge on the JMGO N1S Ultimate can swivel vertically 135 degrees and it has a turntable at the bottom for horizontal orientation should you affix it to a stand. However, no affixing is required: any tabletop will do, as I found out. If you're inclined to aim the lens at the ceiling, this worked fine in my testing; but if your ceiling has a popcorn or comb texture, you might get different results.Audio is good, but a soundbar would make it better The N1S carrying case is bulky, but quite cool. Chris Bayer/ZDNETStreaming content up to Wi-Fi 6 during testing, I watched shows on YouTube, Prime Video, and Netflix (which are built-in options on the remote). Linking the N1S to Google TV, I should mention, makes for speedy access to an array of apps. And if you happen to misplace your remote, JMGO offers the complementary app for use on both Android and iOS.As mentioned above, the visuals on the N1S Ultimate were impressive when cast up to 150 inches. Colors are rich, lumens are bright, and contrast is impressive, especially in a dark room. As for sound quality, though, I found its two 10-watt speakers with Dolby Audio and DTS to be adequate but not ideal for the price point. Volume isn't a problem so much as clarity.Also:I changed these 3 settings on my projector for the best picture qualityThemuch cheaperYaber T2 Plus, for example, retained a pronounced clarity at high volume, whereas the N1S yielded some distortion. I might call the sound "borderline uncomfortable" when cranked up -- a bit spacey and smothered -- although it isloud. Without doubt, the addition of an external speaker or soundbar would do it great justice.That's an easy fix because on the backside of the N1S Ultimate you'll find an HDMI 2.1 eARC port for that purpose. That's in addition to another HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm jack, covering (most of) your peripheral and gaming needs.ZDNET's buying adviceGrowing up with parents who reminded me that money doesn't grow on trees, I'm always concerned about the return on investment (ROI) for any product -- especially one that I recommend to others.The JMGO N1S Ultimate istotallyworth the price if you're able to take full advantage of your wall space/screening area. Its triple-laser projection is on time with spectacular detail, exquisite color, and exceptional brightness. Take advantage of the price reduction while you can.Featured reviews

The World Has 8 Critical Maritime ChokepointsUNCTDMaritime transport is the main artery of global trade. The intricate networks of shipping routes, ports, and inland terminals have strengthened the interconnectedness of the world economy, and maritime shipping is the critical mode of global transport. The 2024 report, The Review of Maritime Transport, prepared by UN Trade and Development, highlighted several significant trends that will continue to be relevant in 2025. However, the subtitle of the report was navigating maritime chokepoints and the topic of chokepoints and supply chain resilience was among the main focuses of the report.Chokepoint Vulnerabilities and Rising Freight RatesMaritime transport has chokepoints. The Suez Canal and the Panama Canal are critical, narrow maritime passages that provide shortcuts on lengthy intercontinental maritime journeys. Yet these chokepoints are vulnerable to disruptions. These disruptions can be weather-related - like the 2023 drought that lowered water levels in the Panama Canal; reflective of geopolitical conflict like the challenges faced in the Black Sea since the war in Ukraine began or the Houthi rocket attacks and ship seizures in the Red Sea that have led to carriers avoiding the Suez Canal; or operational - like the blockage of the Suez Canal caused by a very large container ship, the Ever Given, that ran aground in the Canal.While the drought in Panama has ended and shipping is rebounding, the Suez Canel, where traffic has been cut in half, remains an issue. Yemen's Houthi rebels said on January 20th that they will now limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to only Israeli-affiliated ships after a ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip. They warned, however, that broader assaults could resume if needed. The Houthis announcement likely won't be enough to encourage a marked increase in shipping on this route because carriers are risk averse.Avoiding these critical chokepoints leads to higher costs because of longer journeys. The average voyage was estimated to be 4,675 miles in 2000 versus 5,186 miles in 2024. The Suez Canal, for example, is crucial for energy and cargo shipments moving between Asia and Europe. Avoiding this Canal means going around the Cape of Good Hope. Avoiding the Suez makes the trips 25% longer and adds 10 to 12 days to the journeys. For shippers and carriers willing to brave the Suez, higher insurance costs are the result.Longer voyages also lead to higher inventory-carrying costs, can lead to increased use of more costly modes of transportation, and can increase demurrage. Demurrage tends to increase because of a ripple effect from rerouting global trade. Ships end up using alternative ports that have not been designed to handle the amount of traffic they are now getting.MORE FOR YOUUNCTD Urges Steps to Increase Global ResilienceThe report points out that the pandemic served as a wakeup call illustrating the risks of relying heavily on extended supply chains and distant manufacturing, particularly from Asia, to fulfill consumer demands in North America and Europe. Geopolitical tension has reinforced this perception.UNCTD believes greater investments in infrastructure and labor are necessary. These include:Expanding and combining modes of transport -using air, rail, and land - to reduce dependence on chokepoints. An example of this would be building or expanding inland ports. EEnhancing infrastructure facilities - including port capacity, storage facilities, pipelines and bunkering facilities - to reduce congestion and increase buffers.Using digital technologies, like the Automated System for Customs Data, to speed customs clearance.But UNCTD also points to actions that carriers can take to improve their own resilience. The report makes a good point when it points out that running too lean having too few railway workers, dockworkers, truckers, and seafarers - exacerbates supply chain disruptions during critical times. But, getting privately owned companies to add employees will be a challenge.Shippers can increase resilience by making sure they have multiple suppliers for critical components located in different regions, using real-time supply chain visibility and risk detection solutions, using supply chain network design tools to simulate disruptions and the best ways to respond to different types of disruptions, and through enhanced collaboration between, shippers, 3PLs and carriers and even ports.Final ThoughtsThere are a few key supply chain reports that supply chain executives really should read every year. One is the State of Logistics Report. CSCMP puts this out. 2024 represents the 35th year of publication. Another key report is the Annual Third-Party Logistics Study. The 2024 study is the 29th edition. But logistics executives with global shipping responsibilities should add The Review of Maritime Transport to the list of annual must reads.

Cyberpunk 2077CDPRThree years later, we are still not done with Cyberpunk 2077, both in terms of patches but also how its being received by gamers. Its quite an epic saga, if youve been following along.Today, theres a new patch out, 2.21, which joins the 2.2 patch that added mainly a lot of cosmetic options to the game from cars to your character to a big expansion of photo mode.The patch today is mainly about fixes, some of which for 2.2 items. There are a long list of them you can find here, and lord knows in a game this big you could keep finding bugs and issues until the end of time. Which is what CDPR seems like they want to do.The main thing being added is something on the technical side, which is DLSS 4 with multi frame generation for the new GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards. That involves FPS boosted with AI which can generate three times per traditionally rendered frame, according to CDPR. That will be available on January 30. DLSS 4 also results in reduced memory usage for frame generation. Also, you can choose between the CNN model or Transformer model for DLSS Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution and DLAA on all GeForce GTX cards as of today. I absolutely know what all of that means. Likely that the best-looking video game on the market now has the capability to look even better.Cyberpunk 2077CDPRBut the other story here is that CDPR is celebrating a big milestone for Cyberpunk 2077, where after three years, its recent stack of reviews has now hit Overwhelmingly Positive, the highest classification you can get on Steam. Looking at the figures, that is 95% of the last 12,698 reviews. Overall, the game stands at Very Positive with 715,558 reviews in, lowered of course by the initial, very bad launch that took years to fully fix. Its at 84% positive there, so getting to Overwhelmingly Positive just may not be able to ever happen due to math. Though I think Cyberpunk 2077 will live a very long life in its current form. I have not been shy in saying it has become my favorite game of all time, and I do not make that declaration lightly.MORE FOR YOUCDPR has said they are done with new patches for Cyberpunk 2077 as they move on to The Witcher 4 and the Cyberpunk Orion sequel. They have lied about this before, as the 2.2 patch was not supposed to happen, but it arrived anyway as they cannot seem to resist adding new things to the game, however minor. Well see if well get a 2.3 in a few more months. I would not put it past them.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.

What just happened? Donald Trump has announced that tech titans OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank are joining forces on a colossal $500 billion initiative dubbed "Project Stargate." According to the US president, the goal is to secure AI compute in the country and gain an edge against China, which has been rapidly advancing its own AI ambitions. At a White House press conference, Trump was flanked by the companies' top brass as he hyped up Stargate by proclaiming that it will cement the future of technology in the US while creating over 100,000 new jobs.The project's plan is for OpenAI, Oracle, and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank to plow an initial $100 billion into data center infrastructure across the country. This will balloon to a mind-boggling total investment of half a trillion dollars over the next four years. Big names like Arm, Microsoft, and Nvidia are also listed as technology partners.Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said at the conference that it's already begun building 10 data centers measuring half a million square feet each in Texas. But details are still hazy on where the next facilities will pop up.Ellison added that the project will include the construction of the largest computer ever built. This could be used to invent cancer vaccines and help prevent Covid-19-like pandemics.Not everyone seems enthusiastic about the announcement, though. Pushing back against the Stargate hype is none other than Elon Musk, who fired shots at the funding claims. // Related Stories"They don't actually have the money," Musk argued on X, saying SoftBank has under $10 billion truly locked in based on his intel.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly clapped back under the same post, taunting Musk to "come visit the first site" and accusing him of putting his own companies' interests over those of the US. The two tech billionaires have been engaged in an increasingly bitter legal battle over OpenAI, which Musk was an early investor in before exiting.However, serious questions remain around AI's impact on jobs, safety risks, and more. Trump has already axed some of the Biden-era guardrails around AI and experts are warning that a lack of regulation could have major consequences as capabilities rapidly advance.There's been some buzz that the Stargate project is OpenAI's attempt to reduce its reliance on Microsoft by investing in dedicated AI infrastructure. But in its blog post, OpenAI appears to shut down that speculation, mentioning that the initiative actually builds on their existing partnership.The company says that it will "continue to increase its consumption of Azure as OpenAI continues its work with Microsoft with this additional compute to train leading models and deliver great products and services."

What just happened? The world's fastest supercomputer has gone online at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. Called "El Capitan," the machine was unveiled earlier this month after around eight years of research and development. It will be used to secure the US nuclear stockpile and for classified research. El Capitan can reach a peak performance of 2.746 exaFLOPS, making it the National Nuclear Security Administration's first exascale supercomputer. It's the world's third exascale machine after the Frontier supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the Aurora supercomputer at the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, also in Illinois.The world's fastest supercomputer is powered by more than 11 million CPU and GPU cores integrated into 43,000+ AMD Instinct MI300A accelerators. Each MI300A APU comprises an EPYC Genoa 24-core CPU clocked at 1.8GHz and a CDNA3 GPU integrated onto a single organic package, along with 128GB of HBM3 memory.According to Pythagoras Watson, the team lead of the advanced technology system at LLNL, the system's peak performance is 2.79 quintillion calculations per second. As a measure of how astronomically large that number is, Watson explained to CBS News that if you went back in time 2.79 quintillion seconds, you'd arrive more than 70 billion years before the Big Bang.Built at a cost of around $600 million, the world's newest supercomputer was primarily designed to safeguard and secure the US nuclear arsenal, but it will also perform other classified tasks related to national security, including AI and machine learning workloads. It will also solve problems in materials science and physics.El Capitan was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of its CORAL-2 program to replace the Sierra supercomputer, which was deployed in 2018. While Sierra is still in service, El Capitan far exceeds its speed and efficacy with 18 times faster performance. As pointed out by Live Science, Sierra is still operational, and was recently ranked as the 14th most-powerful supercomputer globally. // Related StoriesEl Capitan, which shares its name with the famous granite rock formation at Yosemite National Park, became fully operational last year, achieving a score of 1.742 exaFLOPS in the High-Performance Linpack (HPL) benchmark, which is used globally to judge supercomputing speeds. According to the LLNL, it would take a million smartphones working on a single calculation at the same time to match what El Capitan can do in one second.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Table of ContentsTable of ContentsTCL QM6K: The Reliable Crowd-PleaserTCL QM7K: The Overachieving Big BrotherPanasonic Z95B: The Prodigal Comeback KidLG G5: The Coy ProdigySamsung S95F: The Stubborn TrailblazerHisense 116 UX: The Mysterious Wild CardHisense U7: The No-Show That Steals the SpotlightSansui VO series OLEDs: The HustlerSony: The Mysterious Significant OtherNow that Im back at home and Ive washed the Vegas off of me and out of my clothes, Im looking back on the absolute nut-fest that was CES. It was somewhat like a big family reunion.There is the family of journalists running around trying to scoop each other, skipping dinner and fun parties to type frantically late into the night; the family of YouTubers armed with cameras and caffeine and, ultimately, cocktails; and the family of brand reps weve come to know over the years whose feet definitely hurt as much as everyone elses, but you wont hear them complaining about it.Some of them are like long-lost cousins. Others are like that uncle whos always trying to sell you something.RelatedThe most exciting TVs and more from CES 2024The TVs themselves feel like their own quirky maybe even dysfunctional family, with each one having a personality, a particular role, and a story to tell. This years lineup is a reunion for the ages, with big personalities, bold innovations, and, as always, a bit of drama.Lets meet the cast of characters that will be lighting up living rooms this year: the most exciting TVs of 2025.John Higgins / Digital TrendsFirst up at the reunion is The Reliable Crowd-Pleaser the family member who gets along with everyone, shows up at every event, and somehow manages to bring a casserole that everyone loves. Thats the TCL QM6K.TCL told me the QM6K uses their new QD-Mini LED tech, which involves, according to them, a Super High Energy LED Chip to deliver 53% more brightness. And their Condensed Micro Lens design is meant to keep blooming under control. Add in up to 500 local dimming zones and a 23-bit backlight controller, which is supposed to deliver up to 65,000 different levels of brightness gradation, and youve got a TV that reads like the most over-achieving budget pleaser weve seen to date.TCL also claims the QM6K will cover 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and gamers get a 144Hz native refresh rate with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. TCL has partnered with Onkyo for audio, and the TV has an Onkyo-branded 2.1-channel speaker system with Dolby Atmos after all, no good family casserole is complete without the right seasoning.Sizes range from 50 to 98 inches and pricing starts at $749.99. Its pretty clear this TV maxes out TCLs efforts to reliably deliver more for less.John Higgins / Digital TrendsNext, weve got The Overachieving Big Brother the one who always has to one-up their younger sibling but still keeps things grounded enough to avoid annoying the whole family. Thats the TCL QM7K.TCL takes everything great about the QM6K and dials it up. Available in screen sizes up to a massive 115 inches the 115 is down in TCLs 7-series now this TV is for those who want a home theater experience without shelling out flagship dollars. TCL says its using the same QD-Mini LED tech as the QM6K, but with even more local dimming zones for more refined backlighting and contrast.Again, its everything great about the QM6K, but bigger, bolder, and brighter. So it definitely earns the The Overachieving Big Brother title. Thats why I had to hand this TV an award at the show: I think its poised to deliver enthusiasts everything they want at a price that makes it achievable over-achievable, even.Digital TrendsNext is The Prodigal Comeback Kid the family member who disappeared for years to find themselves and now shows up at the reunion looking better than ever and with stories that put everyone else to shame. Thats the Panasonic Z95B.I am fairly certain this TV uses LG Displays latest-gen WRGB OLED panel with four emissive layers, allowing it to reach brightness levels that rival mini-LED TVs up to 3,700 nits peak in HDR highlights. The side-by-side demos with last years Z95A suggested the brightness improvements in real-world content were significant. This means that the Z95B is going to stand toe-to-toe with the other top-tier OLEDs on this list.Heres the kicker about Panasonics announcement at CES. While LG remained curiously quiet on details about the new panel in their G5 OLED, Panasonic came out and said, Here it is, yall! spilling the tech tea all over the place. When they made the announcement and showed a slide with the four-layer OLED panel, I did a Tiger-Woods-level fist pump. I was that stoked.The Z95B combines beyond-MLA brightness with Panasonics color accuracy and processing, creating a TV that feels like its gunning for awards, not just praise. (I gave it an award because they did what LG wouldnt.)After years away from the US market, the Z95B is here to prove Panasonic has still got what it takes thats why its The Prodigal Comeback Kid.John Higgins / Digital TrendsLets talk about The Coy Prodigy you know exactly who Im talking about. This is the family member whos clearly the star but plays it cool, leaving everyone guessing. Thats the LG G5.LG hasnt confirmed all the details, but its obvious this TV is packing the next-gen OLED tech that Panasonic confirmed it was using. LG has some processing-based brightness boosting that could give the G5 an edge, if only a slight one, over the Z95B. Also, LGs processing netted it some big awards last year, and since it uses the same processor, presumably tweaked for the new panel, LG could be poised to have the best TV of the year again, according to some experts.Part of the Gallery Series, the G5 is designed to be mounted on the wall and includes a no-gap wall mount for all sizes. LG is not including a table stand for some of its smaller models, a decision they say that was based on customer preferences.With everything LG is throwing into this model, it is well poised to dominate the competition. For sure, it effortlessly lives up to its title as The Coy Prodigy.John Higgins / Digital TrendsNext is The Stubborn Trailblazer that family member whos brilliant and successful, and always insists they know best, even when everyone else disagrees. Thats the Samsung S95F QD-OLED.Samsung has doubled down on its anti-glare and anti-reflection tech theyve tossed it into their flagship QLED TV lineup even as enthusiasts have been screaming for a more traditional glossy finish. Samsung says their anti-glare stuff is the best choice for bright rooms and daytime viewing, and I tend to agree with them.Im confident the S95F uses Samsung Displays Gen 4 QD-OLED panel, which improved the blue OLED efficiency enough that the TV could end up peaking at about 4,000 nits for HDR highlights and could do over 400 nits full screen. That means SDR content would look amazing in a bright room.Heres my position on the anti-glare technology. Some have accused me of loving it (to the degree of fan-boy status) but thats not the case. I see it as a smart business decision. Theres this notion that only TV enthusiasts buy TVs like the S95F and thats also not the case. Samsung is reaching a much bigger audience with this approach and is likely to make more money from it if negative talk from enthusiasts doesnt sour the minds of non-enthusiasts who research this TV.However, seeing this as a smart business move doesnt mean Im fan-boying all over it. The TV has its place, and it could be my top choice for a super-bright room if I watched primarily during the day a non-enthusiasts use-case. Otherwise, it would not be my top choice.I understand enthusiasts who are upset that they cant have Samsungs best QD-OLED performance without having to accept the anti-glare they dont want. I can also understand folks feeling unseen by Samsung, who must know its not what a lot of enthusiasts want. So the fact that they didnt just continue the anti-glare but doubled down on it? That might feel downright insulting.It definitely earns this TV the The Stubborn Trailblazer moniker.Digital TrendsNow we come to The Mysterious Wild Card. This is the family member who shows up looking like theyve got it all figured out. However, is it genius or just bold ambition hubris, even? Thats the Hisense 116 UX.The 116 UX uses a new mini-LED backlight technology Hisense calls Tri-Chroma mini-LED, which just means three-color. Its essentially red, green, and blue mini-LEDs stacked together behind a lens so that the backlight itself can provide white light or color. Whats crazy about this: The backlight now has to coordinate with the color filter and its hard to imagine how that works correctly. It requires a ton of processing horsepower. Hisense says theyve got it, but do they?The technology of this TV is really exciting, and I have high hopes for it. However, I also have a ton of questions. How is color distortion not going to be a problem? As a matter of fact, this TVs technology may make measurements useless because the way it produces color slides from a pattern generator will be vastly different from how it produces color for real content.Also, this did not leap right out at me when I saw the TV in person. In our video footage, which was shot off-angle which can expose backlighting effects already in a dark space, and with the TV so insanely bright that we had to stomp down on the camera exposure, there appeared to be colored blooming or halo effect. I have to wonder: How visible will that be in real content (not demo footage) when the processor is also doing upscaling and image cleanup?Never before have I been so simultaneously excited and skeptical. On paper, its exciting, but in real life, will it deliver? For now, well call it The Mysterious Wild Card.Then theres The No-Show That Steals the Spotlight the family member who skips the reunion but still manages to have everyone talking about them because the rumors are flying. Thats the Hisense U7.While we didnt see it at CES, the Hisense U7s legacy suggests it will offer stellar performance with features like intense brightness, aggressive local dimming, and insane refresh rates all at mid-range prices. It will be taking on the TCL QM7K. While Hisense didnt talk about it, I can use historical precedent to make a prediction: I know it is coming and Im confident in what it will do. That puts it firmly into The No-Show That Steals the Spotlight role.Chris Hagan / Digital TrendsNext, there is The Hustler that family member whos always scheming, with plans that sound way too ambitious to ever work, and yet, somehow, they always pull it off. Thats Sansuis OLED lineup.Sansui blasted into the US late last year with a 55-inch OLED TV running Google TV, which dropped as low as $600 during the holidays. In 2025, Sansui is coming in hot with 65- and 77-inch OLED options that, frankly, I think are going to be the OLED TVs for everyone.Sansui is being somewhat ruthless, shooting to seriously undercut the competition. That approach, we know, tends to pry open wallets in the US.The brand is not a known quantity yet, but if these TVs pick up good reviews and I think they will because they are OLEDs and look awesome by default Sansui might just pull off the biggest upset in US TV history.The fact that they are even trying shows they are definitely The Hustler in this TV family.Finally, we come to The Mysterious Significant Other the one everyone in the family keeps hearing about, but hasnt actually met. Thats Sony this year.They didnt show up at CES, but we know theyre coming with something big. It could be another QD-OLED, or that new panel from LG Display. Perhaps they somehow made their new mini-LED backlighting tech even more stellar than it was last year?The details are scarce, but based on Sonys track record, theres every reason to believe that one of their TVs could end up being the best of the year. I have a feeling well learn more sometime between March and May.Im really curious how they will pull off the naming convention. Are they gonna stick with Bravia 7, Bravia 8, and Bravia 9, relying on the new model year to distinguish them? They will have different model numbers, but will the common names stay the same?Many enthusiasts have had fun passing around a supposedly leaked Chinese registration document, saying that it may suggest Sony is abandoning QD-OLED entirely. However, as a journalist, Im not gonna take something as gospel if I cant verify its provenance. Plus, thats for China, not the US market, or even UK and Europe. We dont have nearly enough information to know if that spells out their strategy. Sony also has a way of surprising us. They definitely did last year.Until then, well just keep wondering about Sony, the mysterious significant other. There is likely something cool coming, but we dont really know any of the details and well believe it when we see it.Editors RecommendationsLG Display confirms what Panasonic told us at CES new four-layer OLED is here