Gajus - stock.adobe.comNewsOxford-Cambridge Arc gets government supportLabour aims to capitalise on the growth potential of the cluster of businesses and academic institutes around Oxford, Cambridge and Milton KeynesByCliff Saran,Managing EditorPublished: 27 Jan 2025 15:00 Secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Peter Kyle has confirmed the governments commitment to supporting the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, a region that is home to numerous high-tech firms and university-driven tech initiatives.Speaking at a meeting of industry chiefs, he said: The Oxford-Cambridge Arc is already an engine of prosperity, and a shining example of how universities, investors and innovative businesses can work together to drive growth, when they create and seize the opportunities offered by breakthroughs in science and technology.But together, we can go even further, said Kyle. We are determined to unleash R&D as a driving force in our mission to grow the economy in every corner of the country, under our plan for change.Companies including AstraZeneca, GSK, Airbus and Aveva have welcomed a plan to double the economy of the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge region by 2035. Other companies pledging support include Darktrace and autonomous vehicle firm Oxa.There is also a drive to attract investors into the region. Nick Pettit, senior partner at Bidwells, said: The investors we work with have the choice to deploy capital globally. That they select the OxCam region over others despite some difficulties with planning, or with procurement, reaffirms the unique opportunity investors see in the UKs apex of science and technology, and the reality is that small policy changes are all it takes for this region to make an enormous difference to its contribution to national growth.Karen Holford, chief executive and vice-chancellor of Cranfield University, said: Theres a well-established ecosystem of research and innovation within this region that has an enormous potential to benefit the whole country. Its encouraging to see this recognised with todays commitment. Universities have a crucial role in the governments growth mission, not only in developing new technologies and innovations for industry, but also in building the key skills we need now and in the future.Research from Public First for the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board estimates that fast-tracking the regions growth through policy interventions such as reforming the planning system would add an estimated 78bn cumulative GDP to the UK economy by 2035. This is equivalent to funding the national New Hospital Programme, the countrys biggest hospital building programme in a generation, more than three times over.Read more about UK tech startupsUK economy could see 600m boost through digital IDs for businesses: Government-backed organisation kicks off initiative to widen use of digital identities, in an effort to streamline financial services and cut hundreds of millions of pounds of economic crime.Government funding to help businesses discover AI value: The government is betting the bank on the power of artificial intelligence to fix the public sector, mend roads and boost the UK economy.The previous Tory government scrapped a number of development schemes in the region, including dropping an expressway in 2021, due to cost. In October 2024, chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the government would deliver East-West Rail to drive growth between Oxford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge.The government has now said its committed to making the UK a global scientific superpower and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc is a key part of these plans.Andy Williams, chair of the Oxford-Cambridge Supercluster Board, said: Our members, which include some of the worlds largest investors, see extraordinary potential, and in this commitment, it is abundantly clear that the government does, too.In The Current Issue:Can the UK government achieve its ambition to become an AI powerhouse?A guide to DORA complianceDownload Current IssueData engineering - Cloudera: Counting the cost of data integration tax CW Developer NetworkA Galaxy of AI opportunities Cliff Saran's Enterprise blogView All Blogs

Rumored to launch in April, the SE 4 sports a single camera, a notch, a USB-C port, and no more Home button, according to photos and a video shared by a known leaker.

Wireless chargers are known for their predisposition to generate heat during charging. The Torras PolarCircle solves this problem using science.

AI helps tomorrow's companies stay vigilantly successful.Deposit PhotosMuch (digital) ink has been spilled about the Renting Economy. As Mike Craig Matambo, CEO/Founder of Rent Rocket, writes for LinkedIn: With inflation and rising costs, renting offers a way to access goods without heavy financial commitments.Netflix is a strong example of the Renting Economy. Once upon a time, people owned physical media, including DVDs and before them, VHS tapes. Ah The good old days when you could flip on the TV to watch poignant directors commentary from the likes of David Lynch explaining Eraserhead.Such talking head interviews have moved to YouTubeif they exist at all. Something similar has happened with physical media. Most people stopped buying Blu-ray discs about the time Netflix switched its distribution method from mailers to streaming. These days its rare to observe someone watching a movie they physically own. Like someone still using their cars tape deck.What should I watch on Netflix tonight? Okay, Seinfeld it is.Deposit PhotosTruthfully, I am not a fan of this modern phenomenon.Its not just that most streaming platforms tend to have poor content. (Where are all the classic movies, guys?) Rather, I dislike being at the mercy of streamers licensing agreements. Example: a few years back, you could catch AMCs Mad Men on Netflix.MORE FOR YOUNot anymore.And yet the Renting Economy offers an insight applicable to our AI Age. My Mad Men reference demonstrates the impermanence of this model. Again, consumers are at the mercy of market forces beyond their control when they do not own their own media. They are reliant on providers.But if you stop to think about it, life itself is a kind of renting phenomenon. Nothing is permanent or for certain. You might think you own your health. You do not. You rent it. Should you do the right things: eat healthy, exercise, sleep well, you will enjoy good health.But not forever.If you live long enough, you will eventually lose your health. Mother Nature will inevitably reclaim that once pristine body of yours. This process is much like Max (formerly HBO) removing Westworld from its content lineup. Even our minds are subject to forces beyond our control. The children of aging parents suffering from dementia knows this sad fact all too well.The Renting Economy nature of existence forces every living being into a use-it-or lose it imperative. No matter what creature you are, you must acquire resources to stay alive another day.This lion knows what I'm talking about.Deposit PhotosThis reality also extends to businesses. Companies cannot rest on their laurels. Those that do not grow, die. This is the thesis of former Intel CEO Andy Goves book: Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.Unfortunately, too many businesses do not heed Goves advice. Instead, companieslike peopleallow themselves to stagnate. To atrophy. Until its too late to reverse all that perpetual coasting.But we do not just live in the Renting Economy in 2025. We also exist in the AI age. That fact has pertinent ramifications. The foremost is this: companies that do not evolve, that do not work on themselves, will perish. Adaptability is mission critical to keep up with the changing times. Otherwise, ones competitors, especially those who harness AI, will eat our lunch.Deep Change Management and AI consultant Gerardo Kerik knows this well. His business, We Simplify the Internet (WSI), fosters continual growth and learning initiatives around artificial intelligence for its small to medium sized businesses.To me, it goes beyond just implementing AI tools or tweaking workflows. Its about helping organizations fundamentally rethink how they operate, adapt, and grow in a world thats constantly shifting, Kerik told me when we sat down for an interview. Its about leadership setting the tone for how company-wide change is embraced, empowering employees to feel like active participants in the learning process, ensuring the right structures are in place to support deep and lasting transformation.To illustrate this idea in action, Kerik described a recent success story. He works with a janitorial services company that had grown to 150 locations through acquisitions. Despite recent expansions, inefficient systems plagued this business. Multiple invoicing platforms, legacy accounting tools, and antiquated workflows slowed cash flow, draining resources.Kerik explains how the WSI team identified the challenge. On the surface, it looked like a technical problem. But we quickly realized it was a deeper issue: they needed to rebuild how they approached problem-solving and decision-making company-wide.It wasnt enough to align leadership with cutting edge AI tools to address efficiencies. If only the C-Suite bought into such change management, the fix would be superficialnot deep.This is akin to a fad diet in human terms. Sure, you might lose a few pounds initially. But as for the long-term? If you dont adopt new, sustainable routines you can expect to gain the weight back. Why? Again, because we rent our healthjust like we rent our business success. If we lack vigilance, if we dont go deep into changing either ourselves or our companies, we will backslide.Knowing all this, Kerik upskilled the organization with an eye toward continuous improvement, reminiscent of Kaizen, the vaunted business practice originating in Japan. The WSI team conducted workshops to show how AI could manage repetitive tasks, freeing both rank and file to focus on the work that really matters.It wasn't merely about teaching tools; it was about transforming mindsets, Kerik explained. Together, we looked at the company workflows to figure out where AI could make the biggest impact. Invoicing was the obvious choiceit was taking weeks to process payments. By implementing an AI solution, we cut that time by 40%, improving cash flow and reducing team strain.Zooming out, its clear that the kind of Deep Change Management Kerik is pioneering will soon become an organizational necessity. We are at the cusp of an inflection point not unlike the Internets commercial arrival in the 1990s. The web has transformed nearly every aspect of how businesses now operate.The same thing will be true with AI in the coming years.Companies cannot afford to think they own their success in the AI age. Its rented. And it can all vanish just as quicklyand devastatinglyas ones health. As stories like this reveal, the way to stay on top is to lean into Deep Change Management with eternal vigilance.After all, lifes only certainty is more uncertainty.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 09: Phil Spencer, Executive President of Gaming at Microsoft, speaks ... [+] during the Xbox E3 2019 Briefing at The Microsoft Theater on June 09, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe era of Xbox that has spanned almost 25 years appears to be over. In a pair of new interviews, Phil Spencer has once again reinforced what hes been saying for a while now about former Xbox exclusives going third party, though has also come up with a pitch for why you should still buy an Xbox. Hopefully. Maybe.When asked about any game being off the table for going third party, even a big-name project like Starfield, Spencer told Destin Legarie in a new interview, To keep games off of other platforms, we don't think that's the path.. that's not the path for us. It doesn't work for us."Then, in a separate but similar interview with Gamertag Radio:"We love our platform and our hardware but we're not going to put walls up where people can engage with the great games our studios are building(...)our games will show up in more places, no doubt.MORE FOR YOUThere is still a pitch to buy an Xbox, however, even as sales of the units continue to decline sharply the more Xboxs third party ambitions and everything is an Xbox marketing campaign spool up. Spencer:"I want people to pick hardware based on the capabilities of that hardware and the choices that they want to make about where they want to play. We want our hardware to win based on the capabilities that we have(...)hardware critical and fundamental to what Xbox is - not trying to gatekeep the games off different places."The pitch for why you should buy one console over another used to be a combination of this console performs better and has better features and you can play these specific games on it. Now, Xbox is chopping up that latter half into 1) some games launch on PlayStation (and/or the upcoming Switch 2) at release, 2) they arrive there on a time delay or 3) they hang in limbo indefinitely and are never ruled out as being ported over eventually.A core appeal of Xbox is now meant to be that you can get these exclusive releases on day one for free in some tiers of Xbox Game Pass, and you may have to wait an unknown amount of time on another platform. But in terms of the hardware simply being better, Im not sure theres enough of a difference between PS5 and Xbox Series X to make that case (the push for Series S is that its cheaper). And of course the advantage PlayStation now has is that its still making exclusives thatdo not and will never come to Xbox. Its expansion is into PC releases usually a year or more after release.Spencer is right in terms of the old path not working for Xbox. I mean, it wasnt, very clearly. Last generation had PS4 outselling Xbox One 2:1, an era where Spencer admits they probably lost the console war at that point as people assembled their game libraries. Now, recent reports are a similar 2:1 sales gap, or even 3:1 or even now, closer to 5:1 monthly the more Xboxes are de-emphasized.StarfieldBethesdaWhere Xbox is starting to turn things around, however, is in its software. It owns the eternally popular Call of Duty and Minecraft, which will print money until the end of time. It has found success in the live genre with games like Sea of Thieves. It still boasts icons like Marcus Fenix and Master Chief (even if Chief is in hibernation for a while). New releases like Indiana Jones have been received well. Games like Avowed, DOOM, Fable and Perfect Dark look promising. Forza and Microsoft Flight Simulator are essentially guaranteed quality and dominate those genres.So, what do you do when you finally have a slate of good first party games but you still cannot sell more consoles, and you subscription service is capping out? Well, I guess you do this.Can Microsoft come back in the hardware game? Perhaps, at least to some extent. A rumored Xbox handheld that beats a Sony one to market could do very well, provided it doesnt immediately ship all its games to Switch 2. Xbox has also promised a next-gen console despite all this, and who knows, maybe it figures out some trick to dominate Sony in terms of power. Just waiting for them to say its powered by AI or something.Yes, its a very weird time for Xbox and very understandable how die-hard fans of the brand are disappointed with the direction it has taken. But Xbox is sort of running out of options of how to make all this work, and going third party, it believes, is its current best bet.Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram.Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.

In context: Artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI recently proposed a merger with ByteDance's TikTok US operations. As part of a revised plan, the company has offered to allocate up to 50 percent of the combined entity to the US government. The revised plan reportedly includes provisions for the US government to receive stock in the new company once Perplexity AI achieves an initial public offering valued at a minimum of $300 billion. However, these would be non-voting shares, meaning the US government would hold 50 percent ownership of the company but have no influence over TikTok's day-to-day operations. Additionally, the government would not be granted a seat on the merged entity's board.According to a source quoted by Reuters, the proposed holding company would be tentatively named "NewCo" and include investments from TikTok's current stakeholders. Perplexity AI has also expressed willingness to be acquired by the holding company, provided its investors receive a share of NewCo's equity.The revised plan comes just over a week after Perplexity AI submitted its initial merger proposal, which ByteDance did not respond to. Reportedly, the updates to the plan were made following feedback from the Trump administration. However, even if the offer is accepted this time, the merged entity will not gain access to ByteDance's prized recommendation algorithm, widely regarded as the key to TikTok's meteoric rise as a social media phenomenon.Perplexity AI is far from the only party interested in taking over TikTok. On Saturday, Donald Trump claimed that "numerous people" had expressed interest in investing in the company. However, he denied discussing the matter with Oracle CEO and close ally Larry Ellison. Both Oracle and Microsoft are reportedly in talks to negotiate a TikTok acquisition in a deal that could allow ByteDance to retain a minority stake in the app.TikTok briefly went dark in the US on January 19 after the Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan law requiring ByteDance to sell the app to an American entity by the same date or face a nationwide ban. The following day, Trump took office and issued an executive order reversing the ban, granting TikTok an additional 75 days to sever ties with its Chinese parent company. // Related Stories

Cutting corners: AMD might have a clever solution to rapidly roll out their upcoming FSR4 upscaling technology to a wide range of games. According to a reliable tipster, the company could provide a straightforward "drop-in" upgrade path from FSR 3.1 to FSR4 for games already implementing the current version. The concept is straightforward: instead of requiring game developers to integrate an entirely new version of FSR, AMD could replace the backend FSR library file. This would allow any game already supporting FSR 3.1 to seamlessly benefit from FSR4's enhanced upscaling quality with minimal effort from developers.The report comes from Kepler_L2, who shared the details in response to a VideoCardz post on X.As of now, AMD hasn't confirmed any details regarding an upgrade path for FSR4. The company only briefly showcased FSR4 at CES, where it was presented as a clear visual improvement over FSR 3.1.If this rumored upgrade plan proves accurate, we could see over 40 existing FSR 3.1-compatible games upgraded to FSR4 immediately upon launch. AMD currently lists over 100 games with existing or upcoming support for FSR 3/3.1, which could provide a strong foundation for the rollout. // Related StoriesHowever, there's a catch. Kepler_L2 notes that FSR 3 compatibility alone may not be sufficient and that only games using FSR 3.1 would qualify for the seamless upgrade. This requirement is likely due to FSR 3.1 being the first version where upscaling and frame generation libraries were separated, simplifying integration. As a result, some games may need to be updated to FSR 3.1 before they can take advantage of FSR4.In terms of improvements, AMD's CES demo showcased FSR4 delivering superior 4K upscaling quality compared to FSR 3.1. The new AI-powered upscaler will leverage dedicated AI acceleration hardware found in RDNA4 GPUs. FSR4 is also expected to offer enhanced frame generation for better performance and a revamped "Anti-Lag 2" feature designed to minimize latency.That said, FSR4's benefits come with a significant caveat: it will initially be exclusive to AMD's next-generation Radeon RX 9070 GPU, part of the RDNA4 lineup. Despite this limitation, an easy upgrade path for the existing library of FSR-compatible games would provide a strong launchpad for the new technology.For now, it remains to be seen whether AMD will pursue this rumored strategy.

NestAfter spending a bit of time in Public Preview, Google is rolling out its Google Home extension for the Gemini app to everyone. This will allow you to control smart home devices using Gemini, including tasks like turning on smart lights, checking your smart thermostat, or adjusting the volume on your speakers.The Google Home Extension will be rolling out over the next few weeks, and once youve made the update, any compatible devices synced to your Google account will be accessible via Gemini. If you try using commands in the Gemini app that arent supported, your smartphone will automatically launch the Google Home app to complete the command (such as accessing camera actions and smart lock features).Recommended VideosGemini supports various devices, including smart lights and power switches, smart thermostats, smart curtains, smart speakers and TVs, and various other devices like washers, coffee makers, and vacuums. Google notes that Gemini requests are designed for convenience tasks, with most tasks related to safety and security not available for use.GoogleFor example, Google says Gemini wont unlock a door though its smart enough to open the Google Home app to help you complete the action.Please enable Javascript to view this contentTo use Geminis new features, simply connect your Google Home and Gemini apps. Then, any supported devices on your Google Home account will respond to commands given in the Gemini app. Heres a quick look at a few commands Google says you can try:Set the dining room for a romantic date nightSet the AC to a good temperature for sleepingTurn off the bedroom TV and lightsThe sun is too bright in the living room (to close window coverings)Help me clean up the kitchen (to start vacuuming)The Google Home extension is rolling out over the next few weeks, so be sure to check your apps if you want to enjoy the new functionality.Editors Recommendations

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsHow to use Whim Balloons in Infinity NikkiWhere to find all Whim BalloonsAll Whim Balloon puzzlesAlthough you may already know about Whimstars in Infinity Nikki, what about Whim Balloons? These are new collectible items that work in similar ways to the Whimstars where theyre either easily accessible or require you to complete a puzzle to earn. But instead of using them in the Heart of Infinity, this dress-up gacha games version of a skill tree, you can collect enough to earn rewards.Included in the 1.2 update and found all over Firework Isles, your rewards for collecting Whim Balloons include Diamonds, which are the key to making gacha pulls. Lets go over where you can find all Whim Balloons and how to use them in Infinity Nikki.Recommended VideosInFold GamesYou can currently use your Whim Balloons in Infinity Nikki in two different ways. First, you can trade them in with Vita at Sparkheart Island for Firework Sketches, among other nice rewards. While the majority of the trade-ins are only for unique Fireworks Sketches you can craft and then release into the night sky, you can also earn 200 Shiny Bubbles and 40 Diamonds through Vita.InFold GamesThe second way to use Whim Balloons is only available for the next month, but you can receive a total of 600 Diamonds and many other rewards for collecting all 56 Whim Balloons. Through the Drifting Whim event, youll be able to collect prizes upon reaching certain milestones depending on how many Whim Balloons youve found.RelatedSo far, weve only been able to find 46 out of the 56 Whim Balloons. This is presumably due to some of the events on Firework Isles not yet being available, which would grant you the last 10 Whim Balloons. We will update you with the final 10 balloon locations as soon as we discover them.InFold GamesSimilar to how Whimstars worked, Whim Balloons have nearly identical puzzles. Here are all the Whim Balloon puzzles, explained.Normal Whim Balloon: The most common Whim Balloon youll find is just sitting out in the open available to grab. Sometimes they require a bit of parkouring to reach.Animal Whim Balloon: If you see a glowing pink and blue ferret-looking animal, use your Bye-Bye Dust ability outfit to groom the animal. Youll gain a Whim Balloon as a reward.Fishing Whim Balloon: You can find fishing spots that will allow you to catch special blue and pink fish that give you a Whim Balloon. Use the Rippling Serenity ability outfit to go fishing.Bug-Catching Whim Balloons: There are certain Whim Balloons in the form of glowing insects you can catch. Use the Afternoon Shine ability outfit to catch bugs.Timer Whim Balloon: This puzzle requires you to grab all the glowing balloons in a trail before the timer runs out.Chasing Whim Balloon: This puzzle first has you break a box before the Whim Balloon pops out and flies away. You now have to chase after it.Cloud Whim Balloon: A pink, fluffy cloud will appear for you to hop on while collecting all the balloons before the timer runs out.Curio Domain Whim Balloon: These Whim Balloons take you to the Curio Domain where you must solve a unique puzzle. Each one is different, and it usually requires parkouring, moving objects around, activating mechanisms, etc.Combat Whim Balloon: Youll attempt to open a chest, but then a bunch of enemies appear. Take them out to earn the Whim Balloon.Editors Recommendations

Shane Snider, Senior Writer, InformationWeekJanuary 27, 20253 Min ReadimageBROKER.com GmbH & Co. KG via Alamy Stock DeepSeek, an underdog Chinese startup with a large language model boasting powerful performance at a fraction of competitors steep training costs, knocked OpenAIs ChatGPT from its top position in the Apple App Store -- a development that on Monday spooked investors enough to send US technology stocks plummeting.DeepSeek claims its V3 large language model cost just $5.6 million to train, a fraction of ChatGPTs reported training costs of more than $100 million. With comparable performance to OpenAIs o1 model, a 95% cost cut may be especially attractive to cash-strapped companies looking to leverage generative AI (GenAI).The development sparked a pre-market selloff for major AI players, including Nvidia, Microsoft, and Meta. Investors sold off around $1 trillion in tech stocks in pre-market trading alone, with the S&P falling 2.3% and Nasdaq dropping by nearly 4% before the opening bell. Nvidia, the worlds leading supplier of AI chips, fell more than 11% in early trading. Chip designer Arm, Broadcom, and Micron Technology also suffered losses.In a research note, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote: Clearly tech stocks are under massive pressure led by Nvidia as Wall Street will view DeepSeek as a major perceived threat to US tech dominance and owning this AI revolution.Chirag Dekate, vice president and analyst at Gartner, thinks Wall Street may have overreacted to the DeepSeek news. In an interview with InformationWeek, Dekate says developments that reduce training costs will have an overall positive impact.Its not just model innovation, its a system innovation, Dekate says. The DeepSeek innovations are real, and they matter Lowering the cost structures is a net positive for the overall industry DeepSeek enables a pathway to utilize resource more productively. Meta, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and other AI innovators can utilize those underlying capabilities even better. That will likely define the future of GenAI.Why is DeepSeek a Potential Disrupter?Businesses can take advantage of massive cost savings on DeepSeeks application programming interface (API) that boast costs of $.55 per million input tokens and $2.19 per million output tokens, a fraction of OpenAIs API pricing of $15 per million input tokens and $60 per million output tokens.But those savings come at a price -- experts say widespread adoption of a Chinese-made model could pose significant security risks.National security concerns in November prompted a bi-partisan US congressional group to sound the alarm on Chinas progress in AI. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission called for a government-funded effort to quickly develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) before China. AGI, which promises language models that match or better human intelligence, could be harnessed as a powerful weapon and give the country that first develops the technology a huge geopolitical advantage.And DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng stated in a recent interview that developing AGI is a top priority. Our destination is AGI, which means we need to study new model structures to realize stronger model capability with limited resources, Wenfeng told Chinese publication ChinaTalk in a November interview.The US also alleges China backed hacking group Volt Typhoons efforts to disrupt US critical infrastructure. China remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to US government, private-sector and critical infrastructure efforts, according to a blog post from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), who warned of continuing state-sponsored security threats.Despite lower costs, Dekate says, enterprises will not likely rush into using DeepSeek widely because of potential legal liabilities. Enterprises should always be careful about creating external facing products that are produced by open-source models, Dekate says, noting that enterprise grade AI models offer more guardrails, security, and higher quality outputs. There are going to be constraints [with open source models] that Gemini, OpenAI and other models do not have you are going to get a more comprehensive answer on certain topics.About the AuthorShane SniderSenior Writer, InformationWeekShane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. He started his career as a general assignment reporter and has covered government, business, education, technology and much more. He was a reporter for the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh News and Observer and most recently a tech reporter for CRN. He was also a top wedding photographer for many years, traveling across the country and around the world. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and two children.See more from Shane SniderNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports