• FiiO Snowsky Retro Nano DAC mixes retro cassette aesthetic with modern features
    www.yankodesign.com
    Although smartphone screens and cameras are evolving at a rapid rate, the audio experience often comes as an afterthought. Yes, you can indeed connect wireless earbuds these days, but not all of these offer the depth and power that audiophiles demand. Wired audio accessories sometimes still offer the best listening experience, but only if you have headphones actually capable of doing a decent job.External DAC devices are a must for some more discerning listeners, but you probably wont want a box dangling from your phone, no matter how small it is. Not unless said box actually looks appealing and eye-catching, like these DACs and headphone amplifiers that look like a blast from the past with their cassette tape design. Even better, these actually support modern features like Bluetooth, allowing almost anything to become a source of joy for music lovers.Designer: FiiOThis isnt FiiOs first cassette-themed DAC, but it is definitely its most ambitious. Aimed at a younger, more fashionable, and more design-conscious audience, the Snowsky Retro Nano takes the nostalgia up a notch. The DACs more closely resemble the actual proportions of a cassette tape, including the section at the top that marks the location of the pressure pad, magnetic shield, and other components. The small CLD display even mimics the turning animation of the spools for a more authentic recreation.Of course, this design is just icing on the cake of FiiOs renowned expertise in DAC devices. Whats a bit interesting is that each Retro Nano comes with eight sound presets that transform the sound into something coming from a bygone era. Of course, youre free to fine-tune the settings to your liking using the FiiO Control app. The DAC comes with both 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone jacks to cater to different tastes and requirements, and the 3.5mm jack supports in-line controls so you can even take voice calls with the Retro Nano connected.Another detail that separates this nostalgia trip is its support for Bluetooth audio, so almost any device can benefit from its DAC capabilities. The device itself has three modes, including Bluetooth, Phone, and PC, making it effortless to switch between wired and wireless connections in a snap. Powering all these is a rechargeable 3.7V lithium battery that can be quickly swapped out with a fully charged one when it is completely drained. Some might consider wired headphones an old technology, so its almost fitting that these DACs embrace a similarly dated design. That said, whats old is new again, and cassette tape designs ironically bring a sense of novelty and fun to products these days. More importantly, the FiiO Snowsky Retro Nano Bluetooth DAC and headphone amplifier actually encourages you to glam up the device with included stickers and a lanyard, creating an experience not just around music but self-expression as well.The post FiiO Snowsky Retro Nano DAC mixes retro cassette aesthetic with modern features first appeared on Yanko Design.
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  • New Superman trailer fails to take off with fans
    www.creativebloq.com
    James Gunn defends controversial close-up shot.
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  • The Trial at the Tip of the Terrorgram Iceberg
    www.wired.com
    Atomwaffen Division cofounder and alleged Terrorgram Collective member Brandon Russell is facing a potential life sentence for an alleged plot on a Baltimore electrical station. His case is only the beginning.
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  • 9 Best Juicers (2025): Centrifugal, Slow, Masticating
    www.wired.com
    Stay hydrated with tried-and-tested juicers for refreshing daytime beverages and eye-brightening evening drinks.
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  • DeepSeek Shows Metas A.I. Strategy Is Working
    www.nytimes.com
    The Silicon Valley giant was criticized for giving away its core A.I. technology two years ago for anyone to use. Now that bet is having an impact.
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  • Why Trump Picked a Science Advisor, Michael Kratsios, Who Isnt a Scientist
    www.nytimes.com
    Michael Kratsios, who served in the White House and Defense Department in the first Trump administration, is a policy specialist on artificial intelligence.
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  • Mac Backup Guru Review
    www.macworld.com
    MacworldAt a glanceExpert's RatingProsFriendly user interface, easily customizable inclusion and exclusion options for copyingHandy scheduler app functions well and the program works to offer more control over snapshot archives than Time MachineExcellent, fully-featured 30-day demo lets you truly put the program through its pacesConsLacks some polish, and full disk access could be offered in one fell swoop as opposed to offering access to specific drive foldersProgram doesnt offer a full count as to exactly how much drive space will be needed on the destination driveError messages sometimes wind up in the background behind the main windowOur Verdict This goes to show what a one-person shop is capable of, and there are some good utilities coming out of MacDaddy. A little polish and easier access to full disk access could go a long way, but otherwise this is a backup utility worth looking into if you want more control over snapshot archives than Apple tends to offer with Time Machine. Its here, its available at a good price, and its worth your Consideration.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayThey may not always have the marketing budget to continuously flash their products on your Facebook or YouTube feeds, but theres a lot to be said for the one-person indie developers cranking out Mac utilities. Case in point, Benedict Slaney, whose one-person MacDaddy outfit is currently responsible for nine separate Mac utilities on the market, including Mac Backup Guru, which over the years has drawn a considerable following as a nifty alternative to Apples free Time Machine utility as well as the popular Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! Mac Backup Guru, which requires Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later to install and run and currently retails for $9/7.51 as of this writing, though its listed as $29/24.15, and is available as a fully functional 30-day demo.See how Mac Backup Guru compares to other Mac back up apps in our round up of the best Mac backup software weve reviewed. For cloud based backups read: Best cloud storage for Mac.Mac Backup Guru offers whats expected from a backup utility in terms of core backup and archival functionalities and works to take it a step further, even if its execution could use work at times. The core functionality, which is assisted by a nice animated user interface, offers both a synchronized clone backup, which can create standard copies of folders and drives as well as incremental backups, which track changes and back up the changes, similar to what Apple does with its Time Machine archives. A handy scheduler feature works like a charm, making it easy to set up tasks per the applications calendar, and the number of recent snapshots can be designated as well before older snapshots are deleted. Its easy to set the source and destination volumes, and you can pick and choose specific volumes and folders to include and exclude, the applications easily customizable settings offering tight control over this.Scheduling your backups if flexible.FoundryWhere Mac Backup Guru truly works to differentiate itself is in its creation of snapshots and how it handles these. While Apples Time Machine has been lauded for creating snapshots of your hard drive at intermittent times throughout the day, theres no hard and fast way to control when these are created or when theyre deleted. Mac Backup Guru offers this, and along with a good backup/cloning feature, works to not only move all the local files over to where they need to be, but also taps into iCloud-related tools should you select this option, making a copy of all your iCloud-based files to help complete the cloned volume.Still, theres room for improvement. Instead of asking for full disk access upon installation and/or first launch, Mac Backup Pro continuously asks for permission to access different folders, and while you can set this up in System Settings > General > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, the app itself never makes the jump to offer this to the user in the first place. Perhaps the biggest error that needs a fix is that the app never truly does a head count as to exactly how much space itll need for a copy, and after it begins copying necessary files from iCloud, you sometimes find yourself rolling the dice as to whether you have enough space on the destination drive for the full copy. Couple this with the application sometimes placing its error message that youve run out of space in the background as opposed to the foreground and this becomes awkward. Finally, and in as much as I respect the developers efforts with Mac Backup Guru and his other apps, I never heard back from them after reaching out via their websites contact form, which was a little disappointing.ScreenshotFoundryTheres a lot of good features to be had with Mac Backup Guru and the fact that it offers a tighter level of control over archives and snapshots than Apples Time Machine feature is impressive, but the application still needs some polish to live up to what it truly could be. Still, you can see where its drawn its fan base from, and Slaney Benedict puts forth an astounding effort in being a one-person shop. Combine this with an excellent 30-day demo that offers no restrictions, doesnt bombard you with advertising in any way, and just lets you feel out what the application can do, and Mac Backup Guru is worth looking into.Should you buy Mac Backup Guru?As ambitious as Mac Backup Guru is, there are still some bugs to sort out and polish that can be applied to make a good application truly great, and I cant advise that you run out and buy this yesterday. Still, the fully-featured 30-day demo is outstanding to work with, and I would recommend you download, install, and try it out posthaste to see what you make of the program.
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  • Some iPhone users will soon get a secret addition after upgrading to iOS 18.3
    www.macworld.com
    MacworldWe thought we had learned all there is to know about iOS 18,3 when it arrived earlier this week, but apparently theres one more feature Apple didnt tell us about. As reported by Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, Apple has been working with SpaceX andT-Mobile USto bring support for the Starlink network in iOS 18.3, and customers can test it right now.T-Mobile opened beta registration for Starlink in December but it was limited to Samsung phones, including the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and S24 phones with no mention of the iPhone. However, it did promise that Starlink would support the vast majority of modern smartphones.There are some caveats. At the start, the service only supports texting via satellite and is limited to the United States. T-Mobile also says users will not need to hold their phone up to search for a signal, a clear reference to Apples existing Emergency SOS via satellite feature that requires a clear view of the sky and horizon. However, Apples service also allows emergency calls as well as texting friends and family when outside normal coverage.That feature was introduced with the iPhone 14 and was supposed to be free for two years after activation of the iPhone. However, Apple hasnt announced any plans to charge for the service or disable it on phones after two years have elapsed.Gurman reports that T-Mobile plans to expand the beta in February and Starlink parent SpaceX requested authority to begin beta-testing the service starting Monday. The Starlink beta is free for all users but T-Mobile has indicated that the service will cost a monthly fee. Starlink currently charges $120 per month for 30-150Mbps internet speeds but doesnt have an emergency satellite plan.
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  • US officials probe Chinas DeepSeek AI amid security and privacy scrutiny
    www.computerworld.com
    The Chinese AI app DeepSeek has come under intense scrutiny from both the US and European regulators, raising alarms over national security risks, data privacy concerns, and potential intellectual property theft.The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the National Security Council (NSC) is reviewing the AI models implications as fears mount that Chinese advancements in AI could threaten the dominance of US-based AI firms including OpenAI and Google.This is a wake-up call to the American AI industry, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said responding to reporters during her first press briefing, reinforcing the administrations commitment to ensuring US leadership in AI.Leavitt also confirmed during the briefing that she had personally discussed the matter with the NSC.Meanwhile, Italys data protection authority, the Garante, launched its own investigation into DeepSeek, demanding clarity on its data collection practices. The Italian regulator has given DeepSeek and its affiliated companies 20 days to respond, making it one of the first regulatory bodies to take direct action against the Chinese AI startup.The Authority, considering the potential high risk for the data of millions of people in Italy, has asked the two companies and their affiliates to confirm which personal data are collected, from which sources, for which purposes, what is the legal basis of the processing, and whether they are stored on servers located in China, the regulator said in a statement.The Garante is seeking details about the personal data collected, its sources, its legal basis for processing, and whether any data is stored in China raising broader concerns over data sovereignty and compliance with Europes stringent privacy laws.Italys move comes amid broader concerns about foreign AI models compliance with regional regulations. The country had previously banned OpenAIs ChatGPT in 2023 over potential violations of EU privacy rules, demonstrating its proactive stance in regulating AI models that handle personal data.According to its privacy policy, DeepSeek explicitly says it can collect your text or audio input, prompt, uploaded files, feedback, chat history, or other content and use it for training purposes, research firm Forrester said in a statement. It also states it can share this information with law enforcement agencies [and] public authorities at its discretion.Forrester suggested enterprises to Educate and inform your employees on the ramifications of using this technology and inputting personal and company information into it. Align with product leaders on whether developers should be experimenting with it and whether the product should support its implementation without stricter privacy requirements.IP theft concerns deepen in the USBeyond privacy issues, US officials are also raising alarms over the possibility of intellectual property (IP) theft tied to DeepSeek.Trumps AI and crypto policy lead, David Sacks, suggested that China may have leveraged a technique called distillation, where AI models learn from other advanced systemsraising the possibility that US-developed AI technology may have been replicated without authorization.I think one of the things youre going to see over the next few months is our leading AI companies taking steps to try and prevent distillation, Sacks said in a Fox News interview. That would definitely slow down some of these copycat models.DeepSeeks open source nature opens it up for exploration by both adversaries and enthusiasts, said Chester Wisniewski, director and global field CTO at Sophos. Like Llama, it can be played with and largely have the guardrails removed. This could lead to abuse by cybercriminals, although its important to note that running DeepSeek still requires far more resources than the average cybercriminal has.During his administration, former President Joe Biden imposed sweeping export controls on AI-related technologies to slow Chinas AI progress. Now, Trumps administration is signaling it may take even stronger measures.Market reactions and competitive pressureThe emergence of DeepSeek has already rattled the tech industry. On Monday, global investors dumped shares of major US AI companies, fearing the rise of a low-cost Chinese competitor. DeepSeek, which presents itself as a budget-friendly alternative to AI models like OpenAIs ChatGPT, has quickly gained traction briefly overtaking ChatGPT as the top AI assistant on Apples App Store in the US.More pressing for companies, however, is that, due to its cost-effectiveness, we are likely to see various products and companies adopt DeepSeek, which potentially carries significant privacy risks, Wisniewski added. As with any other AI model, it will be critical for companies to make a thorough risk assessment, which extends to any products and suppliers that may incorporate DeepSeek or any future LLM. They also need to be certain they have the right expertise to make an informed decision.Despite the concerns, Trump framed the development as an opportunity for American firms to step-up their innovation efforts. The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries, Trump told House Republicans at their annual policy retreat. We need to be laser-focused on competing to win.Trump also suggested that competition from China could drive American firms to develop AI models at lower costs. We always have the ideas. Were always first, he said, signaling confidence in US ingenuity.Industry watchers too believe the rise of DeepSeek will accelerate competition.DeepSeeks approach is expected to accelerate the shift toward open-source AI, compelling tech giants to either adapt or risk being left behind, said Muskaan Jain, senior analyst at Everest Group. This shift will likely trigger price wars, faster AI development cycles, and heightened geopolitical tensions over AI dominance.Whats next?With regulatory scrutiny intensifying on both sides of the Atlantic, DeepSeeks fate in key global markets remains uncertain. If the NSCs review results in policy recommendations, American AI firms may soon face even stricter export controls and regulations designed to prevent unauthorized AI knowledge transfers.Meanwhile, DeepSeeks compliance with European privacy regulations could dictate whether it maintains a foothold in markets like Italy and beyond. If found in violation, the Chinese AI firm could face penalties or access restrictions, echoing past actions against OpenAI.For US enterprises, these developments signal both risks and opportunities. While competition from China grows, American firms will be under increasing pressure to maintain their technological edge while navigating evolving regulatory frameworks. In an industry moving at an unprecedented pace, policymakers and business leaders alike will need to balance innovation with security and compliance. If DeepSeek secures a foothold in the AI market, western firms must respond with responsible innovation and strategic investments to maintain technological leadership while ensuring AI remains ethical and secure in an increasingly fragmented global market, Jain added.
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