The number of women in the UKs technology industry has been slowly increasing in the 11 years since Everywoman ran its first Tech Forum.But there is still a lack of women at the top, with numbers collected by the Tech Talent Charter finding women made up only21% of senior tech leaders in the UKwithin its signatories, and Frank Recruitment Group finding womenonly made up a quarter of CIO positions in FTSE 100 companiesin 2023.There are lots of reasons for this, as Everywoman co-founder Maxine Benson pointed out: There are numerous challenges, such as the lack of female role models, impostor syndrome, issues around work-life balance and the lack of access to leadership roles, which must be addressed if we are to keep female talent in the technology space.Imposter syndrome, whereby the sufferer doubts their skills and abilities despite their previous accomplishments, is very common amongst women in the technology sector, and is more likely to occur in high-achieving individuals.It can act as a barrier to success, with many women not applying for roles they are more than qualified for, or finding themselves afraid to speak up and express their opinions, however valid they may be.Avril Chester, chief technology officer at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, admitted despite her now high rank in the technology sector, even to this day she gets racing thoughts and imposter syndrome, but shes learning to live with it.On the journey to senior management, Chester suggested listening to your gut theres a difference between feeling scared and uncomfortable and knowing whats not the right move.She said: Not every moment is going to feel right. So when you listen to yourself, if your guts are telling you its not the right move, dont do it. But if you find yourself in your thoughts finding every excuse under the sun not to go into it, maybe you take that chance. Maybe youve learned from that chance.When aiming for a senior management position, Chester stated a step into any new role will be intimidating because its new, and individuals should be aware of whether they are their own barrier to success advising people to utilise their roar, or in other words what makes you an individual.As with any role, leadership comes with its own skillset, and your skills as an individual will determine what kind of leader you are.Mivy James, digital transformation director and engineering fellow at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, pointed out leadership traits are often described using masculine language alpha, masculine, extroverted behaviours.She described having felt interloper syndrome in the past and has tried to display these typically male traits to fit into a leadership role in the technology sector, but she ended up losing her sense of humour.Instead, its more valuable to a company and to a team to bring your individuality to a role there is no one way to be a leader.As James said: We need to have a true diversity and allow people to behave and be their authentic selves in those leadership roles.Im a chief technology officer, so it turns out its okay to be a woman, and to be feminine, and to have that kind of career path.The speakers agreed there is a lack of diversity at the top of tech, which is impacting the trickle-down of diversity within organisations, and without an inclusive culture running throughout the firm, it becomes increasingly difficult to attract and retain diverse talent.James stated the fact many believe male traits are more conducive to leadership is an example of how diversity in tech leadership is on a superficial level firms will present outwardly as catering to different peoples needs, but there is no inclusion once you get there.She said: We need that diverse leadership because any type of decision-making needs to have a different set of voices, so anywhere theres decision-making, you have that diversity. Otherwise, you end up with this groupthink, and a decision that only works for a small set of people.One of the reasons there is a lack of diversity at the top of tech firms is affinity bias, according to James, who stated many in a leadership role feel safer delegating and promoting people who are like them.Chester shared some stories highlighting other biases and issues that can stand in the way of rising to leadership, including being told that while she was perfect for a job, she was in a queue as someone had been waiting longer for a promotion, and being asked how the firm could be sure she wouldnt have a child soon that would interfere with her work as she was of a certain age.Read about past Everywoman Tech ForumsBeing authentic, finding a support network and talking to strangers in airports were just some advice given at the 2022 Everywoman in Tech Forum.One of the main topics of discussion at the 2022 Everywoman in Tech Forum was authenticity, and how this helps managers to create the inclusive environments their tech teams need.When it comes to finding your leadership opportunities, many of the speakers described choosing the firm you work for carefully to suit your needs and leadership style, noting the people you work with will mean more than anything else.Cheryl Razzell, UKIR head of compute solution architecture at Amazon Web Services, explained: When I look to work for an organisation, I look at the leadership principles and try to understand what the values of the company are. I want to work for a company that brings out the best in me.Ultimately, people want to work with other good people, as Razzell put it: Nobody wants to follow a leader that doesn't inspire you. And it has to be genuine to be able to inspire others.The type of leader you are can determine whether youre able to encourage those from underrepresented groups to join your team.Razzell said: We need more role models, we need more diversity, and we need intersectionality. So diversity, everyone talks about females in technology, but its more than that. Its inclusivity of every type of group. And that includes, you know, the diversity of skin colour, and neurodiversity.Success in the technology sector hinges on continuous learning; the nature of technology is to constantly change and adapt, meaning peoples skills have to as well.It has become increasingly apparent in the past few years that continuous learning will be a huge part of ensuring everyone maintains their tech skills as technology adoption accelerates, but learning in general is also something that never stops in life.Chiamaka Odikanwa, head of product management (CTO) at HSBC, said: I remember years ago when I finished my final year masters degree exams, and I was so happy because I was thinking to myself, Im done with exams, I dont have to do this any more. Therell be no more tests, learning is over. And how wrong was I?Part of being a good leader, Chiamaka explained, is to facilitate learning and improvement by making it safe for employees to fail.She does this by presenting her teams with the question: What can we learn?I like this question for two reasons. First, it doesnt focus on the destination, it tells us that we are on a journey, and we can continue to improve, she explained.The second reason I like this question is because its breaking out all the different behaviours that we want. We want our teams and ourselves to experiment more. We want to fail safely, have curiosity, innovation, psychological safety, leadership, and so much more. So this question is such an important way for us to start thinking deeply around how to bring our learnings into our worlds to really elevate team performance.Finally, Jo Churchley, head of delivery for infrastructure and platforms at SSE, claimed youre likely to be a better manager and leader if you enjoy what youre doing and usually what you enjoy doing is what youre good at.The more people who want to work with you is a measure of how effective your leadership is, and once youve reached a good position in your career, Churchley advised to pay a bit of that back.Whether thats through mentoring, coaching, or nominating people for opportunities, part of the goal of good leadership is to lift others behind you.Being a good mentorA mentor is a trusted advisor with whom you can discuss your career choices, according to Bebe Oladipo, head of IT programme management and information security at Azzurri Group.For those looking for a mentor, she advised individuals to find someone they trust and admire who will listen to you and give you a push in the right direction.Networking is a good way to find someone you connect with.She said: If you cannot see where you are going, ask someone who has been there.On the flip side, Oladipo explained being a good mentor does not mean making your mentees more like you, but helping them grow into the best version of themselves.To get the best of a mentee, the goal is to help the mentee reach their full potential by providing objective advice, by providing feedback, by encouraging, sometimes challenging as well, she said. Youre not there to provide a solution, youre there to lead them to it.

PETER CATTERALL/Contributor/Getty ImagesBarely a week into its new-found fame, DeepSeek -- and the story about its development -- is evolving at breakneck speed.The Chinese AI startupmade waves last week when it released the full version of R1, the company's open-source reasoning model that can outperform OpenAI's o1. On Monday, App Store downloads of DeepSeek's AI assistant, which runs V3, a model DeepSeek released in December,topped ChatGPT, which had previously been the most downloaded free app.Also: Apple researchers reveal the secret sauce behind DeepSeek AIDeepSeek R1 climbed to the third spot overall on HuggingFace's Chatbot Arena, battling with several Gemini models and ChatGPT-4o, while releasing a promising new image model.However, it's not all good news -- numerous security concerns have surfaced about the model. Here's what you need to know. DeepSeek's chat page at the time of writing. Screenshot by Radhika Rajkumar/ZDNETWhat is DeepSeek?Founded by Liang Wenfeng in May 2023 (and thus not even two years old), the Chinese startup has challenged established AI companies with its open-source approach. According to Forbes, DeepSeek's edge may lie in the fact that it is funded only by High-Flyer, a hedge fund also run by Wenfeng, which gives the company a funding model that supports fast growth and research.Also:Perplexity lets you try DeepSeek R1 without the security risk, but it's still censoredThe company's ability to create successful models by using older chips -- a result of the export ban on US-made chips, including Nvidia -- is impressive by industry standards.What is DeepSeek R1?Released in full last week, R1 is DeepSeek's flagship reasoning model, which performs at or above OpenAI's lauded o1 model on several math, coding, and reasoning benchmarks.Built on V3 and based on Alibaba'sQwen and Meta's Llama, what makes R1 interesting is that, unlike most other top models from tech giants, it's open source, meaning anyone can download and use it. That said, DeepSeek has not disclosed R1's training dataset. So far, all other models it has released are also open source.Also:I tested DeepSeek's R1 and V3 coding skills - and we're not all doomed (yet)DeepSeek is cheaper than comparable US models. For reference, R1 API access starts at $0.14 for a million tokens, a fraction of the $7.50 that OpenAI charges for the equivalent tier.DeepSeek claims in a companyresearch paperthat its V3 model, which can be compared to a standard chatbot model like Claude, cost $5.6 million to train, a number that's circulated (and disputed) as the entire development cost of the model. As the AP reported, some lab experts believe the paper only refers to the final training run for V3, not its entire development cost (which would be a fraction of what tech giants have spent to build competitive models).Someexperts suggest DeepSeek's costs don't include earlier infrastructure, R&D, data, and personnel costs.One drawback that could impact the model's long-term competition with o1 and US-made alternatives is censorship. Chinese models often include blocks on certain subject matter, meaning that while they function comparably to other models, they may not answer some queries (see how DeepSeek's AI assistant responds to questions about Tiananmen Square and Taiwan here). As DeepSeek use increases, some are concerned its models' stringent Chinese guardrails and systemic biases could be embedded across all kinds of infrastructure.Even as platforms like Perplexity add access to DeepSeek and claim to have removed its censorship weights, the model refused to answer my question about Tiananmen Square as of Thursday afternoon.Also: Is DeepSeek's new image model another win for cheaper AI?In December, ZDNET's Tiernan Raycompared R1-Lite's ability to explain its chain of thought to that of o1, and the results were mixed. That said, DeepSeek's AI assistant reveals its train of thought to the user during queries, a novel experience for many chatbot users given that ChatGPT does not externalize its reasoning.Of course, all popular models come with red-teaming backgrounds, community guidelines, and content guardrails. However, at least at this stage, American-made chatbots are unlikely to refrain from answering queries about historical events.Privacy and security red flagsData privacy worries that have circulated TikTok -- the Chinese-owned social media app now somewhat banned in the US -- are also cropping up around DeepSeek.On Wednesday, research firm Wiz discovered that an internal DeepSeek database was publicly accessible "within minutes" of conducting a security check. The "completely open and unauthenticated" database contained chat histories, user API keys, and other sensitive data."More critically, the exposure allowed for full database control and potentialprivilege escalationwithin the DeepSeek environment, without any authentication or defense mechanism to the outside world," Wiz's report explains.According to Wired, which initially published the research, though Wiz did not receive a response from DeepSeek, the database appeared to be taken down within 30 minutes of Wiz notifying the company. It's unclear how long it was accessible or if any other entity discovered it before it was taken down.Even without this alarming development, DeepSeek'sprivacy policyraises some flags. "The personal information we collect from you may be stored on a server located outside of the country where you live," it states. "We store the information we collect in secure servers located in the People's Republic of China."Also:'Humanity's Last Exam' benchmark is stumping top AI models - can you do any better?The policy outlines that DeepSeek collects plenty of information, including but not limited to:"IP address, unique device identifiers, and cookies""date of birth (where applicable), username, email address and/or telephone number, and password""your text or audio input, prompt, uploaded files, feedback, chat history, or other content that you provide to our model and Services""proof of identity or age, feedback or inquiries about your use of the Service," if you contact DeepSeekThe policy continues: "Where we transfer any personal information out of the country where you live, including for one or more of the purposes as set out in this Policy, we will do so in accordance with the requirements of applicable data protection laws." The policy does not mention GDPR compliance.Also:How to protect your privacy from Facebook - and what doesn't work"Users need to be aware that any data shared with the platform could be subject to government access under China's cybersecurity laws, which mandate that companies provide access to data upon request by authorities," Adrianus Warmenhoven, a member of NordVPN's security advisory board, told ZDNET via email.According to some observers, the fact that R1 is open source means increased transparency, allowing users to inspect the model's source code for signs of privacy-related activity.However, DeepSeek also released smaller versions of R1, which can be downloaded and run locally to avoid any concerns about data being sent back to the company (as opposed to accessing the chatbot online).Also: ChatGPT privacy tips: Two important ways to limit the data you share with OpenAIAll chatbots, including ChatGPT, collect some degree of user data when queried via the browser.Safety concernsAI safety researchers have long been concerned that powerful open-source models could be applied in dangerous and unregulated ways once out in the wild.Testsby AI safety firm Chatterbox found DeepSeek R1 has "safety issues across the board."Also:We're losing the battle against complexity, and AI may or may not helpEven in varying degrees, US AI companies employ some kind of safety oversight team. DeepSeek has not publicized whether they have a safety research team, and has not responded to ZDNET's request for comment on the matter."Most companies will keep racing to build the strongest AI they can, irrespective of the risks, and will see enhanced algorithmic efficiency as a way to achieve higher performance faster," said Peter Slattery, a researcher on MIT's FutureTech team who led itsRisk Repositoryproject. "That leaves us even less time to address the safety, governance, and societal challenges that will come with increasingly advanced AI systems.""DeepSeek's breakthrough in training efficiency also means we should soon expect to see a large number of local, specialized 'wrappers' -- apps built on top of DeepSeek R1 engine -- which will each introduce their own privacy risks, and which could each be misused if they fell into the wrong hands," added Ryan Fedasiuk, director of US AI governance at The Future Society, an AI policy nonprofit.Energy efficiency claimsSomeanalystsnote that DeepSeek's lower-lift compute model is more energy efficient than that of US AI giants."DeepSeek's new AI model likely does use less energy to train and run than larger competitors' models," said Slattery. "However, I doubt this marks the start of a long-term trend in lower energy consumption. AI's power stems from data, algorithms, and compute -- which rely on ever-improving chips. When developers have previously found ways to be more efficient, they have typically reinvested those gains into making even bigger, more powerful models, rather than reducing overall energy usage.""DeepSeek isn't the only AI company that has made extraordinary gains in computational efficiency. In recent months, U.S.-based Anthropic and Google Gemini have boasted similar performance improvements," Fedasiuk said.Also:$450 and 19 hours is all it takes to rival OpenAI's o1-preview"DeepSeek's achievements are remarkable in that they seem to have independently engineered breakthroughs that promise to make large language models much more efficient and less expensive, sooner than many industry professionals were expecting -- but in a field as dynamic as AI, it's hard to predict just how long the company will be able to bask in the limelight."How will DeepSeek affect the AI industry? R1's success highlights a sea change in AI that could empower smaller labs and researchers to create competitive models and diversify the options. For example, organizations without the funding or staff of OpenAI can download R1 and fine-tune it to compete with models like o1. Just before R1's release, researchers at UC Berkeleycreated an open-source modelon par with o1-preview, an early version of o1, in just 19 hours and for roughly $450.Given how exorbitant AI investment has become, many experts speculate that this development could burst the AI bubble (the stock market certainly panicked). Some see DeepSeek's success as debunking the thought that cutting-edge development means big models and spending. It also casts Stargate, a $500 billion infrastructure initiative spearheaded by several AI giants, in a new light, creating speculation around whether competitive AI requires the energy and scale of the initiative's proposed data centers.DeepSeek's ascent comes at a critical time for Chinese-American tech relations, just days after the long-fought TikTok ban went into partial effect. Ironically, DeepSeek lays out in plain language the fodder for security concerns that the US struggled to prove about TikTok in its prolonged effort to enact the ban. The US Navy already banned using DeepSeek last week.Artificial Intelligence

The EcoFlow Rapid is a magnetic power bank with an old-school design and a good deal of versatility.

Spider-Man 2InsomniacSonys new policy for many of its exclusive games is to eventually release them on PC in a delayed window that is getting shorter and shorter in time. Now, thats happened with Spider-Man 2, the sequel to the most-played exclusive of the PS4 generation. Things have not gone smoothly so far.This is two years after the original game was released on PS5, and now at launch here, though Spider-Man 2 topped Steam sales charts, it launched with less than a third of the concurrent players of the Steam launch of the original Spiderman, 19,000 to 66,000. That may increase somewhat over the weekend, but it is unlikely it will land close to the original.Part of this may be a lack of interest compared to the first game, but a portion is also the state of the game at launch. The studio that ported it, Nixxes, has done a good job with other projects, but in this case, there are a number of performances issues and crashes that have arrived with the game, causing Steam reviews to stand at Mixed with just 55% positive reviews. The original Spider-Man? Lifetime reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive at 96%, a genuinely hard thing to accomplish. So you can see the disparities here in several ways, despite both ports being done by Nixxes.SteamSteamdbSony has brought effectively all of its major franchises to Steam at this point, be it Uncharted, The Last of Us, Horizon, God of War, Ghost of Tsushima and the Spider-Man games. The two year gap for Spider-Man 2 is small compared to many others, and it seems this may only keep shrinking in time. Its now Sonys policy to launch its multiplayer, live service games on Steam at the same time as console. For Helldivers 2, that was a massive success and the game actually ended up with more players on PC. For Concord, that led to the data that the game failed to ever break even 800 players at launch, and it was shut down two weeks later.As is well-documented, Sony has cancelled a large number of high profile live service projects as of late, including The Last of Us Online which probably would have launched on Steam concurrently. Now, two main live projects are from Bungie, its Marathon extraction shooter, allegedly out this year, and a further off project codenamed Gummi Bears. Those will not only launch on Steam, but also Xbox, as part of the Sony acquisition deal was that its future games would launch fully multiplatform. However, that actually may not end up being true for Gummi Bears, as that has technically been carved out of Bungie and given to a new studio under Sony directly filled with moved-over Bungie employees. So well see if that same rule applies.Sony has indeed done very well with many of these single player launches on Steam, with many good ports. But this is a rare miss from a developer that has done good work before, and hopefully Spider-Man 2 can be fixed in short order before this launch is botched further.Follow me , and .Pick up my sci-fi novels the and

As the cost of maintaining these systems rises, so does the urgency to modernize.

Key TakeawaysOpenAI launched ChatGPT Gov, a version tailored for the U.S. government, focusing on security, compliance, and aligning with national interests and democratic values.ChatGPT Gov can be deployed via Azure OpenAI services, offering both commercial and government cloud options.Theres also a self-hosting option for enhanced privacy and compliance management.OpenAI announced a new variant of ChatGPT on Tuesday, that is exclusively designed for use by the US government.Termed ChatGPT Gov, CEO Sam Altman said this version is created to serve the national interest and democratic values aligned with President Trumps executive order on AI leadership. This alliance might tie Open AI (and Sam Altman) more intimately with the Presidents administration.By making our products available to the US government, we aim to ensure AI serves the national interest and the public good, aligned with democratic values while empowering policymakers to responsibly integrate these capabilities to deliver better services to the American people OpenAIThe primary focus of the GOV version is security and compliance rather than newer features, ensuring it conforms to US government standards.As of now, Azure OpenAI and GPT 4o have been granted FedRAMP authorization, but it hasnt yet received approval to handle sensitive non-public data. However, the AI giant claims that this enhanced infrastructure will help speed up the process of receiving authorization to handle that soon.According to OpenAI, the Gov variant can be deployed on Microsofts Azure OpenAI services, including both commercial and government clouds. It also offers a self-hosting option, allowing agencies to better manage their privacy, security, and compliance requirements.This news follows recent reports suggesting that Chinese AI firm DeepSeeks R1 model could potentially undermine the advancements made by US-developed AI.DeepSeek shook the AI giants when it became the most downloaded free app in the US Apple store and was developed at a fraction of the cost of AI pioneers like ChatGPT. The cost of ChatGPT Gov isnt disclosed yet. However, this model could be Trumps way of removing barriers to American AI leadership.With that in mind, the timing of this announcement by OpenAI is very, very interesting. It comes right around the corner from the launch of its newest and fiercest rival, DeepSeek. Perhaps Altman knows that the only way he gets to remain the AI king is by having Trump on his side? However, there hasnt been an official response, let alone a word of praise, from the new POTUS.Interesting.Prior Government Projects of OpenAIChatGPT Gov isnt OpenAIs first venture with the US government. Before this, the company helped develop AI-powered cybersecurity for the Pentagon, which is the central hub for military operations. This collaboration aimed to enhance national security by leveraging AI to detect and counter cyber threats more efficiently.Besides this, OpenAIs technology has been used at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory for defense simulations, strategic planning, and automated threat detection.A pilot program in Pennsylvania demonstrated the efficiency of ChatGPT Enterprise by reducing time spent on routine tasks by 105 minutes per day. This was achieved by automating repetitive processes, thereby enhancing efficiency while maintaining accuracy in administrative functions.Since 2024, ChatGPT has seen widespread adoption across U.S. government agencies, with over 90,000 users from more than 3,500 agencies actively utilizing the AI tool. In total, over 18 million messages have been exchanged, reflecting its growing role in public administration.Add Techreport to Your Google News Feed Get the latest updates, trends, and insights delivered straight to your fingertips. Subscribe now! Subscribe now Alpa is a tech writer and editor with a wealth of experience in alternative finance, fintech, cryptocurrency, app security software, and the medical industry. Shes passionate about breaking down complex topics and sharing informative content that provides value. View all articles by Alpa Somaiya Our editorial processThe Tech Reporteditorial policyis centered on providing helpful, accurate content that offers real value to our readers. We only work with experienced writers who have specific knowledge in the topics they cover, including latest developments in technology, online privacy, cryptocurrencies, software, and more. Our editorial policy ensures that each topic is researched and curated by our in-house editors. We maintain rigorous journalistic standards, and every article is 100% written byreal authors.

In brief: A small supermarket in Costa Rica has emerged victorious in an unlikely legal battle against video game giant Nintendo over the use of the iconic "Super Mario" name. The unassuming grocery store, owned by a man named Don Jos Mario Alfaro Gonzlez, has been allowed to keep its moniker following a trademark dispute initiated by the Japanese gaming company. The saga began last year when the supermarket, established in 2013 under the name "Super Mario," renewed its trademark registration. This routine filing seemingly caught Nintendo's attention, prompting the lawsuit.In a celebratory Facebook post, Carlos "Charlito" Alfaro, son of the supermarket's owner, recounted how Nintendo inundated the family business with a barrage of legal documents asserting its trademark ownership across various product categories. However, a crucial oversight on Nintendo's part ultimately decided the case in favor of the grocer.Charlito explained that while Nintendo owns trademarks across a vast array of products video games, clothing, toys, school supplies, and more their trademark didn't explicitly cover grocery stores and supermarkets. This loophole proved to be the clincher that allowed the establishment to keep its name.Moreover, while the supermarket's name invokes images of Nintendo's overalls-clad plumber, its simple yellow and blue logo design features only the words "Super Mario Su lugar de confianza" (translation: "Super Mario your trusted place"). This steers clear of any explicit references to Nintendo's intellectual property.Following their courtroom triumph, the Alfaro family took to social media to revel in their David vs. Goliath victory. Charlito shared a video celebrating his father, the eponymous Don Mario, whose 52 years of running the supermarket had finally garnered some hard-earned recognition. // Related Stories"That man you see there, he is Don Mario, he is my dad, and he has 52 years of being here and he is Super Mario," Charlito proudly declared, offering customers commemorative stickers bearing the shop's name and logo.The incident is just the latest in a series of trademark battles waged by Nintendo, whose fierce protection of its brands and intellectual property can only be described as overbearing.Just recently, the company allegedly confronted technology startup Genki over an unofficial prototype of a so-called "Nintendo Switch 2" at the CES 2025 tech show. Before that, Nintendo sued game developer Pocketpair over alleged patent infringements related to Palworld.

WTF?! FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has withdrawn a proposal to ban mandatory bulk billing arrangements for internet services in apartment buildings. This decision is a departure from the previous administration's efforts to increase competition and consumer choice in the broadband market. The proposal, originally put forward by former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in March 2024, sought to prohibit arrangements that required tenants to pay for specific internet services, even if they preferred alternative providers. Rosenworcel argued that such practices often lead to higher prices and limit choices for residents in apartments, condos, and public housing.Rosenworcel's proposal was not a complete ban on bulk-billing. Rather, it aimed to give tenants the option to opt out of such arrangements, potentially opening the door for more competition.Despite the FCC holding a 3-2 Democratic majority at the time, the proposal faced significant opposition from internet service providers and the multifamily community and never came to a vote in 2024. Carr, who was elevated to his position by President Trump, has now removed this item from the commission's consideration, citing concerns about potential price increases for consumers.Proponents of bulk-billing arrangements, including the National Multifamily Housing Council, National Apartment Association, and Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center, have praised Carr's decision. They argue that these agreements often provide high-speed internet to renters at rates up to 50 percent lower than standard retail pricing and remove barriers such as credit checks and installation fees.Bulk billing arrangements have made high-speed internet more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans, especially for low-income renters and seniors living in affordable housing, according to NMHC President Sharon Wilson Gno. // Related StoriesHowever, critics of bulk billing practices argue that they effectively shut out competition, even if they don't explicitly grant exclusive rights to a single provider. In 2022, the FCC addressed this issue by banning exclusive revenue-sharing agreements between landlords and ISPs in multi-tenant buildings, a measure that received bipartisan support.Public Knowledge's legal director, John Bergmayer, told Ars Technica that the proposed bulk-billing ban, which is now off the table, would have eliminated "one of the ways that landlords, HOAs, and telecom and cable companies collaborate to bypass the intended effort of [FCC] rules."Chairman Carr defended his decision, calling the measure "regulatory overreach" and saying that it "would have hit families right in their pocketbooks"

If youre a cricket fan with a nostalgic heart for the pre-Covid glory days of 2017, that years ICC Champions Trophy tourney will be remembered affectionately. And now, for the first time in eight years, you can relive the moment and share it with a new generation of cricket fans. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy event is being hosted in Pakistan (well, mostly, in Pakistan, keep reading), and an intense rivalry between the host nation and India is set to bring the most energy to cricket thats been seen in, well, eight years.Should you be ready for the fervor, we highly recommend a Sling International package with WillowHD (all of the top South Asian packages have it). Tap the button below to get started for as low as $10 for the first month, or keep reading to learn about ICC Champions Trophy cricket and why Sling makes it a perfect watch.The big draw for this years ICC Trophy is the intense rivalry between Pakistan and India, though insiders also cite hopes for England, South Africa, and Australia to land a victory.Pakistan, current trophy holder and host for most of the games, has their debut match vs New Zealand on February 19 (4:00 a.m. ET) at the National Stadium in Karachi. Pakistani fans should try to get their hands on a Sling International plan ahead of this date to get in all of the action.Meanwhile, India is set to have their first match the following day, February 20 (4:00 a.m. ET), in Dubai. Youre not wrong, Dubai is not in Pakistan, but is part of the UAE. As reported by The Sporting News, Indias matches are being held in Dubai due to ongoing political tensions. The big match, India vs Pakistan, is coming on February 23 (4:00 a.m. ET) and cricket enthusiasts must watch it.So grab your TV remote and tune in with a Sling International package. Desi Binge Plus and Dakshin Flex are both just $10 for the first month, right in time for this event, so be sure to tap the button below to get started with Sling and Sling International in time for ICC Trophy cricket.

Table of ContentsTable of ContentsFrom riches to ragsWindows doesnt workThe Z2 Go is a touch slowerIts becoming clear how spoiled Ive been with handheld gaming PCs. Ive handled most of them, from the original Steam Deck up to the ROG Ally X, and Ive learned to love, hate, but mostly tolerate the different pain points of each device. The new Lenovo Legion Go S immediately felt like an upgrade with its rapid-fire triggers, large 8-inch display, and cozy design that nestled into my hands perfectly. Theres just one problem Windows is awful.There, I said it. Windows on a handheld is a horrible experience and the Lenovo Legion Go S made that abundantly clear after just a couple of days. Im still knee-deep in benchmarking the device and the Ryzen Z2 Go chip inside of it dont worry, I have a few early comparisons for you here but I need to say my piece on Windows.Recommended VideosJacob Roach / Digital TrendsLet me back up for a moment. Ive been a die-hard Steam Deck user since day one. Even with so many competing devices, I never felt the need to switch. Windows offered broader game support, sure, but I much preferred the experience of using SteamOS, even if that meant sacrificing game support and, in some cases, performance. That was until I discovered Bazzite, which I promptly flashed onto the ROG Ally X.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming Bazzite is becoming increasingly popular, but if you havent heard of it, its basically SteamOS. Its a fork of Valves open-source operating system, and it behaves almost identically to a Steam Deck. There are a few minor quirks the menu for changing power modes is bound to a rear button, for example but they really arent worth complaining about. Theyre small and very easy to adapt to.Its been a winning combo for me. I get the best performance available in a handheld right now via the Z1 Extreme, and I get a seamless software experience with Bazzite. I knew that I wouldnt enjoy Windows as much on the Lenovo Legion Go S; Ive used plenty of Windows handhelds in the past. I wasnt prepared for just how much worse it would be in 2025, though, and how little Microsoft has done to improve the experience across devices.Before getting to the truly gory details, I want to describe the experience of unboxing the Lenovo Legion Go S to set the stage. I ripped it out of the packaging, plugged it into the wall, and went to boot the system. It took me anhourto get through the Windows setup process, and a decent chunk of that was spent tapping through offers for Office 365, OneDrive, and tailored app recommendations that arent at all relevant to a handheld gaming PC.After all of the Windows updates were installed, I was finally on the desktop. But then there were more problems. Updates from the Microsoft Store wouldnt work until I manually ran another Windows update. The Xbox app wouldnt work because it needed an update, which I couldnt do because the default scaling in Windows pushed theUpdatebutton off the edge of the screen. And while setting everything up, the device went from 100% capacity down to just 60%.Exactly what I want when launching a game a OneDrive notification. Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsYou need to spend some time setting up and updating any new device, but the process on the Lenovo Legion Go S and all Windows handhelds is long, cumbersome, and frankly, annoying. It makes the device feel like its not working properly; like youve hacked some OS on a system that wasnt built to support it. And maybe thats because Windows wasnt built to support this form factor, and it might never be.The OS itself is conflicted about what it wants to do, and in that process, it completely sacrifices the handheld experience. Let me give you some examples. Microsoft offers a default taskbar in Windows 11 filled with its own apps, and its centered on the screen. Not a problem on the desktop, but on the Lenovo Legion Go S, the default icons take up the entire taskbar. If you open even a single additional app like, for example, Steam or the Xbox app, its pushed off to a separate menu that you have to tap to expand before selecting the app you want to focus on.Another example: power settings. Out of the box, the Lenovo Legion Go S is set to sleep after a few minutes regardless of whether you have the device plugged in or not. That was a rude awakening when I plugged the handheld in overnight to download a bunch of games, only to find all of those downloads failed in the morning because the device put itself to sleep. The Steam Deck cant continue downloads while the screen is off, but it at the very least keeps the screen on and the device active while downloads are running.Surely we could make some room here for, you know, useful applications for a handheld. Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsThose are just two examples, and thats not to mention the performance overhead of Windows and the issues with sleeping while a game is running. Performance advantages and game support dont matter. At every turn, it feels like Windows is trying to fight you for using a handheld gaming device.These are all solvable issues, but its completely unreasonable that a USB-C hub, monitor, keyboard, and mouse feel all but required to set Windows up properly before you can install a single game. And even when it is set up properly, youll still run into issues, from greedy notifications demanding precious screen space to crashed games and lost progress when you accidentally tap the power button during gameplay.Itd be one thing if this was the experience all handhelds had to settle for, but it isnt. Lenovo is actually releasing a version of the Legion Go S with SteamOS installed, and its worth waiting for.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsI know there are a lot of questions about how the Ryzen Z2 Go stacks up to the Ryzen Z1 Extreme in the Lenovo Legion Go S. I ran a few preliminary tests, but Ill have a full run-down of performance in my review of the Legion Go S once Im finished with it. But, to give you an idea, the Ryzen Z2 Go is a bit slower than the Ryzen Z1 Extreme, at least in my early tests. Thats not too surprising considering both chips are packing 12 RDNA 3 Compute Units (CUs)You can see my results below for Dying Light 2, Horizon Zero Dawn(not the remastered version), and 3DMark Fire Strike. The Ryzen Z2 Go in the Lenovo Legion Go S is a stones throw away from the suite of other Ryzen Z1 Extreme handhelds, landing just below the base ROG Ally and original Lenovo Legion Go.Horizon Zero DawnDying Light 23DMark Fire StrikeLenovo Legion Go S (Ryzen Z2 Go)34 fps21 fps3,736Lenovo Legion Go (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)35 fps25 fps5,652Asus ROG Ally X (Ryzen Z1 Extreme)50 fps26 fps6,652But theres that pesky Fire Strike result. Theres a problem with the Ryzen Z2 Go, and thats the fact that it only comes with four CPU cores. Worse, theyre based on the older Zen 3 architecture, not the newer Zen 4 architecture available in the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. There are plenty of games where four cores is enough, and it looks likeHorizon Zero DawnandDying Light 2are among them. For other games that scale before four, youll run into issues.This is just an early look at the Lenovo Legion Go S. I plan on running it through all of my normal benchmarks and battery tests, as well as give a verdict on the screen and software. For now, Ill leave you with this.The Lenovo Legion Go S is a fantastic device. But Windows on any handheld right now is lacking. With SteamOS getting broader support for games each day, Im finding it difficult to put up with the hassle. Ill probably recommend the Legion Go S once Im finished with my review process, but with the caveat that you should wait for the SteamOS version.Editors Recommendations