This week, we’re joined by tech critic Paris Marx to discuss Data Vampires, his latest Tech Won’t Save us podcast series. We chat about how data centers suck up vast amounts of power, water and other resources, and why the AI boom is exacerbating those issues.
Alongside its new family of Arrow Lake desktop hardware, Intel today also gave us a few tidbits around its upcoming Arrow Lake H mobile chips for high performance laptops. First off, they're not expected to arrive until the first quarter of 2025 — but the slight wait might be worth it, as Intel says they will offer powerful new Xe GPUs with XMX. Thanks to that upgrade, the GPU alone will offer four times better AI workload processing than its previous chips, alongside double the ray tracing performance and twice as much cache (8MB L2).
Instead of cramming more technology into its Quest VR headsets, which would inevitably escalate their price, Meta has taken the opposite approach with the Quest 3S. It's a slightly bulkier, slightly less sharp version of the Quest 3 starting at $300, almost half off that headset's $500 launch price. The Quest 3S pitch is clear for consumers and developers alike: It's a more powerful and feature-rich budget device than the now defunct Quest 2, and since it has the same processor and GPU as the Quest 3, developers don't have to worry as much about supporting older headsets either.
At this point, you probably either love the idea of making realistic videos with generative AI, or you think it's a morally bankrupt endeavor that devalues artists and will usher in a disastrous era of deepfakes we'll never escape from. It's hard to find middle ground. Meta isn't going to change minds with Movie Gen, its latest video creation AI model, but no matter what you think of AI media creation, it could end up being a significant milestone for the industry.
This week, Microsoft started rolling out the Windows 11 2024 update, but it quickly became clear that the company was far more eager to unveil new features for its Copilot AI and Copilot+ AI PCs. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn chat about Microsoft's current AI priorities, and what it means for people with older PCs. Also, we discuss the death of HoloLens and Microsoft giving up on AR as Meta, Apple and even Snap build for an augmented reality future.
Now that we're a few years into Microsoft's obsession with AI and its Copilot assistant, it's clearer than ever that Windows 11's role is to show off the company's artificial intelligence prowess.
Beyond debuting new features for Copilot+ AI PCs and Windows 11's 2024 update, Microsoft is also giving its Copilot AI a makeover on the web, mobile and desktop. That includes a slightly friendlier interface wherever you access it, along with new capabilities like Copilot Voice, which allows you to talk conversationally with the AI assistant.
ASUS's latest Zenbook S14, much like the Zenbook 14 OLED we reviewed last December, is a solid ultraportable with one major selling point: It's among the first laptops to use Intel's newest CPUs. In this case, it's the Core Ultra 7 258V, a processor that sits in the mid-range of the company's "Lunar Lake" lineup.
The condemnation of Microsoft's Recall feature for Copilot+ AI PCs was swift and damning. While it's meant to let you find anything you've ever done on your PC, it also involves taking constant screenshots of your PC, and critics noticed that information wasn't being stored securely.
We've finally had a chance to try the PlayStation 5 Pro and Engadget's Jessica Conditt has come away impressed. In this episode, Devindra and Jess chat about what the PS5 Pro does well, and discuss who a $700 console is actually meant for. Also, coming off of Meta Connect 2024, Karissa Bell joins to chat about her time with the Quest 3S, as well as her thoughts about Meta's Orion AR headset and AI plans.