Have we come to trust them? Perhaps not. But we’ve come to accept that this is how it is and we don’t have the strength to resist. How, then, does it affect our ability to love? This deep question struggles its way around my mind as I consider the onrush of Valentine’s Day. The day when humans are thrust into one of three temporary categories: love, lust, or loneliness. Also: Delight DYIers: These interesting gifts are perfect for those who make and fix things I was spurred to this after a PR representative had insisted that Shokz headphones were the perfect Valentine’s gift....

According to the press release, American Express cardholders will be able to enroll in Google’s VCN program beginning sometime this summer. By being able to use a VCN with the Autofill feature, cardholders can make fast, secure purchases with ease. Using a VCN is more secure for online transactions than using a card’s physical number. The VCN replaces your credit card’s 15-digit physical card number with a virtual number to better protect cardholders information when shopping online....

Both phones run Android 12 out of the box, so I was hoping we’d hear something during the streamed event about the launch of the next mobile operating system from Google. Instead of making a formal announcement during the event, Google quietly published a blog post recapping some of the features available in Android 12 and announcing that it’s now officially available for Google Pixel devices. To be clear, that means you’ll need a Pixel 3 or newer....

The Cupertino company shared the new figures along with a host of others that shed light on the growth of its increasingly important services business. “Apple’s world-class portfolio of services proved essential in 2021, as people worldwide sought new ways to keep entertained, informed, connected, and inspired,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services, said in a press release. “With over 745 million paid subscriptions, Apple continues to connect the world’s developers, artists, and storytellers with users across more than a billion devices....

Now, Apple is back a little over two years later with an upgraded M2 version of the same system that, to the surprise of many, launched at a $100 discount from the previous model. Also: Mac Mini (M2) vs. Mac Studio: Which is better? While the cheaper base configuration of the new system does include slower onboard storage (more on this later), it also provides processing performance superior to its already impressive ancestor....

The company’s shares exceeded the mark when they reached a price of $182.86 before Monday’s closing bell, according to CNBC. Although Apple’s share price would once again dip below the mark to close the day at $182.01, it represents an incredible milestone that the iPhone maker will certainly pass again as its upward trajectory continues. Apple reached the $1 trillion mark just a few years ago, passing it in August 2018 and quickly setting its sights on blowing by $2 trillion almost a year later in August 2019....

Bloomberg reports that the tech giant is experiencing software challenges that would most likely delay the headset’s release until the end of this year or 2023. The delay is due to Apple’s development team allegedly experiencing problems with the headset related to overheating and issues with the camera. Even though Apple hasn’t officially confirmed a headset is in the works, Bloomberg said the company had plans to unveil the product in June at the annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference....

The program lets developers connect with Apple evangelists, engineers and designers, either in one-on-one office hours or during text-based Q&A sessions on Slack. The Q&A sessions will allow developers to ask questions as well as share their own insights with other developers. Developers can sign up for Q&As focused on specific topics, including app services, app store, accessibility & inclusion, privacy & security, and photos & camera. Q&As will also be available in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese....

Bloomberg on Tuesday reported that Apple had indefinitely delayed work on the long-rumored AR glasses and pared back the scope of the project. Apple will instead target 2024 for the release of its lower-cost – but still likely expensive – mixed reality headset. While the mixed-reality headset is expected to cost around $3,000, Bloomberg reports Apple is planning to follow up with a lower cost mixed reality headset priced around $1,500....

If there are two words that sum up Apple, they are generosity and magnanimity. How many other companies are generous enough to sell you something revolutionary and then magnanimous enough to help you in your greatest hour of distress? We’re here today, you see, to consider one man’s desperate plight. This man found himself suffering more than any human should. He found himself without hope or even a dollar to his name....

The report sent Applied shares up 2% in late trading. CEO Gary Dickerson remarked, “While the supply environment remains challenging, Applied Materials is doing everything we can to deliver for our customers and we recorded our highest-ever quarterly revenues.” Added Dickerson, “Our outlook for 2022 and beyond is very positive as long-term secular trends drive our markets structurally higher and Applied’s broad technology portfolio puts us in a great position to capture a larger portion of our served markets....

One question always comes up with promotions like this: Are free smartphones really free? Let’s take a closer look at what’s often required by carriers in order to qualify for a promotion, and in most cases, what that ends up costing you. You need the right phone to trade-in Trading in your current phone is a key part of nearly every free smartphone deal. But not all phones are treated equally when it comes to overall value....

“The mission continues to proceed well and along the planned mission profile,” Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin told reporters on Thursday. “At present on track to have a fully successful mission with some bonus objectives that we’ve achieved along the way.” The Artemis I mission launched on Nov. 16, sending the unmanned Orion spacecraft into orbit around the moon to test NASA’s deep space exploration systems. At its farthest, Orion was a record-breaking 268,563 miles from Earth, surpassing the distance the Apollo 13 mission set in 1970....

The program, which Apple says is aimed at “customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs,” will give them access to genuine Apple parts and tools they need to carry out the repair. The first products to come under this program will be the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, followed by Mac computers featuring M1 chips. It will initially focus on the most commonly serviced modules, such as the iPhone display, battery, and camera, but Apple says that additional repairs will follow....

Past malware attacks, such as Stuxnet, which is believed to have been the work of the NSA, have demonstrated that malware can create real-world damage, not just scramble data. And cyberattacks have long had real-world implications, such as the ransomware attacks on organizations like Colonial Pipeline and hospitals in the US and Europe. The UK’s NHS struggled for days after the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack, which was blamed on North Korean state-sponsored hackers....

Noting that the breach raised concerns about the robustness of Medibank’s operational risk controls, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) said Monday it had “intensified” its supervision of Medibank. Consulting firm Deloitte had been brought in to examine the security incident as well as Medibank’s response and effectiveness of its controls. The financial services regulator said it would determine if further regulatory action was necessary when findings of the external review were established....

The AI centre, based within CSRIO’s Data61, will coordinate national AI activity, expertise, and capabilities with the hopes of improving productivity and lifting competitiveness. It will also perform work on reducing barriers faced by small to medium-sized businesses in adopting and developing AI and emerging technology. “The National Artificial Intelligence Centre will play a pivotal role in ensuring we can take advantage of AI technologies, which has been forecast to contribute more than $20 trillion to the global economy by 2030,” said Melissa Price, Minister for Science and Technology....

API is the parent company behind retailers such as Priceline Pharmacy and Soul Pattison Chemist, and an AU$3.5 billion wholesale pharmaceutical business. Speaking with ZDNet, API CTO Dean Matthews explained the priority for the work with Google Cloud, which kicked off six months ago, would be to deliver a more tailored retail experience for its 7.5 million Priceline Pharmacy Sister Club loyalty members based on their shopping preferences and purchase history....

According to AWS, previously, to run hybrid algorithms, developers had to manually set up classical infrastructure, install the required software, and manage the interaction between the quantum and classical compute processes for the duration of the hybrid algorithm, in addition to using monitoring and visualisation tools for analysing the results. AWS also said it is rolling out machine learning-powered “secrets detector” within its AI-powered code view service CodeGuru, which was released last year....

AWS itself noted that HPC processing can be an expensive proposition thanks to its inherent requirements for not only fast data processing but also fast memory and storage, as well as low-latency connectivity when working in multi-cluster environments. The company sees the new Hpc6a instances as a way to avoid the need for the on-premise installations some HPC operators have opted for to manage their high-end needs. EC2 Hpc6a instances are available for purchase now as On-Demand Instances, Reserved Instances, or via AWS’ Savings Plans....