Technology

• Asustor Flashstor Gen 2 supports up to 12 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs
• Powered by AMD Ryzen CPU, expandable DDR5 memory to 64GB
• Dual 10GbE ports, USB4, ideal for demanding storage tasks

Asustor, a subsidiary of Asus, has launched its second generation Flashstor NAS series, offering high-performance, SSD-focused storage.

The line is made up of the Flashstor 6 Gen 2 (AS6806X) and Flashstor 12 Pro Gen 2 (FS6812X), which support up to six and twelve M.2 NVMe SSDs, respectively, with compatibility for PCIe 4.0 x4 to deliver ultra-fast data transfer speeds.

Both models are powered by an AMD Quad-Core 6nm Ryzen Embedded V3C14 processor, an upgrade from the previous generation’s Intel Celeron N5105 CPUs (check out our review of the Flashstor 12 Pro FS6712X from 2023 here).

Not cheap

The Flashstor 12 Pro Gen 2 comes with 16GB of DDR5-4800 ECC memory, expandable up to 64GB, while the Flashstor 6 Gen 2 includes 8GB of memory, also expandable. The devices are well-suited for resource-intensive tasks such as 4K video editing and content creation.

The Flashstor 12 Pro Gen 2 offers dual 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, whereas the Flashstor 6 Gen 2 is equipped with a single 10-Gigabit Ethernet port. Both models support SMB Multichannel, allowing for faster-than-standard 10GbE data transfers. The devices feature two USB 4.0 (Type-C) ports and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A) ports, providing high-speed external connections and compatibility with Thunderbolt 3/4 devices.

Equipped with advanced cooling systems, both models use silent fans to maintain optimal performance under heavy workloads while keeping noise levels low.

The NAS supports a range of applications, including VPN servers, media servers, mail servers, and cloud backups. It also accommodates up to 4,096 users across 512 groups, so it’s a good choice for teams needing simultaneous file access.

The Flashstor Gen 2 series features a compact design reminiscent of a PlayStation 4, but it doesn’t sharing its pricing with the beloved console. On Amazon, the Flashstor 6 Gen 2 is listed at $999, while the 12-bay Flashstor 12 Pro Gen 2 is priced at $1,399.

Getting the most from the 12-bay model and outfitting it with a dozen 8TB SSDs will ramp up the cost significantly, potentially exceeding $8,000. This high-end setup is clearly aimed at professionals and enthusiasts who require cutting-edge storage capabilities and are willing to pay for it.

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• The Resident Evil 2 remake arrives on Apple platforms three weeks early
• It’s available from the official App Store for Mac, iPhone and iPad
• It's the latest top-tier game to have launched on Apple devices

There’s an early Christmas present for iOS and Mac gamers in the form of the Resident Evil 2 remake, which has arrived on Apple’s platforms weeks ahead of schedule. Originally due to launch on New Year’s Eve, the game has instead been released a full three weeks early.

Resident Evil 2 is set in 1998 and tasks players with surviving a zombie infestation that’s ravaging Racoon City. It’s a classic of the horror genre, with the new version featuring improved combat, high-resolution graphics, better voice acting, and more. It’s also a cross-play title for Apple users, so you can play it on macOS, iOS and iPadOS and your progress will carry over to whichever device you use.

The game’s developer Capcom is currently offering a launch sale on the game, with the main game in-app purchase price cut by 75%. The game’s App Store page lists two in-app purchases: the base game for $9.99 / £8 and “all in-game rewards unlocked” for $1.99 / £1.69.

Resident Evil 2 is free to download and try out, with “a limited part of the base game” available without charge. The $9.99 / £8 purchase is then required to complete the game.

Another classic game for Apple fans

(Image credit: TechRadar)

This year has been a good one for Apple gamers, especially those who play on a Mac. Apple’s latest M4-series chips are its most capable yet when it comes to gaming, enabling Apple fans to play popular titles at smoother frame rates than ever before.

Speaking of popular titles, some of the best Mac games have all landed in the last couple of years. Games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 are now available on the Mac, with other popular names – including Death Stranding, Resident Evil 4, and Lies of P – all working seamlessly on Apple’s computers.

To run Resident Evil 2 on Apple hardware, you’ll need a Mac that’s running macOS Ventura or later and is powered by an M1 chip or later. On iPhone, you’ll need an A17 Pro chip or newer alongside iOS 17.0 or later.

As for iPad users, the requirements are iPadOS 17.0 or later and a device containing an A17 Pro chip or an Apple M-series chip.

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Google has unveiled the next iteration of the Gemini AI model family, starting with the smallest version, Gemini 2.0 Flash. Gemini 2.0 promises faster performance, sharper reasoning, and enhanced multimodal capabilities, among other upgrades, as it is integrated into Google's various AI and AI-adjacent services.

The timing for the news may have something to do with wanting to step on OpenAI and Apple's toes with their respective 12 Days of OpenAI and new Apple Intelligence news this week, especially since Gemini 2.0 is mostly built around experiments for developers. Still, there are some immediate opportunities for those on the non-enterprise side of things. Specifically, Gemini Assistant users and those who see AI Overviews when using Google Search will be able to engage with Gemini 2.0 Flash.

If you interact with the Gemini AI through the website on a desktop or mobile browser, you can now play with Gemini 2.0 Flash. You can pick it from the list of models in the drop-down menu. The new model is also on its way to the mobile app at some point. It may not be life-changing, but Gemini 2.0 Flash’s speed at processing and generating content is notable. It's far faster than Gemini 1.5 Flash; Google claims the new model will react at twice the speed while still outperforming even the more powerful Gemini 1.5 Pro model.

Overviews and future news

Google is infusing Gemini 2.0 into its AI Overviews feature as well. AI Overviews already write summaries to answer search queries on Google without requiring clicking on websites. The company boasted that there are more than a billion people who have seen at least one AI Overview since the feature debuted and that it has led to engagement with a wider array of sources than usual.

Incorporating Gemini 2.0 Flash has made AI Overviews even better at tackling complicated, multi-step questions, Google claims. For example, say you’re stuck on a calculus problem. You can upload a photo of the equation, and AI Overviews will not only understand it but walk you through the solution step-by-step. The same goes for debugging code. If you describe the issue in a search submission, the AI Overview might produce an explanation for the issue or even write a corrected version for you. It essentially bakes Gemini's assistant abilities into Google Search.

Most of the Gemini 2.0 news centers around developers, who can access Gemini 2.0 Flash through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI; there’s also a new Multimodal Live API for those who want to create interactive, real-time experiences, like virtual tutors or AI-driven customer service bots.

Ongoing experiments for developers that may lead to changes for consumers are also getting a boost from Gemini 2.0, including universal AI assistant Project Astra, browser AI task aide Project Mariner, and partnerships with game developers to improve how in-game characters interact with players.

It's all part of Google's ongoing effort to put Gemini in everything. But, for now, that just means a faster, better AI assistant that can keep up, if not outright, beat ChatGPT and other rivals.

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• The Firefox web browser is ending support for Do Not Track
• This asked websites not to track you, but it was routinely ignored
• There are much better alternatives for keeping your data safe

Firefox is one of the best web browsers you can get, yet it will remove support for its Do Not Track feature in the upcoming version 135 of the app. This is used to ask websites not to follow users around the internet using cookies and other trackers. On the surface, this move sounds like a blow to your privacy, but it could actually end up being a positive change in the long run.

Previously, if the Do Not Track setting was enabled, Firefox would send a request to websites stating that you didn’t want to be tracked. Created in 2009, Do Not Track was meant to be a simple way to keep your private data safe, and Firefox was the first web browser to adopt this feature.

Yet over the years, concerns have been raised that Do Not Track simply doesn’t work. Since it’s only a request, websites are free to completely ignore it – which many do. After all, when trackers can be used to increase a website’s advertising profits, what website owner is going to pass up an opportunity to make more money from your private data?

As well as that, in a support article announcing that Do Not Track would be phased out, Firefox developer Mozilla stated that the feature can actually reduce your privacy. This might perhaps be because some users enable it and assume that it protects them, thereby neglecting other privacy-enhancing features that actually do work.

What you can do instead

(Image credit: Rubaitul Azad / Unsplash)

While these concerns have been ongoing, Firefox has been adding more robust privacy features of its own, as have some other browsers. Mozilla recommends you use the Global Privacy Control setting in Firefox instead, as this is respected by more websites and is even enforced with legislation in some places.

As well as that, Firefox has many other built-in features designed to combat trackers. That includes Enhanced Tracking Protection, which blocks known trackers, and a Facebook container that stops Meta-owned websites – notorious for their privacy violations – from following you around the web.

So, while Firefox ending support for Do Not Track seems like a blow to your privacy at first glance, in reality the browser is simply discontinuing a feature that never really worked properly in the first place.

Instead, there are other settings – plus a host of excellent extensions – that can be used to keep your private data securely out of the hands of trackers and advertisers.

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This stylish, anti-theft backpack is perfect for students, busy working folks and travelers — and Amazon has slashed $50 off the cost.

Would you wear a smartwatch to a wedding? That's the question engulfing a certain section of the internet this week. In a viral post on X, embedded below, telling the internet about a couple the account holder knew who allegedly requested nobody wear a smartwatch to their wedding.

It's received almost 10 million views, tons of reactions, and a flurry of responses on both sides of the aisle. Some accounts seem to believe that wearing even the best Apple Watch (like those on our list) is considered tacky at best and disrespectful at worst and they're right to initiate the ban, while others criticized the couple, calling it controlling.

Received a wedding invite that specifically said on the dress code line “No Apple Watches please”December 10, 2024

Regardless of how you feel about specific dress codes to fit with a theme (fair game for the bride and groom, or unfair for the guests?) all the disagreements relate to the usefulness of Apple Watches to monitor health problems, act as wallets, or just a general opposition to the concept of the ban. One trend I noticed when scrolling through the reams of replies is that hardly anyone had an issue with it from a style point of view.

It seems that Apple Watches aren't considered particularly stylish, even in the expensive stainless steel colorways adorned with even-more-expensive Hermes bands. Sure, you can dress them up with all manner of watch faces, but they remain a homogenous black screen, often paired with simple silicone straps.

I test smartwatches for a living, and although I may disagree with the blanket "no Apple Watches" statement on logistical grounds, even I can see the lack of appeal from a style perspective. Traditional analog watches offer so much variety in style, from slim classic numbers to rotary dive watches, and offer a desirable and (ironically) timeless quality to wedding photos. Apple Watches tend to date photographs, and perhaps will do for the foreseeable future.

(Image credit: Future)

Other users replied with smartwatches other than Apple Watches, such as the best Garmin watches, Google Pixel Watches and others, but they share similar concerns. Notably, distractions from the day with pinging notifications, and frankly unstylish, boxy black screens.

I've long bemoaned the lack of a stylish design ethos to smartwatches. Attempts to "sexy up" the smartwatch category, such as the Garmin Marq range, are either ludicrously expensive or don't marry form and function well enough. If you're going to a formal event, I can't think of many smartwatches I'd like to wear with a three-piece suit.

One solution is to wear one of the best smart rings, if you must continue to monitor your health with a snappier-looking analog number. Another option is to invest in one of the best hybrid smartwatches, analog-looking models with hidden optical heart rate sensors and smaller screens, which act as a bridge between two worlds.

Unlike smart rings, hybrid smartwatches aren't particularly well-known in the category, but to me, they are the perfect compromise: timeless analog aesthetics combined with up-to-date health and fitness tracking. Perhaps Apple should follow Garmin and Withings and look into a hybrid, or at least a more stylish Apple Watch model. After all, you'd get so many steps in on a wedding dance floor, that it'd be a shame to waste the opportunity to close your rings.

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• March's Academy Awards will be live streamed for the first time ever
• Hulu will have the live stream and a catch-up the following day
• The Golden Globes will be streaming too in January

The Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, will be streamed live for the very first time next year. The lucky streamer is Hulu, which will be streaming the awards ceremony while ABC handles the usual live TV broadcasting.

The news comes via the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which has also confirmed the date and time of the host: the 97th Academy Awards will begin at 4pm PT on Sunday, March 2, 2025 with Conan O'Brien hosting. The red carpet will begin slightly earlier at 3.30pm PT.

In addition to the live stream, which will be available to all subscribers of the best streaming service for TV, Hulu's stream will also be available to rewatch the following day.

Can't beat the streaming

This may be the first Oscars to be streamed live, but it won't be the first glossy Hollywood event to do so or even the first in 2025: the Golden Globes are also going to be live streamed, this time by Paramount Plus.

The Golden Globes are widely seen as Oscar predictors, and the 2025 ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 5 at 5pm PT/8pm ET. It too will be broadcast more traditionally, on CBS, and the host will be Nikki Glaser.

So who are this year's winners likely to be? The smart money is on Emilia Pérez, which grabbed ten Golden Globe nominations – a record for a musical comedy. And The Substance has been nominated for multiple awards: best director, best musical/comedy picture, best actress, best supporting actress and best screenplay.

We don't yet know who's been shortlisted for the Academy Awards but we don't have long to wait: those lists will be announced on Tuesday, December 17, next week.

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A US Senator has presented a new bill to secure the networks of the country's telecommunication companies targeted by the China-linked Salt Typhoon hacking group.

What's considered to be the largest intelligence compromise in US history sparked a call to all US citizens to switch to encrypted communications last week. At least eight of the country's largest telecoms were hacked to spy on their customers' activities, including AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies.

The Secure American Communications Act would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to "fix its own failure" and fully implement the cybersecurity rules under the 1994 legislation. US telecoms are also required to submit annual security tests and audits to the FCC.

A turning point?

"It was inevitable that foreign hackers would burrow deep into the American communications system the moment the FCC decided to let phone companies write their own cybersecurity rules," said Ron Wyden, US Senator of Oregon who announced the bill.

Under the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), the FCC was already expected to ensure telecom operators secure their systems against unauthorized access – something that, apparently, the watchdog never did fully.

"Telecom companies and federal regulators were asleep on the job and as a result, Americans’ calls, messages, and phone records have been accessed by foreign spies intent on undermining our national security," said again Wyden.

"Congress needs to step up and pass mandatory security rules to finally secure our telecom system against an infestation of hackers and spies."

The Secure American Communications Act is the third proposal Wyden presented so far in a bid to beef up the security of US communications networks.

While Salt Typhoon hackers reportedly targeted at least 8 American telecommunication networks, the Chinese cyber-espionage campaign seems to be a lot bigger as 'dozens' of countries may be affected. (Image credit: Medium)

As per Wyden's latest proposal, US telecoms will need to implement specific cybersecurity requirements to prevent external interceptions, while conducting both internal and independent evaluations on their systems every year.

In the meantime, new cybersecurity practices come into force, and the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have shared security recommendations for both customers and enterprises.

According to experts, US citizens should secure all their communications with encryption. This technology is used by the likes of WhatsApp, Signal, or secure email like Proton Mail, to scramble data into an unreadable form to prevent third-party access – ensuring communications remain private.

FBI officials also suggest keeping your smartphone up-to-date and enabling two-factor authentication whenever possible to protect your accounts against phishing attacks.

If you're looking to secure your enterprise network, CISA's security tips to stay protected are then a must-read.