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Audio maker Raycon has today unveiled the company's first pair of bone conduction headphones, replete with water and dust protection, decent battery life, and low latency.

Like all of the best bone conduction headphones on the market, the Raycon Bone Conduction Headphones are designed to pipe audio to your eardrums using vibrations emitted into your skull. It's a slightly strange prospect for the uninitiated, but bone conduction headphones are extremely popular with runners, cyclists, and commuters. They're often lighter and more comfortable than many of the best headphones on the market, especially for those who struggle with the rubber tips of in-ear headphones. Furthermore, they let you listen to music and podcasts while retaining awareness of your surroundings.

Keeping up the trend, Raycon says its new Bone Conduction Headphones are designed for tough workouts and outdoor adventure. They feature an open-ear design and are designed to sit comfortably behind your ears. Retailing at $99 (UK and AU pricing tbc), they're not as pricey as some options on the market, so what features can users expect?

Raycon Bone Conduction headphones: The rundown

Raycon says its Bone Conduction Headphones are rated for IP68 water and protection, so they can handle sweat, dust, and rain. They can't be used in the pool or the sea for swimming, so they won't be joining the ranks of the best waterproof headphones anytime soon, despite the fact that many swimming headphones are also bone conduction.

They feature environmental noise cancellation during calls to cut out distant background noise and ultra-low latency of 60ms ensures a snappy Bluetooth connection with less lag, making them more suited to watching videos.

They also feature multipoint connectivity so you can bounce between two devices easily, such as a phone and tablet, without re-pairing or connecting each time. Battery life is rated for 14 hours of use at 50% volume, and a 10-minute quick charge will give you an hour of playtime.

The headband is made of a combination of steel and rubber that Raycon says provides strength, stability, and security during workouts. Audio-wise, they come with three sound profiles (Bass, Balanced, and Pure Sound) so you can choose a listening style that suits you. They also feature button controls for on-the-fly adjustments, and calls are made by way of two built-in microphones that also support Siri and Alexa.

Raycon's Bone Conduction Headphones are available from RayconGlobal.com today for $99.99.

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Slow Horses season 4 concluded on Apple TV Plus last Wednesday, October 9, but there'll be plenty more where that came from as the hit spy series will return with two more seasons. Season 6 was greenlit before the fifth installment even aired – it got renewed for season 5 in January after setting a new record for the streamer – so Apple's streaming service has a lot of confidence in this series.

Personally, I'm thrilled that Apple TV Plus continues to back its original content. It's already home to two of the best sci-fi shows around, which will both return in the next three months with new seasons: watch out for Silo season 2 and Severance season 2. Unlike recent Netflix cancelations, it seems like Apple TV Plus really wants viewers to see more of these great stories.

What do we know about Slow Horses season 6?

Confirming the news in a press release on October 15, Jay Hunt, creative director for Europe at Apple TV Plus said: “Audiences around the world have fallen in love with the Slow Horses, and I’m delighted that Gary Oldman will be leading this star-studded cast on another acerbic and action-packed adventure."

The release also teased a very short synopsis about one of the best Apple TV Plus shows, which revealed that season 6 would focus on the Slow Horses on the run as Diana Taverner embroils them in "a fatally high-stakes game of retaliation and revenge". Of course, we still have season 5 to get through, so we'll have to wait a little while to see what happens next. But it is certainly good news that the story will continue!

With Slow Horses continuing to draw in big audiences, the show really is going from strength to strength. Season 5 is set to be based on the fifth book in the series London Rules, following an MP who goes on a political rampage as he and his tabloid journalist wife set their sights on MI5, so there is a lot of drama heading our way on the best streaming service.

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Agentic AI (sometimes referred to as multi agent AI systems) is set to revolutionize business operations. Joe Dunleavy, Global SVP and Head of AI Pod at Endava, explains how this exciting technology will pave the way for a more transparent, auditable, and sustainable use of AI and how its impact will transform businesses on a large scale.

Until now, humans have needed to be in the driver’s seat when it comes providing granular instructions to AI technology. This ensured that AI is not only pointed in the right direction in terms of outcome but also helped to minimize any potential risks such as hallucinations, misinformation or biases. Additionally, organizations that deploy AI often merely enhance the efficiency of singular tasks, reaping short-term value rather than targeting large-scale autonomous automation.

However, AI systems are now able to handle more ambitious business processes, decision-making, and data transformation. Agentic AI is set to revolutionize how organizations across industries can leverage this technology to their advantage. With the help of agentic AI, they will soon be able to automate processes in entirely new, more efficient, and autonomous ways, allowing them to address complex business problems at scale and speed. But how do they get there in the most effective, secure and compliant way?

The three stages of AI transformation

To achieve this level of performance, automation, and autonomy, AI requires a solid foundation. The transformation evolves over three phases. The first stage focuses on enhancing day-to-day work by assisting with tasks such as summarizing documents or generating assets like presentations, leading to faster, more cost-effective and accurate results. In the next stage, automation processes become more integrated with business objectives. At this point, AI takes on more responsibility for task sequences, working alongside people rather than just following individual commands. This way, AI evolves from a tool into a trusted partner.

In the third stage, the technology achieves an even higher degree of autonomy. At this point, AI is no longer ‘just’ a teammate that collects, summarizes, and analyses information. Instead, it takes on an advisory, more ‘proactive’ role. This is made possible by AI-based, autonomously acting agents (agentic AI) that can work without direct human intervention within any environment, including with different large language models (LLMs) and cloud platforms. Unlike traditional AI models, which are programmed specifically for singular processes, agentic AI approaches can handle far more complex tasks.

In a team of autonomous agents (multi-agent system), each agent is assigned an individual role and fed the necessary knowledge. These agents can communicate and interact with each other as well as with their environment, react to changes, and contextualize their tasks to make holistic decisions and achieve the best possible outcome. All of this works with minimal human oversight, without the need to manually provide input at every step of the process.

Although agentic AI technology is still in its early stages, these systems can safely drive workflows forward with minimal supervision. While autonomous agents automatically perform time-consuming, mundane and repetitive tasks, they can accelerate the amount of work done in a specific timeframe, which can be applied across the business to drive large scale efficiencies. This frees up employees who can in turn focus on more complex strategic and creative challenges. This approach nurtures every employee’s potential, increases employee job satisfaction, and drives business growth and value.

Benefit from autonomous agents – but not without transparency

Autonomous agents can be applied to tackle complex and nuanced workflows in any imaginable industry. However, AI systems are usually built as so-called black boxes with their functions and processes neither visible nor comprehensible to their users. As a result, strictly regulated industries such as healthcare, financial services, insurance and energy —where strict rules govern the collection, processing and storage of sensitive data — are often reluctant to implement the technology in their daily business operations. After all, they have to adhere to specific requirements when collecting, processing, utilizing, and storing (sensitive) data. Just as it's important to not only reach the right answer but also demonstrate the steps taken in fields like law or accounting, these industries must be able to clearly show how AI arrives at its results to meet compliance requirements.

The solution to this challenge is a data-first approach. In order for these industries to use AI in their favor and optimize their processes, they must be able to break open the black box and disclose its contents in a transparent and auditable manner. An autonomous multi-agent system that reveals how AI agents ingest and transform data is ideal for addressing this challenge as each time an agent acts upon data, the system captures the relevant information surrounding the operation, creating a clear line of sight and understanding of the decision the agent makes as an audit trial. This breakdown allows both data and processes to be made visible, comprehensible, and common AI-related issues like AI hallucinations can be effectively circumvented.

With the help of agentic AI, businesses can automate sophisticated processes and solve complex business problems on a large scale, all while remaining compliant. As a result, the technology is key to unlocking productivity, satisfaction, business growth, and maintaining competitive advantage. This does not mean that employees will be replaced by the technology. Whilst it requires less human intervention and oversight, users remain in complete control of the AI system and at the heart of operations. AI might be in the driver’s seat, but users dictate the direction and can step on the brakes at any point.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

More details have emerged concerning the recent cyberattack against the Internet Archive, which appears to still not be fully recovered.

The archive is now back online, in a preliminary ‘read-only’ capacity whilst it continues to recover. Some services still remain offline, but the Wayback Machine operations have been resumed, although founder Brewster Kahle warned it may be suspended again in the case that it needs "further maintenance."

The incident came in the form of a Distributed Denial-of-service (DDoS) attack - which involves flooding a site with traffic to overwhelm a server, making it impossible to access. Research from Netscout revealed significant deviation of network traffic to archive.org, which supports the claims of a DDoS attack. Reports suggest there was at least 3 hours and 20 minutes of DDoS activity, and at least three distinct IP addresses used by archive.org received DDoS traffic.

Cautiously back online

In this specific case, the attack used two attack vectors: TCP reset floods and HTTPS application layer attacks. The TCP flood will flood a victim with huge numbers of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) reset packets, which tricks a computer into terminating its connection with others in its network.

In contrast, the HTTPS application layer attack will typically aim to overwhelm servers by targeting the application layer in order to disrupt the normal flow of traffic, rendering normal services unavailable.

By crawling the web, the archive and its 150 staff work to preserve internet pages and provide free access to thousands of books, videos, and audio files. The motive for the attack isn’t clear, but the hack is said to have exposed the data of up to 31 million users.

The compromised data, which is said to include email addresses, screen names, and Bcrypt passwords, could leave users exposed and at risk of threat actors using their information for nefarious purposes.

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Remember the SolarWinds supply chain breach in 2020 where more than 18,000 SolarWinds customers inadvertently installed updates containing malicious code? Cybercriminals used the codes to steal customer data and then spy on other organizations. That showed how even big companies can be vulnerable due to weak links in their tech supply chain.

Supply chain security is critical and the increasing use of mobile devices is transforming the workplace and industrial landscape. The reliance on these devices comes with significant security concerns, particularly in critical infrastructure sectors where breaches can have catastrophic consequences.

Mobile and IoT devices: The new frontier

In a survey of 600 security strategy, policy and management professionals from around the world, the Verizon Mobile Security Index (MSI) highlights this growing concern. Unsurprisingly, more than 80% of organizations consider mobile devices critical to their operations and 95% are actively using IoT devices. In fact, over half of those deploying IoT devices reported experiencing significant security incidents.

Challenges posed by the increase in mobile and IoT devices

A staggering 95% of companies surveyed actively use IoT devices, reaping considerable efficiency and innovation benefits. However, this widespread adoption also introduces significant security risks. In critical infrastructure sectors, where 96% of companies deploy IoT devices, 53% have experienced significant security incidents involving data loss or system failure.

Improving existing security concepts is essential, as nearly a third of those surveyed lack holistic monitoring of all IoT devices within their organizations. Additionally, 46% of critical infrastructure companies still rely on manual audits to verify the encryption of IoT devices.

These outdated methods are insufficient to withstand the complex threats of today's cyber world. Nevertheless, many companies are responding proactively, with 89% planning to increase their investment in mobile security solutions. Awareness of the need for modern security strategies is growing.

Emerging AI threats and related mitigations

In addition to IoT challenges, AI-supported attacks are emerging as a significant threat. With 77% of those surveyed expecting attacks like deepfakes and SMS phishing to be successful soon, and 88% of critical infrastructure respondents recognizing the importance of AI-based cybersecurity solutions, the urgency is clear.

To prepare for future threats, companies must adopt innovative technologies alongside classic security solutions. This includes comprehensive security concepts such as Zero Trust and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0, as well as meeting regulatory requirements like the EU’s NIS2 directive.

In Singapore, a new cybersecurity amendment was passed into law by the Singapore Parliament in May which significantly broadens the scope of regulated entities and systems beyond the critical infrastructure providers the Act was initially focused on.

This is a response to the rise of cloud computing and the growing role third party providers play in helping run tech platforms that underpin the economy, from energy utilities to public healthcare providers and the financial system. The Act has been expanded to cover Foundational Digital Infrastructure (FDI) providers, and systems that are virtual and located overseas.

The growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) further complicates the cybersecurity landscape. As sensors and specialized devices are integrated into corporate networks, it is essential to secure not only traditional IT systems but also address the specific requirements of IIoT.

From employee education to Zero Trust

To combat evolving threats, businesses are increasingly investing in mobile cybersecurity and adopting advanced security frameworks. The shift to remote and hybrid working arrangements, spurred by pandemic restrictions, along with the increased use of IoT sensors in smart city infrastructure and manufacturing plants, has driven companies to bolster their mobile cybersecurity efforts.

Approximately 84% of organizations have ramped up their spending on mobile device security. The persistent threats posed by shadow IT remain a significant concern. Respondents anticipate growing threats such as AI-assisted attacks, including deepfakes and SMS phishing, which necessitate more advanced threat detection, employee education, and adherence to cybersecurity standards and frameworks like Zero Trust.

Historically, mobile cybersecurity has often been overlooked as organizations focused on securing their core on-premise networks and cloud infrastructure. However, the MSI further reveals, mobile devices—whether smartphones, laptops, remote video cameras, or temperature sensors—represent critical endpoints that could be breached. This underscores the urgent need for businesses to modernize their security strategies to address the evolving threats posed by mobile and IoT devices.

"Navigating the future: Prioritizing mobile and IoT security in an AI-driven world"

As AI-supported attacks further complicate the cybersecurity landscape, it is imperative for companies to adopt innovative technologies and comprehensive security concepts to effectively combat these threats. Meeting regulatory requirements is also essential to ensure robust cybersecurity measures.

Securing critical infrastructure demands unwavering commitment. To build trust in public services and companies, organizational and security leaders must take decisive action. Business leaders need to ensure full visibility into all IoT projects across their organizations and enforce consistent standards for mobile security, IoT built-in device security, network segmentation, and data encryption.

Educating employees and end users about the dangers of credential theft, the importance of basic security hygiene, and the power of skepticism and situational awareness is crucial. Cultivating a robust cybersecurity culture within organizations is essential, as anything less than relentless protection efforts is insufficient when the stakes are so high.

This call to action extends beyond critical infrastructure organizations. The MSI revealed similar patterns of mobile and IoT security gaps across all industries. Public and private organizations must collaborate to deploy multiple layers of defense to thwart threat actors and safeguard the immense progress enabled by mobile and IoT connectivity. By doing so, we can better protect our data, systems, and overall digital presence in an increasingly interconnected world.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Sony has announced PlayStation: The Concert, a world tour kicking off next year and featuring music from some of its biggest games.

In collaboration with RoadCo Entertainment, GEA Live, Senbla, and RG Live, PlayStation: The Concert will tour UK arenas in April 2025, calling at Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, and London.

The global tour will begin with its premiere on April 15, 2025, in Dublin, Ireland, before heading to over 200 cities across Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, and further.

The live music event will feature a state-of-the-art production, merging music and visual technology, and showcase soundtracks from multiple Sony titles, including God of War, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and the Horizon series.

Scores from the games' respective composers - Bear McCreary, Gustavo Santaolalla, Ilan Eshkeri, and Joris De Man - will "reach new heights, offering fans a unique, deeply immersive live concert experience."

Attendees will be faced with a multi-screen design, combining advanced LED and projection technologies that will enhance the event's music and imagery.

"Coupled with surround sound, the show delivers breathtaking visual and audio depth, creating an immersive experience that will allow the audience to relive their gaming adventures like never before," Sony said.

Tickets for PlayStation: The Concert are set to go on sale on October 18, 2024, at 3pm BST here. VIP packages will also be available. You can check out the UK Tour dates below.

PlayStation: The Concert - UK Tour Dates:

• Birmingham Utilita Arena - April 21, 2025
• Manchester Co-op Live - April 22, 2025
• Leeds First Direct Arena - April 23, 2025
• Newcastle Utilita Arena - April 24, 2025
• Glasgow OVO Hydro - April 25, 2025
• London OVO Arena Wembley - April 27, 2025

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Instagram just made it a lot easier to share and perhaps grow your account with Profile Cards. These two-sided and digitally portable Instagram ID cards feature key information about you and your account and that can be shared in just about any way you can imagine.

Mine started showing up early Tuesday morning, though Instagram tells us they're rolling out globally as of 11AM ET. Featured prominently near the top of your Instagram account, next to "Edit Profile," the "Share Profile" button opens a two-sided card (you swipe to rotate the card and see the other side). There's no opting out of Profile Cards, but then people only see them if you share the cards.

On one side of the Profile card is your avatar, username, full name, pronouns, bio, and the first link that you've shared on your link list. It's essentially almost everything you've put in your Instagram profile. On the other side is your Instagram handle and a scannable QR code, which people can use to instantly find your account on Instagram. Yes, it's quite similar to Snapchat's profile cards.

You can change the background on the backside of the card (the one with the QR code) but not the front.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Share options are extensive. You can copy, link, and send to WhatsApp, Threads, Messenger, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and even Snapchat. You can also add the card to your story. All of this could help you grow followers as people discover who you are and how to connect to your account if they happen to stumble on your Profile Card.

If they scan the QR code with their smartphone camera, the link takes them not immediately to the full Instagram profile but to the rotating Profile Card. Once they close that, they land on your Instagram Profile page.

Instagram likens the Profile Card to sharing a business card, but this obviously has a more personal and social bent.

The goal, as Instagram sees it, is to stay connected and even grow business opportunities by sharing your Profile Card with brands and potential collaborators. It is, at least, a nice boil down of the Instagram version of you.

Profile Cards should appear on Instagram's iOS and Android versions, though I'm not yet seeing them on the desktop.

This is the first significant platform change since Instagram started allowing us to post up top 20 pictures in a gallery. However, while that one dealt with engagement and perhaps keeping people on the platform longer, this is about account- and maybe user growth. Instagram hasn't had to focus much on that since, in recent years, it's been the dominant social media platform, even beating back strong competition from Snapchat. However, TikTok, despite its troubles, continuously puts Instagram's loyal base at risk. TikTok is constantly rolling out new tools to enhance the platform's usage. Perhaps Instagram is realizing that it needs to keep pace.

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A known data leaker claims to have broken into Cisco and stolen sensitive data from the company.

A threat actor with the alias IntelBroker recently posted a new thread on the infamous BreachForums, offering Cisco data for sale, noting, “Today, I am selling the Cisco breach that recently happened (6/10/2024). Breached by IntelBroker, EnergyWeaponUser, and zjj."

As per the thread, the archive includes Github projects, Gitlab projects, SonarQube projects, source code, hardcoded credentials, certificates, customer SRCs, confidential documents, Jira tickets, API tokens, AWS private buckets, Cisco Technology SRCs, Docker builds, Azure Storage buckets, private & public keys, SSL certificates, and more.

IntelBroker

IntelBroker also shared a small sample as proof of their claims, but did not elaborate on how the breach was done.

When asked for a comment, Cisco told BleepingComputer it was investigating, stating, "Cisco is aware of reports that an actor is alleging to have gained access to certain Cisco-related files...We have launched an investigation to assess this claim, and our investigation is ongoing."

IntelBroker is a known leaker with a solid track record, so the breach could very well be legitimate. So far, the same hacker posted data belonging to T-Mobile, Home Depot, General Electric, and many others. Together with EnergyWeaponUser, the threat actor also allegedly breached AMD back in August 2024

However, they also had a few misses, such as the Europol breach that happened in early May this year. While advertised as a big deal, Europol played down its importance, saying that no operational data was obtained. The agency was still breached, though.

As is always the case with data breaches, this has left the affected parties at risk of identity theft, phishing attacks, and financial loss. Anyone concerned should stay vigilant and look into the best identity theft protection on offer.

Via BleepingComputer

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Microsoft customers are facing over 600 million cyber attacks per day, ranging from simple phishing attacks launched by opportunistic individuals, to complex ransomware and espionage campaigns conducted by state-sponsored cyber groups, the company has claimed.

Microsoft’s fifth annual Digital Defense Report has examined how cyber criminals and nation states are motivated, interact, and conduct attacks.

Geopolitical tensions are also fueling cyber attacks, as adversaries seek to gain the upper hand by disrupting critical infrastructure and stealing technological, political and military secrets. As a result, nation states are taking advantage of the skills provided by cybercrime organizations, and exchanging them for funding and training.

Tactics, techniques, and procedures have changed - but not motives

The motivations for both cybercrime organizations and state-sponsored groups have overwhelmingly remained the same, with the former being financially motivated and the latter motivated by damage, intelligence and influence. What has changed however, is the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used.

Microsoft has observed nation state actors increasingly rely on tried and tested infrastructure used by cyber criminal groups, such as infostealers and command and control (C2) frameworks, to conduct attacks. For example, Russian threat actor Storm-2049 was spotted using the Xworm and Remcos RAT tools - malware available for purchase or for free and usually used by cyber criminals - to attack at least 50 Ukrainian military devices. Remcos RAT was recently hidden by cyber criminals inside fake patches during the CrowdStrike outage earlier this year.

North Korea is also adapting its espionage campaigns to provide financial benefits by deploying a bespoke ransomware called FakePenny, which has been used to exfiltrate sensitive data from the aerospace and defense sectors for intelligence purposes before encrypting files and requesting a ransom. Both of these examples signify a blurring of the lines between nation state threat actors and cyber criminal groups.

Microsoft also highlights how the primary focus of nation state activity remains in active conflict zones and areas of regional conflict. Following the dedication of resources by NATO countries to Ukraine’s effort to combat Russia’s invasion, the focus of the Kremlin has been on gathering intelligence on Western policy and opinion of the war, with 75% of Russia’s targets either being in Ukraine itself, or in a NATO member state.

China has also focused on attempting to solidify itself as a regional hegemon by focusing its attention on the military and political policy of Taiwan and other countries in Southeast Asia - particularly those involved in disputes over territorial borders within the South China Sea.

There has also been a significant spike in election influence related campaigns, with Microsoft noting a significant increase in domains registered to look legitimate but actually direct a victim to a spoofed website (known as homoglyph domains). For example, replacing a ‘w’ with ‘vv’ within the domain, or ‘.gov’ with ‘.org’ at the end of the address.

China and Russia have both also been observed experimenting with generative AI to manipulate text, imagery, video and audio to construct influence campaigns. Their effectiveness however, has been limited so far.

The full report, alongside recommendations for cybersecurity professionals and policymakers, can be found here.

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The highly anticipated Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 has hit the headlines in a bad way with a report flagging up that it can chomp your bandwidth when streaming the in-game world to the tune of up to 180Mbps.

Tom’s Hardware observes that this works out at something like 81GB of data per hour of gameplay when flying over densely populated areas with high detail settings, and that’s a figure that has understandably put some frowns on the faces of PC gamers.

The data is drawn from a YouTube video uploaded by Compusemble (see below) which comprises four test flights taken in the technical alpha of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, measuring both performance and internet bandwidth.

And here’s where we need to take a flight over (the densely populated) Caveat City.

The first and most glaring point is that Tom’s notes that data can ‘reach as high as’ a streaming rate of 180Mbps, but of course that’s a worst-case scenario, and it doesn’t get up anywhere near there most of the time.

Indeed, in the video, we can see that when flying over New York, the bandwidth is more like 30 to 50Mbps in the main, with spikes over 100Mbps (up to 180Mbps) which are very much the exception, not the rule. It’s more like 10 to 30Mbps when the level of detail is turned down a bit more, the vast majority of the time.

Similarly, in the Grand Canyon gameplay, we’re looking at 60 to 90Mbps (or 40 to 70Mbps with the details lowered somewhat).

We should also point out that this is in 4K resolution, Ultra details, which not everyone will be running at either – these levels of detail are obviously going to be quite a bit more intense for streaming.

We’re also looking at an alpha of the game, not the finished product, as Tom’s acknowledges – this may not be optimal performance in any given department (in fact, it almost certainly won’t be). The alpha is only a 9GB install compared to the full 30GB size of the game as stated by Microsoft recently (though it’ll require 50GB of free space, we should note).

So, is this all a bit of a storm in a teacup? We feel that it is, in many respects – though at the same time, bandwidth concerns are not unwarranted. Let’s discuss the ins and outs a bit further.

Analysis: Caching out

As we saw when the game’s specs were revealed, Microsoft has trimmed the installation of Flight Simulator 2024 down to 30GB (compared to 130GB minimum for Flight Simulator 2020), while observing that: “By tapping into the latest cloud streaming technology, installation size has been trimmed down to about 30GB to get you in your seat and flying as quickly as possible, streaming in the higher detailed areas that are only necessary for your flight path.”

So, we guess that this talk of tapping cloud streaming, combined with the bandwidth spec for the 2024 version – which ups the recommended connection bandwidth to 50Mbps, and 100Mbps is now the ideal spec (compared to 20Mbps and 50Mbps respectively with FS 2020) – is causing some definite concern.

And that’s fair enough – we don’t all have the fastest internet connection, or the best router, after all – but Tom’s is rather fanning the flames here by picking out a figure of 80GB odd of hourly usage, when the real story is not remotely close to that (even in the unfinished alpha). This is a misleading way to present FS 2024’s demands, particularly as it also doesn’t take into account the game’s settings.

You can download Flight Simulator content to your drive, and there’s a manual cache you can set (to store world data locally, rather than streaming), and a rolling cache to boot (that stores frequently visited areas). With those measures in play, in theory, your Flight Simulator 2024 bandwidth needs should be much more modest. Generally speaking, anyway, but that said, there are complaints from FS 2020 players that the rolling cache can have serious issues (including causing the game to crash), but we can hardly judge the 2024 incarnation on that basis.

It comes back to that rusty old phrase ‘let’s not leap to conclusions’ here as there are too many undetermined factors floating around. Still, we’ve got to say, Microsoft upping the bandwidth requirements is a little ominous, so we get it – particularly those gamers in the US hamstrung by a data allowance on their internet pipe might well be worrying. But let’s wait for the full picture here, because it most definitely won’t be anywhere near as bad as some reports are painting it.

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Greetings from Seattle! TechRadar Pro is on the ground for Lenovo Tech World 2024, covering all the latest news and announcements from the show.

We're expecting a whirlwind few days, full of news and updates on everything from AI PCs to data centers and much more.

The event kicks off today with an opening keynote from Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang, so stay tuned for all our live coverage!

Good evening from Seattle - well, actually Bellevue, a lush, green suburb that houses (among other things) the Meydenbauer Convention Center.

Tomorrow, we'll be there for a keynote from Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yuanqing Yang, who has a host of special guests set to join him on stage.

The line-up includes no less than Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, AMD Chair and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Lisa Su, Meta Founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg - so you won't want to miss it!

Good morning from Seattle, where we're up and ready for day one of Lenovo Tech World 2024.

We'll be heading over to the conference shortly, so stay tuned for all the updates today!

(Image credit: Future / M)

We've arrived! It's a chilly morning here, but we're here nice and early for a tour of the show floor, before the main keynote begins in about two hours time.

Shares of Nvidia have surged to a record high once more, closing at $138.07 on Monday, leading it well on its way to becoming the world’s most valuable company again.

Per CNBC, Nvidia had recently dropped a couple of places behind long-time leaders Apple and Microsoft after a very brief period in pole position. However the chipmaker has now overtaken Microsoft once more and set its sights on top spot.

With a market cap of $3.386 trillion, Nvidia is one of only three companies to have surpassed a three-trillion-dollar valuation.

Nvidia set to be most valuable company… again

Nvidia’s early entry into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market has allowed it to become a dominant player in the ongoing AI race, with major tech companies and market cap rivals such as Microsoft, Google, Meta and Amazon purchasing its processors to support their expanding AI infrastructure.

Nvidia shares are up 186.6% in 2024 to date, and up a staggering 2,800.6% over five years. Much of Nvidia’s success must be credited to the public preview launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, which fueled widespread interest and adoption of the technology.

In the space of twelve months, Nvidia has more than doubled its quarterly revenue to the sum of $30 billion thanks to its 95% share in the AI chips market. However, this is a long reach from Apple’s most recent quarterly revenue of $85.8 billion.

Furthermore, Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell chips could further boost revenue as companies look to acquire more powerful components to futureproof their infrastructure, which analysts predict could reach nearly $33 billion this quarter. If true, it would mark a considerable 82% year-over-year increase.

However, despite off-the-scale figures, some investors remain cautious that optimism surrounding AI could fade, leaving Nvidia with little to hang on to.

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Lindsay Lohan in another Christmas movie? Count me in. Lohan looks to spill the beans in the first-look images for the new Netflix movie Our Little Secret and it's the Mean Girls reunion that I needed in my life.

While I have my roast turkey with a side of Virgin River season 6, I can now complete my festive feast with a slice of Lohan's Christmas rom-com Our Little Secret. But reading the synopsis, it looks like it won't be a very merry Christmas for Lohan's character, Avery, when she finds herself in the exact situation she was hoping to avoid: spending the holidays with her ex-boyfriend Logan (Ian Harding).

Lohan has become a holiday rom-com staple on the best streaming service, after starring in one of the best Netflix Christmas movies Falling for Christmas and the St Patrick's Day-themed movie Irish Wish. Now, she has Our Little Secret to add to her Christmas list, but there's another gift under the tree in the form of a surprise Mean Girls reunion.

Lohan shares the screen once again with Mean Girls Principal Duvall (Tim Meadows), 20-years after the iconic teen movie was released – and now I don't think my Christmas can get much better. In the first-look image of Our Little Secret (see below), Meadows stars as family friend Stan, along with his wife Margaret (Judy Reyes).

(Image credit: Bob Mahoney/Netflix ) What is Our Little Secret about?

(Image credit: Chuck Zlotnick/Netflix )

The potential best Netflix movie is about two resentful exes, Avery (Lohan) and Logan (Harding) who are forced to spend Christmas with each other after discovering that their current partners are siblings, all while trying to hide their romantic history.

Lohan told Tudum: “The movie is about a girl who's dating someone, and she goes to meet his family for the holidays. Then she bumps into her ex, who is dating her boyfriend’s sister. And all kinds of stuff breaks loose.”

While the former couple have been split up for some time, Logan knows Avery better than anyone else, including her love for snacks, coffee, and "the inability to realize that she will most likely be cold in any temperature under 70 degrees," Harding added. But since Christmas is a time for forgiveness, could the bickering duo put aside their bitterness and rekindle their romance? We'll have to see!

Also starring in Our Little Secret are Kristin Chenoweth as mom Erica, Dan Bucatinsky as dad Leonard, Katie Baker as daughter Cassie, and Jon Rudnitsky as Avery's boyfriend Cameron.

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Jus over three years on from the iPad mini (2021), Apple has finally revived the little tablet by announcing the new iPad mini 7 – and it packs an A17 Pro chip for Apple Intelligence.

That new chip isn't the only new feature for the 8.3-inch tablet. Apple has announced two new colors – blue and purple – alongside starlight and space gray – and has beefed up the storage options.

The mini 7 starts with 128GB storage, and there are now 256GB and 512GB options, too. Naturally, it also runs the latest iPadOS 18. You can pre-order the iPad mini 7 from today, with pricing starting at $499 / £499 (for the Wi-Fi model) and $649 / £649 for the Wi-Fi and Cellular model.

Another big bonus for the mini 7 is that it supports the Apple Pencil Pro, making it a tempting little digital notebook for creatives. Apple says that the A17 Pro chip – which debuted in the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max – doubles the speed of the tablet's Neural Engine compared to the mini 6 and delivers a faster CPU and GPU.

Like before, the iPad mini 7 has a 12MP rear camera, but this time, it's been upgraded to Smart HDR 4 processing. There's also now support for Wi-Fi 6E for speedier wireless connectivity.

The iPad mini 7 (above) is available in four different colors – purple, space grey, starlight and blue (Image credit: Apple)

But the biggest software boosts will come from that Apple Intelligence support, which will be landing fully "later this month" in the US. That includes new AI-powered writing tools in apps like Mail, Notes and third-party apps, plus imaging tricks like Apple's Clean Up tool.

If you've been patiently waiting for the iPad mini 7, you can finally order one now from the Apple Store. We'll soon give you our full verdict on where the dinky tablet ranks in our guide to the best iPads.

Worth waiting for?

(Image credit: Apple)

Considering we were close to giving up on Apple launching a new iPad mini, seeing a refresh of the little tablet is great news – and the new model has everything we could have asked for.

The main benefit is that new A17 Pro chip, which future-proofs it not only for future iPadOS updates, but also Apple Intelligence. Even if you're not particularly blown away by the Apple Intelligence features so far, it was hard to recommend investing in an iPad mini 6 without the spec bump.

The added support for the Apple Pencil Pro is also a welcome bonus. The previous iPad mini (2021) supports the Apple Pencil, but the Pencil Pro brings some major benefits for digital artists, including a barrel sensor and haptics support. The only downside is that it doesn't come bundled with the tablet and costs a fairly punchy $129 / £129 / AU$219.

Also, while Apple promises an "all-day battery life" with the iPad mini 7, we don't yet have an estimate for how long it'll last. That was a notable weakness with the previous model, so we're looking forward to testing it out.

Those weaknesses aside, the iPad mini 7 does – on paper – have a strong shout for being the best 8-inch tablet you can buy, and it's good to see Apple sticking with the format despite the increasing size of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro.

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The Sonos Arc Ultra is official, and it's launching on October 29, 2024, at a price of $999 / £999 (Australian pricing is yet to be confirmed). It's a massive upgrade over the existing Sonos Arc, and introduces a brand-new speaker technology that promises to deliver incredible immersion which looks set to rival the best soundbars.

Here's what you need to know…

Sonos Arc Ultra: key features and specifications

The original Sonos Arc was a 5.1.2 surround system, but the Arc Ultra is 9.1.4. And it has what Sonos calls Sound Motion, the technology it acquired when it bought speaker firm Mayht a few years ago. The technology, previously known as HeartMotion, enables speakers to be made much smaller than those with traditional speaker drivers without compromising on power or sound quality.

Sonos says: "A significant breakthrough in audio engineering, Sound Motion drastically reduces the size of the transducer while supercharging the bass, opening a new chapter in sound innovation where bigger, better sound can be delivered from smaller products."

That means Sonos has been able to cram more bass power into what's still a relatively slim soundbar – in fact, Sonos says it's 18% smaller by volume than the original Arc. The Arc Ultra has dimensions of 2.95 x 46.38 x 4.35 inches (75 x 1178 x 110.6mm), and weighs 5.9kg. It comes in black and white finishes, as usual for the best Sonos speakers.

There are 14 drivers here, three more than in the Arc: seven silk-dome tweeters "with waveguides on both ends", six mid-range drivers, and a a built-in Sound Motion woofer.

Sonos adds that "a proprietary four-motor, dual-membrane woofer delivers exceptional bass in a revolutionary flat, compact design".

There are 15 channels of Class D amplification behind all of this – I presume two channels are going to the Sound Motion woofer, otherwise there's a spare.

Of note in the speaker configuration is that only two of the tweeters are upfiring, which raises questions about the 9.1.4 configuration – is Sonos just using processing to suggest more upfiring channels, or has it arrived at this figure some other way? I'll aim to find out.

As ever there's built-in support for wireless streaming services and easy integration with other Sonos devices. There's also a redesigned touch control panel, and the addition of Bluetooth to bring the Arc Ultra in line with Sonos's other products.

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(Image credit: Sonos) Sonos Arc Ultra: clever customization

The Sonos Arc Ultra can listen to the sound of your room and adjust its configuration accordingly thanks to the combination of integrated microphones and Sonos's Trueplay software, which is available for Android as well as for iOS for the first time, and there's also a more advanced Speech Enhancement tool that "lets you choose your preferred level of dialogue clarity in the Sonos app."

Sonos says the Arc Ultra is also designed for "improved serviceability" compared to the Sonos Arc, using "more screws and fewer adhesives, halogen-free PCB materials, less silicon material, and a reduced idle power consumption by as much as 20% as a standalone player compared to Arc."

The Arc Ultra is also designed to work with the new Sonos Sub 4 subwoofer ($799) for even more low-end power.

The Sub 4 has also been "rebuilt, inside and out", even though Sonos also says it has the "same iconic design". It includes "increased processing power and memory, as well as new Wi-Fi radios for better connectivity" and can be used in a pair with either another Sub 4, or with previous Sub models.

Sonos Arc Ultra: what we still need to know

I've approached Sonos for information about whether it will have only one HDMI eARC port, though I strongly suspect so based on the available information – this will be a huge disappointment if so.

I'm also waiting to hear whether any DTS decoding is supported (I doubt it) and whether the Sonos Ace headphones' switching feature is supported (I'm 99.99% certain it will be, but Sonos didn't explicitly say, though one of the press images shows them being used together).

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Roku has announced new home security features that are coming to its range of Roku TV and players soon, allowing you to cycle through a carousel of your Roku camera feeds and receive notifications straight to your TV. Additionally, Roku will be adding functionality to other devices like phones or computers via the Web View.

Previously, the best smart home displays were among the only means of monitoring your smart home security cameras without opening up your phone. However, in recent years some of the best TVs have emerged as suitable alternatives, giving you a big-picture view of your whole security setup at once.

If you own a Roku camera or video doorbell, your Roku TV or player will have two new features rolling out this winter, though we don't yet have firm dates.

The first is Camera Carousel, a new view that automatically cycles through each camera feed on your TV, and uses motion detection to display cameras where there's activity you might want to catch. This comes in addition to the existing live stream view and voice control features available within Roku TVs and players.

Secondly, Roku is introducing more notifications on the TV, giving you the option to receive alerts when cameras detect activity.

Matter still missing

Apple Intelligence for the smart home (Image credit: Roku)

Later in the year, Roku will also roll out a Smart Home Web View, allowing users to monitor all camera feeds from one page on any computer or web device. There's no firm date for this yet, either, but Roku aims to also release this feature during the winter (in other words, sometime between December and early February).

All of the listed features will become available as free, automatic software updates to Roku devices, and will be compatible with all Roku Smart Home camera and doorbell products.

Unfortunately, and despite its Connectivity Standards Alliance membership, Roku's home devices aren't Matter-compatible, and it doesn't seem like this rollout will be changing that.

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A little over a year since the Air 3 took to the skies, DJI has followed it up with an iterative update in the shape of the new DJI Air 3S. We already rated the DJI Air 3 as the best all-round drone, and its successor – which you can learn more about in our in-depth DJI Air 3S review – delivers even better bang for buck for enthusiast pilots keen on capturing high-quality aerial images.

The key upgrades delivered by the Air 3S are its dual-camera array, which now includes a primary 24mm camera that utilizes a larger 1-inch sensor, alongside the secondary camera – a 3x telephoto zoom (70mm approx) for the times you need to get a tighter perspective of your subjects.

In addition to a better main camera, the Air 3S is equipped with front-facing LiDAR – that's a first for DJI – plus downward infrared time-of-flight (TOF) sensors and six vision sensors. Combined, this omnidirectional obstacle-sensing tech enables the Air 3S to automatically identify and avoid obstacles during its flight and return paths, for daytime and now nighttime imaging, together with 'next-gen' Smart Return to Home (RTH).

The DJI Air 3S is the ideal all-rounder, sitting between DJI's best sub-250g drone, the Mini 4 Pro, and DJI's professional Mavic series of drones, headlined by the Mavic 3 Pro. The Air 3S standard bundle with DJI's RC-N3 controller costs $1,099 / £959 / AU$1,699, while the Fly More Combo is $1,399 / £1,239 / AU$2,129. You can upgrade the Fly More Combo by opting for the DJI RC 2 controller instead for $1,599 / £1,439 / AU$2,429. Those prices make the Air 3S a fair whack cheaper than the Mavic 3 Pro, but a little pricier than the Mini 4 Pro.

DJI has equipped the Air 3S with upgraded omnidirectional object sensing, fitting it with LiDAR that's more effective in low light (Image credit: DJI) Worth the upgrade?

As its name suggests, the Air 3S is a minor upgrade of the Air 3, otherwise it probably would have been named the DJI Air 4. And for most people who own an Air 3, the Air 3S isn't worth the upgrade. However, if you're new to drones or looking to level up from sub-250g drones like the Mini 4 Pro, the Air 3S could be your best bet – though at 724g you'll need a certificate of competency in most regions before taking the Air 3S airborne.

Updates-wise, firstly there's that excellent 1-inch sensor in the main camera, which delivers 50MP stills, 4K video up to 120fps (that's 4x slow motion), HDR video up to 4K 60fps, plus color-rich 10bit recording in DJI's D-Log M color profile. The second camera features the same 1/1.3-inch sensor as the Air 3, with 48MP stills plus the same video recording modes as the main camera. These image-making chops are a cut above the Mini 4 Pro's, although the triple-camera Mavic 3 Pro has a larger-still Four Thirds sensor for its main camera, plus 5.1K video recording.

DJI says that both cameras boast up to 14 stop of dynamic range through DJI's D-Log M color profile, meaning that you retain plenty of detail in highlights and shadows, and can easily grade footage to get the look you like. There's an all-new 'Free panorama' mode, which captures multiple images that you can stitch together for highly detailed compositions and framable prints. You also get 42GB of built-in storage.

The Air 3S can be purchased as a Standard Combo or one of two Fly More Combo's – the drone is pictured here with the DJI RC N3 controller and charging hub (Image credit: DJI)

Other stand-out features in the Air 3S include 360-degree active subject tracking with a new Subject Focusing feature, which together plans out a flight path based on the terrain, and works in conjunction with object sensing obstacle avoidance to keep your subject in sharp focus.

The Air 3S offers a max flight time of 45-minutes per battery – although quoted times are calculated in controlled environments, and you'll generally get shorter durations in real-world use. Should you opt for the Fly More Combo you get an additional two batteries, effectively tripling your flight time per trip, while the Charging Hub supports fast charging and power accumulation, whereby the remaining power of low power batteries can be transferred to the one with the highest power remaining to get you airborne again faster.

The Air 3 was already an excellent drone, and as mentioned, if you own one there probably isn't enough reason to upgrade to the Air 3S. However, for enthusiasts coming in fresh, the latest model is DJI's most compelling all-rounder drone yet.

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We’ve all made the mistake of downloading some useless apps at one point or another, but there used to be a degree of certainty that the fake beer drinking app or the wild west sound effect buttons wouldn’t turn out to be spyware - as long as you got it directly from the App store. Well, new research from Zscaler says that might not be the case anymore.

Zscaler’s new ThreatLabz OT Threat Report has identified over 200 malicious apps available on the App store, which have already been downloaded by 8 million users so far. This comes with a 101% rise in spyware year-over-year, as well as a 29% increase in banking malware attacks.

This suggests that the motives for the attacks remain primarily financial, as banking malware allows threat actors to steal your credentials not just to use themselves, but also to sell on to other criminals.

More than a few bad apples

The targets of these attacks mirror research on other types of cyberattack, with the education, technology, and manufacturing sectors experiencing the most incidents. Education proves once again to be attractive to cybercriminals, and saw a 136% increase in attacks in the last year.

As more and more of us work from home, we introduce more software to enable us to connect or for productivity in hybrid environments, but these open the landscape up for threat actors to exploit.

"Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting legacy exposed assets which often act as a beachhead to IoT & OT environments, resulting in data breaches and ransomware attacks," said Deepen Desai, Chief Security Officer at Zscaler.

"Mobile malware and AI driven vishing attacks adds to that list making it critical for CISOs and CIOs to prioritize an AI powered zero trust solution to shut down attack vectors of all kinds safeguarding against these attacks."

These are not the first reports of infected apps even from the official Play store, so we recommend checking reviews, number of downloads, and ratings when looking for something new.

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New and improved Kindles are reportedly set to be announced *checks watch* tomorrow, October 16, with one seemingly set to launch with a brighter display and a more sustainable design than its predecessor. Such an upgrade would mark the first improvement to the product line since the Amazon Kindle (2022) dropped.

This comes from Good e-Reader (via T3) who claims “many people who work in retail” are preparing to sell new Kindle models in-store and online from October 16. They don’t have model names, just numbers, however those models are expected to be a new entry-level Kindle, and an update to the Kindle Paperwhite (2021).

This leak is supported by a previous accidental listing for a 2024 edition of the entry-level Kindle on its site at the end of September by a Spanish retailer, and that some Amazon Kindle ereaders have been sold out for a little while – suggesting Amazon could be phasing them out in order to launch a new Kindle soon.

There was also a pair of FCC filings – 2A4DH-5698 and 2A4DH-5688 – for what appears to be new Kindles (via Good e-Reader) with photos and diagrams for the products still under an embargo, again teasing that Amazon has a surprise launch coming soon.

The leaked Spanish retailing listing is where we get the details of the new design, including that the ereader is seemingly made with 75% recycled plastic and 90% recycled magnesium, and that the display will boast 25% higher brightness than the 11th-gen model.

It also reportedly boasts 16GB of onboard storage, an eight-week max battery life, and offer faster page turns to feel like a more responsive device.

As with all leaks it’s worth taking all of these details with a pinch of salt – until Amazon makes an official announcement nothing is certain.

(Image credit: TechRadar) What we want to see

Considering how long it's been since we last got new Kindles it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see new models this year. And if the recent Fire HD 8 tablets launch is anything to go by, Amazon isn’t afraid to just drop new tech without a massive fanfare. Just don’t expect Amazon to launch its new Kindles with an immediate discount like it did with the Fire HD 8 tablets.

That’s not to say the launch won’t still be exciting, with that faster page-turn leak suggesting that the 2024 Kindle will use the E Ink Carta 1300 display which debuted in the 2024 Kobo Clara BW – and helped cement it as one best ereaders this year.

Beyond that, the addition of color e-ink would be appreciated – with this tech yet again being boasted by Kindle rival Kobo’s Clara Colour. At the same time, Kindles are pricier.

A more achievable upgrade could instead be the cheapest Kindle getting the same IPX8 waterproof rating as the Kindle Paperwhite, but we’ll have to wait and see what (if anything) is revealed in the rumored launch tomorrow.

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For years now we've been living in a vinyl revival, with sales of vinyl LPs and the best turntables in rude health. But new data from Billboard suggests that this particular listening party could be coming to an end. Between 2023 and 2024, US vinyl sales dropped 33.3%. That's much more of a drop than CD sales (down 19.5%) or digital albums (down 8.3%). And it's not been replaced by streaming, which is only up 7.2%.

The problem's pretty simple. Vinyl almost always costs too much now.

New releases are routinely priced at $30 / £30 or higher before shipping, and considerably more if there's more than one disc. And old records are being rereleased and priced the same too – assuming they're not being re-released as an even more expensive package such as Green Day's 8LP American Idiot reissue ($199 / £239.99) or U2's "Super Deluxe Collector" 8LP re-release of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ($299.98 / £229.99)

New vinyl is expensive in part because there aren't enough places making vinyl records, and partly because the costs of making records have increased. But it's also because of greed in both the new and the resale markets.

Opinion: the price of vinyl simply isn't sustainable

New vinyl has been expensive for some time now, and limited supply is a key factor: there are only so many pressing plants that can make the records. When Adele's record company got her 2021 album 30 manufactured, it took up so much capacity that other artists were facing wait times of up to nine months to get their own records made.

That problem has become worse since pop acts in particular started creating deliberate scarcity with multiple vinyl variants of the same record. Taylor Swift is probably the most high profile of these vinyl villains, making multiple versions of the same vinyl in slightly different colors (six colors for Midnights and approximately a million billion different variants of The Tortured Poets Department), but it's widespread across mainstream music now.

The high prices and limited supply in retail are having a knock-on effect on resale too. If you spend any time on the r/vinyl subreddit or similar forums you'll see redditors – redditors who love vinyl, redditors who've spent more on music than some of us spend on cars or feeding our families – talking in astonishment about the soaring prices of old records, the greed of second-hand sellers and why they're scaling back their buying as a result of what many consider to be blatant price gouging. And as some point out, high prices doesn't necessarily mean high quality either.

I love vinyl, and in a world where streaming CEOs have a higher net worth than almost any musician in history, I want to support artists directly by buying their stuff. But like many music fans, I'm buying a lot less now because I simply can't afford the prices being charged.

Music is made to be listened to, not hung on a wall or kept in the hope of selling it on for a profit. But as with the cost of concert tickets, the cost of vinyl is excluding all but the most affluent.

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