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Squarespace website builder review

Squarespace has become a top choice in the website builder world thanks to its sleek designs and easy-to-use tools. You’ve probably seen it advertised across different platforms, and for good reason—it’s hard to miss.

For

• Built-in email marketing
• Essential e-commerce features with most plans
• Lots of lovely, mobile-responsive templates
• Free trial with no credit card info required
• Helpful link in bio tool
• Free SSL certificate
• Helpful 24/7 customer support and well-supplied knowledgebase
• A solid set of features

Against

• Can't switch templates without starting from scratch
• No telephone support
• Low level of customization

Hostinger website builder review

Hostinger is known for its easy drag-and-drop editor, built-in SEO tools, and fast hosting. With customizable templates and AI-powered design options, Hostinger makes it simple to create a professional website without breaking the bank.

For

• 24/7 live chat support
• Awesome AI-powered tools
• 7-day free trail
• All-in-one sort of solution
• Essential ecommerce tools
• Free SSL security
• Intuitive and insightful user interface
• Royalty-free image library
• Multi-language support
• Free domain (for 1-year, with annual plans)
• 30-day money back guarantee

Against

• No forever free plan
• Not fit for a membership site
• You can’t switch templates
• All ecommerce tools only on premium plan
• Most AI tools only on premium plan

Picking the right website builder for you is all about matching your needs, goals, and skills with the right platform. After all, what is right for one isn’t always right for another. But with your time already stretched and a plethora of tools and features to consider, comparing platforms can be a behemoth task.

In this guide, we stand two of the best website builders side-by-side, comparing important features including price, ecommerce features, usability, and more. We’ve dived deep into each of these areas and created a quick and easy summary, making it simple for you to get a true idea of how Squarespace and Hostinger compare.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: Pricing

(Image credit: Squarespace)

With just 4 plans to pick from, Squarespace pricing is simple to understand.

The Personal plan starts at $16/month for features such as custom domains, Squarespace AI, SSL security, and unlimited bandwidth. Moving up to the Business plan at $23/month, you get additional features like website analytics, promotional pop-ups, customization with CSS and Javascript, and a 3% transaction fee on e-commerce sales.

If you're aiming to build an online store, the Basic Commerce plan removes the transaction fees and adds perks like point of sale, product review, and more at $27/month. Meanwhile, larger stores can go with the Advanced Commerce plan. At $52/month, you’ll get additional features like advanced shipping, abandoned cart recovery, discounts, and commerce APIs.

Depending on your situation, you can save up to 50% on your Squarespace subscription by using one of the best Squarespace promo codes.

(Image credit: Hostinger)

Hostinger has two budget-friendly website builder plans, starting with the Premium Website Builder plan at just $2.99/month for a 48-month term.

This plan includes a free domain worth $9.99, integration with third-party tools like Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, WhatsApp, Adsense, and access to a Mobile website editor.

At a slightly higher cost, the Business Website Builder plan comes in at $3.99/month and includes AI tools for generating images, blog writing, heatmaps, and SEO. Plus, you can set up your online store with a 0% transaction fee.

My verdict: Hostinger clearly wins in terms of affordability with its highly competitive pricing, making it ideal for beginners or small businesses on a budget. However, if you want a more polished, design-focused website with powerful built-in tools, Squarespace's higher price might be worth it, as it has specific plans based on your needs.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: Editor

Squarespace stands out with its intuitive and polished drag-and-drop editor, Fluid Engine. This editor features grid-based layouts and predefined content blocks. As you build your website, you can customize your template with colors, fonts, images, and content. You can see these changes in real time as you edit, and it’s easy to switch between the desktop and mobile views to make sure your site looks good on all devices. Squarespace comes with built-in tools for adding blogs, photo galleries, and online store features, which makes it easy to create different kinds of websites.

On the other hand, Hostinger’s AI brings your customizable site to life in a matter of minutes. Even if you choose a pre-made template, you can easily tweak elements using their drag-and-drop interface. While it might not be as feature-rich or as visually appealing as Squarespace, it gets the job done quickly and to a high standard. Not to mention, you can use Hostinger’s AI tools like AI Heatmap and AI Writer to optimize content and design for conversions.

My verdict: While Hostinger’s AI provides speed and simplicity to launch your site quickly, Squarespace comes out on top, with an intuitive editor that lets you experiment with different layouts. This gives you the flexibility to create beautiful designs and keep your website fresh and up-to-date.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: Ecommerce

Squarespace supports a wide variety of features for both physical and digital products, such as product variants, customer reviews, discount codes, and inventory management. It also offers point-of-sale integration, subscription-based services, and abandoned cart recovery in its Advanced Commerce plan. Squarespace further enhances your online store with SEO tools, customizable checkout pages, and the ability to connect your store with social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

From a single dashboard, Hostinger lets you set up a payment method, customize each item, add your business info for invoices, and review your shipping policies. It also offers several advanced tools, some of which are AI-powered, that can speed up store creation and product upload.

From the Store Manager section, you can set up an online store, manage inventory, create product categories, and offer discount codes. While you get insights like average order value and revenue, their ecommerce tools are not as advanced as Squarespace. Hostinger is best suited for smaller online stores that don’t need extensive ecommerce functionalities.

My verdict: Squarespace is the clear winner for users looking to build a full-fledged ecommerce website with advanced features. Hostinger is a great budget option for small businesses or individuals needing basic e-commerce capabilities.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: User experience

Squarespace focuses on giving you a visually-driven user experience. Its platform is smooth, well-organized, and packed with design-forward features that make building a website enjoyable. Whether you're a designer or someone with minimal tech skills, Squarespace’s well-thought-out UI leverages the help of AI for intuitive recommendations. All of their templates are mobile-optimized, so your website will look great across all devices.

Hostinger’s AI builder is designed to be quick and easy. The interface is straightforward and the features are great for those with no or little website building experience. While it doesn’t have the same level of design customization as Squarespace, the simplicity of the platform makes it easier to navigate, particularly for non-designers. Plus, the platform is lightweight, which ensures fast load times and smooth browsing experiences.

My verdict: If you value design and aesthetics, Squarespace’s user experience is unparalleled. Hostinger is more focused on efficiency and speed, making it a great choice for users who prioritize simplicity over complex design options.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: Support

Squarespace comes with 24/7 email support and live chat during business hours. Additionally, they have an extensive knowledge base, video tutorials, forum, and webinars to help you get the most out of their platform. If you need professional assistance, you can hire a Squarespace Expert to help set up your site. While Squarespace support is highly regarded, the lack of direct phone support may be a drawback for some users.

Similarly, despite a lack of phone support, Hostinger’s customer support team functions well with 24/7 customer support via live chat and email. Like Squarespace, it features a knowledge base with step-by-step guides, articles, and tutorials. What sets Hostinger apart is its Hostinger Academy YouTube channel, which has over 550 videos, run by industry experts.

My verdict: It’s almost a tie, since both Squarespace and Hostinger offer good resources, though neither has phone support. Squarespace comes with live chat, tutorials, and expert help, while Hostinger is known for quick responses and its highly valuable YouTube channel.

Squarespace vs Hostinger: Final Verdict

If you’re after aesthetics, design flexibility, and advanced e-commerce tools, Squarespace is the better choice. However, if you’re on a tight budget and need a quick, no-fuss website builder, Hostinger delivers excellent value for money.

Either way, it’s best to put these builders to the test with a free trial. Where Squarespace has a 14-day free trial, Hostinger’s trial only lasts up to 7 days, although you can get a 30-day money-back guarantee with a paid plan. Ultimately, the right choice depends on your specific needs and priorities, so take advantage of these trials to find the best fit for your website goals.

The Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 update dropped on October 1, 2024, and with it came the need for another workaround to address persistent hardware upgrade issues.

Since Windows 11 was originally released in 2021, Microsoft has required users to run its latest OS on a machine with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, and with a sufficiently new 64-bit CPU supporting Secure Boot. Microsoft must be aware that users are unhappy with Windows 11’s strict hardware requirements, but the company has only become more inflexible.

Users have already been using creative solutions to run Windows 11 on their machines. One popular method involves the 'Rufus' utility software, which can be used to make bootable OS disks. Rufus circumvents Microsoft’s checks by the simple expedient of replacing the code used to do them – contained in the file appraiserres.dll – with an empty file.

It’s this particular method that no longer works, resulting in users running Windows 11 on older machines being left unable to install the 24H2 update.

Thankfully, Rufus developer Pete Bard dug deep into his hacker’s toolbox and pulled out a new solution. If you want to update right now, you can head to GitHub and follow the instructions, which involve a set of registry fixes. Future versions of Rufus will contain code to do this automatically.

Rufus to the rescue?

This is all great if tinkering with Windows 11's innards is your thing, but the average user is probably not feeling too great about how difficult and inconvenient that is for them.

At least the official method for upgrading systems appears untouched. If your PC is using Secure Boot, UEFI, and has a TPM 2.0, upgrading to Windows 11 should be relatively pain-free. Additionally, if you already have Windows 11 on your PC there’s no need for any new compatibility upgrades, so your system should continue to receive updates with no problems.

Microsoft seems hell-bent on making a huge chunk of its users miserable, because introducing such strict hardware checks, especially for TPM is just making things unnecessarily hard for many of its users. Sure, TPM and secure boot add more security, but perfectly functioning older hardware shouldn’t have to be excluded from receiving the most basic Windows updates.

The fact that Microsoft seems so hellbent on forcing users to buy new hardware when they have perfectly working older systems is another example of how Microsoft seems to prove again and again that it is not customer-focused enough and wants to dictate what its users can or can’t do with their own systems. Add the growing mountain of e-waste that we'll have to deal with eventually, and you've got a perfect storm of upset Windows users.

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We’re likely now mere weeks away from Apple revealing its new slate of M4 Mac products, with current leaks suggesting the new Macs will land in early November. It’s been a less-than-watertight build-up to launch, with a bevy of leaked details (including an apparent full leak of the M4 MacBook Pro on YouTube), but there’s one very conspicuous absence.

I’m talking, as you may have guessed, about the long-awaited M4 MacBook Air. Now, this isn’t actually the new product I’m most excited about – that honor goes to the M4 Mac mini, since despite my usual Apple skepticism I’m a sucker for a powerful compact computer – but I’m frankly baffled by the Air's apparent exclusion from the new product lineup, with current rumors suggesting it’ll launch sometime in early 2025.

After all, the MacBook Air is kind of a big deal. Apple itself labels it ‘the world’s most popular laptop’ – a term I take with a pinch of salt, since Apple doesn’t offer the same variety of configurations and models that virtually every other laptop manufacturer does – and we awarded the most recent M3 MacBook Air a rare five stars in our review. Even as a known macOS hater, I have to admit that it’s undeniably a stellar laptop. So why isn’t Apple leading with it when it comes to its upcoming M4 lineup?

Best foot forward

This isn’t the first time Apple has snubbed its ‘most popular’ Mac product. Last year’s ‘Scary Fast’ October event saw the same odd move, with the M3 chip being officially unveiled first in a new MacBook Pro and iMac. The M3 MacBook Air didn’t release until March this year, so it now looks like Apple is going to repeat that pattern.

Now, I’m just a humble tech journalist, not privy to the conversations no doubt taking place behind closed doors at Apple, but I’d like to posit a few possible explanations for this frankly rather baffling decision to apparently de-prioritize the MacBook Air, despite its claimed popularity. Why exactly doesn't Apple want to lead with its supposedly market-conquering laptop?

I love the Mac mini, but it only accounts for a small portion of Apple's Mac sales. (Image credit: Future)

Well, our first answer might come from sales statistics. According to a survey conducted by research organization CIRP, the MacBook Pro currently accounts for the largest portion of Mac products sold in the US, taking up a 43% share, while the MacBook Air sits in second place at 34%. But that’s still more than the remaining Mac devices combined, with the iMac, Mac Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Studio (in descending order of share) accounting for the remaining 23%.

So, the MacBook Air is significantly more popular than the iMac and Mac mini, yet both lines are reportedly receiving new M4-powered models this year. It could have to do with profitability; the iMac and MacBook Pro both typically retail a fair chunk above the Air, and putting out the more expensive products first could be a savvy business move. On the other hand, the Mac mini is the cheapest Mac product by far, with the M4 model supposedly getting a significant redesign that hopefully won’t impact its entry price too much (especially since there was no M3 variant of Apple’s diminutive desktop system).

A little trickery

I’m led to conclude that there’s a simple explanation for Apple holding back the MacBook Air – twice now – when it introduces a new wave of Mac products. Apple simply wants its shiny new M4 chip to look good – and it’s easier to showcase that in a Pro-level laptop with active cooling, rather than the slimmer, passively-cooled MacBook Air.

That’s not even mentioning the fact that the new M4 MacBook Pro will reportedly ship with 16GB of RAM in its base configuration – something that users and reviewers alike have been demanding for years, as 8GB simply isn’t enough for intensive work these days. If Apple plans to keep 8GB of unified memory as the baseline for the MacBook Air, the M4 chip inside the cheapest model will naturally perform less well in many tasks against a new 16GB MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro M4 was supposedly leaked by YouTuber Wylsacom, but there's no sign of any Air leaks (Image credit: Wylsacom)

By releasing the new MacBook Air long after the buzz about a new chip has died down, Apple could be hoping to mitigate any backlash surrounding expected versus real-world performance – and Apple already kicked off excitement about the M4 by releasing it in its latest iPad Pro 13-inch back in May, a smart move given that high-level computational performance is less important on a tablet device, and iPadOS is less resource-intensive than macOS.

Just to be clear: I’m not saying that the new MacBook Air is going to suck. It won’t be as strong as the MacBook Pro, and that’s totally fine – it’s cheaper, after all – but Apple probably doesn’t want anyone thinking of it as the ‘downgrade’. I will, however, be heavily disappointed if it launches with only 8GB of memory as standard, especially given the ludicrous amount Apple charges for RAM upgrades. Don’t let me down, Tim…

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Two weeks after suffering a cyberattack and shutting down parts of its infrastructure, MoneyGram has revealed more details on the incident, confirming that, contrary to what many speculated, this was not a ransomware attack.

A letter sent to stakeholders in late September 2024 seen by BleepingComputer, explains MoneyGram called in CrowdStrike, law enforcement, and other cybersecurity professionals, to investigate the matter, and the conclusion was - this was no ransomware attack:

"After working with leading external cybersecurity experts, including CrowdStrike, and coordinating with U.S. law enforcement, the majority of our systems are now operational, and we have resumed money transfer services," the email allegedly reads. "We recognize the importance of system security as we take these actions. We restored our systems only after taking extensive precautionary measures. At this time, we have no evidence that this issue involves ransomware nor do we have any reason to believe that this has impacted our agents' systems."

No evidence of ransomware

MoneyGram is a global money transfer and payment services company that enables individuals and businesses to send and receive funds internationally. It offers services including peer-to-peer money transfers, bill payments, and money orders, with operations in over 200 countries and territories.

On September 20, its customers took to social media (X, Facebook, Reddit) to complain about services not working properly, the website being offline, and other worries. Three days later, the company responded to the claims, saying it was experiencing a network outage, and later confirmed it suffered a “cybersecurity issue.” In response to this issue, MoneyGram shut down parts of its IT systems, including both online and in-person transactions.

This led to the media, and customers, speculating that MoneyGram had suffered a ransomware attack, even though no threat actors claimed to be responsible for the attack.

Money transfer services are back online, MoneyGram concluded.

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Despite the negative connotations of my headline, I am by no means suggesting that I disliked Will & Harper. In fact, the opposite is true. A few weeks back, I openly admitted to crying at the trailer, and I firmly believe that it is deserving of its almost perfect Rotten Tomatoes score – it has 99% on the 'Tomatometer' at the time of writing. The Netflix movie is an essential watch, but you may find it uncomfortable in places.

That is no bad thing. I firmly believe that more Netflix documentaries should have the confidence to be this raw and vulnerable. While its message of self-acceptance, as well as the acceptance of others is clear, it doesn't shy away from showing mistakes along the way. It does not feel rehearsed, it feels genuine, and watching two long-term friends navigating a big change was presented with the honesty it deserved.

The documentary centers on the friendship between comedy legend Will Ferrell and his friend, Harper Steele. Before meeting on Saturday Night Live, where Steele was a head writer, Ferrell had known him as Andrew, a cisgender man. Ferrell later received a deep, heartfelt email from Steele about him coming out as transgender and identifying as a woman. He later learned his friend's new name was Harper, and this prompted Ferrell to suggest a road trip where he could get reacquainted with his friend and ask some important questions.

Straight away, Ferrell supported Steele. He admitted he was shocked, but at no point did he hold any vitriol towards his friend. This was nice to witness on many levels. For a start, he's a huge public figure who people look up to, so the fact he was so supportive is a positive thing to see. He took the initiative to teach himself and the world about a social issue, a topic that isn't always easy to approach or understand. He went into it with his signature humor as well as some tenderness, resulting in a rollercoaster of a documentary.

What exactly went wrong during Will & Harper?

(Image credit: Netflix)

If we're being honest, a lot. From some slightly sexist questions such as Ferrell asking Steele if she was a worse driver now, to conversations about new boobs, there's a lot that modern audiences might cringe at. But I think it's important to examine the subjects at the heart of the movie; Will Ferrell is a 57-year-old man who is used to crude humor, and Andrew Steele wrote those sorts of jokes with him during their respective careers. They're used to coping with humor like this, Steele at no point seemed uncomfortable and even threw jokes of her own right back. The jokes never felt malicious, instead it felt in line with the relationship they always had, and viewers were given an intimate look at how these two interact.

It is impossible for us to fully see the extent of their friendship throughout a two-hour movie, and being thrown into this typically masculine environment of beer jokes, gender jokes, and more, can feel a little jarring at first if that's not something you're used to. But throughout all of it, Ferrell was consistently supportive. He had breakfast with Steele's children, stayed with her sister, and got some different perspectives. He listened and, to his credit, did know when to stop the jokes and actually take things seriously.

Ferrell also messed up on two occasions. The first was during a basketball game where he boldly spoke about his transgender friend to Eric Holcomb, a governor who signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in Indiana last year. Not knowing who Holcomb was, nor his recent policies, Ferrell had not considered the fact others may not be so supportive of Steele. As hard as this was to watch, I thought it was important as it allows viewers to see two opposing sides of the same issue, and how it is very easy for us to bring up topics around people who may have differing views.

The second was a restaurant scene where he decided to take on an eating challenge at a steakhouse in Texas. While there, his celebrity status draws attention and he introduces his friend to the crowd as "Miss Harper Steele". The announcer fumbled addressing her properly, and this prompted an onslaught of social media hatred calling both Ferrell and Steele insults, while intentionally misgendering the latter. This is arguably the most uncomfortable scene of the movie.

But it's crucial that scenes like these are left in. They're interspersed with other, more wholesome scenes like people in dive bars being kind towards Harper, and meeting with others who have shared similar experiences. As they travel the country and meet with a variety of different people, it's ultimately a hopeful movie and it felt important for Harper to visit some of the places she'd enjoyed years ago.

Being so vulnerable on camera is not easy, but this is one of the most important documentaries you'll see. I urge you to give it a go as soon as possible.

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A new information-stealing malware has been spotted which is capable of exfiltrating quite a lot of sensitive information, and also disabling antivirus programs to establish persistence on target endpoints.

Cybersecurity researchers from CYFIRMA have shared an in-depth analysis of the infostealer, which they call Yunit Stealer.

Yunit Stealer uses JavaScript to incorporate system utility and cryptographic modules, allowing it to execute tasks such as system information retrieval, command execution, and HTTP requests. It remains persistent on the target device by modifying the registry, adding tasks through batch and VBScript, and ultimately - by setting exclusions in Windows Defender.

Stealing passwords and credit card data

When it comes to its infostealing capabilities - Yunit is as potent as any other malware. It can steal system information, data saved in the browser (passwords, cookies, autofill information, etc.), as well as cryptocurrency wallet information. Besides passwords, it can also save credit card information stored in the browser, as well.

Once it collects all the information it deems useful, the malware will try to exfiltrate it either via Discord webhooks, or into a Telegram channel. It will also upload it to a remote server and generate a download link for further access. The link will also come with screenshots, allowing the threat actor to retrieve the information while maintaining anonymity and evading detection. Accessing the data via encrypted communication channels helps, too.

To reinforce the idea that Yunit is a nascent infostealer that is yet to demonstrate its prowess, CYFIRMA stressed that the Telegram channel was only set up on August 31, 2024, and that it currently counts 12 subscribers. Alternatively, the Discord account is currently inactive.

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The official LEGO Group website was hijacked by crypto scammers to promote a fake cryptocurrency.

The false advert for "LEGO coin" promised ‘secret rewards’ for those who bought the currency, and included a ‘buy now’ button which led to a phishing site.

The incident occurred at 3am CET, but LEGO’s Danish head office was quick to remove the message, which was only displayed for around 75 minutes. The toymaker confirmed no customer accounts were compromised, and that the cause has been identified and measures are being implemented to prevent another attack.

A popular scam

" On 5 October 2024 (October 4 evening in the US), an unauthorised banner briefly appeared on LEGO.com," the company's official statement said. "It was quickly removed, and the issue has been resolved. No user accounts have been compromised, and customers can continue shopping as usual. The cause has been identified and we are implementing measures to prevent this from happening again."

The ad appeared as a banner on the Lego site, which redirected visitors to an external marketplace where they could purchase ‘LEGO tokens’ using popular cryptocurrency Ethereum.

Fake cryptocurrencies are frequently used by fraudsters to trick unsuspecting victims out of their money, with ads, posts, or social media messages accounting for the introductions of almost half of the scams.

These mostly come in the form of ‘investment’ opportunities, where victims are encouraged to join fake cryptocurrencies and buy into as much as they can, with some even showing false ‘gains’ or earned money. The scam comes to fruition when victims try to withdraw their money, but are charged extortionate ‘fees’ to do so.

In 2023, this type of fraud stole a staggering $4.57 billion according to the FBI, costing more money than ransomware that year. This has continued into 2024, with the average amount stolen per incident rising by almost 80%, primarily due to bitcoin’s success.

Tech companies have recently teamed up against the scams, providing tools and knowledge to help protect customers from fraud. Tech Against Scams have pledged to share intelligence and help educate people to reduce the amount of successful scams.

Via Engadget

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No-code platforms have revolutionized software development by allowing users without programming skills to create applications through intuitive interfaces. These platforms democratize software creation, making it accessible to a wider audience and offering critical advantages in today's fast-paced business environment by accelerating development and reducing reliance on specialized IT resources.

Originating in the early 2000s with visual programming and rapid application development (RAD) tools, no-code platforms have evolved significantly due to technological advancements and the need for more agile software solutions. Now experiencing unprecedented growth, with Gartner predicting 65% of application development will use no-code or low-code platforms by 2024, these platforms are essential for businesses to adapt, innovate, and streamline operations.

In the midst of this rapid growth, the scope of no-code platforms has expanded beyond the field of application development. Nowadays, no-code platforms are empowering organizations to quickly document, analyze, automate, and optimize processes without requiring extensive coding expertise. This shift of scope is fundamentally altering how businesses approach digital transformation, ushering in a new era of innovation and agility.

Role of no–code and process mining

While digital transformation is undoubtedly a business imperative, achieving it can be difficult. According to a report from McKinsey, 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail. Notably, these failures are often caused by a lack of tools to help inform and support data-driven decisions to continuously optimize end-to-end business processes. In this context, process mining plays a pivotal role, offering insights that inform automation and optimization strategies.

Process mining enables business teams to analyse, monitor and optimise their business processes using data extracted from systems of record. In this way, organizations gain a clear, evidence-based understanding of their processes, far beyond theoretical process models.

The synergy between process mining and no-code platforms is powerful. Together they provide deep process insights and enable the rapid implementation of process improvements, without the need for coding. Armed with this intelligence, organizations manage business processes with greater efficiency, responsiveness and agility.

No-code platforms can provide business users with access to the tools that they need to independently drive organizational change without relying heavily on IT teams.

Democratizing business transformation

A decade ago, process mining was a complex task reserved for technical experts. No-code solutions have democratized process mining, allowing businesses to gain insights, access data and test changes without needing large technical support teams or specialized data scientists. This shift means that organizations can create faster, more efficient business processes, enhancing their agility and flexibility in the digital transformation journey.

Businesses using no-code platforms can explore their data, validate hypotheses and make quicker decisions. The ability to do this independently reduces potential issues, ensuring the entire team maximizes the value of their data and integrates process mining seamlessly into their operations.

The key benefits of no-code

When planning a transition to no-code, there are four key benefits to consider: Accessibility, acceleration, integration, and cost efficiency,

Accessibility: No-code platforms democratize technology. This means it is accessible to employees at all levels. This fosters a collaborative environment that unifies teams and drives innovation.

Acceleration: Most businesses want to drive change with pace. No-code enables them to do this. Significantly accelerating project timelines.

Integration: Seamless integration with existing enterprise software is another major advantage. This enables business leaders to gain deeper insights through built-in connectors, without disrupting daily operations.

Cost reduction: No-code platforms can offer significant cost savings by reducing the need for extensive IT resources and custom development.

Real-world applications

No-code is a proven, effective tool across a diverse range of industries. For example, in finance, no-code process mining tools lead an important digital transformation initiative. The adoption of no-code solutions enables the automation of customer onboarding procedures and other functions such as complaints management.

The no-code approach empowers business teams to independently review, innovate, analyze and recreate processes. This is a priceless level of efficiency that grants organizations an edge over other competitors by being able to adapt quickly, integrate changes with agility and keep the customer in mind. Organizations are also able to manage their business security needs thanks to no-code’s ability to control data, within a private cloud environment, this enables them to stick to strict security and compliance standards.

Will no code tools truly disrupt tech development?

The future of no-code platforms in process mining looks promising. As more organizations recognize the value, the adoption of no-code solutions continues to grow exponentially.

The no-code revolution is not just alive - it's thriving. It’s changing how software is built, transforming entire businesses from the ground up. No-code process mining is empowering organisations to adapt and remain competitive in today’s dynamic markets. The future belongs to those who embrace agility and innovation, and with no-code platforms at the forefront, the race to digital transformation has never been more accessible—or more critical.

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In May 2024, the UK entered the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC) program which brings together supercomputing resources from across 35 countries, including Norway, Turkey and all 27 European Union (EU) member states.

By joining the prestigious program, the UK aims to bolster its scientific and technological leadership, foster international +, and leverage HPC to drive innovation and economic growth – all of which are extremely positive ambitions for the British IT industry. However, membership of the EuroHPC will also accelerate demand for energy in the UK, and this could even advance beyond the nation’s current capabilities. Especially given that the UK has yet to contend with the formidable energy demand surge created by increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The Chief Executive Officer of the UK’s National Grid, John Pettigrew, commented that AI will consume 500% more power in the UK during the next decade. This is not just a problem for the UK, but this electrical surge is quickly becoming a global issue. Data centers worldwide consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2022, almost two percentage points of total global electricity demand. With the added power demand for AI, electricity consumption from data centers in the EU in 2026 is predicted to be 30 percent higher than 2023.

According to recent research by Goldman Sachs, AI is set to increase data center power demand by 160% by the end of the decade. This is not unexpected given that Google’s emissions have nearly doubled in the past five years alone thanks to AI. These shocking figures pose questions about the possibility of net-zero emissions by the end of the decade.

The key question remains, how can we sustainably meet this level of demand?

The biggest trends of our time

AI and climate change are two of the most significant and impactful stories of our time, each shaping various aspects of society, the economy, and the environment in profound ways. They are far from being mutually exclusive. AI will doubtless play a role in tackling the challenges of climate change. Yet the power demands of data centers will put pressure on net zero goals.

Equivalent to the need for electricity, the UK also requires access to GPUs as it pushes to become an HPC and AI leader. But innovation must be sustainable to ensure that energy-intensive processes can be carried out with minimal environmental impact, and at no threat to the UK’s energy security.

100% sustainable data centers

The only viable solution is to harness renewable energy to power data centers.

Energy efficient strategies at AI data centers must also be prioritized to enable the UK to keep up without having to pull the plug due to power demand. Sourcing renewable energy to power data centers presents several challenges, primarily revolving around the need for consistent and reliable power supply, high initial investment costs, and the integration of renewable sources into existing infrastructure.

Some renewables like solar and wind are inherently intermittent, necessitating the development of efficient energy storage solutions and grid enhancements to ensure a steady power supply. NexGen Cloud hosts its AI Supercloud in a data center just outside of Oslo, which uses hydroelectric energy to power and cool its infrastructure. Hydroelectric energy is non-intermittent so allows the data center to be powered by around-the-clock clean energy.

Investment and sovereign clouds

Market forces alone are not enough to get us there, direct investment into GPU chips by the UK Government is also key to advancing the nation’s HPC and AI industries.

Government investment in GPU infrastructure is vital, as the current funding significantly lags behind other global players. The UK’s investment in Nvidia GPU chips is dwarfed by the orders from tech giants like Elon Musk’s X and China. According to Pitchbook, $122 billion has been invested in generative AI businesses in the US, while European generative AI businesses have received a comparatively modest $3.8 billion. Disparities like these hamper the UK’s ability to compete in the HPC and AI sectors, necessitating a robust governmental push to scale up GPU availability and infrastructure investment to match international standards.

Additionally, adopting sovereign cloud solutions can help UK businesses access high-powered GPUs while ensuring compliance with data protection laws, thereby enhancing the UK's competitiveness in the global AI market.

Cloud infrastructure is available today to ensure that AI operations can remain compliant with European data sovereignty and privacy regulations by keeping them within the European jurisdiction. By powering our data centers with 100% renewable energy, the UK and EU can significantly mitigate the environmental impact associated with High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence, thus enabling innovation to continue without jeopardizing the possibility of net-zero by 2030.

Fundamentally, this can provide both the blueprint for how the UK can sustainably support HPC and AI, and become a true global leader in these sectors.

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In an all too predictable turn of events, Salt Typhoon, an infamous Chinese state actor, has reportedly hijacked government systems to breach several American broadband providers and gain access to the interception portals required by US law.

Research by the Wall Street Journal has revealed amongst those breached were US telecoms giants Verizon and AT&T, as well as ISP Lumen Technologies, where hackers may have had access to a ‘vast collection of internet traffic’ for months, including court-ordered wiretaps collected in the name of national security.

The US has long pressured telecoms companies to develop infrastructure for ‘lawful interception’ so that they can access communications from network users, but of course, if the access systems exist, they can be exploited.

All’s fair in love and backdoors

China unequivocally denies the allegations that it uses hackers to access government information, and said that the US has concocted a ‘false narrative’ to frame China in the past.

Salt Typhoon recently hit the headlines for another suspected attack on American ISPs, and due to its name, has been linked to other Chinese state-sponsored groups, all of which Microsoft named ‘typhoon’ - Flax Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and Brass Typhoon, which are reportedly working in coordination to assist the Chinese government in achieving its geo-political goals, including a possible invasion of Taiwan.

As technology becomes even more integrated in our day-to-day lives, the capacity for surveillance and spyware only expands. Major telecommunications firms are forced to ‘cooperate’ in the name of national security by building backdoors for law enforcement or turn devices into ‘spy machines’.

Regardless of your opinion on your own government using surveillance techniques on its own people, the existence of these access systems mean that they can be compromised by threat actors or tech companies and used without your consent.

The US surveillance machine is not just contained within the states either, as these invasions are often used against foreigners living overseas, meaning no one is out of reach for Big Brother.

To try and mitigate this, we've listed the best VPN services around to help keep your information private.

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Apple has never spoken of a smart ring or even hinted at the impending existence of one, but if the latest rumors are to be believed, the illusory product is now nothing more than a pipe dream as Apple may have canceled the whole project. If true, it's a mistake.

You only need to wear a smart ring for a few weeks to understand its appeal. Wearables like the Oura Ring and Samsung Galaxy Ring are small, attractive, sleep-friendly, and offer enviable battery life. I started wearing an Oura Ring 3 some months ago, and it's the only technology that I wear 24/7 for days on end (until it needs a charge).

Smart rings offer most of the benefits of smartwatches like the Apple Watch. They track activity, exercise, sleep, blood oxygenation, heart rate, wellness, and more. The lack of a screen, microphones, speakers, and haptic vibrations lowers the distraction level to virtually zero.

It's easy for me to forget I'm wearing the Oura, though I do tend to worry the ring around my finger, endlessly spinning it with my thumb. When I do this, I need to remember to return the ring's indent to the palm side of my hand so that the inside ring sensors are in their best position to track my vitals.

The new Oura Ring 4 is apparently even better prepared for wearers like me who can't stop spinning their rings; the sensors are now spread all around the inner ring.

Still not a smartwatch

Smart Rings aren't perfect. In my case, I can't do certain exercises with them; anything that presses the ring against my finger, like pull-ups, causes pain, so I remove the ring for those routines. That's never been an issue with the Apple Watch.

The low profile and lack of screen and on-device alerts mean I often have no idea what the Oura Ring is tracking. I have to remind myself to check out the Oura app. I don't mind, really, because I also allowed my iPhone's Health App to capture all of my Oura data, so I'm fairly confident that nothing's been missed.

Bloomberg's report claims that Apple is canceling its ring project because it doesn't want to cannibalize the still-growing Apple Watch market. I don't get that. If what I've found can be broadly applied to the wearable market, then there are many people who do not want to wear a smartwatch and screen on their wrist and would appreciate a smart ring from Apple.

I'm not even sure this rumor makes business sense. Over the years, Apple has worked across its categories to fill in the blanks. Don't like a single iPhone option? How about a Pro model or a giant Plus one? EarPods, not your style? Check out these AirPods. Need more noise control? Check out these AirPods Pros. Prefer tablets over smartphones and computers? Here's an iPad. Prefer something small? How about an iPad Mini (version 7 might be coming soon).

Even in the wearable space, Apple has shown a propensity for expanding choices.

This doesn't make sense

Apple is also willing to take big swings. Just look at the Vision Pro. Sure, it's way too expensive and a niche product that's being pitched as the mixed reality experience for everyone. My point, though, is Apple is not timid and has shown little concern about category cannibalization.

If, though, Apple has truly killed the rumored Apple Ring project, it's made a mistake. I guarantee people want an Apple Ring and would love to use it to enable gestures that allow it to control everything from the Vision Pro to their Mac, iPads, and AirPods (tap your thumb and ring finger to pause and play).

Apple fans will gladly pay a premium for Apple's own very Applely take on a smart ring. I'm sure it'll be titanium (for the high-end) and aluminum for everyone else. It'll come in Pro and basic versions, with the basic offering custom skins (or etchings) that you can order printed on the ring before it arrives. Most will pay extra for the Pro because it'll be the one with the gesture control.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that Bloomberg is just plain wrong. There's no way Apple is walking away from this section of the wearable market. An Apple Ring will arrive – maybe as soon as next year. If you believe it, you better put a ring on it.

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Apple has released a new security update for iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 addressing the way accessibility features handle stored passwords, following speculation details could have been accidentally leaked.

The company rarely shares details about security updates it releases, and this time is no exception - so there is much about the vulnerability and the patch we don’t know.

However it is thought the issue might reveal a user's saved passwords in a slightly embarassing way - by reading them out loud.

VoiceOver and Passwords

Entering the domain of speculation, there are two things to keep in mind. Apple has an accessibility feature called VoiceOver. This is a screen reader, built into different Apple products (macOS, tvOS, and more), which the users can bring up to “speak” to the device and have the output spoken back to them. The other important thing here is that with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, the company introduced a native password manager, which it named the Passwords app.

Therefore, the bug could be in either of these two apps, but since Apple did not share the details, it is impossible to know.

Here is what we do know, though: The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2024-44204 and at press time, still did not have a severity score. It is described as a “logic issue” that was fixed with improved validation. It affects these devices:

iPhone XS and later
iPad Pro 13-inch
iPad Pro 12.9-inch third generation and later
iPad Pro 11-inch first generation and later
iPad Air third generation and later
iPad seventh generation and later
iPad mini fifth generation and later

The security community has long considered passwords as an extremely weak way of protecting digital valuables, mostly because users tend to keep the ones provided with the factory settings, or create weak ones that are easily cracked. Instead, they advise setting up passphrases, biometrics, or multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Via The Register

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Windows 11 adoption has been way slower than Microsoft would like, no doubt, and part of the reason for that is that some PCs (particularly older models) can’t upgrade due to system requirements – and if you fall into that boat, the software giant has some simple advice for you: buy a new PC.

Neowin noticed that Microsoft has updated a help document about what it means if you’re using an unsupported version of Windows (spoiler alert: if you’re online at all, it’s a huge security risk), which currently means PCs running Windows 8.1 (or 8) and Windows 7, or earlier.

It’s worth noting, however, that this will also be the case for Windows 10 devices in a year’s time if their owners don’t take any action, as the end of support rolls around for that OS in October 2025.

Microsoft’s article takes the form of a short discussion followed by a FAQ, and the main update applied to the document pertains to the options for staying supported with Windows, with a new choice added here: ‘Recommended: New PC with Windows 11.’

So, this is Microsoft’s primary recommendation if your unsupported PC isn’t up to scratch, hardware-wise, for Windows 11 – get a new computer.

Microsoft elaborates: “Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today’s computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.”

Then there’s a link to ‘view Windows 11 PCs’ which takes you to Microsoft’s hub which showcases new devices from itself and partners.

(Image credit: Shutterstock/fizkes) Analysis: That enormous landfill blot looming on the horizon

That first (‘recommended’) choice of buying a new PC is not the only option covered in the FAQ, of course. Microsoft also lists a couple of other possibilities, including upgrading your old computer to Windows 11 – maybe via Windows 10 first – but this may not be possible with older PCs. Indeed, a PC running Windows 8 (from pre-2015, when Windows 10 started arriving on new hardware) will very likely not meet the needed system specs for Windows 11 (the CPU will probably be too old, and TPM security requirement may not be met either).

And, in fairness to Microsoft, an upgrade of such an ailing PC to Windows 11 may indeed be relatively impractical (as you’ll likely have to replace a bunch of components – the CPU, the motherboard to get a socket that fits the new CPU, and probably memory too, and maybe more besides). By the time you reach the end of the component shopping list, you may as well be buying a new PC (with a new warranty to boot), and of course some PC owners won’t want to take on such an upgrade, or have the technical knowhow to do so.

So, in this case, Microsoft’s foremost recommendation to get a new PC makes at least some sense – to those with rapidly aging PCs, as frankly, in some scenarios they might not have much choice, particularly if they’re not tech-savvy, or they have a laptop (or all-in-one PC) which can’t be got inside and upgraded anyway.

However, it’s equally true that some folks (perhaps quite a few) could upgrade to Windows 10 (with its lighter system requirements) if not Windows 11, a possibility Microsoft touches on – while simultaneously observing that support runs out in a year for Windows 10, a fairly sizeable caveat. And indeed, therein lies the rub – we must bear in mind that this article’s advice will apply to Windows 10 PC owners next year, when they find themselves in the unsupported boat.

Given that, it’d be nice to see Microsoft working towards a solution in respect of somewhat newer PCs, which goes somewhere down the path of tackling some of the alarming stats we’ve heard about the number of Windows 10 machines heading to landfill in the future. This is a potential environmental disaster that could see hundreds of millions of PCs lumped unceremoniously on the scrapheap.

And ever since those concerns have been raised, we haven’t heard anything from Microsoft as to how they might be mitigated. What Windows 10 users (who can’t, or won’t, upgrade) can do is pay for extended support beyond October 2025 – but that could turn out to be an expensive way to go, particularly beyond the first year if Microsoft’s previous pricing in these schemes is anything to go by.

Logically, then, Microsoft needs to be looking at a way of keeping Windows 10 alive – for those totally blocked by Windows 11’s more demanding requirements on the security front and elsewhere – which works out to be way more cost-friendly for users, in an effort to save what might be a much heavier price to pay for the planet. In short, ‘buy a new PC’ will soon not be the answer we need frontloaded here, and pushing folks to make a purchase of a new computer is already a very dubious first port of call given what we’re facing down the road.

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Hyundai and Waymo have inked a multi-year deal that will see the South Korean automaker implement Waymo's sixth-generation fully autonomous technology into its own purpose built Ioniq 5 robotaxi platform.

We reported last year on Hyundai’s next-gen smart factory that recently opened its doors in Singapore, which was chiefly tasked with producing the Ioniq 5 robotaxi at scale using the latest developments in robotics and AI to automate the process.

Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS, for short), has since passed many of its innovative production methods onto the company’s newest Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Savannah, Georgia, where Waymo’s Ioniq 5 will be built at scale.

There is no word on how large the order is, but Waymo is expanding at a rapid rate, already running an autonomous service in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, with an announcement in the summer of 2023 that it would start testing in Austin, Texas. It plans to roll out a full service in Austin before the end of the year.

Waymo’s decision to opt for Hyundai’s platform will rapidly speed up the rate at which it the company can expand into further territories, as the vehicles will effectively roll off the production line ready to go, rather than having to undergo a series of hardware and software tweaks before they are operational.

Hyundai established a joint venture with autonomous driving specialist Aptiv in 2020, which also gave the manufacturer access to robotaxi and autonomous transport start-up Motional. 

However, Motional announced back in May of this year that it would pause its deployments with ride-hailing firms Uber Technologies and Lyft to focus on hardware development, which Hyundai has effectively now used to forge its latest deal.

Motional says it plans to resume its own robotaxi service in 2026, or when the business model becomes more viable. Allowing Waymo to continue paving the way could provice Hyundai (and Motional) with the perfect springboard to launch their own, revamped services.

Analysis: Robotaxis are all the rage

(Image credit: Hyundai Motor Group)

With Tesla set to unveil its vision of an autonomous ride-hailing service in a glitzy, Hollywood event this week, it appears the driverless taxi is open for business, where the technology leaps from an obscure pilot programme to providing over 100,000 paid driverless rides per week, as is the case with Waymo.

The recent announcement with Hyundai will only assist Waymo in expanding its operations across North America, with the company likely replacing the ageing Jaguar I-Pace vehicles it has been running as part of its partnership with Uber, as well as rolling them out to the wider fleet.

Arguably the biggest loser in the recent deal is Zeekr, which had previously announced a business venture that would see its eCM1s people-carrier platform used in Waymo’s operations.

However, the recent 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made EVs imposed by the US government has likely made the deal less lucrative, while news that the US might outright ban any vehicle technology hailing from China is probably the final nail in the coffin.

As a result, Hyundai Motor Group is on a path to become a leading provider of autonomous vehicles to numerous companies, as it looks to rip up the rulebook of what it means to be a ‘legacy automaker’. 

Chang Song, the company’s head of advanced vehicle platform division and software defined vehicle advocate has previously spoken at length of his vision to implement the humble passenger car into a wider network of autonomous and ride-hailing transport services. 

Song believes that by opening up the Group’s software to external developers, the company will create “killer apps” that will not only seamlessly integrate into user’s daily digital lives, but also bring customers flocking to the brand in the future.

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Hundreds of thousands of Comcast users had their data stolen in a third-party ransomware attack and data breach on a third-party partner, the company has confirmed.

Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FBCS) fell prey to an attack from an unknown threat actor in February 2024 which saw sensitive data stolen and systems encrypted, with the hackers then demanding payment in exchange for releasing the decryption key.

When FBCS initially suffered the ransomware attack, the crooks made away with sensitive data on more than four million people, and at first, the firm believed Comcast’s customer data was secure, but after a more thorough investigation, FBCS has concluded it was affected, too.

Comcast and Truist Bank

In total, 237,703 Comcast customers had their sensitive data taken, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and the Comcast account numbers and ID numbers used internally at FBCS.

One intriguing point appears to be that the affected users were apparently Comcast customers around 2021, which is somewhat odd, since FBCS wasn’t a Comcast client at that time, and wouldn't be for another year.

FBCS is a debt collection firm, which Comcast allegedly used until 2020, also offering account management, financial advisory, credit solutions, and payment processing services.

After learning of the incident, Comcast started notifying its customers, and sent out a data breach notification letter, stating it will cover the expenses of identity theft protection services, since the FBCS allegedly cannot afford it. It also said that the firm notified the FBI of the intrusion.

Despite this being a major ransomware attack against a large enterprise, with millions of victims, no threat actor has yet claimed responsibility.

To make matters worse, Comcast was not the only company affected by the FBCS attack. BleepingComputer reports that Truist Bank was also a victim, but this firm did not say how many of its customers lost their data.

Via The Register

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Ryanair’s ‘Customer Verification Process’ for tickets booked via third party websites has drawn the attention of the country’s Data Protection Commission (DPC).

An affected customer speaking to consumer rights programme Rip Off Britain (via The Register), claimed the stringent process entails “an ID check, facial similarity [checks], [a] liveness check and [a] profile data check”, with some customers opting to write off the cost and book a flight with a different airline upon failing it.

The DPC has indicated that more than one European Union (EU) member state is involved in the inquiry, which will rule on whether Ryanair is keeping to its legal obligations to GDPR specifically, including whether it is being transparent as to how the data is being used, and whether the data is being used within the bounds of EU law.

Ryanair’s data protection DPC case

The perceived wisdom is that the Ryanair is entitled to perform the verification process. In July 2024, a US court ruled that online travel agent (OTA) Booking.com sold Ryanair tickets by accessing the airline’s website “without permission”, and in doing so, made it difficult for the airline to stay in contact with customers.

To this end, a Ryanair spokesperson stressed to The Register the verification process “ensures that these passengers make the necessary security declarations and receive directly all safety and regulatory protocols required when travelling, as legally required.”

They also seemed enthusiastic about settling the legal status of the verification process in court, while damning supposedly unscrupulous OTAs.

"We welcome this DPC inquiry into our Booking Verification process, which protects customers from those few remaining non-approved OTAs, who provide fake customer contact and payment details to cover up the fact that they are overcharging and scamming consumers.”

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Gaming peripheral manufacturer Thrustmaster has revealed the Thrustmaster Heart Controller. This new gamepad, which is compatible with both Xbox and PC, features Hall Effect thumbsticks and mechanical buttons.

Accuracy and longevity seem to be at the center of its design. The name, which is actually an acronym, stands for "Hall Effect AccuRate Technology" - a fancy marketing term for what appears to be very similar to Hall Effect technology that is already found in many of the best Xbox controllers and PC controllers.

The company claims that the controller leverages its 15 years of experience in crafting Hall effect flight sim peripherals for top accuracy and performance and will not suffer from any stick drift over time. Its mechanical buttons have a 0.3mm actuation distance and are reportedly 64% faster than regular membrane inputs, too.

This is also a wired controller, which will presumably also help cut down any potential input latency (and cost). Specs aside, the Thrustmaster Heart Controller does have quite an eye-catching overall design. It boasts a rather unconventional two-tone black and white pattern, meaning that it should match both the standard Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S models.

A bright LED strip runs down the middle of the controller, separating the two colors and lending it some extra flair. This lighting is customizable and can be set to six colors including orange, blue, and red. On the back of the controller, you can find two remappable rear inputs. A range of settings, including the ability to remap these and alter thumbstick sensitivity, can be accessed via the existing ThrustmapperX software.

The controller will be compatible with PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One. It is available to pre-order now for $99.99 / £89.99 via Thrustmaster and Amazon with shipping expected to begin next month.

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In the quest for more powerful electronic chips, a persistent challenge has been how to efficiently dissipate the increased heat they generate.

Among the promising solutions, researchers are now looking towards bionics - drawing inspiration from nature - for innovative technologies that could eventually revolutionize AI data centers.

A research team led by Prof. Ye Hong from the University of Science and Technology of China has developed a groundbreaking bionic ceramic wick for Loop Heat Pipes (LHPs), inspired by the natural transpiration process of leaf stomata. Their research, published in Langmuir, addresses a key limitation of traditional LHPs, which use wicks with uniform pore sizes, reducing efficiency at high heat fluxes due to vapor blockages and increased thermal resistance.

Promising early results

The newly developed bionic wick features an asymmetric pore structure, which optimizes heat transfer by overcoming these challenges, offering a more effective solution for high-power chip cooling.

The design mimics leaf stomata, with straight finger-like pores serving as vapor channels, significantly reducing vapor transport resistance, and enhancing heat dissipation. This structure enables a higher critical heat flux, allowing for better management of high-power chip cooling. The use of ceramics, instead of metal, for these wicks also offers enhanced corrosion resistance and thermal stability, critical for the long-term performance of advanced electronics.

The manufacturing process employs phase-inversion tape casting, commonly used for producing porous ceramic membranes. This innovative method not only allows for creating the desired multiscale pore structures in a single step but also ensures a solid and consistent output.

Initial tests of the bionic wick within LHP systems have shown promising results. By optimizing the balance between capillary force and flow resistance, the bionic wick efficiently transports working fluids and enhances the system's thermal performance. This advancement has the potential to extend beyond just computing hardware, with applications in aerospace, microelectronics, and energy sectors.

This pioneering approach could redefine thermal management strategies in data centers powering artificial intelligence, paving the way for more efficient and sustainable solutions inspired by the natural world. Researchers are hopeful that continued development and adaptation of these bionic structures will help overcome existing challenges and meet the demands of next-generation electronics.

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Back in August, Android users got access to a new Gemini-powered feature called Gmail Q&A, available to those with a Google One AI Premium plan or a Workspace account. Now the same feature is going live for iPhone users as well.

As explained in a Google blog post, the idea is you use Gemini to search through your inbox and ask questions about it. The example Google gives is "show unread emails from Jordan" but prompts like "what was I talking about with Chris?" or "tell me about the emails I've had today" work as well.

"Gmail Q&A can help you answer specific questions about your emails, show you unread messages or messages from a specific sender, summarize emails about a topic in your inbox, and even answer general questions from search, all without having to leave your inbox," explains Google.

Right now, the feature is only available in English. If you're not signed up to Google AI Premium ($19.99 / £18.99 / AU$32.99 a month), you need to have a Workspace account with Gemini add-ons included, and smart features and personalization turned on.

How to use Gmail Q&A

Gemini can summarize emails from any day (Image credit: Future)

If you meet the criteria for Gmail Q&A, powered by Gemini, you should see the Gemini star icon up in the top right corner of the Gmail app for Android or iOS. If you're viewing a specific email, the same icon is up at the top near the center.

Tap this icon to launch Gemini, and you can start asking questions – it works in a similar way to Gemini on the web, so you can write in a natural way about anything to do with your email. Ask to see certain messages, or get summaries of conversations, or ask about the contents of emails stored in your inbox.

Based on a brief bout of testing, it all works rather well. As always with AI though, it's worth double-checking important information: handily, Gemini provides a list of its sources underneath every answer, so you can tap through on these links to read the emails it's talking about.

This is on top of the other Gemini features already in Gmail, such as tools to help you write or rewrite your emails. In its Gmail Q&A announcement, Google notes similar Gemini search tools will be arriving in Google Drive too in the near future.

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Apple’s rumored batch of M4 Macs could be with us shortly, and these machines might launch later in October, and go on sale soon thereafter according to the latest from the rumor mill.

This is more from Mark Gurman, a respected Apple leaker who spills gossip regularly via a weekly newsletter, the latest chatter from which insists that Macs with M4 chips will be revealed towards the end of October, and at least some of those devices are set to go on sale come November 1.

As previously rumored, the M4-toting hardware to be launched includes an entry-level MacBook Pro 14-inch, alongside higher-end models of that 14-inch laptop, and high-end MacBook Pro 16-inch flavors too (nothing on the lower-end in the latter case).

There’s also an iMac M4 on the horizon, and a redesigned, more compact, Mac mini with options for the M4 or M4 Pro chips (and also a new iPad mini M4).

More M4 Macs are coming next year, as Gurman has already told us, likely MacBook Air 13-inch and 15-inch models, which are set to arrive at some point in the first half of 2025. Previously, Gurman has hinted these could debut in Q1 of 2025, but that prediction isn’t made in this latest newsletter (possibly because it’s a whole raft of products the leaker is talking about here, including accessories, so launch timings may be a bit all over the place across the board).

Those laptops will supposedly be followed by a refreshed Mac Studio with M4 CPU (long-awaited by some folks) which could arrive around the middle of 2025, towards the start of H2 – so that might be July or August – and then a Mac Pro M4 will follow later in the second half of next year.

Also in late 2025, we can expect the first generation of M5 Macs, Gurman believes, meaning Apple will maintain its current cadence with its range of computers – this would presumably include the MacBook Pro M5 models, and maybe more.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff) Analysis: A plausible scenario, but there’s room for doubt yet

All of this sounds plausible and it chimes with what Gurman has said before, multiple times, so the leaker appears to be confident enough in these assertions. Recently, we thought we detected a wobble in that confidence around a potential October unveiling for the M4 Macs, but it appears that any doubt has been pushed aside – if indeed there was any present in the first place.

With a potential on-sale date now being put forward, one that’s less than four weeks away, these predictions now feel more concrete – especially as we’ve seen quite a lot of leaks around the MacBook Pro M4 very recently, including purported photos of the box, which makes sense if it’s imminent.

Of course, we must still be cautious about what to expect as ever. Even if these are Apple’s plans correctly laid out as they stand now, things could still change over the course of October.

One of the big questions remains, though: are we set to see 16GB of RAM as an absolute minimum configuration for the Unified Memory loadout in the MacBook Pro models, meaning the 14-inch laptop will get this treatment as well – and indeed maybe across all Apple’s Macs? Fingers crossed that’s the case.

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