TechRadar News

• OpenAI throws its hat into the AI agent ring
• New tools include Responses API and Agents SDK
• Several new tools also launched to make its agents smarter and more effective

OpenAI has launched its bid to lead the AI agent race with the release of several new tools, including an agent builder platform, aimed at bringing the technology to more businesses than ever before.

The company has revealed a host of new tools which it says will help its platform to evolve and, “help developers and enterprises build useful and reliable agents,” providing, "the first building blocks for developers and enterprises".

The new releases include Responses API, several new built-in tools including web and file search functions, and a new Agents SDK (software development kit) looking to help streamlining the building of agents.

New APIs, and new tools to boot

“We believe agents will soon become integral to the workforce, significantly enhancing productivity across industries,” an OpenAI blog post announcing the news stated. “As companies increasingly seek to leverage AI for complex tasks, we're committed to providing the building blocks that enable developers and enterprises to effectively create autonomous systems that deliver real-world impact.”

“Our goal is to give developers a seamless platform experience for building agents that can help with a variety of tasks across any industry.”

The new Responses API builds on several of the company’s existing services, with OpenAI saying it, “combines the simplicity of Chat Completions with the tool-use capabilities of the Assistants API.”

The aim, unsurprisingly, is to make building agents much quicker and more straightforward for developers, allowing them to solve complex tasks with multiple models, without the complexity of integrating multiple APIs or external providers.

These will be supported by a number of new built-in tools which should make the agents themselves smarter and more effective.

These include web search, which can quickly provide up-to-date answers from web-based sources, file search, which does the same, but with the file library on your device or within your business, and computer use, which enables agents to complete tasks typically done on a computer, such as automatically diagnosing and fixing technical issues, or everyday tasks like scheduling meetings or handling emails.

For those developers or businesses which want that extra level of customization and personalization, the new Agents SDK allows them to build single and multi-agent workflows to their exact requirements.

OpenAI says the open source platform can offer greater power and flexibility than its previous Swarm tool, making it ideal for tasks such as customer support automation, multi-step research, content generation, code review, and sales prospecting.

Developers will be able to integrate Agents SDK into their Python codebases, and will work with models from other providers which provide a Chat Completions style API endpoint.

All the new services are available now to OpenAI subscribers at no extra cost, with the company promising additional tools and capabilities soon.

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• Severance star Dichen Lachman doesn't know when filming will begin on season 3
• Director/producer Ben Stiller has confirmed its scripts are being written
• Lachman hopes to find out when it'll start shooting before the end of March

It appears that Severance actor Dichen Lachman has more in common with her character Gemma/Ms. Casey than we realized.

Indeed, speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Lachman revealed she had no idea when filming on the hugely popular Apple TV Original's third season will commence. That's in spite of the sci-fi mystery thriller's director/producer Ben Stiller confirming that work is underway of season 3's scripts.

Hope springs eternal, though, for anyone who might be disappointed by that update. With the final episode of Severance season 2 set to debut on March 21, Lachman said she's due to attend a post-season 2 finale event in LA on March 22. She hopes, then, to learn more about Severance season 3's filming schedule in the near future.

Please try to enjoy this disappointing season 3 filming update, everyone (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

"I'm so in the dark!" Lachman told me with a smile. "I'm very much like Gemma in that respect. It's like art imitating life that's imitating art. I'm very separated from the rest of the cast. You know, most of them live in New York, but I'm here in London.

"I'm sure there's stuff going on, but I'm not like privy to it," Lachman added. "Maybe when I see them in late March, I'll get some little tidbits. But yeah, I don't have any insider information."

When will Severance season 2 episodes 9 and 10 be released on Apple TV+?

Will Gemma be rescued from her Lumon purgatory in season 2's final two episodes? (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

We don't know when principal photography will start on Severance's third season, but we do know when season 2's last couple of episodes will air on Apple TV+.

If you're in the US, you'll be able to watch episode 9 on one of the world's best streaming services at 6PM PT / 9PM ET on Thursday, March 13. The season 2 finale will be released at the same time one week later, too – i.e., at 6PM PT / 9PM ET on Thursday, March 20.

UK viewers can tune into season 2's last two episodes at 1AM GMT on March 14 and March 21. That's an hour earlier than this season's first eight episodes, which is down to the clocks going forward in the US.

As for Australian fans, one of the best Apple TV+ shows' next two chapters will be available from 12PM AEDT on March 14 and March 21.

I'm expecting season 2's final two installments to be explosive and shocking affairs – and you can bet that I'll be covering them in-depth once they've launched on Apple's streaming service. So, be sure to check back in with TechRadar this Friday and the next for a breakdown (and more theories!) about one of 2025's hottest TV shows.

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• Nvidia RTX 5060 has been spotted in a French retailer’s product listing
• That product page is for an Acer gaming PC, and it gives us a couple of specs
• The RTX 5060 is (once again) shown to purportedly have 8GB of video RAM, and it’s GDDR7 memory

Nvidia’s RTX 5060 GPU has been sighted in a retailer’s product listing of an Acer desktop PC, adding another rumor to the growing pile of speculation that these are the next Blackwell models to launch (perhaps very soon).

VideoCardz reports that regular leaker @momomo_us on X noticed the listing at a French retailer, EvoPC.

It’s a product page for an Acer Nitro N50 gaming PC (still live, at the time of writing) which has an RTX 5060 graphics card, and we get a couple of small spec details about this GPU too.

Obviously regard all of this with a sizeable helping of skepticism, but the RTX 5060 is listed as having 8GB of VRAM and the type of memory is shown as GDDR7.

It’s already been rumored that Nvidia will use GDDR7 video RAM for all its Blackwell graphics cards – save perhaps for the RTX 5050, if the desktop version does indeed exist, as claimed – so this tallies with existing rumors. As does the allocation of 8GB of VRAM for the RTX 5060, for that matter.

(Image credit: Pexels) Analysis: Another round of the video RAM blues?

Another rumor pointing to 8GB of video RAM for the vanilla RTX 5060 is going to cause groans from gamers who weren’t impressed that the RTX 4060 stuck at this level, let alone its successor. But it’d hardly be a surprise given that the RTX 5070 also maintained 12GB of video memory (again, to the disappointment of many).

Nvidia may argue that this new GDDR7 RAM is much faster – and it is, for sure – and that the company has tricks up its sleeve to make leaner VRAM loadouts work better (such as RTX Neural Texture Compression). The trouble with those AI boosts is that they won’t apply across the board – they’re only for supported games – and so the overall picture of where we’ll end up with this eventually is muddy.

I suspect, however, like many out there, that Nvidia is underequipping the RTX 5060 (and the 5070) VRAM-wise, for any real level of future-proofing anyway.

As you may recall, Nvidia is supposedly keeping the same formula as Lovelace for the RTX 5060 Ti, too, meaning there’ll theoretically be both 8GB and 16GB spins on that GPU (and again, the latter will offer more VRAM than its higher-tier sibling, the RTX 5070). So, for those who do want a better level of protection against the VRAM blues, there should hopefully be the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB – albeit with the prospect of it exacting a less-than-fair toll on your wallet. (Bearing firmly in mind that all this is rumors, of course).

The grapevine also reckons that the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti might be revealed in March, very soon – perhaps even later this week, or early next week – and these GPUs could go on sale later in March, or in April, when we might see the RTX 5050, too. The hope is that the latter could be a truly wallet-friendly Blackwell graphics card, fingers crossed.

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• The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann has revealed that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will be about "faith and religion"
• The team spent years developing "this new religion" that takes place on one planet
• Druckmann said the player will crash land on this planet and need to figure out how to escape, saying, "I want you to be lost in a place that you're really confused about what happened here"

Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann has revealed new details about the studio's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

In an almost one-hour-long Sony 'Creator to Creator' discussion, Druckmann, alongside 28 Years Later director Alex Garland, sat down to discuss their mutual inspirations and their respective process in how they each tackle their creative process.

On the topic of Naughty Dog's next major title Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Druckmann revealed that it will take place "2000 years in an alternate future that deviates in the late 80s". The game director then joked that the game will receive less hate than the divisive The Last of Us: Part 2, since it's about "faith and religion".

"I joke about this with the team," Druckmann said, "With The Last of Us 2, we made certain creative decisions that got us a lot of hate. A lot of people love it, but a lot of people hate that game," to which Garland said, "Who gives a sh*t."

"Exactly. But the joke is like, you know what, let's do something that people won't care as much about. Let's make a game about faith and religion," Druckmann said.

Speaking more on the game's narrative, Druckmann added, "So there is not only in this alternate history timeline, we've made this - where the where the timeline deviates - this new religion becomes pretty prominent and then we spend years just building out this religion like from the original prophet all the way [to] how it gets like changed and sometimes bastardised and evolves over all these years."

Druckmann continued, revealing that this religion takes place on one planet until, one day, all communication suddenly stops. The playable character and bounty hunter, Jordan A Mun, who is chasing her bounty, eventually crash lands on this planet alone and is left to figure out how to escape.

On top of tackling faith and religion, Druckmann said that he wanted to also focus on isolation.

"So many of the previous games we've done there's always like an ally with you," he said. "I really want you to be lost in a place that you're really confused about what happened here, [about] who are the people here, what was their history, and in order to get off this planet like, again no one has been heard from this planet for 600 years, so if you ever have hoped to have a chance to get off you have to figure out what happened here."

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet doesn't have a release date just yet, but we can expect the game to get a PS5 launch.

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• PwC study finds more than half of investors predict global economic growth
• They want businesses to invest more in upskilling - especially around AI
• Environmental factors still influence decisions

The business world has high expectations for generative AI tools in the year ahead, with hopes specifically that efficiency and business growth will see positive impacts, new research has claimed.

PwC’s recent survey of investors and analysts revealed around three-quarters (74%) believe the tech will boost productivity, outpacing the global average of 66%, which means that three in five now anticipate increased profitability.

More broadly, investors appear to be optimistic about the broader economic outlook, with more than half (53%) anticipating global economic growth over the next 12 months.

AI is driving economic growth after all

The figures mirror another recent PwC study of company CEOs, 61% of whom expect to see global economic growth this year.

Artificial intelligence’s impacts aren’t just limited to financial benefits, though; scaling the business (61%), measuring ROI (42%), shaping stakeholder perception (43%) and enhancing workforce impact (43%) were also noted as the tech’s biggest opportunities.

“GenAI has been a game changer for businesses worldwide, but investors now expect it to deliver real, measurable value," noted PwC UK Asset & Wealth Management Leader Albertha Charles.

Looking ahead, investors are more keen for companies to upskill their workforce (77%) than deploy artificial intelligence at scale (72%), highlighting the crucial role human workers are to play in the AI revolution.

Charles added: “As AI adoption accelerates, investors will be watching closely to see how leaders balance technology with upskilling their workforce to unlock meaningful gains in profit and productivity.”

Despite the optimism, investors are still keeping an eye on macroeconomic volatility (39%), geopolitical conflict (35%) and cyber risks (34%). Three-quarters (74%) also noted that they’d be looking to increase investment in companies who are working with suppliers and communities to build sustainable supply chains, highlighting the environmental weighting on decision-making.

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• Design company AndoAndoAndo released a turntable-inspired wrist watch
• The design takes inspiration from the classic Technics SL-1200
• Shipping rolls out in April, but the collection is limited to only 30 pieces

Design company AndoAndoAndo is taking the Hamilton Brothers' funky bop Music Makes the World Go Round quite seriously in its upcoming release of wrist watches, which are an ode one of the world's best turntables. The company’s latest creative venture takes the legendary DJ turntable, the Technics SL-1200, and reimagines it as an automatic wrist watch for music and vinyl fans alike – making it the tiniest turntable I’ve ever seen (albeit one that can't actually spin a tune), and it’s kind of adorable.

Powered by Miyota 9039 Premium automatic movement, the watch is a tiny replica of the legendary DJ turntable which uses a tiny vinyl record as the clock face. Its attention to detail is admirable, going the distance to avoid including numbers in its design and instead using a distinct pattern of dots to indicate the hours, minutes, and seconds. And again, no it can’t spin actual vinyl records nor play music of any kind, but that would be very impressive wouldn’t it?

The larger red disc with the letter 'A' points to the current hour. The smaller red disc indicates seconds past which, when the text returns to its original position, marks the beginning of a new minute. (Image credit: AndoAndoAndo)

It’s a unique take on a classic deck (and a chance to wear your analog-loving heart on your wrist), however it may take some getting used to when it comes to deciphering the actual time – and its designer, Yu Ando, seemingly agrees. When referring to the watch’s minute hand in the product description online, Ando writes: "Yes it's not straight, it's not pointing (to) the minute marker straight, but so you can interpret it in your own way". OK – I still want one.

The minute hand is designed to replicate the turntable’s tonearm, hence its slightly bent shape, and sitting on top of the vinyl record are two spinning discs; a large one with the letter ‘A’ that points to the current hour, and a smaller one that shows the seconds past, which can be difficult to read – although Ando has stated that when the text on the disc is level and back to its original position, that indicates that the zero second has begun.

The watch is available to preorder now, and is available in three different finishes; red, black, and silver, or gold and black both for $438 (which is around £350 or AU$697), or a slightly pricier all-gold version at $455. Shipping will be processed in April, but according to the AndoAndoAndo website there’ll only be 30 pieces made for this edition – so it’s a very limited run indeed.

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• Asus has launched three new monitors using its new built-in air ionizer technology
• Asus claims it removes up to 90% of airborne dust in indoor environments
• One of the monitors is a WQHD ultrawide, which uses a VA panel for better contrast

Asus is shaking things up with its monitors, not only by focusing on high refresh rates and good response times but also by introducing an innovative feature that aims to improve indoor air quality - and it may be something that other monitors should copy.

As highlighted by Notebookcheck, Asus has launched three new monitors under the VU series: the VU249HFI-W (24-inch), VU279HFI-W (27-inch), and the VU34WCIP-W (34-inch WQHD ultrawide), all of which maintain a 100Hz refresh rate and 1ms MPRT response time - but these aren't just any ordinary monitors - they take advantage of Asus' new built-in air ionizer design.

Asus claims this removes up to 90% of airborne dust, leading to fresher air which could be highly beneficial for office spaces and gaming setups. This is possible thanks to 'Innovative Nano-Ion Technology' that does not require a filter, and instead uses negative ions to eliminate dust, pollen, and allergens - essentially, these monitors will draw air in from their rear to refine your room's air quality.

Both the VU249HFI-W and the VU279HFI-W use IPS panels, which are bright and designed for greater color accuracy - however, the VU34WCIP-W will use a VA panel, which is better for higher contrast ratios and response times (it's still 1ms MPRT in this case) including VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) to ensure that the refresh rate matches the frame rate of gaming or video content.

The specifications of these new monitors may not be the best when compared to other high-end displays from Asus, but it’s still good enough to cater to productivity, gaming, and video content uses. It’s also a good way for Asus to test its new technology on a monitor without all the bells and whistles (at a low cost), with hopes that it becomes a newfound success that inspires other manufacturers to follow suit.

(Image credit: Asus) Now, just use this technology on gaming monitors, and I'll be happy

It might be easy to dismiss Asus' efforts here as simply a gimmick, especially if you're more excited about improvements in terms of display quality - but I'd argue this is a great innovation.

I'm fully aware that there is a chance it won't be widely adopted by Asus for its other monitors or by other manufacturers - but this could help reduce the dust buildup I'm sure we all hate with our desktop setups. If this saves me from having to regularly clean my desktop (and the desk itself), then I’d be very interested in using one of these monitors in the future.

Price and availability are currently dependent on your region, but the standout choice for me, the VU34WCIP-W model, is currently available at various US retailers for $359 (around £280 / AU$570).

Ultrawide monitors with 3440x1440 resolutions have always been my go-to for productivity and gaming - and don't get me wrong, I'd never choose this over my Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED or the PG49WCD super ultrawide monitor Asus sent me for testing, but it has me hoping this can somehow be used for gaming monitors. Let's just hope the air-purifying quality is good enough (and therefore proves popular enough with consumers) to make that a reality.

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• Two US healthcare firms confirmed suffering a cyberattack
• More than 300,000 victims have had sensitive data stolen
• Rhysida claimed responsibility for the attack and added the data to its leak site

Ransomware operators Rhysida are claiming responsibility for cyberattacks on two US healthcare organizations.

On its data leak site, they listed Sunflower Medical Group, and Community Care Alliance (CCA). The former is a healthcare provider in the Kansas City metropolitan area offering services such as primary care, urgent care, pediatrics, and more. The latter is a unified human service agency offering more than 50 programs.

Combined, it seems that more than 300,000 people have had their sensitive data compromised as a result of these attacks.

No abuse yet

In a public announcement posted on its website, Sunflower said that the attackers broke into the systems on December 15, but were only spotted and ousted a month later, around January 7.

During that time, they stole people’s names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, medical information, and health insurance information. In a filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office, Sunflower said 220,968 people were affected.

CCA, on the other hand, was struck in July last year, and claims that the miscreants took people’s names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and SSNs, as well as diagnoses and conditions, lab results, medications, patient ID numbers, health insurance information, provider names, and other data. Its filing with the Maine Attorney General’s Office puts the number of affected people at 114,945.

As for Rhysida, the ransomware operators claim to have 7.6 TB worth of Sunflower’s data, including a 3TB SQL database, The Register reports. Since the data is still listed on the site, it means either that the negotiations are ongoing, or that they’ve broken down.

In any case, Rhysida is yet to leak everything on the dark web, and at press time, there was no indication of abuse in the wild. Both organizations said they tightened up on security following the incident.

Via The Register

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• The Prime Video series Cruel Intentions has been canceled after one season.
• Cruel Intentions is Prime Video's TV remake of the 1999 cult classic movie.
• The series received critical reviews when it was released in November 2024.

The Cruel Intentions TV show has been canceled by Prime Video after one season, and I can't help but think its ending isn't so cruel after all.

Prime Video's TV remake of the 1999 steamy teen drama movie Cruel Intentions premiered in November 2024. Although it became Prime Video's second most-watched show at the time, Cruel Intentions wasn't met with kindness and received a 24% Rotten Tomatoes score from the critics.

While Cruel Intentions isn't one of the best Prime Video shows, it was well-received by the audience, who gave it an impressive 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. But despite this, the show has ended up on Prime Video's scrap heap alongside the hit crime comedy series The Sticky.

In Cruel Intentions, step-siblings Caroline (Sara Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) will do anything to stay on top of the social hierarchy at the elite Manchester College. After a hazing scandal, they plot to seduce Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith), the daughter of the Vice President of the United States, to maintain their power and reputation.

Prime Video hasn't officially confirmed why Cruel Intentions was axed, but low viewing figures are usually to blame for cancelations, with Variety also revealing that it "failed to make an appearance on the Nielsen Top 10 Streaming charts."

A kind outcome for a cruel TV remake

When the Cruel Intentions trailer was released in October 2024, TechRadar's Tom Power wasn't convinced that it would be any better than its film namesake, writing: "Heck, if Amazon's 2021 TV adaptation of another cult classic 1990s young adult movie in I Know What You Did Last Summer is anything to go by – it was a massive flop, for those wondering – the chances are that Cruel Intentions will, well, suffer a similarly cruel fate."

Adapting an iconic blockbuster into a TV series was always going to be a tricky business and it's often rare to see the remake do as well if not better than its source material. Unfortunately this was the case for Cruel Intentions, so while the show has come to a rather mean end, I think this may have been the kindest outcome for the drama series.

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• The Russo brothers have revealed which 'Secret Wars' comic book series inspired the next two Avengers movies
• Two different comic runs, which were released in the 1980s and 2010s, bear the 'Secret Wars' title
• The films are influenced by both literary works

Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars' cumulative story isn't influenced by one of the latter's comic book namesakes over the other, the Russo brothers have revealed.

Speaking to TechRadar for their new movie The Electric State, which lands on Netflix this Friday (March 14), Joe and Anthony Russo revealed that they'll "draw inspiration" from the 1980s and 2010s comic book series that bear the 'Secret Wars' moniker.

Avengers: Secret Wars is one of two Marvel films that the siblings will direct over the next two years. And, with two different comic runs called 'Secret Wars' – the Jim Shooter-written one, which ran from May 1984 to April 1985, and the Jonathan Hickman-penned version that released between May 2015 and January 2016 – fans have wondered which series will directly impact the fifth and sixth Avengers movies.

Robert Downey Jr returns to the MCU as Doctor Victor von Doom in Avengers 5 and 6 (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

"Well, we always create our own version of the story," Joe Russo replied when I asked if they sought inspiration from one comic run over the other. "So, we use the comics as loose inspiration.

"But, you know, I grew up on the original run. That's something that got me into Marvel comic books. The Hickman run is also fantastic [and they're] very different from each other in a lot of ways, so we'll draw inspiration from both of them."

What can Marvel's Secret Wars comics tell us about the plot of Avengers 6?

What can each of Secret Wars' comic book series tell us about what may happen in its movie namesake? (Image credit: Marvel)

Projects developed by Marvel Studios are secretive at the best of times. However, I suspect the Disney subsidiary is taking things to a whole new level from a confidentiality perspective when it comes to Avengers: Doomsday, which lands in theaters in May 2026, and its sequel film.

Well, if you ignore the most recent leak concerning the next two Avengers movies, anyway. Oh, and depending what you'll read into the Russos' response to my query about which Marvel heroes will appear in Doomsday and Secret Wars.

So, what do Shooter and Hickman's literary works tease about Secret Wars' overarching narrative? (Spoilers follow for both comic book series and, potentially, Avengers: Secret Wars!)

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Shooter's '80s run, whose art was produced by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton, tells the tale of The Beyonder, a cosmic entity who becomes fascinated by the heroes and villains that inhabit the Marvel universe. Determined to find out who is the best superpowered being of them all, he transports them to a distant galaxy to do battle on a world called *ahem* Battleworld.

As for the limited series from Hickman and artist Esad Ribić, it involves the destruction of the Marvel Multiverse due to an Incursion – a cataclysmic event that causes various universes to collide and destroy each other. The fragments of these realities that remain are stitched together to form a new version of Battleworld, which is ruled over by the God Emperor iteration of The Fantastic Four's iconic villain Doctor Victor von Doom.

With Robert Downey Jr set to play the Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) version of Doom, it seems likely that Avengers: Secret Wars will primarily pull from Hickman and Ribic's comic series. That much is made even clearer by the fact that we've been introduced to Incursions in other Marvel films, such as Doctor Strange 2, too, so this won't be a foreign concept to cinemagoers when Doomsday and Secret Wars are released.

That doesn't mean we can discard the '80s era story, though. That comic series saw the introduction of Spider-Man's classic black suit, which paved the way for Venom in the comics. With Spider-Man 4 sandwiched between the next two Avengers films, Doomsday could pick up a loose plot thread from Spider-Man: No Way Home – i.e., a piece of Venom's alien symbiote being left in a bar – we could see it bind to Tom Holland's Peter Parker, who might use said black suit in Secret Wars. Looking further ahead, it may also set the stage for Spider-Man 5, which could explore Parker's dark side, liberation from the symbiote suit, and even lead to the creation of the MCU's Venom.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, but I'll refrain from spoiling anything else about both comic runs and their Marvel Phase 6 movie namesake. Principal photography on Doomsday will reportedly begin in April, so don't be surprised if we start to hear more rumors about its cast and plot in the weeks and months ahead.

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In most time loop films – think Groundhog Day or Palm Springs – when things get quite dark as the characters depression at having to face the same day over and over again becomes too much.

The prospect endlessly repeating the same experiences is a disturbing one – yet something that end user computing (EUC) teams face almost every day. Nearly half (45%) of EUC time is taken up fixing recurring problems, such as employee on-boarding or resetting devices to their proper state.

Moreover, as IT management has become more complex, troubleshooting requires increased amounts of human intervention and decision-making at every step, slowing down the Mean Time to Remediation (MTTR) and creating a frustrating situation for all parties.

Employees have to wait longer to have their problems resolved, EUC teams are stuck doing repetitive, unfulfilling tasks instead of taking on more strategically important projects, and businesses waste substantial amounts of resources merely trying to maintain the status quo.

It's déjà vu all over again

To break the cycle of repetitive tasks, businesses need to be able to optimize and automate as many of these workflows as possible. Indeed, for the average enterprise, a single automated workflow can save nearly 3,800 hours per year across 100,000 devices.

For instance, when users neglect to install important updates on their devices, it can lead to major compliance and performance issues. However, getting users to restart their devices is a perennial problem for EUC teams.

In this case, having an automated workflow that can identify devices needing a restart and Windows update, issue multiple reminders to the user in a 24-hour period and, if necessary, a forced reboot and update verification would remove this as an issue entirely. Not only does this solve for the immediate problem, but it also reduces the risk of additional performance and compliance issues in the future.

Stretched to breaking point

The reason that these automations haven’t been introduced is simple – EUC teams are spread far too thin to take on the task. Just meeting the immediate business needs of ensuring that employees have working devices and access to applications is a huge ask without tackling major structural issues.

And, even if the burden on EUC teams could be alleviated, coding comprehensive scripts for IT problems is a lengthy process that requires a high level of PowerShell expertise that isn’t always available, especially for more complex tasks. Given that EUC teams are already overstretched, it’s simply not feasible to add more resources. It doesn’t scale.

Taking the low code road

The way to break the cycle is clear – automation has to become far simpler. Rather than doing extensive writing, testing, reviewing, signing, and updating of PowerShell code, EUC teams need a low code way to build and communicate workflows to the rest of the organization.

Having a low code, drag-and-drop approach to workflow automation not only democratizes the process so that people with little to no PowerShell knowledge can build a workflow, but it also makes it far easier to test and iterate so that missing steps can be added in. In addition, businesses need access to a library of fixes for the most common industry issues that can be adapted as needed.

Being able to quickly and easily construct automated workflows for a whole swathe of repetitive tasks not only allows EUC teams to reclaim vast amounts of time, but also allows issues to be escalated and resolved more quickly. For example, when a troubleshooting issue comes in that was unable to be resolved by the automated workflow, the support engineer doesn’t have worry about all of the common causes because those steps have already been attempted.

And, because the results of each workflow are automatically recorded, the ROI of bringing in the necessary solutions can be quickly and easily demonstrated to leadership.

Automatic for the people

Ultimately, the Groundhog Day-esque situation that EUC teams is simply not tenable. IT environments are only becoming broader and more complex, to the point where addressing each repetitive issue manually is like trying to drain a lake with a leaky bucket.

Any opportunity to reclaim time by reducing the workload must be taken. Practically speaking, the only way to do this is through the automation of the most low-value processes. Therefore, businesses need to invest in solutions that are going to allow EUC teams to build, test, and adapt these automations as swiftly as possible.

We list the best Active directory documentation tool.

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

• New York's Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Allstate for two data breaches
• The suit says the company did not notify customers and the government of the attacks
• Allstate denied any wrongdoing, saying it addressed the issue properly

US insurance giant Allstate has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly losing sensitive customer data and not notifying victims about what had happened.

The State of New York has sued Allstate’s National General unit, with Attorney General Letitia James filing the lawsuit in a state court in Manhattan, claiming the company’s lax security practices resulted in two data breaches, one in 2020, and one in 2021, which weren’t even reported on until the lawsuit. The first breach, which happened between August and November 2020, apparently affected 12,000 individuals (9,100 New Yorkers). National General did not spot the attack for two months, and never notified affected customers, or state agencies of the attack.

The second attack, which happened in February 2021, affected an additional 187,000 customers (155,000 New Yorkers), and occurred after Allstate acquired National General in January 2021 for roughly $4 billion.

Violating the Stop Hacks act

These two attacks, and the way Allstate (failed to) tackled them, is in violation of the state’s Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act, James argued. Furthermore, the company violated state consumer protection laws, by misleading its customers about its data security practices.

Now, James seeks civil files of $5,000 per violation, plus other remedies, Reuters added.

"National General's weak cybersecurity emboldened hackers to steal New Yorkers' personal data, not once but twice," James said. "It is crucial that companies take cybersecurity seriously to protect consumers from fraud and identity theft."

In its statement, Allstate denied all wrongdoing and claimed to have addressed the incidents in a timely, proper fashion.

"We resolved this issue years ago, promptly securing our systems after finding vulnerabilities in online quoting tools that could have exposed drivers' license numbers," it said. "We promptly notified regulators, contacted potentially affected consumers and offered free credit monitoring as a precaution."

Via Reuters

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Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, March 11 (game #639).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #640) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ORANGE
• KETCHUP
• ELMO
• COTTON
• SUGAR
• EYE
• ROSE
• MONTH
• EGGS
• ROCK
• PURPLE
• BUTTER
• FLOUR
• CARDINAL
• JOHN
• SILVER

NYT Connections today (game #640) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Ready, steady, bake
• GREEN: A color in common
• BLUE: Impossible verse
• PURPLE: Link rhymes with “dandy”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #640) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: INGREDIENTS IN CLASSIC POUND CAKE
• GREEN: THINGS THAT ARE RED 
• BLUE: WORDS SAID TO HAVE NO EXACT RHYMES 
• PURPLE: CANDY 

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #640) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #640, are…

• YELLOW: INGREDIENTS IN CLASSIC POUND CAKE BUTTER, EGGS, FLOUR, SUGAR
• GREEN: THINGS THAT ARE RED CARDINAL, ELMO, KETCHUP, ROSE
• BLUE: WORDS SAID TO HAVE NO EXACT RHYMES MONTH, ORANGE, PURPLE, SILVER
• PURPLE: CANDY COTTON, EYE, JOHN, ROCK

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 mistake

Today’s puzzle took me down a nostalgia rabbit hole and gave me the munchies.

My two blind alleys were firstly thinking I was looking for pirates and then thinking there was a group connected to classic rock acts Elton JOHN and Deep PURPLE, which I gave up on after randomly adding SILVER and ROCK to that list and wasting a guess.

John and Silver also made me think about fish and chips – thanks to Long John SILVER’s restaurants – something which admittedly is never far from my thoughts.

The key that unlocked all four groups was CARDINAL. The lyrics “Cardinal landing in the dogwood” from Old Friends by Pinegrove popped into my head, I remembered they’re red and KETCHUP is red and from there everything fell into place and I needled my way home without another error – although I did think BUTTER, EGGS, FLOUR and SUGAR was a reference to pancakes, rather than pound cake.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, 11 March, game #639)

• YELLOW: VARIATION FROM THE NORM ALTERNATIVE, BREAK, CHANGE, DEPARTURE
• GREEN: THINGS THAT RING ALARM, BELL, INTERCOM, PHONE
• BLUE: THINGS TRADITIONALLY MADE OF LEATHER FOOTBALL, MOCCASINS, SADDLE, WALLET
• PURPLE: SINGER-SONGWRITER PIANISTS KEYS, KING, LEGEND, WONDER

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, March 11 (game #373).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #374) - hint #1 - today's theme What is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Bearing gifts

NYT Strands today (game #374) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• POLL
• FAIL
• TALE
• LEAK
• TART
• SIGN

NYT Strands today (game #374) - hint #3 - spangram letters How many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 7 letters

NYT Strands today (game #374) - hint #4 - spangram position What are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

First side: left, 5th row

Last side: right, 6th row

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #374) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #374, are…

• CHOPS
• FLAIR
• SKILL
• KNACK
• TALENT
• PROWESS
• STRENGTH
• SPANGRAM: PRODIGY

• My rating: Moderate
• My score: 1 hint

A mildly troubling search to get us over hump day.

One thing I know for certain after laboring over today’s puzzle is that I am no puzzle prodigy. I needed a Hint to get me going, but CHOPS didn’t help at all – what did cuts of meat have to do with gifts? Any other word and I think I would have gotten there quicker.

By my second word I had it and felt all kinds of foolish – I think I must have a special KNACK for making life hard for myself.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, 11 March, game #373)

• TADA
• SHAZAM
• ABRACADABRA
• PRESTO
• ALAKAZAM
• SPANGRAM: CASTING SPELLS

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, March 11 (game #1142).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1143) - hint #1 - Vowels How many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 3*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1143) - hint #2 - repeated letters Do any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.

Quordle today (game #1143) - hint #3 - uncommon letters Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1143) - hint #4 - starting letters (1) Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1143) - hint #5 - starting letters (2) What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• A

• P

• R

• P

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1143) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1143, are…

• AWASH
• PUSHY
• RALPH
• PROOF

I hesitated with my final guess today. Despite having all the letters and being unable to think of any alternatives, I asked myself “is RALPH really a word and not just slang? Surely there’s some mistake.”

But, no RALPH, which is one of our many words for vomit (what snow is for Finnish, puke is for English), is in the dictionary. Stemming from the 1960s, RALPH is an onomatopoeic and comes from the sound someone makes while throwing up, not from some very sickly person called Ralph.

On reflection not a great name for a supermarket chain.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

Daily Sequence today (game #1143) - the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1143, are…

• VAGUE
• FROCK
• FLUME
• GAMUT

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1142, Tuesday 11 March: LINGO, JUICE, SHARP, REVEL
• Quordle #1141, Monday 10 March: AVAIL, THESE, TITAN, GAUGE
• Quordle #1140, Sunday 9 March: SKILL, IDEAL, WHERE, REHAB
• Quordle #1139, Saturday 8 March: WATCH, LAPSE, WREST, HEFTY
• Quordle #1138, Friday 7 March: GLEAN, SHINY, DECRY, MANGA
• Quordle #1137, Thursday 6 March: TRICE, EIGHT, BELCH, RIPER
• Quordle #1136, Wednesday 5 March: PLEAD, TWANG, MAJOR, RISKY
• Quordle #1135, Tuesday 4 March: FLOWN, ETUDE, TOPAZ, JOKER
• Quordle #1134, Monday 3 March: FRILL, KAYAK, REBAR, WORDY
• Quordle #1133, Sunday 2 March: TUNIC, GLOSS, DEBUG, LARGE
• Quordle #1132, Saturday 1 March: DENSE, BONEY, KITTY, SMEAR
• Quordle #1131, Friday 28 February: PASTA, RAZOR, PLUMB, DROOL
• Quordle #1130, Thursday 27 February: THIEF, CHAIR, ETHER, GRIME
• Quordle #1129, Wednesday 26 February: LOVER, SPIED, VAPOR, METER
• Quordle #1128, Tuesday 25 February: TWIST, TWEAK, MEANT, CLEAR
• Quordle #1127, Monday 24 February: LEASH, LEVER, TOTEM, CREME
• Quordle #1126, Sunday 23 February: RABID, RELIC, SCRAM, BASIS
• Quordle #1125, Saturday 22 February: ETHER, SONIC, VAUNT, ROUSE
• Quordle #1124, Friday 21 February: STIFF, PRIZE, SCOWL, DONUT
• Quordle #1123, Thursday 20 February: HASTY, DRAPE, FICUS, CRAZE

• AMD’s RX 9070 GPUs are currently out of stock pretty much everywhere
• An AMD exec says that more supply of RX 9070 models is “coming ASAP”
• Some gamers are still worried about the prospect of entry-level RDNA 4 graphics cards not sticking to the MSRP, though

An AMD executive has promised that fresh stock of RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards – which are currently all sold out in the US, and seemingly most other regions besides – is winging its way to stores across the globe.

This news comes from Frank Azor, who is AMD’s head of consumer and gaming marketing, via a statement shared on X about the launch of these RDNA 4 graphics cards.

Azor assures us that: “More [RX 9070] supply is coming ASAP to partners all over the world.”

The use of the term ‘ASAP’ suggests that AMD won’t be messing around when it comes to restocking RX 9070 models, and that’s also suggested by what we’ve heard on the rumor mill recently.

Namely that AMD has a sizeable quantity of RDNA 4 stock rolling off the production lines, which has clearly not been the case with Nvidia’s Blackwell launch since the RTX 5000 GPUs debuted at the end of January.

(Image credit: Shutterstock) Analysis: Better stock prospects all round (but what about pricing?)

Actually, the hope expressed via the rumor mill – and it is just a hope, mind – is that Nvidia’s RTX 5000 stock is also going to become more robust. Or at least RTX 5090 supply will increase – quite dramatically, the theory is – and perhaps other Blackwell graphics cards, too.

AMD’s Azor is generally pretty reliable, too, so we can hope that it’s the case that both RDNA 4 and Blackwell GPUs will benefit from a spike in supply in the near future.

Notably, Azor wouldn’t be drawn on MSRP pricing, though. If you scrolled through the comments on the exec’s latest post on X, you’ll have seen a few gamers calling out AMD over the MSRP, and the reported practice of only having an initial batch of (subsidized) RX 9070 graphics cards pegged at that official recommended asking price. (And that was indeed what seemed to happen at the RDNA 4 launch).

Previously, Azor has addressed this issue though, and said that “MSRP pricing will continue to be encouraged” beyond the launch, so we should see some (entry-level) RDNA 4 GPUs back at those baseline prices. That said, words like ‘encouraged’ and a feeling of slight evasiveness around the issue of pricing in the latest post from Azor leave some room for doubt as to exactly what policy AMD is pursuing here.

As ever, time will tell, and with any luck, we won’t have long to wait for the next batch of RX 9070 graphics cards to hit the shelves. Keep an eye on our guide to where to buy AMD’s RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 which highlights the retailers you should be watching to grab stock when the supply lines open up again.

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• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is coming to iOS and Android
• It will launch on April 15 and cost $8.99
• All DLC is included

Dotemu, Tribute Games, Paramount Game Studios, and Pladigious have announced that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge will hit mobile devices next month.

The game is a 2D beat-em-up with a stunning pixel art aesthetic that looks like it would be perfectly at home on one of the best gaming phones or a big-screen gaming tablet. It's coming to both iOS and Android and will be available via the App Store and Google Play Store respectively.

It features 16 distinct levels, with multiple playable characters which of course means the chance to punch goons such as the iconic ninja turtles Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo but also some more unusual ones like news reporter April O'Neil.

On top of this, the mobile version will come bundled with all DLC content at no additional cost. This means you're getting the Radical Reptiles (which introduces two new playable characters) and Dimension Shellshock (with new characters, game modes, and exclusive mechanics) expansions.

All of this will cost just $8.99 - a fraction of the $32.90 asking price over on PC. Better still, those who pre-order the game ahead of its April 15 launch date will benefit from a special 10% discount which takes it down to only $7.99.

A free trial will be available, which would be a good way to assess performance on your device.

The port will feature full Bluetooth controller support too, which is perfect if you have a spare Xbox Wireless Controller lying around.

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• GTA 6's console-only launch reminds me of how much I despise console exclusivity - is it worth waiting years for PC ports?
• The next Xbox could simply be a PC in a 'TV-friendly shell' per latest rumor
• Assassin's Creed Shadows PS5 Pro details have been revealed and the biggest difference appears to be ray tracing

• LG has revealed US pricing for its LG G5 and LG C5 OLED TVs
• Prices are the same or cheaper than their predecessors
• Both series are available to pre-order through LG

LG has announced pricing for two of its 2025 OLED TV series, the LG G5 and LG C5, and in some welcome news, prices are the same and or even cheaper for some sizes compared to last year's models.

Available to order now from LG, the LG G5 and LG C5 are successors to the LG G4 and LG C4, two of the best OLED TVs from 2024. Pricing for the 55, 65, 77, 83 and 97-inch LG G5, is as follows:

• LG 55-inch G5 OLED: $2,499
• LG 65-inch G5 OLED: $3,399
• LG 77-inch G5 OLED: $4,499
• LG 83-inch G5 OLED: $6,499
• LG 97-inch G5 OLED: $27,999

Interestingly, there is no mention of the new LG 48-inch G5, which was announced in the UK with the other models earlier this month along with pricing.

Pricing for the LG C5 series, available in six sizes, is as follows:

• LG 42-inch C5 OLED: $1,399
• LG 48-inch C5 OLED: $1,599
• LG 55-inch C5 OLED: $1,999
• LG 65-inch C5 OLED: $2,699
• LG 77-inch C5 OLED: $3,699
• LG 83-inch C5 OLED: $5,399

Compared with last year's LG G4 and LG C4, launch prices for the G5 and C5 are largely the same, with a couple of exceptions.

The 55- and 77-inch G5 and 42-inch C5 are all launching $100 cheaper than their respective 2024 counterparts, which is welcome pricing news.

Pre-orders for each model are available through LG's website, with links to each model below:

• Pre-order the 55-inch LG G5 at LG
• Pre-order the 65-inch LG G5 at LG
• Pre-order the 77-inch LG G5 at LG
• Pre-order the 83-inch LG G5 at LG
• Pre-order the 97-inch LG G5 at LG

• Pre-order the 42-inch LG C5 at LG
• Pre-order the 48-inch LG C5 at LG
• Pre-order the 55-inch LG C5 at LG
• Pre-order the 65-inch LG C5 at LG
• Pre-order the 77-inch LG C5 at LG
• Pre-order the 83-inch LG C5 at LG

The announcement of these prices also gives us our first release dates, with every model of both the G5 and C5 listed as available in March 2025. Although there is no specific date, this means availability is imminent as we're already into the second week of March. This release schedule follows the same pattern that LG's OLEDs have had for the past few years.

LG has yet to announce a release date or pricing for the LG B5 in the US.

A pricing surprise

The LG G5 (pictured) offers a real brightness boost over its predecessor, the LG G4. (Image credit: Future)

These are the first official prices for the LG G5 and LG C5 in the US that we've received. We initially predicted they would be pricier compared to their 2024 counterparts after a first look at CES 2025 (accounting for inflation and pricing trends over previous years). However, European pricing for the LG G5, C5 and B5 and UK pricing for the LG G5 was recently announced, revealing that prices remained the same for the G4 in Europe and the UK and for the C5 in Europe. We hoped this would also be the case for the US, and thankfully, it is.

What we didn't anticipate in all this pricing news is that some models would be cheaper. Yes, at the time of writing, prices are still at a premium and significantly higher than the 2024 LG OLED models, which have seen their prices fall throughout the past year. But for launch prices to match LG's 2024 OLED lineup, and even go cheaper, could be a good sign for the future. Could prices for the G5 and C5 series eventually drop even lower than their predecessors?

We've seen the LG G5 and C5 in person and are excited about how both advance on two of 2024's best TVs. LG suggested a 40% fullscreen brightness boost in the LG G5 compared to the LG G4 and now we've seen the G5 and G4 side-by-side and can confirm the brightness increase is very real.

We've also seen webOS 25 and its new range of exciting AI features, including the AI Sound Wizard, which enables users to customize their LG TV's built-in sound profile in action and, spoiler alert, it's very cool. From what else we've seen, the C5 looks like a very capable TV.

We haven't had a chance to test the new LG G5 or C5 fully yet, but hope to in the coming weeks. We're encouraged by what we've seen so far and are eager to get our hands on them.

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• Bitdefender has identified a malicious SMS campaign
• The texts promise up to 90% energy bills savings
• Elon Musk's likeness is used to try and trick victims

A malicious SMS campaign has been discovered by Bitdefender, taking advantage of Americans who want to save money on their energy bills.

The scammers sent an offer for an ‘innovative’ energy saving device via an SMS, usually including the victim’s real name, urging them to follow a link to “start saving” hundreds on their electric bill. The fraudsters most likely had access to the victim’s names through previous data breaches. Here’s one example of the SMS;

“Gary, your neighbors are paying 79% less for power. Why aren’t you? Stop overpaying- click here to start saving https://gimelove .com/eln”

ESaver Watt

As well as phishing and malware attacks, the link was found to lead some recipients to a fake news article featuring a photo and testimonial from Musk, promising an up to 90% saving on monthly electricity bills.

“The big power companies are scamming you. Yes, that’s right. Believe it or not, they have been using a secret to cheat you every time you run your lights, dishwasher, blender, vacuum and anything else that draws power”, says the fake Elon Musk.

“This is why your power bill is so expensive every month and keeps rising with some US residents paying as much as $500 a month in electric bills. Every American can slash their electricity bill by 90% using this revolutionary technology. You’re welcome.”

The article features a photo of the ‘device’, and links to product pages, where the plugin is sold for $40. Bitdefender has seen similar devices sold on Chinese marketplaces for just a few dollars - but to be clear, energy prices cannot be reduced by plugging in an outlet, and these devices will cost victims money and their personal information.

These are classic social engineering attacks, which are designed to panic or entice victims into action - usually clicking a malicious link which will steal their data. The best way to stay safe from attacks like these is to stay vigilant, and to never click any unsolicited links - remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

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• Empirical Health has released a new smartwatch health protocol
• Empirical Health Radar uses 40+ smartwatch biomarkers, combined with clinical results to give you a health score
• It can give you a deeper look at heart health, kidney function, liver health, and more

A new service from Empirical Health promises to deliver a comprehensive health score using combined data from your smartwatch and clinical records.

Available from March 11, Empirical Health Radar (no affiliation with TechRadar) can be found in the Empirical Health app on Android and iOS.

Empirical Health Radar takes 40 biomarkers from your Apple Watch or Wear OS smartwatch, and combines the data with blood tests to generate a doctor-designed health score.

The health score was designed by Dr Raquel Rodriguez, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Empirical Health, formerly of Kaiser and UC San Francisco, and features guidelines and risk models from the US Preventive Services Task Force, American Heart Association, and American College of Cardiology, and American Board of Family Medicine.

At its heart, Empirical Health Data is designed to supplement the fitness and health tracking of your smartwatch with clinical data, filling in the blanks that even the best smartwatches can't quite cover just yet.

The ultimate smartwatch health check?

(Image credit: Empirical Health)

Empirical Health Radar's health score categorizes biomarkers into six categories: heart health, sleep, lungs, exercise, mental health, and kidney/liver.

By way of example, Empirical Health notes even the best Apple Watches can't predict heart attacks, but cholesterol and blood pressure data can be used in an American College of Cardiology risk calculator to do just that. Empirical Health Radar combines that clinical test with your smartwatch's ECG data, irregular rhythm alerts, resting heart rate, and cardio recovery metrics to give you a more holistic heart health score than you'd get from either a smartwatch or a blood test individually.

You can upload a PDF or image of blood tests you've already taken, or import records directly from Apple Health using Apple's clinical records API in HealthKit.

If you don't want to surrender any clinical data, you can use Empirical Health Radar without recent blood tests and get a partial score. Or for convenience you can book a test directly through the Empirical Health app or complete one at a local lab for $97.

Empirical Health is available from the App Store or Google Play Store, or Empirical Health's website now.

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