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The world is facing a devastating array of disasters. If you want to donate to a charity to make a difference, how can you make sure your dollars will do the most good?

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The international company that owns the American brands is struggling with a glut of unsold cars and smaller profits. The layoffs could have ripple effects through its U.S. workforce of 52,000.

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While both mesh systems from Google are outdated at this point, but they'll still get you steady and reliable whole-home Wi-Fi.

Raneem Hijazi was eight months pregnant when an Israeli airstrike on her apartment in Gaza buried her in rubble, killing eight family members including her young son. Hijazi survived and gave birth that day to a healthy baby girl. But then she was separated from her newborn for months. We hear the story of their difficult time apart.

Listen to a special episode featuring more stories of lives changed since last October 7th, in our podcast feed.

“All the state leaders should be getting their people out … to watch for ballot stuffing,” wrote the leader of the American Patriots Three Percent militia. “Our nation depends on this."

HighPoint has announced the RocketAIC 7749M2, a PCIe Gen4 x16 AIC drive available in 64TB or 128TB configurations with pre-configured RAID storage.

This solution is designed to fit into a compact form factor, similar in size to a high-end GPU, making it well-suited for AI workstations and other data-intensive applications.

The 128TB RocketAIC 7749M2W incorporates 16 Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 8TB M.2 SSDs connected through HighPoint's x48 lane PCIe Switching Technology which allows each SSD to run at maximum performance, reaching transfer speeds of up to 28GBps. This makes it ideal for professionals in fields like AI, machine learning, and media production, though as you might expect, the top-tier 128TB version comes with a hefty price tag - $26,000.

Highest capacity AIC

The drive, which you can buy now, is recognized as a single physical unit by the operating system, allowing it to be easily configured for different roles such as an application drive, virtual scratch disk, data archive, or media library. It has a three-pronged cooling system which includes a fully enclosed aluminum casing and triple fans, ensuring the device remains cool and prevents thermal throttling even during intensive workloads.

The RocketAIC supports versatile RAID configurations, giving users flexibility to balance performance with data protection based on their needs. HighPoint’s integrated management suite simplifies setup and ongoing monitoring.

TweakTown was one of the first to review the new RocketAIC 7749M2W 128TB and came away highly impressed, noting that, “Not only is it the highest capacity AIC of its kind, but we also find it to offer the best overall delivery mechanism for this level of throughput. The card itself is brilliantly designed, being sleek, cool-running, and well-proportioned. Its tool-free design is an absolute godsend, allowing you to easily access its 8x removable storage trays in seconds with zero frustration."

The site awarded the 7749M2W an impressive 96% rating, citing cost as the only major drawback, but praising it for delivering “the best overall user experience for a storage device of its kind.”

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Bask in the glow of the northern lights with glimmering aurora views from the International Space Station and locations across the country.

Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Two-minute review

There are many reasons why PC gamers may prefer a 1080p gaming monitor like the $179 Lenovo Legion R25f-30 over displays with higher resolutions. Beyond serving individuals who may be on a tighter budget, performance gains through higher frame rates in the modern gaming era can help more competitive-minded gamers.

With a 24.5-inch VA panel, 1080p native resolution and 280Hz refresh rate, the Legion R25f-30 does a great job where it counts. The image quality is wonderful thanks to covering 99% of the sRGB and 90% of the DCI-P3 color space while supporting HDR. On the other hand, AMD FreeSync alongside a 0.5ms response time helps on the performance side of things.

To further improve gameplay performance, the Legion R25f-30 comes equipped with AMD FreeSync Premium technology and ClearMR 7000 certification, eliminating stutters and screen tearing for an ultra-smooth gaming experience. Gamers will enjoy stunning visual fidelity, as the monitor covers 99% of the sRGB and 90% of the DCI-P3 color space, delivering vibrant, true-to-life colors. This is great for entry-to-mid-level content creators or beginning colorists in terms of color accuracy for the Adobe crowd. The Legion R25f-30 works fine enough when browsing the web or using management software with clarity and crisp fonts.

With support for HDR, lighting and shadows appear more realistic, adding depth and detail to every scene. If that’s all PC gamers on the cheaper side are looking for, then that sub-$200 gaming monitor could be worth it. Gamers playing titles like Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake II will get some of the best image quality they can get at this price point. The same goes for more esports titles like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty where input latency and high frame rates are vital for victory.

The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 has a few drawbacks, starting with its rather plain design that lacks visual flair. While the monitor provides adjustable comfort with lift, tilt, pivot, and swivel options, its two built-in 3W stereo speakers are underwhelming and not ideal for serious use. Additionally, it lacks USB ports and in-display overlays, with crosshair overlays and color settings only accessible through the separate Lenovo Artery software. Compared to other budget gaming monitors, it falls short at times.

Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• When is it available? Now
• How much does it cost? $179.99/£139.00/AU $299.00
• Where can you get it? US, UK, and Australia

The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is available now in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia territories. Priced at $179.99 (£139.00, AU $299.00), the gaming monitor can be purchased from Lenovo’s online store or various online stores like Newegg in the U.S., Currys Business in the UK, and Centrecom in Australia. If image quality and performance matter more to you, the sub-$200 price tag could be worth it.

You won't find any USB ports or powerful speakers in way of features, just the Lenovo Artery software compatibility and onboard speakers. If you want more bang-for-your-buck, you may want to look into the RCA Evolution Select M27SG134F. At the cost of only having 168Hz refresh rate, the 1440p display provides commendable image quality and performance, plus better speakers and on-screen displays.

Understand that there are affordable 4K monitors of quality as well like the Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q. Of course, those two other potential choices will require a rig that can handle solid output beyond 1080p.

Value: 4 / 5

Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Specs

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler) Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Design

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

When it comes to overall design aesthetics, the all-black colorway of The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is a bit boring. Don’t expect an aggressive angular design outside of the base which features the Lenovo logo stretched across triangular grills.

No RGB lighting or anything of the likes are to be found here. Thankfully, the fairly generic design does lend itself to a simple setup. Simply screw in the base to the neck and snap both into the back panel.

To secure the back panel to the neck, there are four large screws that require some tightening.

Image 1 of 4

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Image 2 of 4

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Image 3 of 4

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)Image 4 of 4

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The overall weight of the gaming monitor is a bit less than 15lbs which means it's easy to maneuver around. Meanwhile, adjustments to display position include lift, tilt, pivot and swivel.

The swivel can also convert the Legion R25f-30 to portrait layout as well. There are several buttons on the back panel for power, input, game-related modes and a thumb stick for navigating and selecting options on the in-display menu.

Power comes through a port that connects directly to an outlet so you don’t have to worry about an adapter. Outside of that, the only ports are one single DisplayPort, two HDMI ports and 3.5 headphone jack. Some USB ports would have been nice but considering the budget nature, these are understandable.

• Design: 3 / 5

Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Features

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The feature set of the Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is very light which is expected given the sub-$200 price tag. Alongside the lack of USB ports or more standard gaming monitor features like KVM, there are two extras that you may find interesting - the first is compatibility with Lenovo’s Artery software.

This allows features like crosshair and frame rate overlays and easier access to color correction on the monitor. Understand that console players are going to miss out on any of these capabilities since it’s tied to the software.

Another feature are the two 3W in-display speakers that are fairly weak for everyday usage. If the room is quiet, they could be good for the occasional YouTube video.

However, serious gamers are going to either use the 3.5m headphone jack or a pair of the best wireless headphones around. The volume on the speakers aren’t the highest and lack any real sonic nuance.

• Features: 3 / 5

Lenovo Legion R25f-30: Performance

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Performance is the highlight of the Lenovo Legion R25F-30 thanks to its 280Hz refresh rate and 0.5 latency which will definitely give gamers a competitive edge. Add AMD FreeSync Premium into the mix and this display competes very well in that department. Playing competitive online titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III feels great on the R25F-30.

Motion is buttery smooth with no noticeable screen tearing. Having a powerful desktop for this 1080p display means these games enjoy significantly higher framerates that make good usage of its 280Hz refresh rate. Even more fast-paced games like Black Myth: Wukong and Forza Motorsport (2023) feel incredibly tactile thanks to the low latency.

When it comes to image quality, the Legion R25f-30 makes great use of its 380 peak nits of brightness, 3000:1 contrast, and 16.7 million color support. Though some tinkering is required to get near perfect color accuracy in both SDR and HDR, images look great on the gaming monitor.

This is noticeable in gaming when playing titles like Alan Wake II and Cyberpunk 2077. Having the settings pumped up to max on these games provide great visuals that the Legion R25f-30 can really take advantage of at the 1080p resolution range.

This leads into general application use as well. Text is crisp and easily legible on Google Chrome, and videos offer bold colors and deep enough blacks. Creative tools like Adobe Suite mean that content creators will be fine using Photoshop and Premiere Pro.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Legion R25f-30?  Buy it if… 

You want a solid budget 1080p display
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 is definitely for budget gamers with a lower-spec PC. The 1080p imagery this monitor provides is crisp and clear, and the price tag is definitely reasonable for the panel.

You want great performance
Having a high 280Hz refresh rate is one thing, but having a 0.5ms response time and AMD FreeSync Premium capabilities is another for any competitive-minded gamer.

You require fantastic image quality
This gaming monitor makes well use of its 380 nits and high contrast ratio. Add some good HDR into the mix(that might require some tinkering to get right) and the Lenovo Legion R25f-30 offers some great image quality.

 Don’t buy it if… 

You want a design that balances look and substance
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 offers a pretty boring design that lacks any real extras like USB ports.

You need some in-display options and settings
This gaming monitor has some simple options from jump but things like overlays are only useful from the Lenovo Artery software.

You want high-quality speakers
Two built-in 3W stereo speakers are fairly weak on the audio quality side. Thankfully, there’s a 3.5 headset jack for gaming headsets.

Also Consider

RCA Evolution Select M27SG134F
At around the same price, the RCA Evolution Select M27SG134F offers so much more than the Lenovo Legion R25f-30. This includes a higher 1440p display with a reduced refresh rate of 160Hz, better speakers and more features.

Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q
If image quality matters more than performance, the 4K Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q might be something to look into.

Read our full Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q review

How we tested the Lenovo Legion R25f-30

For the review, the Lenovo Legion R25f-30 was tested over the course of about a week. Daily tasks primarily involved using Google Chrome and Slack, including working with Google Docs and project management software like Asana, as well as social media management tools such as Hootsuite. Slack was also frequently used to communicate across various channels. Additionally, Adobe Suite, including Photoshop and Premiere Pro, was used throughout the week for video and photo editing.

For gaming tests, I evaluated both image quality and performance. To assess image quality, I played Black Myth: Wukong, Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield, and Cyberpunk 2077. On the performance side, I tested Fortnite, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Forza Motorsport. Additionally, I played Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Redout 2.

I’ve spent the past several years covering monitors alongside other PC components for TechRadar. Outside of gaming, I’ve been proficient in Adobe Suite for over a decade as well.

First reviewed September 2024

Sports analytics technology company TrackMan was unknowingly exposing sensitive customer data, researchers have warned.

Jeremiah Fowler, a security analyst known for tracking down unprotected databases, revealed new findings he determined belonged to TrackMan.

The database did not have a password, and contained 31,602,260 records - for a total of 110 TB, including sensitive customer data such as names, email addresses, IP addresses, and security tokens - plenty of information to run identity theft, phishing, and other malicious activities.

Ramifications of unsecured databases

After discovering the database, Fowler reached out to TrackMan, who restricted public access the same day. However, we don’t know for how long it was sitting out in the open, or if someone accessed it beforehand. We also don’t know if it’s TrackMan who manages this database, or if it is a third party.

TrackMan is a technology company specializing in sports analytics, particularly for golf and baseball, with solutions used by the Golf Channel, BBC, and CNN World. It uses radar and imaging technology to track the trajectory and performance of balls and players with high precision. Athletes, coaches, and teams, use TrackMan’s detailed insights to improve performance on things like ball speed, launch angle, or spin rate. Its products are widely used in professional leagues, training facilities, and by broadcasters for enhancing sports analysis and fan experiences.

Unsecured databases remain a top cause of data breaches and leaks. They are often inadvertently exposed to the internet, either due to misconfigurations or oversight during deployment. Without basic security measures like password protection or encryption, they become easy targets for hackers, who can locate them using automated tools and web scanners. The simplicity of accessing these databases, often without needing to bypass any security layers, makes them highly vulnerable to unauthorized entry.

The ramifications of hackers finding such databases are severe. Businesses can experience financial losses, regulatory fines, reputational damage, and loss of customer trust. They can also face lawsuits, compliance violations, and long-term operational disruption.

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It has 4K resolution, color night vision and is on sale for just $160 right now.

"We couldn't believe it, honestly, that he was OK," a pilot said as he described finding a man who spent the night of Hurricane Milton's landfall 30 miles from land.

(Image credit: U.S. Coast Guard/ Screenshot by NPR)

Stocking stuffers add fun to the holiday season and they don't have to be expensive. Our gifting experts uncovered the best affordable stocking stuffers for everyone on your gift list, whether it’s for your tween, partner, friend or even pet.

Experts weigh in on what you should keep in mind when storing your outdoor electric appliances.

Google has denied claims that Pixel phones provide the company with private user data such as location, network status, phone number, and app list every 15 minutes.

Cybernews published a report containing these allegations on October 9, citing its own research team’s findings as evidence. In short, the report claims that Pixel phones share a substantial amount of personal data with Google at regular intervals, sometimes with services the user has not consented to using, and that the phone independently looks for new code to run, suggesting some degree of remote control is possible.

Google has since responded, saying that some data sharing is necessary for the provision of services by any phone company, and that the report “lacks crucial context” and misinterprets technical information.

Google Pixel data sharing claims

The Cybernews report claims that Pixel phones share personally identifiable information like the user’s email address, location, and phone number with several different Google endpoints, such as Face Grouping, Device Management, and Policy Enforcement.

Researchers made the claims after running a series of tests with the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL, using a proxy to intercept inbound and outbound network traffic, though this traffic was technically incomplete as rooting the phone disables AI and some other features.

Put simply, the report says the researchers could see the data leaving and entering the Pixel 9 Pro XL over wireless networks.

In the case of the Face Grouping endpoint, which is linked to the Google Photos feature of the same name, the team had not given any form of consent to the Google Photos app.

The team also claim to have found evidence of communication to an endpoint called “check-in” every 40 minutes, which shared data such as the phone’s firmware version, network status, SIM card carrier, and user’s email address.

The report notes that location data is shared even if GPS is disabled, using nearby Wi-Fi networks to estimate the user’s location.

Google’s response

Google responded to the claims made in the Cybernews report, and the outlet includes this response as part of the report. Tweaktown suggests this response was shared by email.

The response from Google emphasises that data collection and transmission is an essential part of many Google Play services, which provide core functions on certified Android devices.

Google also said that modifying – in this case rooting – a phone can trigger unintended data checks, and that users do need to explicitly consent to location, background activity, and usage data permissions.

A section of response shared by Cybernews reads: “User security and privacy are top priorities for Pixel. You can manage data sharing, app permissions and more during device setup and in your settings. This report lacks crucial context, misinterprets technical details and doesn't fully explain that data transmissions are needed for legitimate services on all mobile devices regardless of the manufacturer, model or OS, such as software updates, on-demand features and personalized experiences”

Should you be worried about your phone sharing data?

In cases like this, it’s important to read as much as possible from both sides before forming an opinion. We aren’t in a position to offer any definitive answers here.

However, it's fairly common knowledge these days that phone makers in general collect and retain a lot of data as part of their service provision and commercial operations.

If you’re worried about what permissions your phone software and specific apps have, you can usually check, approve, or revoke these in the settings app of whichever phone you use.

If you want to take your phone privacy to the next level though, you might consider a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which makes it harder for third parties to see your network activity – head over to our list of the best VPNs for more details.

And, as ever, be sure to keep up with our phones coverage for the latest news and updates.

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OpenAI, the company behind the famed Chat-GPT generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution, says it has recently blocked multiple malicious campaigns abusing its services.

In a report, the company said it blocked more than 20 operations and deceptive networks around the world in 2024 so far.

These operations varied in nature, size, and targets. Sometimes, the crooks would use it to debug malware, and sometimes they would use it to write content (website articles, fake biographies for social media accounts, fake profile pictures, etc.).

Disrupting the disruptors

While this sounds sinister and dangerous, OpenAI says the threat actors failed to gain any significant traction with these campaigns:

"Threat actors continue to evolve and experiment with our models, but we have not seen evidence of this leading to meaningful breakthroughs in their ability to create substantially new malware or build viral audiences," it said.

But 2024 is election year - not just in the States, but elsewhere around the world - and OpenAI has seen ChatGPT abused by threat actors trying to influence pre-election campaigns. It mentioned multiple groups, including one called “Zero Zeno. This Israeli-based commercial company “briefly” generated social media comments about elections in India - a campaign that was disrupted “less than 24 hours after it began.”

The company added in June 2024, just before the elections for the European Parliament, it disrupted an operation dubbed “A2Z”, which focused on Azerbaijan and its neighbors. Other notable mentions included generating comments about the European Parliament elections in France, and politics in Italy, Poland, Germany, and the US.

Luckily, none of these campaigns made any significant progress, and once OpenAI banned them, they were stopped entirely:

“The majority of social media posts that we identified as being generated from our models received few or no likes, shares, or comments, although we identified some occasions when real people replied to its posts,” OpenAI concluded. “After we blocked its access to our models, this operation’s social media accounts that we had identified stopped posting throughout the election periods in the EU, UK and France.”

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A new AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D leak provides us with a tempting glimpse of some potentially major advances made by this next-gen CPU in terms of clock speeds for 3D V-Cache chips, where a large cache has been a considerable drag factor on the clock frequency achieved.

Maybe that isn’t the case anymore, at least not if a video from Bilibili posted on X by leaker HXL (highlighted by VideoCardz) is anything to judge from, though as ever, we must be careful about leaks.

9800X3D Base 4.7 GHzAll Core Turbo 5.2 GHzhttps://t.co/cPk2fEhroH pic.twitter.com/J0O5uZqs4POctober 11, 2024

That in mind, the clip (which is actually just a slideshow of screenshots) shows a purported Cinebench R23 result, which measures the CPU’s rendering performance for single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. However, rather than the result, what’s really interesting here is the clock speeds are shown.

We see that AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a base clock of 4.7GHz and hits an all-core boost speed of 5.2GHz. Again, we should underline that we can’t be sure if this is a genuine leak or not.

To give you some perspective, if we compare these clock speeds to its predecessor, the 7800X3D has a base clock of 4.2GHz – so the 9800X3D is supposedly 500MHz faster – and all-core turbo of around 4.8GHz – so we’re looking at 400GHz faster for the X3D newcomer.

Pretty impressive, to say the least, and it would appear that AMD has solved its cache problems holding back clocks, finding a sweet spot between clock speeds and 3D V-Cache.

So, we could be looking at some pretty insane frame rates for PC games here. Judging by previously leaked Cinebench results for the 9800X3D, the chip will be a much better all-rounder in performance terms, too – handling multi-core computing tasks more ably, but still being excellent for games. All of this is in theory, of course.

(Image credit: Future/John Loeffler) Intel must be getting worried at this point

To sum up, Intel might be sweating a little bit right now, and a mainstream X3D offering like this could leave Team Blue’s new Arrow Lake silicon in the dust, at least as far as PC gamers are concerned.

Notably, Intel has already conceded defeat in the PC gaming arena by admitting that its Arrow Lake CPUs will be 5% slower than AMD’s 3D V-Cache Ryzen 7000 processors.

As Wccftech reports, during a Q&A session, Intel VP and general manager of technical marketing, Robert Hallock, stated that: “We showed some data on the 7950X3D. Based on my understanding of the performance, that part is within a couple of percents so I think we will be about 5% back versus X3D which we feel really really good about considering that we have just the cache that’s built within the CPU and the great IPC of the product so you’ll see about a 5% deficit, I want to be clear about that.”

And that’s the scenario against current-gen 3D V-Cache from AMD, so providing this leak is correct, it looks like Intel is in real trouble when it comes to the 9800X3D, a CPU which could arrive soon.

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The Israeli attack on the Lebanese army came hours after Israeli troops fired on the headquarters of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, injuring two peacekeepers for the second time this week.

(Image credit: Hassan Ammar)

It supports fast charging for up to three devices, and it's $35 off with an Amazon Prime subscription.

The aurora borealis did not disappoint on Thursday night, with stargazers reporting seeing the stunning light show from across the U.S. — as far south as Texas and Florida — and Europe.

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The winless hosts take on League A, Group 3 leaders in Zeneca.