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Intel's processors based on its Lunar Lake architecture are coming to your next thin-and-light laptop... soon.

Home equity loans from Rocket Mortgage are great for homeowners with stellar credit.

iPhones across the board will include OLED technology, not just the pricier models, according to a Japanese newspaper report.

Funcom has said that bringing Dune Awakening to Xbox Series S will be a "challenge".

The massively multiplayer online game (MMO) inspired by the best-selling Dune book series by Frank Herbert is set to launch on PC in early 2025, but Funcom has yet to share a release window for the console versions.

According to Dune Awakening's chief product officer Scott Junior, one of the main reasons for this is so Funcom can spend more time optimizing the Xbox version alongside the PlayStation 5 version, more specifically, the lower-powered Xbox Series S.

"So, it's one of the reasons we're coming out on PC first," Junior said in a recent interview with VG247. "There's a lot of optimisations we need to do before we release on the Xbox. But yeah, Xbox Series S is a challenge."

Junior added later on in the discussion that work is progressing and that those who own an Xbox Series S and are looking to play Dune Awakening on the console will be able to do so.

"Yeah, yeah it does," the developer said when asked if it will run on low-performance machines despite the optimizations. "But it will still perform well on hardware that's years and years old. We'll be able to do it!"

Dune Awakening is built in Unreal Engine 5 and recently received a brand-new 30-minute gameplay trailer at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 where we got our first look at the game's in-depth character creator as well as the open world of Arrakis.

Players will be able to join a guild and align with House Harkonnen or Atreides, and "clash for the precious spice in dynamic guild versus guild battles involving a range of vehicles, tech, and specialized combatants."

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Although export tariffs have been somewhat unsuccessful in that Chinese companies have been spotted renting the latest chips via cloud computing services, GlobalWafers anticipates more stringent measures.

The Taiwanese manufacturer, and the world’s third-largest provider of silicon wafers, plans to expand its overseas manufacturing operations in response to anticipated upcoming tariffs on chip materials.

GlobalWafers’ decision uncovers concern that more stringent trade measures could disrupt the industry and its supply chain in the coming years.

GlobalWafers predicts worsening trade measures

According to a Bloomberg, the company is “actively” expanding production in six of the nine countries it operates in, including expanding two factories in the US and other facilities in Italy and Denmark.

In an interview with Bloomberg Television, company CEO Doris Hsu stated: “I believe that not only in the US but also some other countries, there will be some special tariff.” The CEO suggested that shifting to local production could help the company circumvent some of the potential tariffs.

This comes in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions relating to China and the recent pandemic-induced chip shortage that had major implications for industries such as automotive production.

Hsu said that geopolitics are now driving how companies do business – the company previously relied heavily on mergers and acquisitions to grow, but it has been shifting its focus to expanding production as a result.

Earlier this year, GlobalWafers secured funding worth up to €103 million from the European Commission and the Italian government to back a 12-inch wafer plant in Novara, near Milan in Italy. A further $400 million was secured from the US Chips Act to expand plants in Texas and Missouri.

As US and European nations continue to implement measures designed to curb China’s technological and military advancements, more manufacturers may explore similar routes in order to at least reduce some of the financial impacts of tariffs and restrictions going forward.

More from TechRadar Pro

• Check out our roundup of all the best processors
• China is planning a huge national compute boost by 2025
• Access the latest and greatest hardware with the best cloud computing services

Apple must stop supporting the "Russian government’s efforts to suppress freedom of speech" and restore all the VPN services the company removed from its local App Store. 

This is the request that 50 human rights organizations, media outlets, IT companies, journalistic groups, and public figures shared in an open letter on Monday, September 2.

Four VPN providers were the first to reportedly disappear from Russia's Apple App Store at the beginning of July. At that time, the Big Tech giant explained it did so upon a request order from the Russian censorship authority (Roskomnadzor). According to experts, at least 25 VPN apps are currently unavailable in Russia.        

Don’t be puppeteered into human rights violations @Apple!The decision by Apple to remove VPN apps on the call of Russia’s censorship agency, Roskomnadzor, is alarming. Apple must restore VPN accessibility now + uphold freedom of expression for all. ⬇️https://t.co/iE7iZcA5mzSeptember 2, 2024

"By removing VPN services from its app store for Russians, Apple has chosen to undermine its policies that recognize the critical importance of an open society, freedom of information and expression," said Sarkis Darbinyan, cyber lawyer and co-founder of Russian digital rights group Roskomsvoboda.

A VPN (virtual private network) is a security software that not only encrypts people's internet connections but also spoofs their real IP address location. The latter skill is exactly the reason why citizens and visitors in Russia are forced to use such software to browse an increasingly more restricted internet.

Both Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) classify Russia as one of the worst countries for internet freedom due to high levels of internet censorship which have been intensifying since the invasion of Ukraine started. The likes of Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly known as Twitter) cannot be accessed unless using a VPN, alongside an ever-growing list of websites that include news sites and even official sites of some VPN providers.

Darbinyan said: "Apple must realize the consequences of its actions and fix the situation immediately, otherwise it will become complicit in the Russian authorities' offensive against civil space in the country and the establishment of total censorship."

Russia's views on VPNs

As mentioned earlier, Apple reportedly removed 25 VPN providers from Russia's App Store starting from July 4, 2024. The providers affected include some of TechRadar's favorites such as NordVPN, Proton VPN, and Private Internet Access (PIA).

At the time, Apple sent a communication to some of the VPN companies to notify the removal "per demand from Roskomnadzor" as their app "includes content that is illegal in Russia."

The truth is, however, that the Kremlin has been looking into VPN usage since long before that. Many VPNs for Russia have been temporarily blocked over the years. As of November 2023, Russia had reportedly blocked the domain of at least eight of the 15 most popular VPN services across the country. HideMy.Name became the first VPN to challenge the Russian censor body in Court, which later branded the company as a foreign agent.

Did you know?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In May, digital rights activists and experts also called for Google-owned YouTube to refrain from helping the Kremlin censor free speech amid a spike in removals targeting several human rights YouTube channels and anti-war content. 

Since March, a new law in Russia criminalized the spread of information about ways to circumvent internet restrictions.

Apple isn't the only Big Tech giant to help Russian authorities censor VPN services – and the wider web – either.

In 2022, for example, Google was forced to delist over 36 thousand URLs linked to VPN services – Surfshark reported at the time. In September of the same year, both Apple and Google removed Alexey Navalny's Smart Voting project app from their stores upon authorities' request. Apple also removed at least seven apps from its Russian App Store at Russian order that year, with 12 further applications disappearing in 2023.

Secure web browser providers Mozilla and Opera also got tangled up in the recent Russian VPN censorship efforts, receiving requests to block their anti-censorship plugin extensions in June. Both of the companies complied, but Mozilla later restored its VPN-like feature following backlash. 

Experts confirmed that Google is currently resisting demands from Roskomnadzor to remove VPN apps from the Google Play Store and suggest that Apple should follow suit.

"We urge [Apple] to assess all blocking orders and requests in terms of their compliance with international human rights standards, and not to accommodate those that restrict access to protected expressions and services (applications), instead challenging their legality by all available means."

Farmers are often "land rich, cash poor." Those who need nursing home care might have to sell or break up their farm to pay for it.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: September 6, 2024 

Why should Phoenix hog the spotlight? Why are we always trying to find the good in people? Why don’t we wear a quaff red suit with more ruffles than an 18th-century aristocrat? What if we just want to send some bad guys behind bars by uncovering guilt, rather than saving people?

What if I just want to be a pompous prosecutor with a pompadour? Ace Attorney Investigations Collection might be the for you.

This latest Ace Attorney remastered collection from developer Capcom completes the set of bringing every game in the beloved franchise to modern consoles, and for those of us in English-speaking territories also brings the final untranslated adventure in the series to the West for the very first time. 

This set houses two games in the Nintendo DS-era spinoff starring Miles Edgeworth as the protagonist (Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit), but two Switch games (also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC) of which only the first ever made its way outside Japan upon its initial release. Poor sales led to the second game remaining unlocalized from 2011 until now. 

Enhanced Interrogation

(Image credit: Capcom)

A few enhancements have been brought to the collection over the original adventure. All art has been redrawn for HD screens, although those who love the pixel-art walking animations of characters in investigation sequences can use them if desired. With the new art remaining the only option for dialogue and the pixel art backgrounds standing up to scrutiny poorly on larger screens, however, the new art was certainly preferable. A gallery allows you to revisit old illustrations and listen to music (including orchestral arrangements of some songs) at will, with character designs and bonus illustrations also a welcome bonus.

The major appeal of this new title is the move from the courtroom to the mind and machinations associated with the role of prosecutor. In this role, you’ll investigate the scenes of crimes - murder and otherwise, though the latter will likely lead to murder at some point. This is Ace Attorney, after all - and uses logic and reasoning to find the true culprit and bring them to justice.

Notably, in this game such justice is inflicted all without entering a courtroom, as you freely move Edgeworth through crime scenes using the analog stick to seek out clues and speak to suspects. Speaking to suspects involves testimony and cross-examination using evidence that plays identically to such scenes in the court in mainline games, but you won’t see Miles standing at the prosecutor’s bench during your time in the world of Ace Attorney Investigations. 

(Image credit: Capcom)

For those used to the point-and-click puzzling through environments associated with mainline entries in the series, the ability to control these pint-sized protagonists at will and wander around environments in search of anything suspicious is an unusual feeling that takes some time to adjust. The actual mechanics of finding points of interest to add clues to your evidence is functionally identical otherwise, as is speaking to characters and examining evidence, but it serves as a way to differentiate the two characters and their approach.

Acting as a prosecutor rather than a defense attorney, your arsenal of tools to uncover the truth alongside your approach to each case is different from those of Phoenix Wright. Alongside clues, you’ll pick up on pieces of logic that will be added to a bank of logic statements. Collect a bunch from your investigations and you’ll be able to combine them to create new leads or deepen your understanding of a case, perhaps finding the thing you need to uncover the truth in the process.

Best bit

(Image credit: Capcom)

Using Mind Chess to bide your time as your opposition witness slips new information, only to use that moment to speak up, brings dynamism to the game’s frequent confrontations that never gets old. 

In the third case of the first game involving kidnapping and murder inside of a theme park based around the lovable police mascot, it’s possible to piece together the existence of three used cups in the kidnapper’s hideout alongside a trio of folding chairs to reveal that there are actually three kidnappers involved in the case instead of the original two you first believed, a vital clue in unmasking the real culprit.

While a cool idea in theory, it also reveals the biggest flaw with this game’s unique approach: it’s too simple. At their best, Ace Attorney games thrill through their challenge, the complex investigations spanning a mass of environments, interrogations, and cross-examinations, confounding conundrums that only become clear of a culprit at the very end. Here, logic rarely involves more than a few statements that can easily be pieced together and, by consequence of them being highlighted as logic statements in the first place, only make it more clear what the key pieces of evidence are when you confront and cross-examine statements from witnesses and suspects later.

Investigations are also disappointingly streamlined. Rather than spanning numerous environments and crime scenes that intersect to unveil the truth, you’re locked into a single environment at a time to investigate for every clue before moving to the next in a railroaded fashion that feels lacking in freedom and control. Together with logic, it makes much of the game feel formulaic.

Rook-ie Mistake

(Image credit: Capcom)

At least, it feels too simple at first. This is a game of two halves, quite literally in this case. For much of the first game in this spin-off duology, I had yet to encounter prior to this review, I found myself somewhat saddened by how simplistic I found the experience compared to the puzzling heights of The Great Ace Attorney or twisting tales of the mainline titles. Towards the end of the first game, I finally saw the potential of the idea, before the second game expanded affairs further with new mechanics that completely transformed the title into one of the most dynamic in the series to date.

In the second game, Miles Edgeworth uses a new talent to get the truth out of his adversaries: Mind Chess. Rather than your typical ‘health bar’ that reduces whenever you use the incorrect piece of evidence, you instead enter a new Matrix-like environment where you converse with your opponent-of-sorts in a more dynamic fashion. As they share their side of events you can choose to retaliate with words or bide your time in the hope of leaking more information, at which point you can shoot a pawn at their words to break their defenses and, eventually, Checkmate them into bringing more information.

In a way that even the most enthralling in-game cross-examinations fail to achieve, the achievement of this mechanic is in its bringing of the intensity and pressure of a real interrogation to the series. A time limit forces you to act and react to statements on the fly, with real consequences if you mess up. It’s easier to fail, but more satisfying to catch their knight in the act or corner them with a well-timed counter to their words backed up by the facts of the case that force them to confess or share new evidence.

If I were to call the first Ace Attorney Investigations a decent, entertaining experience but perhaps the weakest title in the franchise, its sequel bursts into Western markets as one of the stronger entries to date for this mechanic alone. As cases become more brooding and dark the mechanic opens up new avenues to seek out the truth, and alongside featuring the better of the two overarching stories single-handedly makes a case for the collection’s existence solely for being the reason this title has its first English localization after 13 years. 

Accessibility 

Alongside language options, the game provides options to turn off screen shaking and flashes, remove controller vibration for those with sensitive hands, and adjust the transparency of the text box. Autoplay of text is also possible with a chance to set the amount of time text remains on screen after fully rendering before proceeding to the next text box.

Should I play Ace Attorney Investigations Collection? Play it if...

You love Miles Edgeworth
Whereas Phoenix Wright or Apollo Justice hog the spotlight, Miles Edgeworth only appears as a prosecutor for a few select cases. This is the chance for him to take the lead role, and fans of the character will enjoy the game for that opportunity alone. 

You want something new from Ace Attorney
As much as each game introduces new ideas and stories, many keep the same core gameplay. From walking around the environment to flipping the script to avoiding the courtroom, this is Ace Attorney as you’ve never seen it before

Don't play it if...

You lack patience
Since skipping any case without playing it first will prevent you from appreciating the game’s story, you will have to work through a few weaker cases in the first game to reach the collection’s best moments. Those lacking the patience to work through those may feel bored or give up before reaching the best part,

How I reviewed Ace Attorney Investigations Collection

I played the game on a Nintendo Switch OLED model primarily in handheld mode, although sections of the game were also played on an ASUS VG27AQL1A gaming monitor in docked mode. I primarily played the game with AirPods for audio and put in roughly 30 hours of time to the experience in total across both games.

First reviewed August/September 2024.

If the CRM industry is a zoo, Salesforce is an 800-pound gorilla. It’s one of the best CRM platforms on the market powered by cutting edge AI and hosted on the cloud. It also has separate modules for managing customer relationships across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and more, making it a great fit for almost any team in any business. 

With over 150,000 customers worldwide, Salesforce CRM has been a driving force in the digital transformation of businesses for over two decades. 

However, its dominance doesn't necessarily mean it's the best fit for every organization. In this in-depth Salesforce review, I'll dive into the platform's core capabilities, ease of use, integrations, customer support, value for money, and company trajectory to help you determine if it’s the right choice for your business. 

While we’re going to focus primarily on Sales Cloud, Salesforce’s most popular CRM module, this review is also going to weave in features from other Salesforce offerings like Customer Success and Einstein 1. 

My hope is to present you with a well-rounded perspective of Salesforce’s core CRM offerings. While not every feature will be available on every module, Salesforce makes it very easy to build your own version by combining different aspects of its suite into a package called Customer 360. You can read our dedicated Salesforce Sales Cloud CRM review here. 

Salesforce CRM core capabilities

At its core, Salesforce provides a robust set of CRM features to effectively manage customer relationships throughout the entire lifecycle. On the whole, I've found the core relationship management capabilities to be quite intuitive. 

Creating, editing, and organizing contacts is straightforward, with the ability to capture detailed information like communication preferences, activity history, and custom fields relevant to my business. I can easily store and organize detailed information about individual contacts, including their role, communication preferences, and interaction history.  Plus the account hierarchy feature is particularly useful for managing complex B2B relationships with parent and child companies.

You can easily score leads based on criteria like demographics, behavior, and engagement. A visual kanban-style lead workspace allows you to drag-and-drop leads through different stages of the sales cycle, from new to qualified to converted. I appreciate the flexibility to customize lead stages and automate assignment rules based on unique sales processes.

I can track deals across every stage, from prospecting to closed-won or closed-lost. Salesforce’s opportunity record provides a complete view of the deal, including products, competition, quotes, and revenue projections. There’s also a collaborative forecasting feature, which allows sales managers to view and adjust team forecasts while providing executives with real-time visibility into the pipeline.

Speaking of visibility, Salesforce provides a wide range of standard reports out-of-the-box, covering everything from sales performance to customer service metrics. I've been impressed with the report builder, which allows me to easily create custom reports using a drag-and-drop interface. The ability to schedule and share reports with key stakeholders will improve your team's efficiency and accountability.

Apart from this, Salesforce's mobile app is a useful addition for field sales reps. I can access and update critical customer information, track activities, and even close deals right from my smartphone or tablet. Push notifications keep me informed about important updates, like when a key opportunity stage changes. Salesforce’s mobile experience is intuitive, mirroring the desktop version, ensuring a seamless transition between various devices.

Salesforce has recently enhanced its CRM platform with several AI features, by introducing a new module called Einstein. It’s integrated across various Salesforce Cloud applications, including Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, and Commerce Cloud. Einstein’s conversational AI assistant can automate day-to-day tasks like summarizing records, generating customized communications, and streamlining case resolutions.

Salesforce Einstein 1 offers powerful tools for managing and building customer relationships. (Image credit: Salesforce)

While it offers a wealth of features, I have encountered a few limitations with Salesforce too. For example, the email templates can be basic compared to other marketing automation platforms. The forecasting tool, while powerful, does require some setup and training to leverage.

Speaking from a more general perspective, Salesforce CRM also features a bit of a learning curve and has a pricing structure that’s somewhat prohibitive for small businesses.

But overall, I've been impressed with the core capabilities of Salesforce CRM. The platform provides a comprehensive set of features to manage the entire customer lifecycle, from lead to loyalty. While there may be a learning curve for some advanced functionality, the benefits in terms of productivity, collaboration, and customer insights far outweigh any challenges.

How easy is Salesforce CRM to use?

Salesforce’s layout is clean and well-organized, with key features and data easily accessible from the navigation menu and dashboard. The use of consistent iconography and naming conventions makes getting around the platform easy and fast. However, given the sheer breadth of features on offer here, a certain learning curve is expected.

It also allows administrators to tailor the user interface to match their organization's specific needs and terminology. I've been able to create custom fields, page layouts, and workflows that align with unique sales processes. While the customization options are extensive, Salesforce provides a user-friendly setup menu and guided wizards to help admins make changes without needing to write code.

Trailhead, Salesforce’s learning platform, offers a wealth of onboarding and training resources to help new users get up to speed quickly. It takes a gamified approach to training, with bite-sized modules and hands-on challenges that cover everything from basic navigation to advanced features. I think that this is an engaging and effective way to onboard new team members, with the added benefit of allowing them to learn at their own pace.

In addition to Trailhead, Salesforce offers extensive documentation, how-to guides, and community forums where users can find answers to common questions and best practices. The Salesforce Success Community is a particularly valuable resource, connecting users with experts and peers who can provide guidance and support.

Trailhead is a valuable resource for businesses that are rolling out Salesforce to multiple individuals and teams.  (Image credit: Salesforce)

Based on my own experience, I think that most users can navigate the basic features and perform essential tasks with Salesforce within a few days of training. More advanced features and customizations may take a few weeks to master, but the platform's intuitive design and robust support resources make the learning process manageable.

Whilst this flexibility is a strength for enterprise customers, it can also be overwhelming for small business and probably isn’t the best CRM for startups that don’t have an extensive onboarding budget or lots of ramp-up time. Salesforce’s initial setup and configuration process is a great example of this, requiring a significant time investment and a certain level of technical knowledge to get everything configured optimally.

Despite the issues, however, I've found that the long-term benefits of Salesforce's scalability far outweigh the initial setup hurdles. Once the platform is tailored to your organization's specific needs and processes, it becomes an incredibly powerful and efficient tool for managing customer relationships.

Salesforce CRM integrations

Salesforce provides both pre-built integrations and an open API for custom data exchange. Beyond that, there’s comprehensive documentation, code samples, and developer resources to support integration development and usage. 

With the AppExchange marketplace, Salesforce offers a vast library of pre-built integrations and applications from partner companies. These out-of-the-box solutions cover various business functions, such as marketing automation, customer support, accounting, and more. 

With over 3,000 pre-built apps already available, businesses can easily find and deploy integrations that align with their specific requirements. Popular integrations include Mailchimp for email marketing, Zendesk for customer support, QuickBooks for accounting, and Jira for project management.

For businesses with unique integration needs, Salesforce provides a robust and well-documented API. The Salesforce REST API allows developers to access and manipulate data programmatically, enabling custom integrations with internal systems and external applications. 

Salesforce’s API supports standard HTTP methods and exchanges data through JSON or XML responses, making it compatible with a wide range of programming languages and tools. It supports various protocols and data formats, such as REST, SOAP, and bulk data operations, giving developers flexibility in designing integrations.

Salesforce also provides robust data management capabilities to maintain data integrity during integrations. Features like data mapping, transformation, and cleansing ensure that data is properly formatted and synchronized between systems. Additionally, Salesforce's data governance tools help enforce data quality standards and compliance requirements, giving businesses confidence in the accuracy and security of their integrated data.

During my time with the CRM, Salesforce's integration capabilities appeared reliable and performant. Pre-built integrations from the AppExchange worked quite seamlessly. Plus the API was stable and responsive, allowing for efficient data exchange and real-time updates. Data synchronization was consistent and timely for both pre-built integrations and custom ones.

However, it's important to note that the success of integrations largely depends on proper implementation and adherence to best practices. Salesforce’s Developer Community provides guidelines and recommendations for integration development, such as understanding limits, securing data, and implementing authentication methods. Custom integrations can be built using popular programming languages like Java, C#, and Python, making it accessible to a wide range of developers.

Additionally, Salesforce's partner network includes a wide range of integration specialists and consultants who can assist businesses in designing and implementing complex integration solutions. Plus the company releases regular updates and new features that expand its integration capabilities and improve overall performance.

Salesforce CRM customer support

Salesforce offers several different support channels, including both live and self-service options. Users can reach out for assistance via phone, chat, and email, depending on their preference and the urgency of their issue. Based on user testimonials, support representatives appear to be knowledgeable, patient, and genuinely interested in providing a satisfactory resolution.

Live chat offers quick and convenient assistance for less complex queries. Representatives are more than happy to offer step-by-step guidance or direct you to relevant resources. For more involved queries, you can contact the support team via phone at +1-800-664-9073. Email support, while not as immediate as phone or chat, is a reliable enough option for less urgent matters, with representatives typically responding within a day or two.

In addition to live support, Salesforce offers a vast collection of self-help resources under the umbrella of Salesforce Help. It’s a comprehensive knowledge base that covers every aspect of the platform, from basic setup to advanced customization. The articles, videos, and documentation are all well-prepared, easy to follow, and frequently updated to reflect the latest features and best practices.

Part of the larger self-help infrastructure of Salesforce Help, there’s also Trailhead. It’s a guided and gamified learning module that offers an interactive way to quickly familiarize yourself with the platform’s most important features and functionality. You can use Trailhead to upgrade your Salesforce skills, earn badges for each milestone, then promote your services and expertise through the associated community.

Speaking of community, Salesforce Trailblazer connects users from around the world to share knowledge, ask questions, and collaborate on solutions using a dedicated forum. A quick look at the platform shows you how active and helpful the community is, thanks to both internal experts and other users. Every day, the community forum highlights active members to reward them for their participation. This makes sure that users feel rewarded for helping others navigate the platform and troubleshoot their issues.

In terms of response times, Salesforce generally meets or exceeds industry standards. Customer satisfaction with Salesforce support is consistently high, as demonstrated by a 4.5 star rating on platforms like G2 and TrustRadius. While the learning curve for new users is steep, Salesforce’s generally reliable and helpful support system makes it much easier to adopt.

That said, there is always room for improvement. Some users have reported longer wait times during peak hours or when dealing with particularly complex issues. It also seems that the quality of help received is directly influenced by the support tier you’re on. Customers who purchase Premier+ Support or Mission Critical Support receive priority access to better agents. Meanwhile, standard users are mostly stuck using the self-service options.

Salesforce CRM value for money

As one of the most expensive CRM solutions on the market, Salesforce demands a significant investment, but it also delivers a robust platform that can grow with your business. A per-user pricing model allows for flexibility as your team grows, but it can become costly for larger organizations. 

Salesforce employs a tiered pricing model with four main editions: Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited. The Essentials plan starts at $25 per user per month while the Unlimited plan costs $300 per user, per month. 

However, Salesforce offers a breadth of features even in lower-tier plans. Essentials, while basic, still includes features like account and contact management, opportunity tracking, and email integration. But, advanced capabilities like lead scoring and collaborative forecasting are only available from Professional, while workflow automation is restricted to Enterprise and Unlimited. 

The company offers a 14-day free trial. After that, Salesforce offers annual billing for all plans except Essentials, which can be paid monthly. While opting for annual billing often comes with a discount, it requires a larger upfront investment and less flexibility for businesses with fluctuating needs. 

Apart from the core plans, Salesforce also offers various add-ons that can enhance the CRM's functionality. While these can provide excellent value for businesses with specific needs, you should calculate costs thoroughly to make sure the investment justifies the ROI.

When comparing Salesforce to other CRM solutions, it's important to consider the total cost of ownership. While the initial price may be higher, Salesforce's extensive customization options, robust app ecosystem, and scalability can provide you more long-term value. Its ability to integrate with a wide range of third-party applications can also lead to increased efficiency and productivity, potentially offsetting the higher cost. 

But for smaller businesses or those with simpler CRM needs, Salesforce’s pricing may prove prohibitive. Unless you need all the advanced functionality, there are more affordable options on the market that offer similar core functionalities at a lower price point. 

Saleforce trajectory

Salesforce has maintained its position as the dominant player in the CRM market, consistently innovating and expanding its offerings. As of 2023, it commanded 21.7% of the global CRM market share, easily outpacing its nearest competitors Microsoft (5.9%), Oracle (4.4%), SAP (3.5%), and Adobe (3.4%). 

In the current fiscal year, Salesforce reported a total revenue of $34.86 billion, 11% more than last year. Meanwhile, the company's subscription and support revenues, which form the core of its business model, grew by 12% to $32.54 billion. Its growth trajectory is supported by strategic acquisitions, such as Tableau and Slack, which have expanded its capabilities and reach.

Going beyond the financials, Salesforce's user community is one of the largest and most active in the software industry. Its ecosystem, including customers, partners, and developers, continues to grow rapidly. Right now, 150,000+ businesses utilize its services globally. 

As a CRM, Salesforce was named a leader in various analyst reports, such as The Forrester Wave and IDC MarketScape, which evaluate solutions based on criteria like market impact, vision, and capability. The company's Pledge 1% initiative, which encourages companies to donate 1% of equity, product, and employee time to charitable causes, has garnered participation from over 15,000 companies worldwide. 

Looking ahead, Salesforce's trajectory appears promising, with projections indicating continued growth in both market share and revenue. The company's focus on integrating AI-driven insights into its platform is expected to further enhance its offerings and maintain its competitive edge. 

With regular updates, an active user community, and strategic partnerships through Salesforce AppExchange and Partner Innovation Awards, Salesforce continues to operate as the undisputed leader of the CRM space — despite competition from giants like Microsoft, Oracle, and Adobe.

Salesforce CRM review: Summary

After a comprehensive evaluation of Salesforce CRM, I find that the platform excels in several key areas, offering a robust set of core capabilities and extensive integration options. It’s a great choice in particular for medium-to-large enterprises, with a pricing structure and learning curve that may not be the best CRM for small businesses. 

Millions more people can now access body temperature readings in the rather quirky Pixel Thermometer app built into the Pixel 8 Pro, the Pixel 9 Pro, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL, as Google has now extended support to users in Europe.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the support documents have been updated to mention a long list of other European countries, including the UK, after the feature went live in the US in January. You will need an active SIM or eSIM installed in your phone in whichever country you're in, however.

If this is the first you're hearing about the Pixel Thermometer, it uses the infrared sensor embedded into the rear camera on these Pixels to take temperature readings (the standard Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 phones don't have the necessary sensor).

Initially, the tool could only be used to take the temperature of objects, but then Google got regulatory approval for body temperature scanning – so you can now easily see if you or someone you know is running a temperature.

Taking readings

The Pixel Thermometer app is expanding its reach (Image credit: Google)

Launch the Pixel Thermometer app and you get taken through a short introduction explaining what the tool is and how to use it: you can pick one of the presets for objects, materials, or people, or just get started without them.

After that, the phone camera helps you to get the infrared sensor correctly positioned, in terms of both framing and distance, before you start getting a temperature reading back. In the case of body temperature, you place the phone on your forehead and then on one of your temples.

Logged temperatures can be saved inside the Pixel Thermometer app and are kept for seven days, and you can also export the readings for body temperature to the Fitbit app, where they'll be stored for as long as you like.

It's a useful extra that differentiates the standard Pixels from the Pro Pixels, and now it's available to a lot more people. If you're thinking about an upgrade, be sure to check out our Google Pixel 9 Pro review and our Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review.

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The recent global Microsoft outage highlighted a critical vulnerability in global supply chains. This outage, which has been described as “one of the worst ever” affected communication, halted production, and delayed deliveries, emphasising our dependence on digital tools. According to sources, 8.5 million computers using Microsoft systems were left inaccessible – impacting critical services such as healthcare, transport, and banking.

Whilst not of the same scale, just weeks later, a second outage caused by a cyber-attack, and a lack of defense, saw further disruption this month, serving as another stark reminder that supply chain strategies must evolve. As digital solutions rise in popularity, there has been a notable increase in the number of cyber-attacks resulting from vulnerabilities within the supply chain. These attacks can have devastating, expensive, and long-term ramifications for affected businesses, supply chains, and customers.

With our reliance on technologies and interconnectivity continuing to grow, the events of the last month aren’t the first and certainly won’t be the last. To withstand future potential disruptions, it is essential that business and supply chain leaders prioritize the following strategies:

1. Scenario planning:

As supply chain dynamics and potential threats become more complex, traditional planning methodologies are no longer adequate. Leaders need to invest in advanced scenario modeling capabilities to assess the impacts of possible scenarios across the supply chain. Scenario planning enables an enterprise to identify any potential disruption or risk to its supply chain – of which logistical challenges and delays caused by outages are just one example.

Black swan events like the pandemic have taught us in recent years, that anything is possible, and we must be equipped to deal with the worst-case scenario and have contingency plans in place to limit the impact where possible.

To do so effectively, supply chain leaders must adopt the right planning tools and integrate inputs from business-wide functions to build comprehensive plans that balance capacity, risks, customer demands, and financial goals.

2. Diversification and resilience:

Building resilience through diversification is a strategic imperative for supply chain leaders in today’s turbulent landscape. IT outages aside, there are several significant challenges facing global supply chains currently – from geopolitical tension and its impact on trade costs to mounting pressures on sea freight and truck transport. The focus on diversification is, therefore, more important than ever to maintain business continuity. As such, organizations are being urged to cultivate a diversified network of suppliers, warehouses, co-manufacturers, and distributors capable of swiftly adapting to unforeseen disruptions and shocks.

Maintaining a diverse supply chain, however, comes with considerable logistical hurdles and complexities to overcome – taking significant time and resource to manage effectively. Identifying suppliers that meet their procurement criteria and meet the right level of quality, cost, risk, capacity, and reliability – while sharing your values and goals – can also prove challenging.

That said, business leaders must embrace the change as an opportunity to optimize processes, rationalize operations, reduce waste, and foster innovation within their supply chain.

3. A balanced approach to inventory management:

Maintaining business continuity during periods of disruption can also be achieved by strategically deploying buffer stocks for the right products (and in the right locations). Leveraging dynamic portfolio segmentation and predictive replenishment strategies can help businesses shift from a reactive to a proactive inventory management approach, maintaining optimal stock levels while minimizing risks and protecting cash.

Whilst offering continuity should a disruptive event occur, it is important to approach buffer stocks with caution. This approach can be costly and even have a damaging knock-on effect on suppliers and their own planning. Building buffer stocks therefore should be calculated based on concrete need and calculated risk.

4. Strategic partnerships and collaboration:

Strategic partnerships and collaboration are additional crucial elements for success in an interconnected global marketplace. Supply chain leaders must collaborate closely with logistics providers, suppliers, and stakeholders to create a network of trusted partners. Sharing resources, information, and best practices can help organizations to enhance their resilience, responsiveness, and overall quality of products and services throughout the supply chain.

Working together and having an open line of communication with suppliers during IT outages, and other potential disruption is essential. Working together through the chaos and keeping stakeholders informed of any developments is particularly important to navigate turbulence, limit impact where possible, and come out the other side.

Proactivity is the key to success in a digital world

Ensuring business continuity, in an increasingly digital world, requires proactive measures and robust planning. Diversifying suppliers, establishing alternative communication channels, and maintaining manual backup processes are crucial steps. Additionally, strengthening supplier relationships and increasing inventory buffers can help cushion the impact of future disruptions.

By adopting these approaches and investing in supply chain resilience, businesses across all industries can protect themselves and consumers when the next IT outage hits.

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

This full-size electric stroller can rock your baby to sleep, help you push it uphill, and slow itself down.

Later this month, on September 24, a Crowdstrike executive will sit in front of a US House Homeland Security Committee to discuss the patch incident that brought many major US companies’ operations to a screeching halt.

According to The Register, it was confirmed late last week that Crowdstrike’s Senior Vice President of Counter Adversary Operations, Adam Meyers, has been called to testify.

In mid-July this year, thousands of organizations around the world were unable to operate properly, due to a major bug that affected most of their Windows computers.

No CEO (yet)

Among those affected were UK broadcaster Sky News, major airline Ryanair, the Berlin airport, and many, many others, all of whom reported the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) and a recovery boot loop issue that prevented their computers from starting up.

It was later revealed that the global outage was caused by a faulty update issued by Crowdstrike. “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike said in a support note issued at the time.

CrowdStrike is a cybersecurity technology company specializing in cloud-delivered endpoint protection. It offers a range of products and services that prevent cyber threats, and detect attacks. Furthermore, the company works on threat intelligence, analyzing and reporting on the latest trends and threats in the cybersecurity community.

CrowdStrike’s flagship product is Falcon, a sophisticated cybersecurity platform designed to protect endpoints through a cloud-native architecture. The company later confirmed that the faulty patch was designed for Falcon.

Speaking to the company, The Register was curious why the CEO George Kurtz won’t be the one in the hot seat, since his presence was requested in July. The company gave the classic PR response of “continuing to actively and collaboratively work with relevant Congressional Committees.” The statement did leave a tiny door open to the possibility of Kurtz speaking at a different time:

“Briefings and other engagement timelines may be disclosed at Members' discretion,” they said.

Via The Register

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Rocksteady Studios has reportedly been hit by layoffs following the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's low sales. 

That's according to Eurogamer, who first reported that the studio's quality assurance (QA) department has been cut in half over the past month, bringing the size of the team down from 33 members to 15.

The reasoning behind the layoffs is being cited as "restructuring", with other job cuts expanding outside of the QA department as well, including several members of junior staff and some who have been at the studio for more than five years.

Staff who wished to remain anonymous also told the publication that the job losses - including developers with "specialized knowledge" - are also affecting the Rocksteady staff at large, as employees will now be required to handle their work on top of their own.

The same sources also said that Rocksteady's senior management has expressed that product quality will now suffer following the layoffs.

Last month, Warner Bros. reported that its gaming revenue had fallen by 41% year-on-year due to the poor performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which cost $200 million to make.

Warner Bros. Discovery's chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels said in an earnings call that the DC supervillain shooter had "fallen short of our expectations". 

Although Suicide Squad underperformed, Rocksteady is still working on the game's season pass which will offer additional post-launch content following its early February release. 

The first of these updates arrived in March with Season One, with the debut of The Joker as a playable character, followed by Season Two in July, which introduced Mrs. Freeze to the roster, a new map, and two episodes titled Frozen Hearts and Winter. The studio also has plans for seasons three and four.

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Two Russian ballistic missiles struck a military training facility and nearby hospital in a central-eastern region of Ukraine, killing at least 41 people and wounding 180 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

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The European Union has been urged to update its Chips Act with a revised 2.0 version in a bid to boost the continent’s semiconductor industry.

The push comes from the European Semiconductor Industry Association (ESIA) in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions and increased competition.

The ESIA highlighted the need for a more strategic approach to chip policy under the incoming EU Commission, asking for fewer export restrictions and more readily available aid.

ESIA calls for more chip support

In a statement (via Reuters), the ESIA stated: “A dedicated 'Chips Envoy' responsible for the overall industrial policy approach to semiconductors is a necessity.”

The ESIA represents the likes of Infineon, STMicroelectronics, NXP, ASML, imec, Fraunhofer and CEA-Leti

This comes in response to an April 2023 Chips Act, which included a €43 billion subsidy plan to help increase Europe’s share of the global chip market to one-fifth by the end of the decade. For four decades, Europe has maintained around 15% share in the global market.

Since the first act, delays such as the postponement of Intel’s Magdeburg project have raised concerns about its effectiveness. Pending EU aid approval is to blame for the delay.

The ESIA also acknowledged the need for security, calling for “a more positive approach” focused on support and incentives rather than restrictions when it comes to export policies. Netherlands-headquartered ASML has faced such restrictions on some of its products destined for China in line with EU and US policies that have been put in place to hinder China’s technological and military advancements.

In response, China has been circumventing restrictions by buying legacy hardware, however the country has been unable to obtain ASML’s newer products under the export restrictions.

Looking ahead, Dutch Prime Minister Duck Schoof indicated that the government will consider ASML’s impact on the country’s economy: “ASML is for the Netherlands an extremely important, innovative industry that should not suffer under any circumstances, because that would damage ASML's global position.”

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Sometimes, a robot just wants a hug. That's the message, I think, of the very brief 1X Neo Beta home robot introduction video. The Norwegian robotics company used the short video to unveil its new sweatsuit-clad humanoid robot on August 30 and show how it might safely operate in your home.

1X has been working on humanoid robotics for a decade with the original intention of bringing them to factories and other commercial facilities. The turning point to a more consumer focus might've been its 2022 partnership with OpenAI, which led to generative AI integration in its 1X line of robots. Earlier this year, the company started posting videos of its 1X A1 robot, a humanoid robot with gripper hands and wheels for feet. In those clips, the robots could be seen poorly cleaning tables, slowly folding laundry, and responding to commands like, "Can you please pick up the cup?"

Neo Beta, though, appears to be a significant leap forward. Gone is the somewhat cartoonish face, replaced with what appears to be an expressionless black glass. Instead of wheels, the robot has feet, and the grippers were replaced with expressive, 10-fingered hands.

The video offers virtually no details about the robot and its operation but tells a touching little story. In it, the robot is in a living room with a young woman. As she sits on the couch, tying her shoes, the robot points to her backpack and makes a shrug gesture. The woman says, "Yeah," and the robot picks up the backpack and carefully hands it to her.

The woman leaves the room, and Neo Beta appears at a loss, looking at its hands and then toward the exiting woman. The robot gestures for her to come back and when she returns, the girl puts her arm over the robot's shoulders and the robot puts a hand around her waist.

It's not often we see a real-world human/robot embrace, and with good reason. Does a robot know how not to squeeze her too hard?

In a release on the in-home test, Bernt Børnich, CEO at 1X, said, “Our priority is safety. Safety is the cornerstone that allows us to confidently introduce NEO Beta into homes, where it will gather essential feedback and demonstrate its capabilities in real-world settings."

Børnich doesn't explain how this safety is achieved, although it appears that some of what 1X will learn about this deployment is through trial and error in a carefully controlled beta test at "selected homes for research and development purposes."

Other questions linger, such as price, battery life, availability, and, can the robot walk? In the video, it's seen in a few different positions, but we never see Neo Beta walk from one spot to another.

Even so, the looks and movement have led to online conjecture that this is nothing more than a person in a costume. Granted, it is hard to assess how the robot is working under its fashionable black and gray sweatsuit, and some of the movements are eerily human-like.

On the other hand, with the recent explosion in humanoid robot development, we are seeing more and more fluid movement and conversational interaction. Figure 01's OpenAI-powered robots, in particular, offer some mind-blowing movement and interactive capabilities. You can, however, see quite clearly how Figure AI robots are working.

Perhaps 1X could post a follow-up video showing Neo Beta without its sweatsuit. That might be a bit uncomfortable for the robot's blonde friend, so maybe we just leave her out of it.

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