May 2023 - online-internet-casino

Is it me or is $90 for a 2TB external SSD an insanely good deal?

Cheapest branded portable SSD by capacity

Specifications

Capacity: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB

Interface: Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1

Reasons to buy

Stunning value for money

Handsome

Solidly built

Reasons to avoid

–

Average performance

–

No software package

I have to admit – perhaps I was a bit too harsh in a review I wrote three years ago. I gave only three stars to the product that I am writing about with delight today.

The Lexar SL200I was writing then,The product is ok and that’s it. Compared to almost everything else on the market, it lacks a clear advantage and its premium prices don’t help it at all.”

Well, fast forward almost three years and the price of the 2TB version of the SL200 has been reduced by a staggering 70% since it launched in June 2021, almost a year after my review. That alone means I should probably review the drive again and add at least one star to the review.

At $89.99, it’s currently the cheapest 2TB portable SSD anywhere. This is still much more than a standard portable hard drive of similar capacity, but let’s not forget why an external SSD is a better long-term storage solution for data, files and folders.

✅ Faster It’s one of the slowest external SSDs we’ve ever tested, but it’s still 3x faster than most portable hard drives.
✅ Works with smartphones A little-advertised feature is that most newer portable SSDs come with a native Type-C connector that can be plugged into any recent smartphone and used as storage for a portable device.
✅ More durable Because there are no moving parts, the SL200 is slightly more durable than any consumer external hard drive. It should survive a few feet drop onto a hard surface unscathed.
✅ Smaller The SL200 is smaller than any 2.5-inch hard drive we’ve seen, and therefore smaller than any portable hard drive. For once, you can easily slip it into the back pocket of your jeans.
✅3 years warranty Lexar offers a three-year warranty on its SSD, which is three times that of Seagate and WD for portable hard drives. Again, this is due to the fact that mechanical parts fail more often than electronics.

Is a portable hard drive slower than an external SSD?

Yes. I can’t think of any scenario where that wouldn’t be the case, and for the record, we’re talking about portable hard drives (the ones you can carry around, the smaller cousins of desktop drives or external hard drives). Hard drives are slower because they are mechanical; data is stored on physical platters and accessed via a head placed on the arm; similar to a turntable reading vinyl.

The average external hard drive like Seagate Backup Plus has a bandwidth of 140 MB/s, which means it can transfer data at that speed. The slowest external SSDs we tested would hit around 450MB/s (and that’s the SL200), which is about 3X the speed.

So a folder that takes about three minutes to transfer to a portable hard drive will take less than a minute on all but the slowest portable SSDs.

Can the internal SSD be used as a portable SSD?

The answer is – not surprisingly – yes. See that an internal SSD is just a few pieces in a case (plastic or metal), an enclosure that actually protects the electronics inside. So securing it with an external case is redundant unless you want to physically hide the drive for whatever reason or want it to look more aesthetically pleasing.

Just remember that they are no match for the best secure drives or the best rugged drives because they lack the extra protection that will prevent third parties from accessing the actual NAND chips or make them more resistant to harsh conditions.

SATA SSDs are the cheapest solid state drives, so if you want the cheapest external SSD, all you need to do is take an internal SATA SSD and plug it into an external connector such as Sabrent EC-SSHD ready! Even factoring in the cost of the latter (around $12), you’re looking at a saving of almost 20% at the time of writing. Every little help.

The gap widens significantly with more drive; An 8TB SSD costs around $430 (Samsung 870QVO on Amazon), while a comparable portable model costs about $200 more (VectoTech Rapid).

Note that you cannot do this with an internal PCIe NVMe SSD as its components are actually exposed. To be able to use it, you must place the module in the outer housing. They are not that expensive (around twice as expensive as EC-SSHD) and have the advantage of using USB 3.2 Gen 2 which provides speeds of up to 10Gbps, enough for a PCIe SSD which is typically faster than a SATA SSD .

Pentax’s upcoming film camera has Gen Z written on it

Ricoh has confirmed that it is working on a new Pentax compact film camera, with more models on the horizon as part of the Film Camera Project, which announced last year.

Ambitious plans to launch new Pentax film cameras caused a stir in the film community, but the move made sense: Like vinyl, film photography has recently enjoyed more time in the sun, if the rising prices of analog and analog cameras is something to go by.

Film and Pentax are the perfect combination given its rich film camera heritage with legendary cameras like the K1000, and it makes sense for Pentax to focus on film rather than the dormant DSLR market it clings to – I really see that Pentax is the leader of the film revival.

At the time of the original announcement, the details of the movie camera design were sparse, and we couldn’t even count on the new movie cameras becoming a reality – it was the news of setting up an R&D team, not a product pipeline. Half a year later, we finally have some encouraging details and here’s what to expect.

A compact prime lens that outperforms the Kodak Ektar H35

In the video below, Pentax design team member Takeo Suzuki says that the first camera to be launched under the Film Camera Project banner will be a newly designed compact prime lens with some parts coming from existing cameras.

There aren’t too many technical details yet – we don’t know what the lens will be like, we can’t be entirely sure if the camera will use full-size 35mm film, nor are there any images showing what the new camera will look like. The concept, however, is clear: it’s a Generation Z compact camera “that makes taking pictures fun and that you can carry around with you every day,” says Takeo.

Where does joy come from? Takeo goes on to say, “It’s the whole shooting process that makes shooting so exciting and so much fun,” and the touch experience of the new camera, which includes a film rewind mechanism “that doesn’t exist in digital cameras,” will give you all the feelings .

More specifically, expect a new hand-wound SLR-style ratchet wheel audible feedback lever mechanism reimagined in a modern compact camera. The new camera sounds like a supercharged Kodak Ektar H35.

Winding up

Most of the video announcement details the lengthy design process – which delightfully included input from previous-generation engineers – and the rationale for choosing a hand-wound movement. At the end of the video, Takeo hints at what the Film Camera Project’s future camera will be like:

“First there will be a compact camera with a hand-wound SLR mechanism. This gives us the opportunity to install the same mechanism in the body of an SLR camera when we decide to produce film format SLR cameras in the future… and leads us to the future development of other products.”

(Image credit: Zigmar Stein / Shutterstock)

In a candid conclusion, Takeo adds, “The goal of the project is not only to produce a new camera, but also to create a solid environment where those who witness this project and those who love film photography will be able to express their ideas, opinions and hopes more freely.

I, for one, am a fan of the project and its collaborators and can’t wait to learn more.

This best password manager apparently has a major security flaw that could spill all your logins

The popular KeePass password manager has a disturbing exploit that could lead to the theft of your master password.

The security researcher has published a proof of concept that shows how a cybercriminal can extract a user’s master password from the KeePass application memory by exploiting a bug tracked as CVE-2023-3278 .

“KeePass Master Password Dumper is a simple proof-of-concept tool to dump the master password from the KeePass memory. Apart from the first character of the password, it is mostly able to recover the password in plain text” – says the researcher.

No code execution

They added that “No code execution is required on the target system, just a memory dump. It doesn’t matter where the memory comes from – it can be a process dump, a swap file (pagefile.sys), a hibernation file (hiberfil.sys), or a dump of the entire system’s RAM. It doesn’t matter if the workspace is locked or not.

The master password can also be extracted from the system’s RAM after KeePass has been stopped, although the researcher noted that the more time elapses since the application is closed, the less chance of successful extraction.

PoC was tested on Windows, but the researcher says the exploit also works on macOS and Linux versions.

PoC works by using a specially developed text box for password entry, SecureTextBoxEx, which saves the characters entered by the user into system memory. This field is used not only when entering the master password, but also when editing other stored passwords, so they can be compromised as well.

The vulnerability affects KeePass 2.53.1 and any forks (the application is open source) based on the original KeePass 2.X application written in .NET. The researcher claims that KeePassXC, Strongbox and KeePass 1.X, as well as potential other versions, are not affected.

KeePass developer Dominik Reichl confirmed existence of a security vulnerability. AND to fix should arrive in June in version 2.54. However, the risk of being attacked in the wild is somewhat limited.

The researcher claims that if your system is already infected with malware, this exploit can make it easier for them to stay undetected when trying to steal your master password as no code execution is required. However, if your system is clean, you should be fine because “nobody can remotely steal your passwords over the internet based on this discovery alone,” the researcher states.

7 new movies and TV shows on Netflix, Disney Plus, HBO Max and more this weekend (May 19)

We’ll be on par with you: this weekend’s streaming premieres aren’t the strongest we’ve ever seen. Basketball drama White people can’t jump leads the charge, but only Apple’s new comedy series, High Desertit seems to have excited critics on the television front.

In fact, most of this week’s streams are documentaries City of Angels, Hillsong Secrets AND Work: what we do all day all arrive on HBO Max, Hulu, and Netflix respectively.

However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything else to watch this weekend, and in this article we’ve rounded up seven new movies and TV shows that will be streaming over the next few days.

White Men Can’t Jump (Hulu, Disney Plus)

We’re not sure if anyone asked for this, but 20th Century Studios saw fit to remake the 1992 basketball comedy White people can’t jump Anyway.

Now available on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK, this direct-streaming movie stars Sinqua Walls and rapper Jack Harlow as a pair of former basketball stars who team up to fight their way through various street tournaments in Los Angeles. Angeles. Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier and the late Lance Reddick are among the film’s supporting cast.

Unfortunately, White people can’t jump was largely panned by critics, but fans of the original starring Woody Harrelson are sure to find some nostalgic entertainment here.

Now available to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.

High Desert (Apple TV Plus)

Apple TV Plus found a new outlet for Cutoff star Patricia Arquette (despite Severance season 2 being delayed) this weekend with High Desert.

This eight-episode comedy series – from Jackie’s sister by writers Nancy Fichman and Jennifer Hoppe – follows Peggy (Arquette), a recovering drug addict who decides to pursue a private investigation (because why not?). Also starring are Rupert Friend, Bernadette Peters, Matt Dillon and Brad Garrett High Desertwhat matters Cutoff director Ben Stiller among his producers.

Reviews of Apple’s latest series have been largely positive, with Arquette as Peggy in particular, so this could be one of this year’s the best Apple TV Plus series.

Now available to stream on Apple TV Plus.

XO, Kitty (Netflix)

Netflix viewers continue to praise the streamer To all the boys franchise in three increasingly cheesy movies, so it was only a matter of time before a spin-off series appeared.

called XO, Kitty, this Seoul-set romantic comedy stars Anna Cathcart as the titular Kitty, a teenage matchmaker who moves halfway around the world to reconnect with her long-distance boyfriend. However, she quickly discovers that dealing with her own feelings is not as easy as dealing with the feelings of others.

If you’ve seen any of the To all the boys movies, you’ll know what to expect from this 10-episode series: charm, cheese and a million jokes a minute.

Now available to stream on Netflix.

City of Angels (HBO Max)

The first of this week’s (four) documentaries is City of Angels on HBO Max (soon to become “Max” on May 23).

Similar in style to Hulu/Disney Plus” Welcome to Wrexham, this three-part series takes the microscope to Los Angeles’ professional women’s soccer team, Angel City, which was founded in 2020 by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, and video game entrepreneur Julie Uhrman. But how hard is it to build a successful sports franchise from scratch? A lot, judging by the trailer of the series.

All three episodes City of Angels are now available to stream on HBO Max, and while a UK release date for the series has yet to be announced, we expect it to premiere on Sky and NOW in the coming months.

Now available to stream on HBO Max in the US.

Work: What We Do All Day (Netflix)

If you’re up for a reality check with extras this weekend, try the docuseries Work: what we do all day on Netflix.

This four-episode show follows former US President Barack Obama as he travels across America to explore the importance of work in a time of rapid change. Along the way, he talks to everyone in the United States, from hotel workers and store managers to political lobbyists and CEOs. All three episodes Work: what we do all day are now available for streaming.

Now available to stream on Netflix.

Hillsong Secrets (Hulu)

This week’s third documentary recommendation is Hillsong Secrets on Hulu.

Based on Alex French and Dan Adler’s explosive Vanity Fair reporting on the titular megachurch’s various scandals, this four-part docuseries sheds light on celebrity pastor Carl Lentz – who features prominently throughout – and Hillsong’s alleged attempts to cover up acts of violence and abuse over many decades.

The first two episodes of Hillsong Secrets are now available to stream on Hulu in the US, and the other two will be made available on May 26. UK viewers will likely find this film on Disney Plus in the coming months.

Now available to stream on Hulu in the US.

I Love You Donna Summer (HBO Max)

Music fans, this is for you: I love loving you, Donna Summer is now streaming on HBO Max.

Co-produced by the eponymous singer’s daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams, this feature-length documentary explores the life and legacy of the legendary disco era star Donna Summer, who topped the charts. Could it be magic? You gotta watch to find out.

Now available to stream on HBO Max.

Check out our guides to new Netflix movies, new Disney Plus movies, new Prime Video movies, and new HBO Max movies.

Apple does not want its employees to use ChatGPT in case they reveal company secrets

Amid rumors that Apple may be working on its own generative AI, the iPhone maker is reportedly limiting how its employees use chatbots and AI writers such as ChatGPT, Bard and GitHub Copilot due to concerns about confidential data leakage.

Textual information such as appointments, notes and documents, as well as the code used to create software such as iOS, is considered highly guarded, so if it falls into the wrong hands, it can have catastrophic consequences for the company.

Of course, it comes as no surprise that a secret company has reportedly restricted such technologies, given confidentiality agreements and other measures designed to keep the information secret.

Apple employees are not allowed to use ChatGPT

It’s not clear if the company has issued an outright ban on generative AI, or if it has imposed some restrictions, such as those set by rival phone maker Samsung, which uses character counts to prevent employees from revealing too much information.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, says: “As part of our commitment to safe and responsible AI, we review conversations to improve our systems and ensure that content complies with our policies and security requirements.”

It also uses conversations for training purposes, which is why they are sometimes seen by employees who may be exposed to Apple’s confidential secrets if used as hints.

Rumors have also spread in recent weeks about Apple tinkering with its own generative AI and LLM, though many suggest the company is unlikely to create its own rival to ChatGPT. Instead, technical improvements could lay the groundwork for a better Siri that has been left behind by rivals Google and Amazon.

TechRadar Pro asked Apple to confirm any restrictions placed on generative AI, but the company did not respond immediately.

By Wall Street Journal

Fujifilm X-S20: latest news, rumors and everything we know so far

We’ve long rated the Fujifilm X-S10 as one of the best entry-level cameras, and its rumored successor, the Fujifilm X-S20, sounds like it could be a big upgrade in a few key ways. But unfortunately, a new leak suggests that these improvements will come at a huge cost.

According to credible Fuji rumorsThe Fujifilm X-S20 will cost $1,299 (body only). It’s not yet clear what that price equivalent will be in the UK and Australia, but we can get the result from the $1,299 Fujifilm X-T30 II lens kit, which comes in at £1,099 / AU$2,099.

If that price is accurate, that would mean a significant price increase of around 30% for the Fujifilm X-S10, which has a starting price of $999 / £949 / AU$1,699. And it would place the X-S20 further in the mid-range given the recent arrival of rivals such as the Canon EOS R10 ($979 / £899 / AU$1.49).

That could be quite a reasonable price increase if the X-S20 introduces some powerful new features, with rumors pointing to improved autofocus powers as well as a new X-Processor 5 (also featured in the excellent Fujifilm X-T5). However, it also suggests that cheap cameras are now becoming a rarity.

(Image credit: Fujifilm)

Back in the days of DSLRs, you could buy a basic camera like the Nikon D3500 with a set of lenses for $499 / £499 / AU$690. Of course, Fujifilm’s XS series is more premium than this DSLR, but cheaper models like the Fujifilm X-T200 are almost impossible to find in stock. But it would be a shame to see the X-S20 disappear so far into the kind of four-figure price territory that will be out of reach for most newbies.

The decline of cheaper DSLR and mirrorless camera models is why our guide to the best cheap cameras mainly features older models that have come down in price significantly over the years. If your budget is a little tight, it’s also worth checking out our guide to buying a used DSLR or mirrorless camera.

But what else do we know about the alleged Fujifilm X-S20 and can it finally convince us despite the apparent increase in prices? Here’s everything we know about the mid-range mirrorless camera.

To the point

What is this? Another mid-range Fujifilm mirrorless camera
when is it coming out? Rumors suggest that the premiere will take place on May 24
How much does it cost? Probably around $1299 / £1099 / AU$2099

Fujifilm X-S20 release date and price

The Fujifilm X-S20 will most likely be announced at the company’s next X Summit, which starts on May 24.

Fujifilm originally planned to hold the X Summit in April, but it delayed it by a month. It’s not yet clear what else Fujifilm may announce at the event, but the recent deluge of X-S20 leaks and rumors suggests that it will almost certainly be revealed at the event.

So far, there has been no speculation about the camera’s sale date, so we’ll probably have to wait until X Summit to find out.

What about the price of the X-S20? On May 18, A Fuji rumors the post claimed the camera would be more expensive than the X-S10, costing $1,299. Based on equivalent prices elsewhere in the Fuji range, this could be around £1,099/$2,099.

In that case, the X-S20 would be around 30% more expensive than the current X-S10. This could be in direct competition with the supposedly Sony A6700 and would put it on a level above entry-level mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R10.

Fujifilm X-S20: news and leaks

In our Fujifilm X-S10 review, we called it “one of the best small-to-medium mirrorless cameras you can buy” due to its combination of great handling, the same sensor as the Fujifilm X-T4, and built-in image stabilization (IBIS).

The latest X-S20 rumors suggest that the camera won’t mess with the formula, instead bringing more focus to vlogging along with some spec upgrades. According to Fuji gossip post On May 15, the much improved subject-tracking AF could be key – in fact, the camera may even outperform its high-end sibling here (at least for now).

Apparently, a photograph of the Fujifilm X-S20 camera on a white background has been leaked

This is apparently a photo of the Fujifilm X-S20 leaked from Fuji rumors suggests it hasn’t changed much from the X-S10 aside from a dedicated “Vlog” mode on the dial. (Image credit: Fuji Rumors)

The X-S20’s automatic subject and scene recognition modes will apparently improve on the X-S10’s modes, allowing the camera to select a film simulation to match the scene. But the main improvement could be the automatic autofocus mode, which could allow the X-S20 to recognize whatever is in your scene – from people to animals or cars – and start tracking them.

This would be different from current Fujifilm cameras where you have to manually select the subject you want to track with autofocus in the settings. In theory, this could be a pretty powerful feature for budding photographers.

While the Fujifilm X-S20 is expected to feature the same 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor as its predecessor, rumors suggest it will pair it with the newer X-Processor 5. This in turn will likely help power some enhanced video features, including the ability to record 6K/30p and 4K/60p (the X-S10 peaked at 4K/30p), although it’s not yet clear if either will be available with cropping.

Fujifilm X-S10

The Fujifilm X-S10 (above) remains a stylish camera with good handling for those who prefer a DSLR-style PASM control system. (Image credit: Fujifilm)

Speaking of video, newer Fuji gossip post May 19 claims that the X-S20’s dedicated “Vlog” mode (which will appear on its mode dial) will provide some useful, YouTuber-friendly features that are similar to what we’ve seen previously on Sony cameras like the Sony ZV-E10.

Apparently, these will include a “Product Priority Mode” (which, as the name suggests, instructs autofocus to prioritize a product that temporarily appears in the frame, even when face recognition is on) and a “Background Defocus Mode” for those who want some beautiful bokeh but you don’t necessarily know what settings to manually use to get it.

In terms of design, the X-S20 looks almost identical to the X-S10. The main change will apparently be the inclusion of the newer Fuji NP-W235 battery, which is a big improvement over the older NP-126S seen on its predecessor. While it’s not yet clear if the X-S20 will provide a weather seal, which is one of the X-S10’s key missing features.

Fujifilm X-S20: early thoughts

Our four main complaints about the Fujifilm X-S10 were the lack of a weather seal, mediocre battery life, a limited touchscreen, and an autofocus system that fell slightly behind the best mirrorless cameras in its class.

Of course, the Fujifilm X-S20 will not be able to completely fix all these problems, otherwise it would be too similar to the more expensive Fujifilm X-T5. But with rumors that its price could go up to $1,299, it’s going to have to make bigger improvements across the board than if it stayed closer to the X-S10’s original price of $999 / £949 / AU$1,699.

Fujifilm X-S10

(Image credit: Fujifilm)

Rumors suggest the X-S20 will get major autofocus, battery and video improvements, and the inclusion of the same 26.1MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor as before would be absolutely fine for us considering it’s tried and tested and tested layout that we have long considered one of the best in APS-C cameras.

We’d love to see an improved electronic viewfinder and weather seal, though that seems unlikely. And there’s a chance the X-S20 could be caught in between cheaper offerings like the Canon EOS R10 and the Fujifilm X-T5, which offers good value at $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$3,199.

But we’ll save our final verdicts for when the X-S20 comes out in the wild, most likely shortly after the Fujifilm X Summit on May 24.

Microsoft wants to take all the MFA and 2FA worries off your hands

Microsoft has exposed plans to decide which authentication method to use, instead it offers prompts based on security levels.

Having already written on the downsides of using SMS and voice multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods, citing social engineering, mobile carrier efficiency, technical evolution and more, Alex Weinert, Microsoft VP of Identity Security, has now alluded to more secure approaches.

Weinert explained that users tend to choose less secure MFA methods even though they have access to better options due to convenience, technical limitations, or simply lack of awareness.

Microsoft MFA methods

With the change, users who registered more than one Authentication method you will be prompted to sign in with the most secure one. Of Microsoft Authenticator SMS and push notifications, the system will choose the latter, although users will still be able to use the non-preferred method if circumstances so require.

Some manual page has been configured to help system administrators set up system-preferred multi-factor authentication via the Azure portal and GraphAPI.

After rolling out to users on an auto-disable basis, it will now begin to be rolled out more widely and auto-enabled. At some point, Microsoft will remove the option to completely disable system-preferred MFA, although the timeline is not expected to be released in a few weeks.

Weinert says, “To best protect your organization and its end users, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of Deployment Control and implement this new feature as soon as possible. It’s now available in your tenant, so you can easily ensure that users always use the most secure authentication method first.”

Xbox Series X storage: everything you need to know

When it comes to Xbox Series X storage, you’ll want to know how much space you’re dealing with before you start downloading some of the best games available. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of storage in the X-Series, and there’s a decent amount to start with.

Despite the fact that the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are much more user-friendly than gaming PCs, the storage situation is not as straightforward as it should be and may be for a novice user. There are a few caveats to note, and with a decent amount of storage ready to go, you’ll want to make sure you know exactly what you’re buying and why it could be so helpful.

We’ll cover everything from internal to external drives, the differences between a hard drive and an SSD, and shed some light on what an NVMe SSD is. More importantly, by the end of this guide, you’ll learn exactly how Xbox Series X memory works. Of course, everything outlined here applies to Xbox Series S as well, something worth keeping in mind for gamers who have opted for a more budget-friendly console.

Xbox Series X storage: everything you need to know

Xbox Series X storage: how much do you get?

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Xbox Series X comes with a 1TB NVMe SSD and Xbox Series S comes with a 512GB NVMe SSD. The Xbox Series X has 802 GB of memory, which means that 198 GB is reserved for system files and the Xbox operating system.

Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S only has 364GB of usable memory. Games should take up 30% less space than their Xbox Series X counterparts as file sizes are reduced as developers don’t target 4K resolution, but you’ll likely need to expand your system memory sooner rather than later.

What is an NVMe SSD?

Xbox Series X lying on its side with the controller propped against it

(Image credit: Shutterstock/Jim1982)

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) SSDs are an excellent storage solution over standard hard drives and SSDs. Due to the fact that NVMe SSDs use PCIe slots to transfer data, they can transfer up to 25 times more data than the slower SATA counterpart (which is the hard drive used by Xbox One).

NVMe drives also eliminate the middlemen by communicating directly with the system’s CPU, and the end result is blazingly fast performance. Both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S rely on this new storage format to deliver next-gen performance leaps, so it’s very important to understand the difference between these three types of drives.

Is an NVMe SSD the same as an SSD?

Samsung 970 EVO Plus

(Image credit: Samsung)

No, and that can often be confusing to many – especially since Microsoft regularly refers to its storage as “SSD”. Regular SSDs (Solid State Drive) rely on SATA, which is a much slower way to transfer data in your system.

An SSD is still much faster than a regular mechanical HDD (and less likely to fail due to the lack of moving parts), so it’s not too bad. However, its speeds pale in comparison to an NVMe drive.

How to expand Xbox Series X|S memory

Seagate Memory Expansion Card - 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB models listed in size order

(Image credit: Seagate)

Microsoft’s solution for upgrading the Xbox Series X|S internal storage with more super-fast NVMe storage is quite elegant, if expensive. Microsoft released 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB models for the Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card, which sits on the back of both consoles like a memory card. Anything you store on NVMe drives will take advantage of the full powerhouse of Xbox Series X|S.

Microsoft also revealed that more storage solutions will be on the way, so consumers won’t just be at the mercy of purchasing a proprietary drive. This is good news because proprietary drives can often be more expensive than third-party components.

You can connect an external hard drive or SSD to play Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox games. You won’t take advantage of the lightning-fast speeds that NVMe drives provide, however SSDs are still much faster than HDDs, so if you go external, opt for an SSD. All Xbox Series X optimized games (such as Gears 5) will need to be moved to internal NVMe drives in order to play.

Games optimized for Xbox Series X|S can be stored on external drives, but will not be playable until they are moved back to primary NVMe drives. Fast Resume, which is a feature that allows you to pause and resume multiple games at once, will work no matter where the games are installed.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Xbox Series X (XSX) and Xbox Series S (XSS) Storage Guide.
Header cell – column 0	Can I play XSX\|XSS optimized games on it?	Can you play XSX\|XSS optimized and backwards compatible games on it?	Can you play Xbox One/Reverse games from it?	Can you store XSX\|XSS/Xbox One/backward compatibility on it?
Xbox Series X\|S NVMe SSD	Yes	Yes (will benefit from shorter charging times)	Yes (will benefit from shorter charging times)	Yes
External Hard Drive (USB 3.1)	NO	No, Xbox One/backward compatible games only	Yes	Yes, but XSX\|XSS optimized games can only be played from an NVMe SSD
External SSD (USB 3.1)	NO	No, Xbox One/backward compatible games only	Yes (will benefit from shorter charging times)	Yes, but XSX\|XSS optimized games can only be played from an NVMe SSD

Meta is developing its own AI chip – let’s hope it goes better than the Metaverse

Meta has announced the development of a new chip specifically designed to support AI models. The company is known for its family of apps, including Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram – and of course, for trying to launch the Metaverse – but has recently started investing heavily in AI.

Meta vice president and head of infrastructure, Santosh Janardhan, shared details of the progress made in last blog entry. The company has expressed a significant increase in interest in AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg saying the company “sees an opportunity to introduce AI agents to billions of people that will be useful and meaningful.”

The chip and other infrastructure plans revealed in the post will be key tools for Meta to compete with other tech giants like Google and Microsoft, who have already invested heavily in AI in the form of the Google Bard interface and ChatGPT Bing.

The new Meta MTIA (Meta Training and Inference Accelerator) chip is “a proprietary, custom family of chup accelerators targeted at inference workloads.” The chip will provide more computing power and performance to suit Meta workloads. So MTIA chips combined with GPUs will allow Meta to “provide better performance, lower latency, and more performance for any workload.”

Why does it matter? Well, the MTIA chips could be a huge boost for Meta given the ever-increasing demand for AI computing power. As it is done “in-house”, it will be designed to perfectly match Meta’s workload and requirements and will free the company from relying on other companies. The MTIA chip is still far away TechCrunchstating that we won’t see a chip until at least 2025.

Too little, too late?

We’ve already seen what a grind a company has to go through that is even a little late to an AI game (I’m looking at you Google) so not seeing a chip for at least another two years makes me doubt Meta’s place in an increasingly populated artificial intelligence in the digital landscape.

That said, there’s no question that AI will creep into the Meta at some point in one way or another. Given the types of products Meta has under its belt, such as Whatsapp and Instagram, it will be interesting to see how it can implement AI in these social media apps. It could take a page out of Snapchat’s book and just introduce users to an AI-powered chatbot, or it could completely rebuild apps and give users a whole new experience.

I’m relieved to see the company moving in any direction other than the Metaverse, so while I’m a little impatient to see what AI can do, I’m glad it’s working on something people actually want to use. The company’s belief in designing its own products is commendable and could really help it stand out from many other AI initiatives.

AMD’s RX 7600 may share a key spec with Nvidia’s RTX 4060, and not in a good way

The latest rumor is going around AMD Radeon RX 7600 suggests it could challenge Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060 in terms of specs.

The Green Team defeated the Red Team to establish a more affordable mid-range option when the former unveiled its GeForce RTX 4060 Ti and 4060 graphic cards. But that said, AMD still has a shot with its RX 7600 if these spec leaks are to be believed.

According to a GPU-Z leak reported by VideoCardz, the graphics card will ship with the following specs: Navi 33 XL GPU with 32 CUs, 2048 stream processors, 1720, 2250 and 2655 MHz respectively for base, game and enhanced clock speeds, and in the real world it uses GPU clocks up to 2.85 GHz . Interestingly, the card has the same 8GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus as the RTX 4060. The RX 7600 is also said to have a limited PCIe interface of Gen4 and eight lanes, similar to the RTX 4060.

There was no shortage Radeon RX 7600 leaks and rumorsdespite the official word on the name thanks to the CEO and president of AMD Dr. Lisa Su confirms this during the conversation about the results for the first quarter of 2023.

AMD can still reverse the situation

As it was called with Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti before the manufacturer added a 16GB model (more specifically, a third party model) having improved specs and lots of new features, while still retaining the last gen 8GB VRAM is a terrible idea . The main reason is that these cards can become oversaturated at higher quality settings, causing performance issues.

Something that worries AMD is the lack of a real competitor to DLSS Frame Generation, a feature that has worked wonders in improving the performance of Nvidia’s graphics card. Even if the RX 7600 does better in terms of performance than the RTX 4060, it loses a lot of time without DLSS 3, a feature Team Green is pushing hard for broader support among the best PC games.

This will be especially a problem if price gossip to be believed, as both AMD and Nvidia cards will cost the same with the same VRAM, but most likely one will have a performance and stability advantage over the other.

It will be important for AMD to undercut Nvidia on the suggested retail price first, and then get an answer to DLSS 3 soon if Team Red wants to stay competitive in this generation. Not to mention offering another model that has more VRAM but for the same price as the 4060, which would really level the playing field. Maybe if we intimidate AMD like we did with Nvidia, the former will consider ditching the 16GB model when it releases the RX 7600.