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YouTube is Planning to Restrict AdBlock Users to Watch Only Three Videos

By
Adwaith
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YouTube Restrict AdBlock Users to Watch Only Three Videos

YouTube is testing a new feature that could potentially limit access to its services for users who employ ad-blocking software.

According to various reports, YouTube is conducting a “small global experiment” to encourage users with ad-blocking software to disable it when using the platform or to consider subscribing to YouTube Premium. The move is seen as a response to the increasing use of ad-blocking extensions, such as AdBlock, which have been popular among users seeking an ad-free viewing experience.

The new feature, as experienced by some users in the United States, allows viewers to watch three videos after which, upon launching a fourth, it requests the disabling of the ad-blocker. This could significantly impact active users of ad-blocking extensions, which are commonly used as browser add-ons.

YouTube suggests an alternative for users who wish to maintain an ad-free environment — subscribing to YouTube Premium. This subscription service not only removes ads but also offers additional features such as offline video downloads.

The implementation of this feature has sparked a wave of reactions from the user community, with many expressing their displeasure. The abundance of ads on YouTube has been a common complaint among users, and some have noted that ad-blockers do not solve all issues, such as enabling music playback with the screen turned off.

While the testing phase is currently limited to a small user base and not all ad-blockers, it is possible that the company may make these requirements mandatory for all in the future. However, it’s worth noting that YouTube has tested various features in the past that have not been fully implemented.

Valve Bans Steam Games Featuring AI-Generated Content

By
Anu Thomas John
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Steam Games

Valve, the renowned video game developer and distributor, has reportedly started banning games on its platform, Steam, that feature AI-generated content. This decision has sent ripples across the gaming industry, raising questions about the future of AI in game development.

The news first came to light when Simon Carless, a game developer, shared his experience on Reddit. He had submitted a game for approval on Steam, containing AI-generated content. Much to his surprise, Valve rejected his submission. The reason? The game contained AI-generated content, a category that Valve has recently started to scrutinize more closely.

The company’s stance is clear: they will not approve games that cannot demonstrate legal ownership of the content. This is particularly challenging for AI-generated content, as the learning databases often contain materials copyrighted by artists. The final output of the AI can bear striking similarities to existing works, leading to potential copyright infringement issues.

The developer can resubmit the game after removing the AI-generated content, but they only get one shot at it. If the game still contains AI-generated content or if the ownership of the data is not proven, the game will be permanently blocked.

This new policy has sparked a debate among developers, many of whom have been leveraging AI to expedite their game development process. While Valve’s stance is understandable from a legal perspective, it has left many developers in a quandary.

Interestingly, Valve’s approach to AI-generated content seems inconsistent. For instance, the game “This Girl Does Not Exist,” which explicitly states that all its content, including art, story, characters, and even voice-over, was generated by machine learning AI, is still available on Steam.

As AI continues to permeate various sectors, its application in the gaming industry is inevitable. However, the recent move by Valve underscores the need for clear guidelines and regulations around the use of AI, especially when it comes to copyright issues.

While some countries like Japan have declared that using datasets for training AI models doesn’t violate copyright law, the global consensus on this issue is yet to be reached. Until then, developers will have to tread carefully when using AI-generated content in their games.

Analog Iterative Machine: Microsoft Unvelis World’s First Analog Optical Computer

By
Sabarinath
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Analog Iterative Machine

Microsoft is breaking the mold with the introduction of the world’s first analog optical computer. This groundbreaking innovation, developed by the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge, promises to revolutionize the way we solve complex optimization problems.

Traditional computers use transistors to process data in binary form — a series of ones and zeros. However, the analog optical computer takes a different approach. It uses photons and electrons to process continuous value data, transcending the limitations of binary systems. This novel method of computing allows for the processing of information at the same location where it is stored, a feature unique to optical computing.

Solving Optimization Problems at the Speed of Light

Optimization problems are ubiquitous in our daily lives. From managing electricity on the grid to delivering goods from a warehouse to your doorstep, these problems involve maximizing efficiency while minimizing resource use. However, as the size of these problems grows, even the world’s fastest computers can spend years trying to solve them. This is where Microsoft’s analog optical computer comes into play.

The Analog Iterative Machine (AIM), as it’s called, promises to solve these problems at a lightning-fast pace. By using different intensities of light to compute, AIM has the potential to solve practical problems at the speed of light.

Real-World Applications: The Barclays Partnership

Microsoft has partnered with Barclays to test this revolutionary technology in a real-world setting. The challenge? To solve the problem of how batches of transactions are settled at the clearing houses used by most banks. With hundreds of thousands of transactions occurring daily, the sheer scale of this problem is beyond the capacity of binary computers.

According to Lee Braine, MD and distinguished engineer in the chief technology office at Barclays, “Effectively, it would take the lifetime of the universe to evaluate all the possible options.” However, the AIM team has already run a “toy version” of the transaction settlement problem, and the optical computer solved it with 100% accuracy every time.

Analog Iterative Machine

As Microsoft and Barclays design a larger-scale version of the problem using more data and variables, the world watches with bated breath. If successful, this could mark a significant milestone in the field of analog computing research and open up new possibilities for optical computing AI.

The dawn of the analog optical computer era could be upon us, promising a future where complex problems can be solved at the speed of light. As we stand on the brink of this new era, one thing is clear: the future of computing is brighter than ever.

The Dark Side of YouTube Advertising and the 80% Breach of Trust

By
Adwaith
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youtube

According to a publication by The Wall Street Journal, approximately 80% of YouTube’s advertisements violate the platform’s terms of service, potentially leading advertisers to demand refunds from Google, the parent company of YouTube.

The crux of the issue lies in the advertising model YouTube employs. Advertisers pay YouTube to display their ads either before or after videos on the platform. However, research by Adalytics suggests that about half of these ads are not actually shown on YouTube. Instead, they are displayed within Google’s “Google Video Partners” (GVP) program, which includes third-party sites other than YouTube.

Google’s terms of service specify that some ads may be shown within the GVP program, promising advertisers a similar experience to that on YouTube, including audio components and the ability for users to skip the ad if they wish. However, Adalytics found that ads on these partner sites are disabled 80% of the time, often play automatically on the side of the screen, are frequently muted, and cannot be skipped. This contradicts Google’s promise of a similar user experience off-platform.

This discrepancy could have significant financial implications. Advertisers typically pay around $100 for every 1,000 views of their ads on third-party sites, expecting high-quality ad placements. However, Adalytics discovered that lower-quality ads, usually sold for just $5 per 1,000 impressions, were often displayed instead. This means that more than half of their advertising budget is spent on displaying lower-quality ads on properties other than YouTube.

Major brands such as Johnson & Johnson, American Express, Samsung, Sephora, Macy’s, Disney, and even government organizations like Medicare, the U.S. Army, the Social Security Administration, and New York municipal agencies have reportedly fallen victim to this poor ad exposure. Their ads have also ended up on websites spreading misinformation and hosting pirated content, contradicting Google’s commitment to display ads only on high-quality, carefully selected sites.

Google has responded to these allegations, stating that the “vast majority” of video advertising campaigns are run on YouTube, not GVP. They also defended the quality and visibility of GVP ads, claiming that over 90% of GVP ads are of higher quality than the industry average. However, this issue remains a thorny one for Google, potentially damaging its reputation among advertisers and causing some to lose faith in Google’s promise of high-quality ad spots.

Microsoft’s Vision: A Fully Cloud-Based Windows for Everyone

By
Avinash A
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Windows 365

Microsoft is planning to fully transition its operating system, Windows, to the cloud. This move is set to revolutionize how users interact with the operating system, making it accessible from any device, anywhere, with an internet connection.

Microsoft already has a similar product in the market, Windows 365, which allows corporate clients to run a virtual PC on Windows 10 in the cloud. However, the company’s future plans involve making this service available to the general public. This intention was declared in an internal presentation, State of the Business, where Microsoft outlined the future development of Windows 365 as a “full-fledged Windows operating system from the cloud on any device.”

Currently, Windows 365 is only available to commercial clients, but the service has already been deeply integrated into Windows 11. A future update will include the Windows 365 Boot feature, which will allow Windows 11 devices to directly boot into the cloud OS, instead of the local operating system. Thanks to Windows 365 Switch, users will be able to instantly switch between them using Task View (virtual desktops).

The idea of fully transitioning Windows to the cloud is also interesting from the perspective of uniform use of its capabilities on any hardware, different from the classic x86 architecture. Microsoft has already made a special version of the OS for its Surface Pro X devices based on ARM. Recently, we heard that Microsoft has started developing its own processors with this architecture and may be working on chips for accelerating AI work.

Microsoft’s move to a fully cloud-based Windows is a response to the threat posed by Google’s Chromebook. The commercial aspect of the question lies in the intention to increase its share among cloud PCs, in which the main operating system used is Windows 365.

Snapdragon 4 Gen 2: Qualcomm’s Power-Packed Answer to Affordable Smartphones

By
Avinash A
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Snapdragon 4 Gen 2

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2, its first 4-nanometer SoC in the entry-level series. This new chipset promises to deliver a more efficient performance and longer battery life, making it a game-changer in the affordable smartphone market.

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 features two Kryo performance cores clocked at 2.2 GHz and six efficiency cores running at up to 2 GHz. This configuration is expected to deliver a 10% improvement in CPU performance compared to its predecessor, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 1. The SoC also supports Full HD+ resolution displays with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz, offering a smooth and immersive visual experience.

In terms of photography, the new SoC supports image sensors up to 108 megapixels. It also introduces the Multi-Camera Temporal Filtering (MCTF) technology for the first time in the Snapdragon 4 series. This feature reduces noise when recording videos, enhancing the overall video quality. The SoC also uses artificial intelligence to reduce noise in low-light photos, promising clearer and sharper images.

The Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 also supports Quick Charge 4+, allowing batteries to charge from zero to 50% in just 15 minutes. Furthermore, it includes a Snapdragon X61 modem, offering 5G connectivity to budget smartphones. The SoC supports LPDDR5 RAM up to 3,200 MHz and LPDDR4x RAM up to 2,133 MHz.

Several OOEMs are expected to use the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 in their devices, with the first smartphones featuring this SoC slated for release in the second half of 2023. Brands like Redmi and Vivo have already announced plans to incorporate this new SoC into their upcoming smartphones.

Exploring Advanced Package Tracking with Pkge.net

By
Rakesh Babu
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Package Tracking

With each passing day our lives become more and more interconnected, which is why being able to track packages as they travel between cities, countries, and continents is extremely important. To resolve this problem, Pkge.net offers a solution with a user-friendly platform that makes package tracking easy and hassle-free, giving users a peace of mind while they are waiting for their deliveries.

Changes in the Courier Industry

New technologies have brought significant changes to the courier industry. Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are two major advancements that are reshaping package tracking and delivery, leading to increased efficiency and higher customer satisfaction.

How AI Improves Package Tracking

Let’s first examine the impact of artificial intelligence. AI is making a huge impact on the quickness and efficiency of package tracking. One way AI does this is by suggesting the best delivery routes. By considering factors like traffic patterns, weather conditions, and destination proximity, AI can determine quick and fuel-efficient routes. This leads to faster delivery times and reduced operational costs and environmental impact.

AI also plays a role in inventory management. AI systems can analyze buying patterns, identify trends, and forecast future demand. This helps businesses manage their stock better, ensuring they have the right items available for customers when needed. The result is fewer backorders, better customer satisfaction, and increased sales.

IoT’s Role in Real-Time Package Tracking

The Internet of Things is another key technology reshaping package tracking. IoT devices connected to the internet can communicate with each other, enabling real-time tracking of packages. With IoT, a package can be monitored as it moves from the warehouse to the delivery vehicle and finally to the customer’s doorstep.

Customers can access this information through platforms like Pkge.net, constantly receiving updates on their parcel’s location and estimated delivery time. This level of transparency was once unimaginable, but now it is a standard expectation for many customers.

Benefits of Advanced Package Tracking Systems

Using advanced package tracking systems offers several advantages to individuals and businesses alike. Here are some of the advantages that users can expect to receive:

  1. Real-time updates: With constant monitoring and live information available within the platform, you can always know where your package is at any given moment. This allows you to plan and be prepared for your delivery more effectively.
  2. Trust and reliability: Advanced package tracking systems establish full transparency throughout the entire delivery process. These systems not only provide important information on the package’s journey but also build trust through their consistent and reliable services.
  3. Fewer lost or delayed packages: By closely tracking every movement and using state-of-the-art algorithms, these systems significantly reduce the chances of packages being lost or delayed. This optimization of the delivery process ensures a smoother experience for both senders and recipients.

Together, these benefits offer an efficient and reassuring package tracking experience.

Embracing the Future of Package Delivery

As technology continues to advance, it’s important to embrace the future of package delivery. Advanced package tracking solutions like Pkge.net go beyond providing real-time updates; they create an efficient, reliable, and easy-to-use system. Whether you’re a business seeking to improve your delivery process or an individual wanting to track your online purchases, the future of package tracking promises to be simpler and more dependable than ever.

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