A report from Bloomberg details the obstacles hampering Amazon’s efforts to get its delivery drone program off the ground, citing a high employee turnover rate and potential safety risks.

According to Bloomberg, there were five crashes over the course of a four-month period at the company’s testing site in Pendleton, Oregon. A crash in May took place after a drone lost its propeller, but Bloomberg says Amazon cleaned up the wreckage before the Federal Aviation Administration could investigate. Amazon spokesperson Av Zammit disputed this, saying that Amazon followed orders it received from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to document the event and move the drone.

The following month, a drone’s motor shut off as it switched from an upward flight path to flying straight ahead. Two safety features — one that’s supposed to land the drone in this type of situation and another that stabilizes the drone — both failed. As a result, the drone flipped upside down and dropped from 160 feet in the air, leading to a brush fire that stretched across 25 acres. It was later put out by the local fire department.

“Instead of a controlled descent to a safe landing, [the drone] dropped about 160 feet in an uncontrolled vertical fall and was consumed by fire,” the FAA said in a report of the incident obtained by Bloomberg.

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos first announced 30-minute drone deliveries in 2013, and almost 10 years later, we still don’t have drones delivering Amazon packages to our doorsteps. In 2019, the company previewed a redesign of its Prime Air delivery drone that has the ability to fly vertically and hinted at launching drone deliveries later that year — a promise that went unfulfilled. One year later, Amazon announced FAA approval for the company to operate as a drone airline in 2020, which Amazon’s vice president of Prime Air said was “an important step forward for Prime Air.”

Last year, a Wired report revealed that Amazon’s drone delivery operation is struggling just as much in the UK, despite making its first-ever drone delivery near Cambridge in 2016. Wired’s report suggests that the UK outfit is marred by some of the same issues described by Bloomberg, including a high turnover rate and potential safety issues. At a UK-based facility for analyzing drone footage for people and animals, one worker reportedly drank beer on the job, while Wired said another held down the “approve” button on their computer regardless of whether there were hazards in the footage or not.

In a statement to The Verge, Zammit said the NTSB never classified any of Amazon’s flight tests as an accident, as they didn’t result in any injuries or put structures at risk.

“Safety is our top priority,” Zammit said. “We use a closed, private facility to test our systems up to their limits and beyond. With rigorous testing like this, we expect these types of events to occur, and we apply the learnings from each flight towards improving safety. No one has ever been injured or harmed as a result of these flights, and each test is done in compliance with all applicable regulations.”

Former and current employees at Amazon also told Bloomberg that the company is prioritizing the rushed rollout of its drone program over safety. Cheddi Skeete, a former drone project manager at Amazon, said he was fired last month for speaking with his manager about his safety concerns. Skeete told Bloomberg that he was reluctant to continue testing a drone that had crashed five days previously but was told the team had inspected 180 engines on 30 different drones — Skeete doubted this assertion, as checking the motors is a cumbersome process, Bloomberg reports.

“We take safety reporting seriously — we have a safety reporting system that’s well-known by all our team members, and we encourage them to raise any safety suggestions and concerns,” Zammit told The Verge. “In addition to using this system, we encourage employees to provide any other feedback they may have through their manager, HR, or our leadership team.”

David Johnson, a former drone flight assistant for Amazon, told Bloomberg that Amazon would sometimes perform tests “without a full flight team” and with “inadequate equipment.” Johnson also said the company often assigned multiple roles to one person, a claim Bloomberg says is corroborated by two other former Amazon employees.

“They give people multiple things to do in a very narrow window of time to try to boost their numbers, and people cut corners,” Johnson told Bloomberg. “They were more concerned about pumping flights out and didn’t want to slow down.”

Zammit denied Johnson’s claims, stating: “Crew members are assigned to only one role per flight. Before each flight test, crew members are briefed on their individual role,” Zammit explained. We do not set time limits for completion of any aspect of our flight tests, and our team can take their time to complete their roles safely.”

Correction April 11th 7:28PM ET: A previous version of the article described a drone’s descent as “fiery” when it caught fire when it landed. We regret the error.

Update April 11th 7:28PM ET: Added additional context surrounding Amazon’s response to a drone crash and added an additional statement from Av Zammit.

Amazon is still struggling to make drone deliveries work

In his Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman has said that Apple’s upcoming iOS 16 might come with an update to notifications and some health-tracking features. Of course, the iOS 16 will be much more than the updated notifications and health tracking features, but there is unlikely to be any major design overhaul. It is undoubtedly disappointing for those who are waiting for Apple to introduce some design changes to the iOS UI. As per Gurman, no major UI refreshment will make its way to the iOS 16.

Gurman has also given us an insight into what users might get in the watchOS 9. Gurman has said that the new version of watchOS will include upgrades to its activity and health tracking features. However, there is no clarity over what could be coming next for the new version of macOS.

However, if previous rumors are to be believed, the new version of the macOS will be called macOS 13 Mammoth. But we haven’t heard rumors related to what could the new features Apple is working on for macOS 13.

Meanwhile, Apple will hold its WWDC 2022 event on June 6. The Cupertino tech giant might launch the preview of watchOS 9, iOS 16, and macOS 13 on that day. Needless to say, Apple will talk extensively about the new versions of its different operating systems. However, we won’t mind if we get some of that information ahead of the June 6 event.

The WWDC 2022 event might also see Apple launching two new Mac models, one of which is likely to be a new MacBook Air. It is worth mentioning that this year’s WWDC event will be a virtual event.

Are you waiting for the WWDC 2022 event? Which new Apple operating system you are most excited about? You can share your thoughts in the comments below.

Here is what to expect at Apple’s WWDC22 event

Asus GT 710 2GB GDDR5

Back in January of 2016, Nvidia launched the GeForce GT 710 graphics card, an entry-level GPU. The company made some pretty big claims about it at that time, stating that the GT 710 was capable of being up to 10X faster than Intel integrated graphics, and gaming on it too was 80% faster.

Here's the full quote of the performance claims for the Nvidia GT 710 that the firm for some reason decided to completely wipe out from its website later on:

GeForce GT 710 Graphics Card

Make your entire PC experience faster with the new NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 710 dedicated graphics card. Now, you can enjoy up to 10x better performance than integrated graphics in all your favorite PC applications. Gaming is even up to 80% faster, while delivering rock-solid reliability and stability with GeForce Experience

Nvidia's add-in-card (AIC) partner EVGA still has its article up with images of some of the variants that are offered by the vendor.

Verifying Nvidia's original claim of being 80% faster than Intel HD graphics is a bit difficult as Nvidia doesn't specifically state which Intel IGP it is referring to in its comparison. Perhaps the company is denoting the Ironlake core from back in 2010 that was simply called "Intel HD graphics" and if that were the case, then the GT 710 was not at all impressive as Intel already had much faster integrated graphics processors available in 2016.

Here's a comparison of the GeForce GT 710 against Intel's HD 500 series graphics that were already available when the GT 710 launched.

Hence, the GT 710 was barely faster than the HD 510, at least when comparing a synthetic benchmark score. So, the 80% faster gaming claim was probably only true when compared against the 2010 Intel graphics.

And since Nvidia was pitching the GT 710 as a viable upgrade to the 2010 Intel HD graphics, then it is noteworthy here that there already existed other cards from both AMD and Nvidia, like the Radeon R7 240 / 250, or the GT 730/740, that were already doing a far better job than what the GT 710 was offering in 2016.

And now in 2022, the story is worse as the GT 710 gets handily beaten by Intel's lowest tier integrated graphics, the UHD 710. In fact, in more modern titles like in Red Dead Redemption 2, it's a total knock out for the GT 710. And compared to the AMD's integrated graphics, it's a bloodbath.

You can see the results for the GT 710 vs the Intel UHD 710 in the images below (via RandomGaminginHD on YouTube).

While a new product beating an older one is not something that should be of surprise, the GT 710 is actually still one of the best selling GPUs in the market, and has far outsold some of the much more capable graphics cards like the Radeon RX 550, which launched a year and half later. And the GT 710 is not a dirt cheap GPU either as the card seems to retail around 50-70$ on Amazon US, among other places. And to say the GT 710 is just a 2016 product would not be fully correct as Asus even launched a new GT 710 model just a couple of years back and most of the GT 710 models are still actively sold around the world.

The latest March Steam hardware survey result shows that the Nvidia GT 710 still holds 0.35% of market share which is quite significant.

And the Steam March 2022 survey data is actually a far less favorable one for the GT 710. Data from other places like UserBenchmark and PassMark show the number of GT 710s sold over its lifetime far outweighs the RX 550's.

On the top, we have the UserBenchmark data that show more than 10 times GT 710s compared to RX 550s were benchmarked (176,948 vs 16,942). Meanwhile, the PassMark data on the bottom shows more than five times GT 710s compared to RX 550s (5,160 vs 929).

Why such high sales volumes?

It is possible that Nvidia and its AIC partners dump large numbers of GT 710 onto retailers which is why it is often seen that such retailers sell these cards to customers who are not informed enough to know that they are better off buying something better.

There are also times when faster integrated GPUs are paired up with a GT 710, a practice that is essentially ripping off an uninformed customer.

Some GT 710s are even worse!

To make matters worse, there are also a couple of variations of the GT 710. First there is the more common Kepler variant that comes with 192 CUDA Cores. However, there is also a far worse, gimped Fermi variant that only has 48 CUDA Cores. Not only is this much slower, it also has a much higher TDP of 29W compared to 19W on a Kepler-based GT 710. All GT 710s are labelled the same and there's almost no way of telling the difference from a quick glance at the packaging.

Here, one may argue that the low 19W power consumption figure is a big selling point of the card but seeing how most PCIe slots can deliver 75W of power, it should really be a non-issue for most PCs.

What should you buy instead?

Of course, if you shouldn't buy a GT 710, then what can you instead consider buying? Below, I recommend a list of discrete graphics cards that you can get which are much better investments than the GT 710. I also put in the 710 itself, the Kepler one, so you can gauge the performance yourself. I have also put in recommended prices for the cards based on the current market situation.

In the above table, anything up to the RX 550 640SP will comfortably run without supplementary PCIe power connectors and you get up to eight times more performance in modern games compared to a GT 710.

Keep in mind that these prices have been suggested based on GPU market prices at the time of writing. As such, all of these graphics cards are much better value for money than the rather inept GT 710, which is why, as mentioned in the above table, I'd never recommend the GPU for more than $40 no matter the variant.

Any silver lining?

Frankly speaking, there isn't any for the GT 710, unless you are running an old system based on a 2000s Pentium or an Athlon perhaps. That's because the slightly more expensive GT 730 GDDR5 version (in the above table) is a much better performer and even a decade old processor won't bottleneck the 730. The GT 730 really is the minimum one should go for in case of an old, slow processor system.

As a multi-monitor driver? Maybe, but again, all other graphics cards in the above table can do that too.

In conclusion, at all costs avoid the GT 710 and if anyone you know is looking to purchase the card, ask them to stay away from it too. It gets destroyed by the slowest current-gen integrated graphics and is also effortlessly beaten by most half decent budget discrete GPUs. Driver support for Kepler cards also ended last year which means the software side of the GT 710 is not its strength either.

The GT 710 in 2022 is, relatively speaking, a good for nothing card that somehow still manages to stay relevant due to the sales it generates. The only way to stop it now is to stop buying it so that Nvidia finally is forced to kill it off once and for all.

Just DON'T Buy It, so Nvidia finally kills this awful GT 710 graphics card

What's next for Windows 11

This week, Microsoft held a special event to showcase the capabilities that are currently in development to facilitate hybrid work use-cases and productivity. We got an official glimpse at some of the features, including a tabbed File Explorer UX with Context IQ-powered recommendations, app folders in the Start menu, touch-optimized Snap Layouts, enhancements to Focus, and Live Captions.

Microsoft also talked about improvements it is making to online meetings through AI-powered capabilities on Windows 11, such as Voice Clarity, Automatic Framing, Portrait Background Blur, and Eye Contact. The first one in the aforementioned list will initially debut exclusively on the Surface Laptop Studio through a Windows 11 update this month.

Windows 11 is getting a bunch of security enhancements too. These will arrive in the form of increased integration of Microsoft Pluton security chip in upcoming Windows 11 PCs, Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) being enabled by default, Smart App Control, Enhanced phishing detection and prevention with Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, Personal Data Protection, and much more.

There is some good news for IT admins in store too as Microsoft took the wraps off of endpoint management capabilities currently in development. These include remote help, new insights, VPN authentication on unenrolled devices via Edge, Windows AutoPatch, and more. Microsoft says that it will gradually roll out each of these features in the near future and once enough new services have reached general availability, it will bundle all of them in a new Microsoft 365 plan.

That's not all though, Microsoft is also looking to bridge the gap between local and cloud PCs through Windows 365. Functionalities currently in development are Windows 365 Boot, Switch, and Offline. Microsoft Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay has emphasized that "they are just the beginning of our Windows and Microsoft cloud integration".

Microsoft also talked a bit about how it has deployed Windows 11 across 190,000 PCs within the organization as Customer Zero. It boasted about this process being the fastest and smoothest deployment of a Windows version in the history of the company. It revealed some more details about the activity too and you can check them out here if you're interested in this space.

And to top it all off, Microsoft released Windows 11 build 22593 to the Dev and Beta channels. It contains and updated experience for Win + X and changes to the homepage of File Explorer, among many other things. And remember, if you see a desktop watermark on your Insider build, that does not mean that your Windows license is void.

OS updates

Microsoft made a significant change to Windows Update Catalog this month. Standalone downloads will now be offered over an HTTPS connection instead of HTTP. This is a decent change as modern web browsers can block downloads or cause problems, because it may interpret them as malicious or insecure connections.

The Redmond tech firm has also fixed an Internet Explorer 11 issue due to which it had initially placed an upgrade block on certain users. The fix is quite simple: just update Microsoft Edge to version 99 or newer.

Microsoft has issued a warning to people using older Home and Pro versions of Windows 10, namely version 1909 and version 20H2. Both these variants will reach end of servicing on May 10, 2022. As such, Windows Update will automatically start a feature update for Windows 10 Home and non-managed business devices. While Microsoft really wants users off these versions, they can still pick a convenient time to restart the device and complete the upgrade.

A Valve hardware survey has also revealed that 16.84% of gamers are now on Windows 11. This is a rise of 1.25 percentage points compared to the previous month. Windows 10 still remains dominant at 74.69% but faced a decline of one percentage point compared to the last survey.

Perhaps one of the things preventing more people from updating to Windows 11 is due to the stripping of functionalities from the taskbar. However, it seems that Microsoft has decided that some capabilities such as moving the taskbar is not important enough so it's not a priority for now. Find more details about this here.

Edge highlights

There were a number of news items related to Microsoft Edge this week. For starters, Edge Canary users can now enable an experimental flag which will enable you to open links directly in the associated Progressive Web App (PWA) rather than the browser. You can follow our guide on how to enable this capability here.

In the same vein, Microsoft also highlighted some enhancements to Sleeping Tabs in Edge 100. It essentially "offloads" idle tabs instead of shutting them down and when you return to it, the "sleeping" tab is brought back to an active state instantaneously. This is a notable feature that reduces CPU and battery consumption. Microsoft has made this even more efficient in Edge 100, and it can now put up to 8% more pages to sleep.

Microsoft has also started showing some newer ads for products in its Edge browser. While there has been some discourse on the topic already in our comments section, you can still dive into the discussion here.

And similar to Mozilla, Vivaldi is still not fully satisfied with the default browser implementation in Windows 11. The company's CEO and co-founder Jon von Tetzchner has acknowledged Microsoft's efforts to make the process a bit more user- and competitor-friendly, but has emphasized that it's simply not enough. It has urged the EU to follow up on this alleged malpractice.

Dev Channel

• Microsoft enables Ampere ARM CPU support for Azure VMs, offering better price-performance benefits
• Fable Anniversary, Killer Instinct, Halo Wars, and other Xbox games now support Steam Deck
• Microsoft Garage initiative "Journal" is now officially "Microsoft Journal"
• Microsoft PowerToys version 0.57.2 has some fixes, the tool could soon get one of macOS' best features
• Excel users will soon be able to save their Scripts to a SharePoint site
• Age of Empires IV Season One is live with mod tools, ranked play, and much more
• Microsoft takes control of Russia-linked Strontium domains used in cyberattacks on Ukraine
• The latest Xbox update allows disabling system sounds

Under the spotlight

This week, Neowin News Reporter Robbie Khan published a detailed review of the world's first 34" QD-OLED ultrawide monitor (AW3423DW) by Dell Alienware. It's an exceptionally stunning piece of hardware and engineering along with a mouth-watering price, and if you are on the lookout for a new monitor with all the bells and whistles, check out Robbie's review here.

Meanwhile, I curated a list of the top 10 features that people want from Microsoft Word. The list is quite interesting with varied feedback but it's a bit disappointing to see that Microsoft is mostly unresponsive to feedback. Check out the list here.

Logging off

Our most interesting news item of the week isn't directly related to Microsoft, but it does have far-reaching implications. Basically, the UK government has ordered game firms and technology companies to stop offering in-game loot boxes to children. According to the government, selling loot boxes to children can lead to the development of undesirable habits such as problem gambling, and as such, firms should not partake in such activities, or else, the government will be forced to legislate.

Microsoft Weekly: OS updates, Edge highlights, and what's next for Windows 11

Intel did a good job with with its 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs in terms of how the chips perform. However, there have been reports of the desktop Alder Lake-S processors bending for a long time when placed inside their Socket LGA1700 motherboards. For example, even reviewers like AnandTech, among others, noticed the issue (image above).

Intel has finally responded to all these reports. In a statement to Tom's Hardware, the company has stated that bending of the integrated heat spreader (IHS) shouldn't cause any major issue and that this sort of deflection is common. Here's the firm's full statement:

We have not received reports of 12th Gen Intel Core processors running outside of specifications due to changes to the integrated heat spreader (IHS). Our internal data show that the IHS on 12th Gen desktop processors may have slight deflection after installation in the socket. Such minor deflection is expected and does not cause the processor to run outside of specifications. We strongly recommend against any modifications to the socket or independent loading mechanism. Such modifications would result in the processor being run outside of specifications and may void any product warranties.

The problem seems to stem from the LGA1700's Independent Loading Mechanism (ILM) as the apparent uneven pressure seems to bend the processor when mounted inside its socket.

Here's a before-after image comparison of the incident:

As you can see above, there is a clear gap between the flat surfaces of the cooler and the IHS indicated by the visible light between chip and the cooler when it is placed inside the socket. You can also watch this video below by Jisaku Hibi which shows the bend in action:

Tom's Hardware also asked additional questions to Intel related to how the bending could affect the various performance aspects and the well being of the processor as well as the socket that you can read below. The answers by the Intel spokesperson are emboldened.

• Are there any planned changes to the ILM design? This condition might only exist with certain versions of the ILM. Can you confirm that these ILM are to spec?
  • Based on current data, we can’t attribute the IHS deflection variation to any specific vendor or socket mechanism. However, we are investigating any potential issues alongside our partners and customers, and we will provide further guidance on relevant solutions as appropriate.
• Some users report reduced thermal transfer from the deflection issue, which makes sense as it clearly impacts the ability of the IHS to mate with the cooler. Would Intel RMA the chip if the mating was poor enough to lead to thermal throttling?
  • Minor IHS deflection is expected and does not cause the processor to run outside of specifications or prevent the processor from meeting published frequencies under the proper operating conditions. We recommend users who observe any functional issues with their processors to contact Intel Customer Service.
• The chip deflection issue also impacts motherboards – as a result of the deflection on the chip, the socket ends up bending the rear of the socket, and thus the motherboard. This raises the possibility of damage to the traces running through the motherboard PCB, etc. Is this condition also within spec?
  • When there’s backplate bending occurring on the motherboard, the warping is being caused by the mechanical load being placed on the motherboard to make electrical contact between the CPU and the socket. There’s no direct correlation between IHS deflection and backplate bending, other than they can both be caused by the mechanical socket loading.

For those wondering if there's any unofficial workaround for the problem, there does exist a washer mod which has been tested by Igor'sLAB. However Intel has cautioned that, such modifications, among others, will void your warranty.

Source: Tom's Hardware

Intel finally responds to bending 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs on LGA1700 motherboards

The project aims to provide broadband connections using a constellation of 3,236 satellites.

Rival Starlink is said to have more than 2,300 satellites in orbit already.

The rockets will be made by Arianespace, Blue Origin - which was founded by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos - and United Launch Alliance.

Amazon says Project Kuiper aims to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband to customers including households, businesses, government agencies, disaster relief operations, mobile operators, and other organisations "working in places without reliable internet connectivity".

Like Elon Musk's Starlink, users will connect to the internet via a terminal that communicates with the satellites. Amazon says its experience in shipping and making products like Echo and Kindle will be useful in producing and distributing these.

"Project Kuiper will provide fast, affordable broadband to tens of millions of customers in unserved and underserved communities around the world," said Dave Limp, senior vice-president for Amazon Devices & Services, in a statement announcing the deal.

New rockets

Amazon plans 83 launches over the next five years, saying it constitutes "the largest commercial procurement of launch vehicles in history".

The firm plans two "prototype" missions later this year - but using a rocket made by ABL Space Systems, and not the three that will launch the bulk of the satellites.

An illustration of the Vulcan Centaur, one of the new rockets used for the launches

Unlike Elon Musk's Falcon 9 rockets, the three new rockets used for Project Kuiper's launches are still in development.

Another satellite internet firm OneWeb, which is part-owned by the British government, recently decided to use SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets after losing access to the Russian-built Soyuz rockets it had been using, following the invasion of Ukraine.

In total Mr Musk hopes to launch as many as 30,000 Starlink satellites into space.

The value of this type of low-earth orbit satellite internet has already been demonstrated in Ukraine, where the United States Agency for International Development said, in conjunction with SpaceX, it had helped ship a total of 5,000 Starlink terminals to the country's government.

But, as low-earth orbit becomes increasingly congested, astronomers have complained that the light reflected from these satellites as they pass overhead increasingly disrupts the view of the night's sky.

Astro-photographer Mary McIntyre, said on Twitter: "The satellites are literally destroying our beautiful night sky."

Source

Aside from building a more robust U.S. semiconductor industry, which could really help in situations where there are semiconductor shortages in the future, the alliance also seeks to protect intellectual property due to the increased competition abroad from countries like China. With semiconductors becoming necessary for everything from computers to cars, strengthening supply chains around the world is crucial to ensuring access to them.

Commenting on the development, Ann Kelleher, executive vice president and general manager of Technology Development at Intel, said:

“The semiconductor industry in the U.S. is at an inflection point. There has never been a more important time to come together as an industry to establish the path forward to advance the foundation of innovation that will help solve the nation’s biggest challenges.”

If the alliance does succeed in its mission, it’ll be good for the whole world because it should open up more options for companies looking to buy semiconductors.

Intel joins alliance to turbocharge semiconductor research, development, and prototyping

CapFrameX is also working with XanxoGaming in this performance evaluation and according to a short update posted by the former, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D seems to easily beat the new Intel flagship Core i9-12900KS in a particularly demanding scene from Shadow of the Tomb Raider (SotTR).

The upcoming 5800X3D seems to be averaging around 228 fps in this scene while CapFrameX says the 12900KS manages around 200fps, which implies a 14% performance advantage in favor of AMD.

Back in January at CES, AMD said that the Ryzen 7 5800X3D is going to be 15% faster on average at gaming than the existing Zen 3-based Ryzen 5000 processors. The performance charts shown off by AMD at that time also happens to have Shadow of the Tomb Raider and interestingly, as you can clearly see in the image below, the company declared a 9% gain over a Ryzen 9 5900X.

However, today's CapFrameX SotTR data paints the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in ever better light as it is seemingly 14% faster than an Intel chip which is already faster at gaming than the 5900X. And it is noteworthy here that the 5800X3D is priced at a much lower $449 compared to the $739 price tag on the Core i9-12900KS.

It must be noted here that the reviewer of the 5800X3D is using the yet-to-be-released chipset driver version 4.03.03.624, which is said to bring optimizations for the 3D V-cache. So it is possible that this chipset is really helping the 5800X3D stretch its legs against the i9-12900KS.

Source and image: CapFrameX (Twitter) via XanxoGaming

AMD's $449 Ryzen 7 5800X3D apparently stomps Intel's $739 5GHz+ Core i9-12900KS in gaming

The AnkerMake M5 3D Printer

There is a new player in the 3D printer market with the entrance of Anker’s AnkerMake M5. It just made its Kickstarter debut, where it costs $499. The price tag can’t be compared to the prices of other entry-level models, but it presents features that might tickle the taste of additive manufacturing enthusiasts and beginners. In terms of speed and ease of use, the CEO of Anker Innovations, Steven Yang, said that AnkerMake M5 is designed for that.

“3D printers help us imagine a world where ideas and creative concepts can be instantly transformed into physical form. However, the reality is 3D printing can be slow, cumbersome and difficult to figure out,” Yang said. “AnkerMake is committed to removing these pain points so that artists, inventors, hobbyists and DIY enthusiasts can take advantage of a more practical tool to bring their creations to life.”

The new printer promises to cut print times by 70 percent using its 5X faster printing speed with acceleration up to 2500 mm/². Its system is supported by a Y-stepper motor with high-subdivision drivers and two belts to achieve sufficient torque and stability during the printing process. And if you need a more accurate product, you can set it up at 250 mm/s.

AnkerMake M5’s biggest attraction, on the other hand, is probably its AI Camera Recognition System that uses a camera to track the printing process and errors. This means a good deal for those who are tired of keeping an eye on their projects for a long time. The camera itself has a visual recognition that compares the actual print with the design in real-time, allowing it to spot problems. You can also check on the 3D printing process via the AnkerMake app, and it’ll provide you a timelapse of the creation afterward. 

Controlling the printer is also possible with the AnkerMake Cloud app, slicing software, or a smart home assistant. It is also armed with HD touchscreen controls, 7×7-point auto-leveling, PEI soft magnetic plate, Broken Material Detection system, and alerts through LED, audio, and app.

As of writing, the AnkerMake M5 has already reached a total of 5,125 backers, amounting to a US$ 3,107,233 million pledge. It is far from its original US$ 50,000 goal, but given its new features, it is not surprising that it gets a warm welcome in the market like this. If you want to join the rally and back this project, you still have 43 days left.

Anker presents its first 3D printer, the AnkerMake M5

Companies like Intel, Samsung, and even TSMC have planned their ways to accelerate semiconductor manufacturing. However, since companies are now looking for equipment to produce chips, it has resulted in a shortage of chip-making equipment. According to a report from Nikkei, specialized chip tool manufacturers like ASML, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA have warned their clients that they might have to wait for up to 18 months to receive critical equipment needed for semiconductor manufacturing.

The higher demand for chip-making tools has led to a shortage of everything - from engineering plastics to precision lenses, valves, pumps, special cables, sensors, and a lot more. A single EUV lithography machine which is made by ASML requires over 100,000 components from more than 800 global suppliers and costs up to $200 million.

Not only ASML but KLA is also affected by the supply chain crisis. Wait times for some of its products are now more than 20 months. The world's largest supplier of chip substrates, Unimicron, says that the equipment deliveries it desperately needs now have lead times of up to 30 months instead of 12-18 months estimated last year.

After chip shortage, manufacturers are now facing shortage of chip-making equipment

Things aren’t “back to normal” yet, but GPU prices are steadily falling

Meta may have given up on its Diem cryptocurrency, but the company is still exploring finance products, according to a new Financial Times report. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram reportedly has a few irons in the fire, including virtual currency employees have apparently taken to calling “Zuck Bucks.”

Zuck Bucks, seemingly named for Meta founder, chairman, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, are “unlikely” to be a cryptocurrency. “Instead, Meta is leaning towards introducing in-app tokens that would be centrally controlled by the company, similar to those used in gaming apps such as the Robux currency in popular children’s game Roblox,” according to the FT. Roblox has built a huge business selling Robux, and Meta could try to emulate some of that success on its own platforms.

Meta hasn’t totally distanced itself from blockchain products, as the company is also looking into posting and sharing NFTs on Facebook. The FT says the company plans to launch a pilot for doing just that in mid-May, according to a memo, and soon after, Meta will test allowing “membership of Facebook groups based on NFT ownership and another for minting” NFTs. The FT previously reported on some of Meta’s NFT plans for Facebook and Instagram in January, and Zuckerberg announced in March that NFTs would be coming to Instagram.

In addition, Meta is exploring “social tokens” or “reputation tokens,” which “could be issued as rewards for meaningful contributions in Facebook groups, for example,” the FT reports. The company is also apparently looking into traditional financial services like small business loans.

“We have no updates to share today,” Meta spokesperson Lauren Dickson said in a statement to The Verge. “We continuously consider new product innovations for people, businesses, and creators. As a company, we are focused on building for the metaverse and that includes what payments and financial services might look like.”

We’ll have to wait and see how Zuck Bucks or other rumored projects pan out and if they can help Meta overcome some of its recent troubles. But one high-profile person appears to be a big fan of Facebook’s plans: former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

Meta is reportedly making ‘Zuck Bucks’

The patent filed under the ID "US 11,294,809 B2", was discovered and the similarity was soon spotted by Twitter user Underfox, who loves to go patent digging around. Although the patent doesn't clearly state so, the leaker believes it is that of Intel's Ocean Cove architecture, a CPU design that Intel started hiring for back in 2018, and is meant to succeed the current Golden Cove design found in 12th gen Alder Lake CPUs.

via SweClockers

Underfox says that they have been following the development of Ocean Cove since its beginning in 2018 and was quite shocked to see the patent being granted as it.

And to say that Underfox is exaggerating would be quite a stretch here as the processor architecture layout does indeed look too similar, at least from the images.

We have combined the images so you can view them easily side by side. Below you can find:

The overall core design

Fetch

Decode

Integer Units

Floating Point Units (FPUs)

Load/store and L2

Cache hierarchy

Core complex (CCX)

Simultaneous multi-threading (SMT)

You can find the full patent on Free Patents Online here.

Via: Underfox (Twitter)

Intel granted patent for what is allegedly believed to be AMD's Zen architecture

In the two years since it was first debuted, Unreal Engine 5 has consistently wowed us with some phenomenal tech demos and trailers, such as in the Matrix Awakens’ Unreal Engine 5 experience and the gameplay trailer for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, so we’re thrilled now that it has finally been released in earnest.

While Unreal Engine 5 may have only just been officially released, thankfully we won’t have to wait for aeons before the first games using the new engine get released as Epic has long been partnering with developers prior to the new engine’s official launch. 

Titles such as Arkane Studios’ Redfall and GSC Game World’s Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl both use Unreal Engine 5 and are scheduled for a 2022 release, but if that’s not soon enough, Fortnite is always an option as, since as of December last year, the game has been running on Epic’s freshly released engine. 

As you might expect, Unreal engine 5 boasts a huge array of new features and enchantments over its predecessor to make next-gen games look truly next-gen. 

These new features include ‘Nanite’ a “virtualised micro-polygon geometry system that frees artists to create as much geometric detail as the eye can see”, and ‘Lumen,’ a fully dynamic global illumination engine that allows for more photorealistic lighting in ultra-detailed environments.

Unreal Engine 5 has officially launched

One of the best point and click adventure game series ever made. Monkey Island might finally get the closure it required, that too from its original creator.

My name is Guybrush Threepwood and I’m a mighty pirate. These words might echo the ears of a generation of gamers. Rightfully so too. The words are spoken by Guybrush Threepwood, the hero of the point and click adventure game franchise called Monkey Island.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. The main attraction of SCUMM BAR.

Released in 1990, The Secret of Monkey Island was the first game in the series by Lucasfilm Games (later renamed LucasArts). It followed the adventures of Guybrush Threepwood, who becomes a sea pirate in the age of sea piracy. He falls in love with the governor Elaine Marley, unaware that a ghost pirate, LeChuck, the villain of the series, too is eyeing her and Guybrush needs to then rescue her from the dreaded ghost pirate.

The second game in the series, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge was released in 1991. It follows Guybrush trying to find a treasure called Big Whoop and mistakenly awakens LeChuck, who is now in a zombie form. Now he has to fight LeChuck again with the power of voodoo.

Monkey Island 1 and 2 were a massive hit. They were among the most iconic games in the era of point and click adventure games. Iconic dialogs, excellent gameplay, exemplary Caribbean music and a memorable game design. However, their followup games was did not get that much of a backing either from the players or critics.

Enter Monkey Island 3 and 4

After Monkey Island 1 and 2 were made, Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 4: Escape from Monkey Island were made. They were not as well received as the first two and did not reach the greatness of the earlier two games.

The reason behind it were many. New and confusing controls, new experimental graphics and uninspiring gameplay. The biggest for all of it was that the original creators on the game, Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman had left the studios before the development of these games happened. Ron Gilbert felt the series did not follow the original writing and were not the true successors of his work.

Years later, in 2009, LucasArts licensed the series to Telltale Games, which was founded by former LucasArts developers Telltale Games released the fifth game in the franchise called Tales of Monkey Island in an episodic series. It received good reviews but it too suffered from some problems of game 3 and 4, as it not have the backing and work Ron Gilbert, the main writer and director of the first two games.

The first two games however were later remade as Special editions and received good reviews.

LucasArts got sold along with Lucasfilm

When Disney bought Lucasfilm, LucasArts too got sold with it. LucasArts was a major game studio of the 1990s, coming with iconic game franchises such as Maniac Mansion, Indiana Jones, Star Wars games. It also made famous classic games like Loom, Sam & Max Hit the Road, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, The Dig and many others.

Disney after buying LucasArts did not seem much interested in the games. In 2016, knowing that the series has not reached its original conclusion, Ron Gilbert made a plea to Disney on Twitter to let him buy the game series so that he can conclude the original story as he had intended.

Looks like Disney did oblige.

Return to Monkey Island

Ron Gilbert, the original writer and director, announced Return to Monkey Island on Twitter. He said: “A little something we’ve been working on for the past 2 years in complete secrecy.” While saying that, he shared the trailer of the new game Return to Monkey Island.

The game is made in collaboration by Ron Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox, game developer Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games. The writing and direction is done by both Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman, the original writers and directors of the first two games.

The music department marks the comeback of the trio of Michael Land, Peter McConnell and Clint Bajakian. All three were behind the music of the second game, with Michael Land being the lead music director of the first.

Dominic Armato, the voice behind the hero Guybrush Threepwood in game 3 and 4, along with remakes of the original two, too makes a comeback to the industry with this game.

They have also released a site for the game for those who want to check out.

Release date

Return to Monkey Island is announced to be released later this year. We will be eagerly waiting for it.

The announcement of this game has brought a lot of emotions in us. It has reawakened our childhood and the child in us. Let’s hope it stays up to the expectations. As long as Ron Gilbert is behind the game, it mostly will do so.

Sequel to Monkey Island 2, Return to Monkey Island Announced

Like Microsoft with its upcoming Build 2022 developer conference (coming May 24-26), Apple is not ready for in-person WWDC. This year's Worldwide Developer Conference will be the third WWDC Apple hosts online due to the ongoing pandemic.

Building on the success of the past two years of virtual events, WWDC22 will showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, while giving developers access to Apple engineers and technologies to learn how to create groundbreaking apps and interactive experiences.

“At its heart, WWDC has always been a forum to create connection and build community,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing. “In that spirit, WWDC22 invites developers from around the world to come together to explore how to bring their best ideas to life and push the envelope of what’s possible. We love connecting with our developers, and we hope all of our participants come away feeling energized by their experience.”

While regular consumers will be interested mainly in the first-day keynote where Apple announces new iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, developers will have five days to learn from Apple about new capabilities and tools. Unlike in-person conferences, WWDC 2022 will be a free-to-join event with various events and sessions for developers to sharpen their skills.

Apple also promises more localized content to make WWDC 2022 "a truly global event." Interestingly, Microsoft pushes the same narrative with its Build 2022. It is good to see Microsoft and Apple making good use of online events to reach more around the globe.

Apple's WWDC 2022 is happening on June 6-10

Although the official event page description makes it clear that Microsoft will focus heavily on business customers, regular consumers will see new features for Windows 11 and other Microsoft products. The software giant plans to demo new Windows tools for productivity, collaboration, management, and security.

You can expect Microsoft to reveal new features for Windows 11, such as tabs for File Explorer, a clipboard with smart actions, a long-awaited new email client, and improvements for Microsoft Teams, Edge, security, and management. Microsoft did not release a new Dev build last week, but the company promised to deliver a fresh update next week. Some of the rumored features may appear in the upcoming update for Windows Insiders to test before the public release.

Microsoft will stream the event live on its official website on April 5, 2022. The show kicks in at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET / 3 PM UTC. Neowin will cover the event and provide you with all the info on the latest updates from Microsoft.

Here's how to watch the Windows 11 event on April 5

Intel introduced the big.LITTLE approach for x86 CPU designing with its 12th Gen Alder Lake CPUs. Like Arm CPU vendors have been doing for a while, Alder Lake marries bigger performance cores (P-core) with smaller efficient cores (E-core). Intel calls the approach "Performance Hybrid" or Big-Bigger.

Intel also made specific optimizations so that the Windows 11 scheduler works nicely with this new architecture via its new Thread Director mechanism.

AMD's Robert Hallock, Director of Technical Marketing at the company, in a recent interview with KitGuru explained why Intel needed to take this route of CPU design whereas AMD was still content with the regular approach of only stacking large cores.

According to Hallock, Intel, which has been using iterations of its Skylake core design in subsequent generations of CPU architectures was facing size constraints as the core itself is pretty big compared to AMD's Zen as the latter is inherently much smaller overall. As a result, the Blue team was finding it difficult to add cores, newer instructions, among other things, with its big cores only approach.

Hallock adds that AMD's Zen is extremely scalable as a result of the path the company took when it started working on Zen nearly a decade ago. To help with this, AMD also uses a modular approach using chiplets though Intel whined and threw shade at it back in 2017 referring to it as "Glued-together".

Although AMD doesn't need to take the hybrid approach just yet, patents have shown the firm is certainly working on such designs though it isn't known when or if the Zen family itself will be a part of it or whether it is something we will see post-Zen.

Source: KitGuruTech (YouTube)

AMD: Unlike Intel Alder Lake, Zen didn't need opting for hybrid big.LITTLE design, ... yet

Google on the offensive

Out of nowhere, Google went on the offensive this week to criticize the use of Microsoft software and services in private and government organizations. It implied that these institutes are primarily using legacy software which makes them a ticking time bomb in the cybersecurity space and that the only reason that they are not switching to other vendors - preferably Google - is because of the natural resistance to change.

Google made all of these claims while citing the results of a survey that it commissioned itself. The survey interviewed 2,600 U.S. workers across different domains. The majority of the respondents claimed that the use of Microsoft tech makes their organization vulnerable to cybersecurity incidents while almost half also stated that there are other non-Microsoft products which would allow them to be more productive at work. Interestingly, this survey doesn't go into details about why the respondents have these stances.

In a response, Microsoft has stated that it is disappointed but not surprised at Google's antics. However, it brushed off the claims on a sassy note saying that it will continue supporting customers with its "best software and security services". You can find out more details about Google's marketing fluff / hit piece survey here.

Browser news galore

This was a super-busy week when it came to news related to browsers. Most importantly, Microsoft is finally making it a bit easier to change the default browser in Windows 11. Rather than manually changing the association for every extension, you can use a single button to set associations to your preferred browser for major file types and extensions. In a statement to Neowin, Mozilla appreciated the changes but demanded that Microsoft should make the process even easier and developer-friendly.

Earlier in the week, a serious but undisclosed Chromium vulnerability was also patched which resulted in both Microsoft and Google to issue emergency updates to their respective browsers. Microsoft is also planning some other changes to Edge. Canary builds of the browser include quick access to Office web apps, hints of the return of Workspaces, saving of tab groups as bookmarks, and an improved history experience with a custom date picker. In the same vein, Edge 100 also landed today with PDF previews and protection against memory-based vulnerabilities.

Edge adoption is picking up pace too, the browser has managed to overtake Apple's Safari as the second most popular desktop browser, according to Statcounter data. In fact, Microsoft has also placed an upgrade block on some Internet Explorer users and won't offer them Windows 11 unless they first import their data to Edge.

Talking about Windows 11, the only build in the Dev and Beta Channel this week was 22581.200 (KB5013296) to test the servicing pipeline. However, Microsoft has stated that we'll possibly get new builds in the coming week.

Although Windows 11 adoption appears to have stalled a bit, there are a couple of app updates design to pull in more customers. Microsoft has been slowly improving its unreleased tabbed File Explorer user experience, "Your Phone" has been renamed to "Phone Link" with a Windows 11 design refresh and Honor support, and the Clipchamp app now allows unlimited 1080p video exports.

Defender continues to impress

There was no shortage of news in the cybersecurity space either. For starters, Microsoft Defender once again scored full marks in the latest AV-TEST rankings and performed similarly well in MITRE's Engenuity Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge (ATT&CK) Evaluations. In the latter, Microsoft's defensive arsenal was tested against human-operated ransomware in simulations across multiple platforms. The simulation sported over 100 steps and 66 unique ATT&CK techniques and Microsoft 365 Defender was able to detect and protect against all major attack stages.

Even if we talk about typical consumer use-cases, Defender now has a "Vulnerable Driver Blocklist" to protect PCs from malicious drivers. This system has been built in partnership with other vendors. However, Defender SmartScreen on Windows 11 Beta devices is apparently causing some performance issues with media playback. The "fix" appears to be disabling Defender SmartScreen, but that could leave you vulnerable to other threats.

Circling back to the enterprise space, five critical vulnerabilities have been discovered and patched in Microsoft Azure's Defender for IoT. And finally, Microsoft has announced Office 365 Government Secret cloud for the U.S. government. This will allow it to secure classified data with the highest level of protection.

Dev Channel

• Microsoft has formed a new cloud-native Xbox division and restructured to prioritize Android services too

• Surface Laptop 4 AMD and Surface Studio 2 have received March firmware updates

• Microsoft is now selling certified refurbished Xbox Series X consoles, with some conditions in tow

• Xbox Game Pass may get a five-user family plan later this year while PC Game Pass is expanding to more Asian countries

• Build 2022 will begin on May 24

• "New" Azure Front Door has been announced as Microsoft's modern enterprise CDN

• PowerToys 0.57.0 is out with some stability improvements

• Microsoft Business Applications Launch scheduled for April 6, registrations now open

• Office for iOS will soon let you edit OneDrive documents files, even when you're offline

• Microsoft shared a guide about how you can configure Group Policy to make the most out of Windows updates

• Minit has been acquired by Microsoft

• Steam Deck now supports Windows 11

• Visual Studio 2022 version 17.0 for Mac Preview 8 is now available

• Enhanced Teams apps like Power BI, SurveyMonkey, Zoho Projects, and Mural can now be utilized in Office.com and Outlook in certain preview channels

• System Center 2022 has hit general availability

Under the spotlight

This week, Neowin News Reporter Dean Howell directed our audience to Killed by Microsoft, a website which calls itself "a free and open-source list of discontinued Microsoft services, products, devices, and apps". It's a pretty interesting repository and you will likely see several familiar names, including Windows Phone (R.I.P), Zune, and Silverlight. Read more about this here.

Meanwhile, I published a roundup of the top 10 features that people want from OneDrive. Although Microsoft is quite responsive to feedback in this space, and the company does keep adding new features, it's clear that there is a clear divide between what consumers want and what they actually get.

Finally, News Reporter Taras Buria wrote a handy guide on how you can customize folder thumbnails in Windows 11 version 22H2. If this is something that tickles your fancy and you love personalizing your software, do check out the guide here.

Logging off

Our most interesting news item of this week is related to University of Arizona now allowing students to earn credit towards their degree for playing Age of Empires IV and interacting with the supplemental educational content being made available in the title. It's a pretty unique initiative and is the first of its kind at this scale. Read more about it here.

Microsoft Weekly: Google on the offensive, Defender wins, and default browsers

On the day when people like to make a fool of each other, Cloudflare launched a service which seemed unbelievable at first. Not because of the features it offered, but because it was launched on a day when most companies would announce fake products in a humorous intention. Cloudflare announcement too, frankly speaking, seemed like one, but it wasn’t so.

On 1st April 2018, Cloudflare announced its own DNS service called 1.1.1.1. At first, it seemed just like another DNS service. But Cloudflare made huge improvements to make it among the top DNS services out there.

What is DNS?

DNS, meaning Domain Name System, is like an address book of the internet. Simply put, all sites on the internet run on a server. Those sites running on individual servers are allotted a specific IP address. That IP address is like a house number on a road. You can read it, but you do not know which road or the area house is located at. This is where an address book comes. It tells you where the house is, so that you can reach.

Similarly, when one types an internet site’s address inside their browser, like this site ourdigitech.com for example. A DNS service is contacted by your computer or a mobile and it is asked where this site is. It tells your browser the IP address of the site and leads you to it.

All this is done in a fraction of the seconds. Milliseconds to be precise. This makes it very important that the DNS server is not only near you but also fast, so that your browsing is done quickly. Cloudflare plays a very important role here.

Cloudflare’s importance

Cloudflare’s server locations.

Cloudflare’s main product is its CDN, that is, content delivery network service. What a CDN service does is that it makes copies of the sites on the internet and stores it locally near you and on many servers worldwide. Cloudflare is among the top CDN services out there. It has its servers situated in almost every part of the world. This allows Cloudflare to leverage its CDN network to provide DNS services. Allowing it to be quick to contact and deliver.

Enter 1.1.1.1 and WARP

When Cloudflare originally announced it’s DNS service, the DNS requests were mainly served by two players. One, whatever DNS service your internet service provider (ISP) chose and second, Google DNS. While at start 1.1.1.1 was just like Google DNS – bare-bones. It was not much quick either. But that soon change.

A year later, on the same day, Cloudflare announced a VPN service called WARP. It’s a type of VPN service which basically encrypts your traffic on the internet. The problem with DNS protocol was that it was designed decades ago without encryption in mind and that is why normally it is not encrypted, allowing to anyone to spy on you – that is, look at which sites you are opening and also prevent you from accessing that site.

This is especially the case with the ISPs which actively stops you from accessing some sites. WARP intended to circumvent that by encrypting the information between you and the DNS provider. Allowing not only privacy, but also freedom of browsing a free uncensored internet.

While it is true that WARP is known to have some problems starting up, as mentioned by the reviewers on it’s Android app page, it’s still a great service when it works correctly.

More improvements

Since then, Cloudflare has come up with many upgrades to it’s service. Like offering DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT) – both of which are intended to encrypt the connection between you and the Cloudflare’s DNS service, to collaborating with various browsers to include build-in support for the DoH inside them. It is important to mention that Google’s DNS service started offering DNS over TLS only a year after Cloudflare.

Cloudflare has also started a special version of it’s DNS service which allows people to prevent either adult content or malware or both from being accessed. Allowing a secure internet for everyone.

Other DNS providers and alternatives

Meanwhile, since the launch of Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1, a lot of DNS providers have appeared or upgraded themselves. Google DNS remains the top DNS provider out there, simply because it is the fastest one out there and not many can match the power of Google’s network.

There is also another DNS provider around called NextDNS, which offers a lot of features like DoH, DoT, extensive security options, privacy and tracking protection, parental control, deny and allow list, logs and many other things, possibly unmatched by any other provider out there. The problem is that it’s free plan’s extra features are limited to 300,000 queries per month. This is unlike Google DNS and Cloudflare’s DNS, which are by and large completely free, albeit without many features

While it’s true that there are many good DNS providers out there. But Cloudflare remains our favorite of them all.

Cloudflare’s DNS Service 1.1.1.1 Turns 4: How It Changed The Internet

TIME stated why Microsoft deserves the spot for this year’s list by specifically highlighting its Activision Blizzard acquisition. 

“Xbox maker Microsoft stunned gamers in January by announcing plans to acquire Activision/Blizzard, publisher of Call of Duty and Overwatch,” TIME states. “The company says the nearly $70 billion deal would help it serve the world’s 3 billion gamers. However, the planned tie-up, which sparked a wave of similar moves across the $200 billion gaming industry, has invited regulatory scrutiny. More broadly, CEO Satya Nadella’s Microsoft has been on a hot streak, beating expectations with $51.7 billion in revenue in the most recent quarter.”

Beyond the stated reasons, Microsoft also showed incredible work over the past months by staying relevant and active in the tech world and using its influence to help with the world’s social problems, such as the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia. The company also used its power to aid in other fields. Some of its works we witnessed are its partnership with Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation Novartis to expedite drug discovery through tech, improvement of Reading Progress to aid learners, techs for blind and visually impaired individuals, and more.

On its website, TIME also detailed the selection process of how it creates its list annually. “Entries are considered by TIME’s editorial team and evaluated on a number of criteria including relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition and success,” writes TIME. “All told, TIME will recognize 100 companies from around the world across a variety of sectors, including health care, entertainment, technology, transportation, retail, energy and more.”

Microsoft enters TIME’s list of 100 most influential companies again

“Can it run Doom” will never be the same, thanks to new ray-tracing mod

Boston Dynamics’ “Stretch” robot hits production, and it’s already sold out

Apple plans to build its own financial infrastructure for payments and lending

The presentation shows three slides tagged as “Looking Ahead” and provides insight into most of the plans. In the first slide, YouTube is said to be planning to ingest podcast RSS feeds directly “to make uploading to YouTube easier and more simple.” Moreover, the document shows the plan to place a new podcast homepage at youtube.com/podcasts, though the URL isn’t still functioning. In addition, the slide shows a mockup of the podcast entries on the platform once it is available. From the layout presented, it seems the podcasts will come in the exact conventional square thumbnails.

In the second slide, YouTube presented its plan to use the homepage in bumping up its advertising business by proposing Google-sold and partner-sold audio ads that will “tap into audiences who are listening to music, podcast, or other audio content on YouTube.” The slide shared by Podnews doesn’t include the details about the share of revenue to the podcast publishers, but given the standard practice at YouTube, it is likely to happen.

Moreover, one of the slides says that YouTube will provide analytics with new metrics specifically designed for audio-first creators. It also shows the plan to integrate the YouTube data into industry-standard podcast measurement platforms. Companies like Nielsen, Podtrac, and Chartable are listed on the slide, but what YouTube is really planning to do with the said companies is not mentioned.

YouTube, on the other hand, still hasn’t commented on the information uncovered by Podnews.

YouTube Plans To Establish a Podcast Homepage