Suddenly, Intel is a hot topic again — but this time as an investment property. As the company weathers layoffs and a struggling foundry business, both the U.S. government and SoftBank plan to invest. However, it’s not so simple. Intel announced that SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese investment giant, would put $2 billion at $23 per share into the struggling company, with the stated goal of investing in semiconductor manufacturing in the United States. That would give it about two percent of the company, as the Wall Street Journal noted. The real question is what the United States government is pushing for, and if it will be allowed to: essentially convert the $10.9 billion previously earmarked for Intel as part of the U.S. Chips Act into equity. Though Bloomberg reported the proposed deal on Monday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed the government’s intentions publicly on CNBC on Tuesday morning. “We should get an equity stake for our money, so we’ll deliver the money which was already committed under the Biden administration,” Lutnick told CNBC, as quoted by NBC News. “We’ll get equity in return for it,” he added, and “get a good return for the American taxpayer.” Bloomberg has stated that the government’s investment would equate to about a 10 percent equity stake in Intel, though this has not been confirmed. Intel has also not commented on whether it would agree to such a deal. It’s also unclear whether the company would have any say in the matter. The government does not have a sovereign wealth fund for investment, though a May Trump executive order tried to create one. Intel lost $2.9 billion for the second quarter, with flat revenue of $12.9 billion, during which Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan said that Intel’s 18A process technology and its Panther Lake chips remained on track to roll out near the end of this year. On the other hand, Intel’s chief financial officer David Zinsner said that the process would “peak” by 2030 or so. Intel also raised the question of whether it would even remain in chip manufacturing, if it couldn’t find a high-volume customer for the next-gen 14A process technology. Meanwhile, AMD continues to gain ground, quarter-over-quarter, especially in desktop CPUs. Intel still holds dominant shares in mobile and in the server space. Read...

It was a good ride while it lasted, those who’ve been paying less for grandfathered-in Philo live-TV streaming plans will soon be facing price hikes.  Starting on October 3, subscribers to Philo’s $16 per month and $20 per month legacy plans will see their monthly rates rise to $25 a month, according to an email sent to Philo subscribers.  The email, which was signed by Philo CEO Andrew McCollum, said that legacy subscribers will gain access to one year unlimited DVR functionality as part of the price hike.  In the message, McCollum noted that Philo had never hiked prices on its existing subscribers or “forced them to upgrade” prior to October’s slated price increase.   “Unfortunately, the trust is that we lose money on our oldest plans, and have for some time,” McCollum said in the statement. “We’ve done what we can to absorb those costs out of loyalty to our subscribers. But in order to deliver on our values, we have to build a sustainable business, so we’re making changes to some of our subscription plans.” The price hike was confirmed by a Philo staffer on Reddit. We’ve reached out to Philo for additional comment.  As noted by The Streamable, Philo closed its old $16 a month plan to new subscribers back in 2019, but had allowed existing subscribers to stay on at the same price.  The new $25 per month Philo plan for legacy subscribers will still be cheaper than Philo Core, the streamer’s standard tier.  Both plans offer access to roughly 70 live streaming channels, including A&E, Animal Planet, BET, SMT, Comedy Central, Discovery, Food Network, The Hallmark Channel, HGTV, History, HSN, MTV, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., OWN, QVC, TLC, TV Land, VH1, Vice, and WeTV. Thousands of on-demand titles are also on tap.  That said, those who stick with the legacy Philo subscription won’t get a key Philo Core perk: access to the ad-supported version of AMC+, a bundle that includes Shudder, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited, and The Walking Dead Channel.  Besides its core channel lineup, Philo offers add-ons for STARZ ($11 a month), MGM+ ($7 a month), Hallmark+ ($8/month), and ad-free AMC+ ($4/month), among others.  Philo also serves up more than 110 free streaming channels plus the use of a 30-day cloud DVR for no charge. Read...

Depending on how an existing court case against an ad blocker provider pans out, we could soon see the use of ad blockers declared illegal in Germany, reports BleepingComputer. The lawsuit was filed by publisher Axel Springer SE against ad-filtering software company Eyeo and it mainly concerns the browser extension Adblock Plus, which calls itself the “world’s #1 free ad blocker” and is used by millions to block ads on websites—including those owned by Axel Springer, like Politico and Business Insider. The lawsuit was originally dismissed by a Hamburg court, but according to the report, it’s now being reopened to examine whether the initial judgement was incorrect. After a detailed review, another court could even rule in favor of Axel Springer this time. Mozilla warns against ad blocker ban Daniel Nazer, Senior IP & Product Counsel at Mozilla, the provider of Firefox, warned of the possible consequences of this case in a blog post . According to him, a court-ordered ban on Adblock Plus could lead to the banning of other browser extensions that block ads the same way. He argues that ad blockers are important to ensure better accessibility and privacy protections on websites. He therefore hopes that the court will rule against a ban on ad blockers (unlike in China, where the use of ad blockers has already been severely restricted). Why is there a lawsuit at all? Axel Springer SE filed a lawsuit against Adblock Plus provider Eyeo back in 2022, but was unsuccessful. According to Axel Springer’s claims, the ad blocker jeopardizes the company’s revenue model and also allegedly infringes its own copyright. Axel Springer is relying on the assumption that the HTML/CSS of a website is “a protected computer program.” As such, ad blockers interfere with its memory execution structures, which constitutes “unlawful reproduction and modification.” However, the Hamburg court ruled that ad blockers don’t make any changes to the program of a website per se, but only change its sequence so that the user is no longer shown any advertising. Germany’s Federal Court of Justice still seeks legal clarification on this point. Judgment could drag on It could be up to two years before the case is reopened and decided, so there’s no reason to worry that a ban will be imposed this year. However, things could get tight for ad blocker providers in the future. It’s not only large media companies that are taking action against the use of ad blockers, but also browsers like Chrome, which recently killed certain ad-blocking extensions, and YouTube, which recently struck out at desktop users who have ad blockers enabled. Further reading: I block all ads on YouTube and I’m not ashamed Read...

Tasman District Council has banned advertising flags, but one local café is opposing the rule which he said would cost his business hundreds of dollars each day. Read...

New Zealand has been praised for it`s long-term commitment to prudent fiscal policies but the coalition government is under pressure from business leaders. Read...

If you’re just dying to talk to Copilot within Excel, good news: Copilot is now a traditional Excel function within Excel for Windows and the Mac. But wait, you say. Copilot is already in Excel! For one thing, there’s already a bit Copilot button in the upper right! If I hover my cursor over an empty Excel shell, a Copilot icon appears! Bless your heart. That’s not Excel! Real Excel nerds know that nothing is nothing without that equals sign in front of it, designating an actual function. An average isn’t an AVERAGE unless it uses the correct syntax. Now you can highlight a range, and use the COPILOT function to provide additional information or context. To be fair, that’s something that the existing Copilot functions don’t really allow for. The Copilot icon, for example, can suggest a formula or function or be used to learn something new about Excel, but it can’t really be used in conjunction with a prompt. (Excel can also be used to open a document sidebar, where you can “talk” to Copilot as you would normally.) That’s what the new COPILOT function is good for, as the example below shows. Here, the user is tallying feedback about a coffee machine. Microsoft The Copilot function allows you to specify a prompt, then give “context” on how the prompt should apply, like in the example code below. Essentially you can either manually input this information or simply highlight the range on the spreadsheet. Like any function, you then modify it once you’ve implemented it. =COPILOT(`Classify this feedback`, D4:D18) Naturally, you’ll want to experiment. Microsoft says that you can use the function to classify data or to actually create multi-row, multi-column lists of data. It can’t tap into other sources of data, however — just whatever’s in the document itself. (The ability to add live data and to pull data from other business documents will be added in the future, Microsoft said.) The function currently supports 100 calls every 10 minutes, and up to 300 calls per hour. Many people are skeptical of how an LLM performs on raw data, and Microsoft seems to agree. For one thing, the current implementation can accidentally omit rows when returning arrays — so you’ll have to restructure your creations to produce smaller array results. There’s also a date bug that can occur. Finally, Microsoft encourages you to double-check your work, naturally. The new Copilot function can be accessed if you’re part of the Beta Channel and have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and are runing Windows 11 version 2509 (191212.20000) or higher. For more details, you can review Microsoft’s blog page or its support page for the new Copilot function. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Editing is faster with AI and automation Easy-to-use wizards Cons Limited control in some AI-generated graphics Our Verdict The new AI in CyberLink Photo Director 365 helps achieve results faster, with tools and wizards supporting design drafts. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Cyberlink PhotoDirector 365 Retailer Price PhotoDirector 365 Free Trial Free View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices CyberLink‘s photo editing software has already impressed users in the past with its ease of use and strong results. The manufacturer offers many wizards, straightforward functions, and the option to edit images manually in an editor. Various special functions and templates support the user in their work. The development team has now added extensive artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to the feature list. To access these, you must choose the subscription version of the program, as several functions are not available in the free version. One advantage of the subscription is that new features are added on a fairly regular basis. CyberLink Photo Director 365: Faster, easier editing with AI Various AI functions make it easier to customize and enhance images. Expanding image content, removing people or objects, and optimizing photos are much easier with the current Photo Director 365. Image analysis and built-in suggestions for improvement assist with editing and speed up workflow. This is where users clearly benefit from the new technology. AI also supports editing of all types of portrait shots. The software uses a portrait as its base and can automatically add office attire to the subject. This means you can easily prepare your own photos for job applications or online profiles. The Business Outfit function works in a similar way, generating professional-looking photos of people in suits or elegant dresses. The CyberLink program offers numerous tools for editing portraits and creating professional business photos.Cyberlink Photo Director 365 can also add a suitable background or setting, making the images ideal for company websites or brochures, for example. For print products, the photos can be scaled up with AI to maintain the best possible quality, with the user guided through every step of the process. The built-in image tips are also very useful: the program shows examples of ideal results, along with motifs or elements that should be avoided. These innovations further extend the capabilities of classic image editing. CyberLink Photo Director 365: Creative designs that produce great results The GenAI Studio offers many options for creating a wide variety of documents and designs. Many ideas can be brought to life quickly by using its features. These include style transfer of all kinds–for example, creatively converting an image into manga-style graphics or generating templates with the help of AI prompts. The layout function, which lets you define the result with just a few clicks, is another strong point. The AI feature helps with complex designs, ensuring that objects, people, and animals appear correctly in their designated areas. The mood of a landscape shot can be changed in just a few steps with Remodel Scenes, which offers options such as sunrise or winter. The AI in Photo Director 365 enables creative landscape editing with style presets.Cyberlink CyberLink Photo Director 365: Where it falls short The results are often surprisingly good, but sometimes the software overshoots the mark, leaving images looking overly manipulated. There’s no option to adjust the balance between the original and the edited version. This also applies to the templates for creating videos with stylized collectible figures. All control is handed over to the AI, allowing users to choose captions, colors, and themes would help produce better clips. The templates for special occasions or holidays are impressive, making it easy to create digital greetings cards right on the screen. Read...

Have you heard this one before? A scrappy entertainment company launches a small catalog of ad-free streaming movies and TV shows for cheap. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at first, because the content is mostly B-movies and reruns, but it proves popular with consumers and goes on to change television entertainment as we know it. I could be referring to Netflix, which started down that exact path with its “Watch Now” streaming catalog way back in 2007. But I could also be prognosticating about Howdy, the $3-per-month streaming service that Roku launched just last week. The parallels are obvious. Roku is starting with a small catalog, heavy on filler, and claims it’s not trying to compete with incumbents. But it’s also arriving at a time when consumers are increasingly frustrated with the larger streaming services, which are becoming more like the bloated, expensive cable packages they once aimed to displace. Howdy might seem insignificant now, but like Netflix, it could become the start of something bigger. Howdy vs. Netflix Roku People tend to remember Netflix as offering an endless bounty of content in its early years, but in 2007, its catalog was tiny, with just 1,000 titles at the outset. Roku’s Howdy catalog is similarly small, with “thousands of titles,” according to Roku, and less than 10,000 hours of entertainment in total. This isn’t about quality over quantity, either. While Howdy has a handful of standouts, including Mad Max: Fury Road and Apocalpyse Now, it’s also filled with such forgettable TV shows as Nikita and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena. (The catalog has some overlap with The Roku Channel, Roku’s long-running free ad-supported streaming service, but there are unique titles on each.) That’s how it was with Netflix back in the day as well. “[T]he selection is fairly small, at least once you subtract the mind-boggling gigabytes of B movies — more like C or D movies — like Addicted to Murder III: Bloodlust and Witchcraft XI: Sisters in Blood,” David Pogue wrote of Netflix’s streaming launch. Early users created forum threads for recommending quality content—shows like The Office and films like Groundhog Day—from within the cruft. Of course, Netflix’s streaming catalog got better over time. The service struck a deal with Starz in 2008 to get new-release movies onto the service, and it outbid premium networks (including Starz) for Disney’s movie streaming rights in 2012. A series of deals with AMC brought such prestige TV shows as Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Mad Men onto the service, where they became more closely associated with Netflix than the cable network that originally aired them. By 2013, it was launching its own buzzy originals with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. One could imagine Roku scaling up its own service in similar ways. The subscription business requires big hits to encourage sign-ups (something Roku itself has acknowledged in the past), so the company will surely seek flashier content deals for Howdy in the future. Its original programming arm could play a bigger role as well. Not rocking the boat Roku Here’s another parallel to consider: In its early years, Netflix claimed it was not competing with the incumbent cable business. Speaking to Kara Swisher in 2011, Netflix co-founder and (at the time) CEO Reed Hastings noted that cable subscriptions were up even as Netflix grew. “So it appears that to the consumer, Netflix is complementary,” he said. We all know what happened next: While Netflix kept growing, cable began to stagnate. And pretty soon, most major media companies were preparing their own streaming services to take on Netflix directly. Netflix was always going to compete with the incumbents, but it had to insist otherwise because it needed to keep licensing their content. Now, Roku is taking a page from Netflix’s playbook. In a press release, Roku CEO Anthony Wood said Howdy is “designed to complement, not compete with, premium services.” I doubt he actually believes that, but it’s something he’s obligated to say while Roku builds up the Howdy catalog. The next wave Roku I’m drawing these parallels so we can better understand what else is next for streaming, because all we’ve seen from the incumbents looks a lot like cable. Netflix keeps getting more expensive as it pursues more high-dollar sports programming, and services like Peacock and Paramount+ are following suit. The endgame for major streamers now is to push people toward bundles they might not need, with ad-supported tiers that pack in more commercials than were originally promised. I believe a new phase of cord-cutting is inevitable, in which the folks who initially fled cable will start to reevaluate their relationship with major streaming services as well. Free streaming services such as YouTube, Tubi, and even TikTok will play a role in this shift, but there’s also a room for ad-free services that are cheaper than the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+. That’s a gap that Howdy could fill. Just as Netflix was able to build its streaming business off the success of its DVD rental program, Roku can build up Howdy on the success of its streaming players and smart TV platform. Before long it could become what Netflix once was: a successful, affordable streaming service that disrupts everything that came before. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter to get more streaming TV insights every Friday. Read...

The liquidation of Wellington event equipment hire company Hiremaster has sparked concerns for event planners. Read...

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