The U.S. government is discussing whether it will take a stake in beleaguered chipmaker Intel Corp. as a way to bail it out of its financial struggles, according to a report. Bloomberg reported that the two sides were in discussions, but nothing has been decided: not when or even if it could happen, nor the amount of equity Intel would give up or what terms would be attached to the agreement. What does appear to be clear, however, is that the U.S. government is at least talking about taking a direct stake in Intel, which would be a first for the company. In May, the Saudi national AI company Humain — a company funded by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudia Arabia — formed a joint venture with rival AMD with no direct investment. Saudi Arabia formed a Public Investment Fund (PIF) for those investments. Mubadala Investment Company, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, made an initial investment of $622 million in AMD in 2007 but has since sold its entire stake. The U.S. does not have a direct equivalent to the PIF, though President Trump proposed forming one in February. It’s not clear whether such a fund could be authorized and put to use in this scenario. Bloomberg pointed out that the U.S. Department of Defense took a $400 million preferred equity stake in MP Materials Corp., a producer of rare earths — a deal that would make the Pentagon the company’s largest shareholder and set a precedent for how the government could interact with private companies. Regardless, the talks apparently are a direct consequence of a meeting between Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan and Trump at the White House. Trump had called for Tan to step down, citing Tan’s role as a venture capitalist and his relationships with numerous Chinese companies, some with alleged links to the Chinese government. Doing business with China has always been a sensitive issue for U.S. companies, though Nvidia and AMD both agreed to hand over 15 percent of their revenues from AI chips sold to Chinese companies to allow both to do business there. A day after meeting with Tan, however, Trump praised Tan on Truth Social, calling him and his rise an “amazing story.” Intel’s struggles are well known, as the company has weathered layoffs of thousands of employees over the past nine months or so. Intel has cancelled overseas projects and delayed the development of a fab in Ohio, which was supposed to have been funded in part by the U.S. Chips and Science Act. Craig Barrett, Intel’s former CEO, has also called for a bailout — though by Intel’s customers, not the government. Updated at 2:34 PM with additional detail. Read...

AMD’s share in the desktop PC market climbed by a mammoth total of 9.2 percentage points versus last year, a ringing endorsement for AMD’s Ryzen chips and especially its X3D lineup of gaming processors. AMD snatched headlines for its first-quarter performance, where its desktop market share grew by 4.1 percentage points, or just 0.9 of a percentage point from the previous quarter. During the second quarter, AMD’s share climbed 4.2 percentage points in just a single quarter, and 9.2 percent from the second quarter of 2024. In all, AMD now owns basically a third of the desktop PC market, at 32.2 percent. That represents record revenues for AMD, according to the company, and a record high in terms of unit share, according to Mercury Research, which produced the market-share estimates. Intel, too, found something to be proud of: a quarter-over-quarter increase in mobile processors, which has been a key focus of the company over the past few years. But Mercury’s numbers also sparked some questions about Arm: Chromebook sales shrank, and the percentage of Arm chips in Chromebooks also fell. Overall, Chromebooks, PCs, and Macs using Arm saw their market share percentage slightly dip to 13.2 percent, down from 13.9 percent. AMD continues to rapidly gain ground in desktop Overall, AMD’s share of the X86 market increased to 24.2 percent, up 2.9 percentage points from a year ago. In client shipments (desktop, mobile, and server) it was virtually the same, with AMD gaining 2.8 percentage points to 23.9 percent. Intel owns 75.8 percent of the overall X86 market and 76.1 percent of the client market, according to Mercury. Essentially, AMD is aligning itself with the gaming market more than ever before. Mercury noted that AMD had reported a mammoth 73 percent sequential revenue increase in its gaming segment for the second quarter, primarily driven by the SOCs that AMD ships into the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation platforms. That, combined with AMD’s desktop share, resulted in a big win for AMD. AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D “obliterated” Intel’s best in late 2024, and the momentum has continued. That has to be due to the lukewarm reception of Intel’s lackluster gains in its 13th- and 14th-gen desktop Core chips, as well as the current “Arrow Lake” processors. Mobile is where AMD has treaded water, never really making substantial inroads into Intel’s market share. Qualcomm and Arm PCs have done slightly better, at least in mindshare. But Intel continues to keep owning the laptop market, maintaining the traditional 80/20 ratio that has defined the X86 market for seeming decades. “This may be due in part to consumer mix-related weakness, and Intel’s business-related share gains — typically the first half of the year strongly favors business PCs over consumer,” Mercury principal analyst Dean McCarron wrote in a note to clients and journalists. “On-year AMD’s share was very slightly higher. Both suppliers seem to have seen stronger high-end activity in the quarter, with Intel seeing more Arrow Lake PCs on the market and AMD seeing an increase in Strix Halo [the Ryzen AI Max processor] and Fire Range.” Neither company made much movement in servers from the first to second quarter, although AMD’s share in the server market climbed 3.2 percentage points to 27.3 percent, leaving Intel with the remaining 72.7 percent. Outside of strong growth in the IoT/SOC market, “it was a very normal second quarter for the conventional X86 market,” Mercury’s McCarron wrote. Read...

China has been the manufacturing juggernaut of the world for decades, thanks to low labor costs and a lot of business-friendly moves from the government. But now that the U.S. is apparently on a very personal crusade to disrupt this status quo, businesses are starting to look elsewhere. Asus recently confirmed that it’s moving PC and motherboard production elsewhere…but not to the U.S. According to a representative speaking to investors on an earnings call, over 90 percent of PCs and motherboards destined for the U.S. market are now being manufactured outside of China, primarily in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The translation provided by PCMag does not explicitly call out U.S. president Trump’s deep and constantly shifting import taxes as a cause. After a wild escalation of tariffs earlier this year capped at 145 percent, the current tax rate for goods and materials shipped from China to the US sits at 30 percent. Most other countries have a 10 percent tariff, with higher taxes set for certain countries and industries. Trump has often wildly swung back and forth on tariffs and other economic policies, most recently threatening a 100 percent tax on all imported chips with exceptions for companies that are investing in U.S. manufacturing. Asus, notably, would not qualify for this exception, though the chips contained in its products might, as they’re provided by companies like Intel, AMD, and TSMC. Motherboard manufacturing, which relies on hundreds of individual components for each board, is an especially unlikely candidate for shifting to U.S.-based manufacturing. Aside from the higher costs of labor and real estate, the simple logistics of creating these devices are so concentrated on Asia that it would be all but impossible to move to any western nation on a large scale. Manufacturing in China is still so lucrative, even without devices sold in the U.S., that its domestic business is unlikely to be imperiled by one country massively taxing imports. U.S. and international businesses that rely on China for manufacturing have been scrambling to adapt to Trump’s tariffs for most of 2025. The increased costs have driven prices up, especially on finished goods. Nintendo, notably, made a shocking increase in the price of the original Switch console, now almost 10 years old, to adapt to market trends. Asus laptops announced at CES reached the market with price tags notably higher than previously indicated, though they’ve also gone on sale shortly thereafter. The most visible upcoming product from Asus is probably the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, made in partnership with Microsoft (which also had to raise prices on years-old Xbox hardware). European prices have allegedly leaked at €599 and €899 for the standard and upgraded X variant, but despite an expected announcement later this month, there is no price information available so far. 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...

Gaming desktops are great, but they are, essentially, boxes. Maybe that’s why PC sellers are getting so obsessed with filling them full of tiny screens and flashing lights—there are only so many ways to spice them up. But two new members of HP’s Omen series turned my head at a press event. One is adding some genuine cooling innovation, and the other is being a little more low-key in a very cool way. Omen Max 45L: It’s got a little AIO hat The Omen 45L isn’t actually a brand new design, as it’s been available for most of this calendar year. But this was the first time I’d seen what HP is calling the “Omen Cryo Chamber”—a dedicated area above the primary PC component compartment, specifically made for an all-in-one cooler. The one installed in the demo unit (and presumably any pre-built you buy) was 360mm, but any standard cooler with the usual radiator-and-fans combo should work. The pump and heat spreader is connected to the coolant lines through a narrow channel between the compartments. Michael Crider/Foundry This separated AIO space keeps the main chamber cooler and allows better ventilation for the cooler itself. HP claims this maximized air flow can lower full-load temperatures by up to 7.5 degrees Celsius. I asked, and yes, you can replace or upgrade the AIO with any standard model, again, up to 360mm. HP That’s not the only trick in the Omen Max 45L’s playbook, though. Hiding under a shroud at the other end of the case is a new, exclusive 1,200-watt modular power supply. It’s connected to the motherboard via USB-C, allowing for real-time monitoring, custom fan curves, and “built-in cleaning mode.” Occasionally, the fan’s rotor will be reversed, helping to clear out any accumulated dust. I doubt it’ll be enough to completely overcome the need for manual cleaning, but it’s an undeniably cool trick. Michael Crider/Foundry The updated Omen Max 45L maxes out the configurable parts to an AMD Ryzen 9950X3D and a GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card, about as good as it gets for pre-built machines on the consumer level. HP isn’t talking prices at the moment, so just assume “a hell of a lot” if you want those top-tier components. Omen 35L Stealth: Hold the RGB The Omen 35L—a smaller mid-range gaming desktop—also isn’t new. But the “Stealth Edition,” which eschews the usual tempered glass panel and RGB adornments in favor of a flat black look, is a new variant. With only the “Omen” branding on the front, it looks a little more business-like. Not that it’s lacking for power. Even without the 45L’s impressive AIO chamber, the 35L gets access to the same parts, including that interesting 1,200-watt power supply. You get the same options in the flashy standard model or the Stealth Edition. Michael Crider/Foundry HP representatives told me they like how the all-black, no-RGB design doesn’t immediately scream “gamer,” so it’s a good option if you want a machine that looks a little more professional while still having plenty of gaming and media chops. Since I build my PCs to look like tiny refrigerators, I can dig it. The Omen 35L Stealth Edition will start at $1,500 when it gets refreshed in October, the same price as the flashier RGB version. HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 headset: Now with a macro pad! Whereas the Omen brand gets HP’s gaming PCs and laptops, the HyperX brand gets the accessories. I’m already a fan of HyperX headsets for their absolutely incredible battery life, but the Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless really scratches my desktop nerd itch with its base station. Michael Crider/Foundry In lieu of the usual wireless dongle, this premium headset comes with a big, finger-friendly volume knob and six light-up, programmable control buttons. It’s basically giving you a sort of mini-Stream Deck, albeit without the tiny screens. The knob itself is massive, easy to find without looking, and the center button defaults to a mic mute. The headset itself is no slouch either, boasting huge 53mm drivers, a removable boom mic, simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless options (so you can hear audio from your phone and PC at the same time, for example), and a sturdy metal frame. HP claims 250 hours of battery life (125 in Bluetooth mode), and there’s a 3.5mm cable connection for anything that needs direct wired audio. HP Just be prepared to pay for all that functionality. When it launches later this month, the Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless will cost $300. That’s not unreasonable compared to other flagship headsets, especially with that base station in the box… but that’s still a lot of dosh. Read...

TL;DR: Get a lifetime of Promova Premium for $63.99 with code DROP20 (MSRP: $299.99) — learn 12 languages at your own pace, forever. If you’ve been meaning to learn a new language but hate the idea of paying month after month for an app, here’s your chance to pay once and keep it forever. For a limited time, you can grab lifetime access to the Promova Premium Plan for just $63.99 (regularly $299.99) when you use code DROP20 at checkout. Promova makes language learning actually stick by combining bite-sized lessons, AI-powered conversation practice, and specialized courses for 12 languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Korean, and more. You can even add live tutor sessions into the mix for extra confidence. The app adapts to your goals, so whether you’re prepping for international business trips or planning a dream vacation, you’ll get a learning path that works for you. Plus, with Dyslexia Mode, ADHD-friendly focus tools, and an American Sign Language course, Promova is built for all types of learners. No subscription. No fear of making mistakes. Just a one-time investment in your future fluency. Pick up lifetime access to the Promova Premium Plan while it’s just $63.99 (MSRP: $299.99) through September 7 with code DROP20. Promova Premium Plan: Lifetime SubscriptionSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Australia is trying to grow its influence in the Pacific region, to counter China`s increased power. Read...

Business travel rebounds in 2025 with 99% of ANZ travellers willing to fly, though stakeholder misalignment hampers travel programme effectiveness. Read...

Google Gemini continues to push the limits of what it knows about you. On Wednesday, Google’s big initiative was a way to stop Gemini from learning more about you, while notifying users that content you share with it may be used as a foundation for chats with other users. “In the coming weeks, your ‘Gemini Apps Activity‘ setting will be renamed ‘Keep Activity,`” Google said in a blog post. “When this setting is on, a sample of your future uploads will be used to help improve Google services for everyone.” Today, Google is allowing Gemini to remember what it knows about you, and this behavior is on by default. “When this setting is on, Gemini remembers key details and preferences you’ve shared, leading to more natural and relevant conversations, as if you’re collaborating with a partner who’s already up to speed,” Google said. The idea is all about context: The more Google knows about you, the better Gemini can be in making recommendations. Google — and frankly, most internet services — have used this argument for years, as a way of pulling more data from you and the services you use, and building an online profile that can be used to serve ads. In an example, Google said Gemini could be used to brainstorm ideas for a YouTube channel based on Japanese culture, suggesting new ideas based on what it knows about your preferences and what you’ve previously asked Google about. For now, this “personal context” will only be available in the “2.5 Pro” model, with it being added to the default “2.5 Flash” model in the coming weeks, Google said. Incognito Mode for Gemini = ‘Temporary Chats’ So what happens if you don’t want Gemini to store your weird fondness for Labubus? You can turn off this feature by going to Settings in the Gemini app and selecting “Personal context,” then ”Your past chats with Gemini,” and turning the feature off. Google If you want Google to be able to “know” you, however — but have an embarassing or otherwise personal conversation you’d rather Gemini forget about — Google has also launched what’s known as “Temporary Chat.” It’s pretty easy to equate a “Temporary Chat” with the current Incognito Mode in Google Chrome. The chat won’t appear in your list of recent chats or Google Apps activity, and won’t be used to “personalize your Gemini experience or train Google’s AI models.” Google does retain a “temporary chat,” but only for 72 hours so that you can exhaust all of your questions. Your uploads may be mined to help Google Google’s declaration that it will use your uploads to improve Google services for other users is more concerning. Specifically, files and photos uploaded to Gemini will be used to help improve Google services, and it’s not clear what this means. Again, the setting is on by default, meaning that you’ll have to turn the setting off by going to the “Settings & help” gear icon, then Activity, and then either turning off the feature or turning it off and deleting it. Google doesn’t have any problem taking photos and files you upload to enhance Google services, but won’t use any audio (speech) that you provide to do so. That setting is off by default. But Google is also rolling out an update that will save Gemini Live recordings, plus video and/or screenshots, in your history. Google now calls this “Gemini Apps Activity,” but it’s renaming it to “Keep Activity” instead. (This has nothing to do with Google Keep, presumably.) Google may see this transparency as a way to assist consumers who want to manage this privacy, but the renaming and default behavior isn’t exactly straightforward. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the simplest: The easiest way not to risk Google inadvertently sharing or learning things about you — your insurance plan, your retirement options, your will — is not to share it with Gemini in the first place. Google may have founded its business on the slogan “Don’t be evil,” but Gemini is getting a little sinister, regardless. Read...

The threat from AI-powered online scams is on the rise. You can be fooled by realistic-looking fake emails and messages pretending to be from your bank or other companies, that convince you to unwittingly install malware on your device. How can everyday people have a chance against these hugely sophisticated schemes? Avast has the answer – fight fire with fire. It has launched a new AI assistant that can answer security-related questions about communications you may suspect are fraudulent, as well as check URLs to see if websites really are what they report to be. So, if you want to stay safer online, it’s time to level-up your defences with an AI powered scam detector. Getty Ask the Avast Assistant if you’re worried about something being fake One of the main ways that AI-powered scams work is in trying to trick the recipient into believing that they have received a message or email from either a business, friend or family member. There’s often also some kind of time-pressure involved, which is there to force you into making a snap decision – ‘Do this now or your account will be closed!’ In those moments, it would be good to have an advisor on-hand who can tell you whether the crisis is authentic or fake. With Avast Assistant, you can simply paste in the link that’s included in the message, the email address, and you can even copy and paste the text from the message itself. Then the AI software will analyse it for you and tell you whether it’s likely to be trustworthy or not and how you should proceed. It’s a simple, fast and reliable way to avoid being scammed, plus the whole experience is conducted as a conversation, so you don’t need any security experience to be able to use Avast Assistant. It also offers you tips on how to improve your privacy and security online, so you’ll have a constant advisor there to help keep you safe. New – Scam Guardian will fight scammers for you Avast Avast Assistant is part of Scam Guardian a new suite of tools that are included in Avast Free Antivirus, and purpose-built to seek out and help protect against online scams aiming to steal your data, identity or money. Alongside Avast Assistant there is also Web Guard that analyses the content and code in the websites you visit for hidden scams before it has a chance to get past your defences. If you move up to the Avast Premium Security plan, then you’ll also have access to Email Guard, which scans messages before you open them to ascertain whether they include malicious links or scams that attempt to deceive you and do you harm. All of the tools use the latest AI training helping ensure they stay up-to-date with emerging new threats that appear. Getty Use Avast AI technology to keep your security strong Online threats are moving too fast and becoming so sophisticated that everyday people simply can’t be expected to fight off the constant attacks. That’s why it’s important to take security seriously and bolster your defences with powerful tools of your own. You can download Avast Free Antivirus today, at no cost, and instantly have Avast Assistant and Web Guard by your side in the fight against online scams. Sign up to Avast Premium Security Sign up to Avast Premium Security (£39.99 for the first year) and you’ll also get Email Guard as well as several other features that help protect your device and data. AI is powering up the scams that are out there, so now is the time to match it with your own security-focused armour. Read...