Dubbed the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), rural households can get a subsidy on their internet bills of up to $30 a month. The program is part of the the Biden Administration’s $1 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress in November. ACP is a $14 billion long-term replacement to the short-term $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) Program, introduced as part of the Trump administration’s $900 billion Covid relief package. The new program, which launched in December, is overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)....

Problem is, unless you buy the specific mini-SSDs for the Ninja V, they tend to hang out the side of the recorder and are sometimes knocked while in use. Oh, and because only one manufacturer currently makes them, they’re expensive. Really expensive compared to standard SSDs. That’s when I came across a product called the Andycine Magnalium caddy for the Ninja V. It solves both problems – it’s cheaper than the mini-SSDs, and is smaller than regular SSDs....

People could go about their day with access to all the information they need, right in front of their eyes. Eight years on, how many people do you see walking around wearing smart glasses? The lesson here, as described by Stanford professor Elizabeth Gerber, is that “technology can only reach people if they want it.” Speaking at the recent Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence fall conference, she noted that “we didn’t want to wear Google Glass because they invaded our privacy....

The mute/unmute button should come in handy for workers on regular Teams meetings who use Windows PCs. It’s available for Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel in build 22494. Microsoft also notes in a blogpost that this build addresses “some impactful bugs”, but it also adds a a few known issues to its list of glitches. SEE: Remote working jobs row shows how much tech has changed Teams is now front and center at Microsoft in its push to create a collaboration platforms for hybrid work....

The new voices are part of Microsoft’s accessibility features for Windows 11’s built-in Narrator screen-reading app that can be used to read out text from websites, email and documents. The feature relies on Microsoft’s work on neural text-to-speech synthesis for on-device processing. The two new voices, Jenny and Aria, will be offered when Narrator is first launched, which can be done by pressing the Windows key + Ctrl + Enter....

Well, I didn’t completely ignore what was going on in Cupertino. I did have my new “=”">, and I had pretty good bandwidth – 190Mbps on AT&T’s Sub6 network – enough to take time out from my lounging and skin crisping to see what was being announced. No names were named, no fingers were overtly pointed. But in one keynote, we saw Apple take direct aim at Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Zoom, Gmail, Google Docs, OneNote, Evernote, Pinterest, and every paid VPN service I can think of....

The Redmi Note 11 series is comprised of the Note 11, Note 11S, Note 11 Pro, and Note 11 Pro 5G. A couple of these phones are on the way to us for review so stay tuned for full coverage in the coming weeks. The Note 11 and 11S are the lower-priced models and they will be available in January. The Note 11 Pro and Note 11 Pro 5G are the higher-end models that will be available starting in February....

Tech companies look for certain technical skills, experience, and qualities during the interview process. Our guide offers a roadmap to strengthen your skills, make your resume stand out, and shine during your interviews. How to land a job at a major tech company Start a digital notebook of research, learnings, and tips. Tech jobs require specific skills. What’s the best way to track what you’ve learned, company research, and interview tips?...

Launched in 2018, Zillow Offers is the company’s instant buying, or iBuying, program designed to make it easier for a homeowner to sell their house. Unfortunately for Zillow and homeowners, it’s anything but. The home-flipping business has received negative reviews and criticism among sellers and critics over the past few years. As a result, Zillow said it’s winding down its Offers operation. “We’ve determined the unpredictability in forecasting home prices far exceeds what we anticipated and continuing to scale Zillow Offers would result in too much earnings and balance-sheet volatility,” company co-founder and CEO Rich Barton said last month....

The various technology initiatives were announced after the leaders of Quad countries – comprised of Australia, India, Japan, and the US – met on Friday, which marked the first time the group has come together in person. Among the initiatives announced by the security bloc was the intention to develop new global cybersecurity standards across various technology sectors. “With respect to the development of technical standards, we will establish sector-specific contact groups to promote an open, inclusive, private-sector-led, multi-stakeholder, and consensus-based approach,” the Quad said in a joint statement....

Here are a few simple things you can try that might save you a trip to the Apple Store. Also: Why your iPad, MacBook, or even iPhone might stop charging this winter But first, consider: It might be normal. Laptops get hot, and MacBooks are no exception, especially if they are running the older Intel processors. The newer M1 and M2 Apple Silicon MacBooks in my experience run cooler....

A series of high-profile incidents during the past year – such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, the Kaseya ransomware attack, a string of attacks against hospitals and healthcare, including the Irish Healthcare Executive, and many others – have caused problems for millions. Ransomware is effective because, in many cases, the victim will give into the extortion by the cyber criminals and pay the ransom, often millions of dollars, to get a decryption key to restore their network....

The June ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, which distributes much of the fuel to the eastern seaboard of the US, was a turning point in discussions about cybercrime between US president Joe Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin. Biden in June said critical infrastructure should be “off-limits” to these style of cyberattacks and is pressuring Putin to get a grip on ransomware gangs operating in Russia’s jurisdiction. While the US intelligence community has not attributed the attack to one gang, most cybersecurity experts are pointing to gangs operating out of Russia....

In a speech at the Chatham House Cyber 2021 Conference, Lindy Cameron, CEO of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), warned about several cybersecurity threats facing the world today, including supply chain attacks, the threat of cyber espionage and cyber aggression by hostile nation states, and cybersecurity exploits and vulnerabilities being sold to whoever wants to buy them. But it’s ransomware that is “the most immediate danger to UK businesses and most other organisations,” said Cameron, who warned that many businesses are leaving themselves vulnerable because “many have no incident response plans, or ever test their cyber defences”....

The amount ransomware attackers are demanding has more than doubled since 2020, when the average ransom demand for a decryption key stood at $900,000. The figures comes from cybersecurity researchers at Palo Alto Networks, who analyzed ransomware incident response cases they were involved in during 2021. SEE: What is ransomware? Everything you need to know about one of the biggest menaces on the web While the final ransom payments are often much less than the initial ransom demands, they’ve also risen significantly in recent years....

Razer Fintech said Thursday the acquisition would accelerate its foray into a market that was one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies. It did not provide financial details behind the deal. E2Pay offered a range of payment services that Razer said would complement cross-border payments services it provided to its own network of 60,000 merchants in the region. E2Pay’s services to merchants and financial institutions in Indonesia include e-money, remittance services, and a payment gateway, which supports e-commerce sectors that encompassed online marketplaces, professional services, and travel....

When we’re looking for love, we tell ourselves we’re looking for something real. Not the fake kind where someone is duping us. Not the fake kind where we’re being strung along, just because we’re cute and have a nice apartment. Not the fake kind where we’re being told we’re the love of someone’s life, when we’re really the love of their week. Also: Why is Twitter turning millions of accounts into defenseless targets?...

The build is impressive. Made from aluminium, the Realme Pad feels solid and capable of withstanding a few knocks, while the slate-grey back and sides of my review unit has a premium look. All this adds up to a tablet that feels in the hand like an expensive, high-quality device, and rather more high-end than is suggested by the price. It measures 155.9mm wide by 246.1mm deep by 6.9mm thick and weighs 440g (9....

And yet plenty of bosses still seem to be getting it very wrong. Perhaps that’s no surprise, because adopting the hybrid model means rapidly overturning about a hundred years of assumptions about the best way to organize the working week. So, what’s the problem? Tech analyst Gartner recently published an interesting look at some research that might provide a clue. It suggests that while insisting on a rigid return to the office will be a big mistake (sorry, Elon), the way that many companies implement their model of hybrid working is also likely to be flawed....

Following an analysis of 623 ransomware incidents between May 2021 and June 2022, the ENISA threat landscape report for ransomware attacks warns that “the findings are grim” as ransomware becomes more efficient and is causing more devastating attacks. Ransomware presents a massive cybersecurity challenge, with many victims feeling as if they’ve got no other choice but to pay potentially millions in Bitcoin to free their data. But very few victims ever talk about what happened, with ENISA noting “publicly reported incidents are only the tip of the iceberg”....