Tech Future X

iPhone continues its processing speed lead The iPhone 12 will continue to widen the gap between Apple and all other Android phone makers, according to newly leaked benchmarks. It's not too big of a surprise, as the trio of iPhone 11 phones continue to best even the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. This iPhone 12 news is derived from a surprise benchmark entry for the 'A14 Bionic', which is the chipset we'd expect the iPhone 12 to use (the iPhone 11 used A13 Bionic, the iPhone XS A12 Bionic and so on). GizChina caught the Geekbench listing first. In the test, the A14 Bionic returned a single-core score of 1,658, and multi-core of 4,612. Single-core is useful for simple tasks like scrolling the web and using social media, while multi-core tasks include intense gaming and photo and video editing. The multi-core score is the highest we've seen on a smartphone, and that makes sense because Apple's phones typically has the highest speeds we seen on phones. For co...

An iPhone 9 Plus (or iPhone SE 2 Plus?) might be on the way, for those of you with bigger hands.An iPhone 9 Plus (or iPhone SE 2 Plus?) might be on the way, for those of you with bigger hands. It looks like Apple might not only release an iPhone 9 (or iPhone SE 2), but an iPhone 9 Plus as well. According to 9to5Mac, the iOS 14 code contains hints of a larger version of the phone. The iPhone 9 has been rumored for a while now, with recent reports suggesting it would launch in March of this year. But a "plus" size version of the phone hasn't been mentioned until now. Considering the iPhone 9 might replace the iPhone 8, it makes sense there would also be a new version of the iPhone 8 Plus. With a rumored starting price of $399, both phones are supposed to be budget-friendly alternatives to the iPhone 11 (which starts at $699) and the iPhone 11 Pro (which starts at $999). But as with any entry-level model, that also means its features are slightly more dated. ...

There is a reason why humans are susceptible during disease outbreaks like that of Covid-19 – we keep touching our faces. Why, and what can we do about it? Humans have a rather unusual habit we don’t share with many other animals, and, unfortunately, it makes us particularly susceptible during certain disease outbreaks – we keep touching our faces. Our species is one of the few in the animal kingdom known to touch their faces regularly, and we often do it without even noticing. Studies have shown that we are particularly prone to touching our chins and the areas around the mouth, nose and eyes. When it comes to a disease like the new coronavirus, Covid-19, that is a recipe for fast transmission. (Read more about how Covid-19 can be transmitted by surfaces.) One 2015 observational study analysed the behaviour of medical students in Australia. Mary-Louse McLaws, an infection control expert at the University of North South Wales, Sydney, and her colleagues found that the studen...

Europol, along with the Spanish and the Romanian national police, has arrested 26 individuals in connection with the theft of over €3.5 million ($3.9 million) by hijacking people's phone numbers via SIM swapping attacks. The law enforcement agencies arrested 12 and 14 people in Spain and Romania, respectively, as part of a joint operation against two different groups of SIM swappers, Europol said. The development comes as SIM swapping attacks are emerging as one of the biggest threats to telecom operators and mobile users alike. The increasingly popular and damaging hack is a clever social engineering trick used by cybercriminals to persuade phone carriers into transferring their victims' cell services to a SIM card under their control.  The SIM swap then grants attackers access to incoming phone calls, text messages, and one-time verification codes (or one-time passwords) that various websites send via SMS messages as part of the two-factor authentication (2FA) process...

You don't have to have symptoms to do some serious spreading.You don't have to have symptoms to do some serious spreading. First, the obligatory caveat: There's still so much we don't know about the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease that results from the virus. New genetic developments are coming everyday — so fast that even the CDC can't keep up. During the latest coronavirus press conference Saturday, Dr. Deborah Birx shared new findings about the virus that may contradict what the CDC currently says about transmission. Birx, the highly experienced coronavirus response coordinator at the White House, said that there may be a group of people who are asymptomatic yet spreading the virus. Birx's task force of experts does not believe that people under 20 are immune from coronavirus, so they may have it and not show symptoms. "Are they a group that are potentially asymptomatic and spreading the virus?" Birx asked. "Because of tha...

Control and adjust lights anywhere with a smart switch from TP-Link.Control and adjust lights anywhere with a smart switch from TP-Link. IMAGE: TP-LINK With more people set to work from home, there are plenty of useful products to help you work efficiently and stay in the right mindset. One thing to consider is whether you have the right amount of light to stay focused, and a set of smart light bulbs can really help you out there. But if you want to control your lights through a simple schedule and app, a TP-Link Kasa smart switch will make things much more convenient. Upgrade with a TP-Link (HS220) Kasa smart dimmer WiFi light switch for $24.99 at Amazon. To get the extra $5 discount, make sure you apply the coupon before you add it to your cart. That knocks it down to the best price we've seen ever on this model. And if you have a larger home, you can get a TP-Link (HS200PF) Kasa smart switch 3-pack for just $54.97 when you clip a bonus $15 coupon. When you buy the ...

In a press conference at the White House, President Trump today announced that 1,700 Google engineers were working on a coronavirus screening site. That site was supposedly the first step in a new screening process that would lead people from figuring out if their symptoms warranted more testing to the location of new “drive through” testing stations. But Trump was wrong. This screening site isn’t being developed by Google . Instead, it’s being built by Verily, Alphabet’s life science division — and it’s not ready to launch yet either. While both share the same parent company in Alphabet,  these are two very different companies. In addition, as Verily  noted in a statement it provided almost three hours after Trump made the announcement, this site isn’t quite ready yet. “Verily is developing a tool to help triage individuals for COVID-19 testing. We are in the early stages of development, and planning to roll testing out in the Bay Area, with the hope of expanding more...