Looking back at 2022's technology, the lead technology writer for the New York Times criticized Meta's $1,500 VR headset and the iPhone's "mostly unnoticeable improvements."

But then he also predicted which new tech could affect you in 2023. Some highlights: - It's very likely that next year you could have a chatbot that acts as a research assistant. Imagine that you are writing a research paper and want to add some historical facts about World War II. You could share a 100-page document with the bot and ask it to sum up the highlights related to a certain aspect of the war. The bot will then read the document and generate a summary for you....

That doesn't mean that we'll see a flood of stand-alone A.I. apps in 2023. It may be more the case that many tools we already use for work will begin building automatic language generation into their apps. Rowan Curran, a technology analyst at the research firm Forrester, said apps like Microsoft Word and Google Sheets could soon embed A.I. tools to streamline people's work flows. - In 2023, the V.R. drumbeat will go on. Apple, which has publicly said it will never use the word "metaverse," is widely expected to release its first headset. Though the company has yet to share details about the product, Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, has laid out clues, expressing his excitement about using augmented reality to take advantage of digital data in the physical world. "You'll wonder how you lived your life without augmented reality, just like today you wonder: How did people like me grow up without the internet?" Mr. Cook said in September to students in Naples.

He added, however, that the technology was not something that would become profound overnight. Wireless headsets remain bulky and used indoors, which means that the first iteration of Apple's headgear will, similar to many others that preceded it, most likely be used for games. In other words, there will continue to be lots of chatter about the metaverse and virtual (augmented, mixed, whatever-you-want-to-call-dorky-looking) goggles in 2023, but it most likely still won't be the year that these headsets become widely popular, said Carolina Milanesi, a consumer tech analyst for the research firm Creative Strategies. "From a consumer perspective, it's still very uncertain what you're spending your thousand bucks on when you're buying a headset," she said. "Do I have to do a meeting with V.R.? With or without legs, it's not a necessity."

Windows Central reports: The Surface Earbuds are a weird product in Microsoft's line of Surface devices. Now over two years old, and still available to buy at a close to launch price of $160, the Surface Earbuds might be the worst "Surface" branded device you can buy brand new right now. They launched at a time when the wireless earbuds space was heating up and offered less than the competition while charging more. Are they the best in audio quality? Definitely not. Are they the best designed? Most would argue that they aren't. Are they the most comfortable? That depends, but I know a lot of people claim they don't properly fit in their ears. Do they support wireless charging? Nope. Is the case premium? Mine scratches easily and the lid feels flimsy. Nothing about the product screams $160 premium earbuds.

[...] My sources have said that Microsoft was working on a successor to the Surface Earbuds, codenamed Ella, that was supposed to launch before the end of this year. We're now at the end of the year and that never happened. I hope they've simply been delayed and not canceled, though I wouldn't be surprised if they have. Microsoft's abandonment of the first Surface Earbuds should be a huge red flag for any potential buyers of a second-generation pair. Why should anyone buy them if Microsoft is going to abandon them the second they hit the market? This product segment is competitive, and there are many other brands that will commit to supporting their own wireless earbuds for longer.

Netgear has fixed a high-severity vulnerability affecting multiple WiFi router models and advised customers to update their devices to the latest available firmware as soon as possible. BleepingComputer reports: The flaw impacts multiple Wireless AC Nighthawk, Wireless AX Nighthawk (WiFi 6), and Wireless AC router models. Although Netgear did not disclose any information about the component affected by this bug or its impact, it did say that it is a pre-authentication buffer overflow vulnerability. The impact of a successful buffer overflow exploitation can range from crashes following denial of service to arbitrary code execution, if code execution is achieved during the attack. Attackers can exploit this flaw in low-complexity attacks without requiring permissions or user interaction. In a security advisory published on Wednesday, Netgear said it "strongly recommends that you download the latest firmware as soon as possible." A list of vulnerable routers and the patched firmware versions can be found here.

A small but growing number of universities are now blocking access to TikTok on school-owned devices or WiFi networks, in the latest sign of a widening crackdown on the popular short-form video app. From a report: The University of Oklahoma and Auburn University in Alabama have each said they will restrict student and faculty access to TikTok, in order to comply with recent moves from the governors in their respective states to ban TikTok on government-issued devices. The 26 universities and colleges in the University System of Georgia are also reportedly taking a similar step.

"In compliance with the Governor's Executive Order 2022-33, effective immediately, no university employee or student shall access the TikTok application or website on University-owned or operated devices, including OU wired and wireless networks," the University of Oklahoma said in an email this week. According to the email, the school will also require that university-administered TikTok accounts be deleted and "alternate social media platforms utilized in their place." Further reading: TikTok steps up efforts to clinch U.S. security deal.

Delta Air Lines is reportedly planning to make in-flight Wi-Fi free on a "significant portion" of its planes starting early next year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The Verge reports: The company has reportedly been running tests where anyone who's a member of its free-to-join SkyMiles rewards program gets free access to the internet while in the air, but it seems as if that perk may become much more widely available soon. Delta is expected to roll out the free Wi-Fi to an increasing number of planes in its fleet throughout 2023, according to the Journal.

Jamming and spoofing attacks can cripple GPS connections entirely or make something appear in the wrong location, causing disruption and safety issues. Just ask Russia. From a report: New data analysis reveals that multiple major Russian cities appear to have faced widespread GPS disruption during the past week. The signal interference follows Ukraine launching long-range drone attacks deep into Russian territory, and it may act as a way to potentially stop drones that rely upon GPS for navigation, experts say. The GPS interference has "expanded on a scale that hasn't been seen before," says Erik Kannike, a program manager at Estonian defense intelligence firm SensusQ who has been monitoring the situation. "What we're seeing now, since about a week ago, is GPS jamming bubbles covering hundreds if not thousands of kilometers around tactical cities."

The GPS issues were first spotted by the monitoring system GPSJam, which uses data from planes to track problems with the satellite navigation system. The website has logged an increasing number of GPS disturbances in the Russian cities of Saratov, Volgograd, and Penza since the start of December. All of the cities are in Eastern Russia and within hundreds of kilometers of the border with Ukraine. On December 5, GPSJam logged a limited amount of GPS interference in Russia -- the majority of registered interference took place around Moscow, where the Kremlin for years has tampered with GPS connections. However, since December 11, multiple areas of the country have faced GPS disruption, data gathered by GPSJam shows. In addition, wireless data analytics firm Aurora Insight measured an increase in GPS signal levels in the area at the start of December -- a sign that potential GPS interference could have happened.

Tesla has launched Steam integration inside its Model S and Model X electric cars with thousands of games now playable. Electrek reports: Today, Tesla launched Steam Beta for Model S and Model X as part of its "holiday update." We reported all the details of Tesla's holiday update earlier today for most Tesla vehicles, but the Steam integration is only for the refreshed Model S and Model X produced over the last two years. That's because Tesla's two flagship vehicles are equipped with a more powerful entertainment computer designed for video games.

With the unveiling of the new Model S and Model X, Tesla announced the new gaming computer: "Up to 10 teraflops of processing power enables in-car gaming on-par with today's newest consoles via Tesla Arcade. Wireless controller compatibility allows gaming from any seat." A known chip leaker, Patrick Schur, posted a diagram of Tesla's new gaming computer powered by the AMD Navi 23 GPU. The system is integrated and connects directly to two touchscreens inside the Model S and Model X to play games, watch entertainment, and perform other functions. Musk also revealed that the new computer has more storage space to be able to handle more games on the platform at the same time, which is going to be useful to handle your Steam library. The holiday update also brings support for Apple Music, an update to Dog Mode, improvements to Tesla's "Light Show" feature, and a bunch of smaller features/updates.

A new report from CIRP says that only about 24 percent of recent iPhones purchased in the US were sold directly by Apple. Instead, the most popular way to buy a new iPhone was through a wireless carrier, which accounted for 67 percent of sales. The Verge reports: CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) surveys iPhone buyers to find out which models they're buying and where they're shopping -- information Apple doesn't disclose. Outside of carriers and Apple retail, CIRP attributes 4 percent of iPhone sales to Best Buy and 5 percent to "other," which includes Target and Walmart. Those are just tiny slivers of the pie compared to the gigantic piece wireless carriers are eating.

Slashdot reader biobricks shares this report from the New York Times. (Alternate URLs here and here.) When Merav Vonshak wanted to identify the gelatinous blob she had photographed floating in a shallow pool of water on a family vacation, she bypassed a wildlife-related website too often beset by bickering. She gave no consideration to brand-name social media platforms known for snark or misinformation.

Instead she uploaded the picture to a site called iNaturalist, where strangers have come together to pursue a very specific type of truth: the correct scientific classification for the living things they photograph in the wild or the backyard. They have so far processed about 90 million, with at least a quarter completed in 2022 alone.... Like many iNaturalist users, Dr. Vonshak, 45, invokes utopian metaphors not typically associated with social media to describe the platform. ("It reminds me of "Star Trek," you know? Our society as I would wish it would be.") Indeed, while examining mud snakes and mosses, it has dawned on many of the iNaturalist faithful that maybe they are on to something much bigger — a model for using the web that is governed by cooperation, not combat....

A not-for-profit initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, iNaturalist says it aims to connect people to nature through technology. And the site's species-level identifications have been cited in thousands of scientific papers. But in a moment that can feel like everything is subject to dispute — the cause of inflation, the nature of gender, the legitimacy of an election — iNaturalist has also gained recognition as a rare place on the internet where people with different points of view manage to forge agreement on what constitutes reality.... And some social network scholars say its growth holds lessons for improved communication....

With help from a computer-vision algorithm, users who upload an observation typically suggest an identification. Others can then add their own nomination in the comments. As soon as a two-thirds majority emerges, the record receives a "community ID," which can be overwritten anytime the majority shifts.... The growth of iNaturalist has been fueled in part by technologies that have democratized the act of documenting and identifying species. Its machine-learning algorithm, trained on the identifications of iNaturalist users over the last decade, now reliably recognizes some 70,000 types of organisms and provides real-time suggestions. Better smartphone cameras have helped, as have inexpensive macro-lens attachments and the ubiquity of wireless internet access.
But the article also applauds the site's "explicit aim of collaboration and consensus" — 120 million "observations" have been posted just this year — each a chance to experience one more small collective triumph.

In the article one 32-year-old describes the site as "the place where I feel like I interact with strangers and work towards the common good."

Ericsson said on Friday it had struck a global patent licence agreement with Apple, ending a row over royalty payments for the use of 5G wireless patents in iPhones. From a report: The Swedish telecoms equipment maker said the multi-year deal included global cross-licences for patented cellular standard-essential technologies, and granted certain other patent rights. The deal comes after Ericsson in January filed a second set of patent infringement lawsuits against the U.S. maker of iPhones. Both companies had already sued each other in the United States as negotiations failed over the renewal of a seven-year licensing contract for telecoms patents first struck in 2015. Ericsson sued first in October 2021, claiming that Apple was trying to improperly cut down the royalty rates. The iPhone maker then filed a lawsuit in December 2021, accusing the Swedish company of using "strong-arm tactics" to renew patents.

Huawei has confirmed the existence of a smartwatch it's working on featuring a pair of built-in wireless earbuds. "Huawei's account on Chinese Twitter-like site Weibo announced the existence of the device on Wednesday and promised all would be revealed on December 2," reports The Register. "But Huawei has since postponed its Winter 2022 consumer kit launch for unexplained reasons." You can view a teaser video on YouTube. The Verge adds: As the name suggests, the Huawei Watch Buds are a pair of earbuds concealed within a smartwatch that looks similar to the Huawei Watch 3. Details are a little sparse so there's no word yet on what kind of performance or battery life you can expect from either of the products, but the watch itself does appear to be running HarmonyOS.

The earbuds don't seem to resemble any previous Huawei products, sporting a bare-bones black and silver design. While the concept feels more than a little gimmicky, it could be a neat solution for runners and other sporty folks who don't want to carry a separate earbud case during a workout. (If they don't mind the extra bulk on their wrists.) [...] Addressing the elephant in the room, it's unlikely that you'll be able to buy this wacky gadget in the US anyway, regardless of its legitimacy. Huawei products have been effectively banned in the country since the company was placed on the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security Entity list in 2019.

More than 1 billion people will be connected to 5G by the end of 2022, according to the latest mobility report from Ericsson. CNET reports: Between July and September of this year, 5G added 110 million subscribers around the world, upping the total count to 870 million, said the report, released Wednesday. That's almost double the number of 5G subscribers there were by the end of 2021, which the Swedish telecommunications equipment maker estimated to be 580 million. If 5G users hit the 1 billion this year, that means fifth-generation networks will have hit the nine-figure subscriber mark two years faster than 4G did, said Ericsson, confirming that 5G is so far the "fastest-scaling mobile connectivity generation."

4G subscriptions are still growing as well, with 41 million subscribers added between July and September. It's anticipated they will peak at 5.2 billion by the end of the year, and mobile subscriptions overall are forecast to exceed 8.4 billion. By 2028, 5G is expected to reach 5 billion subscriptions globally and make up 55% of all network subscriptions, according to the report. Overall mobile subscriptions in 2028 are expected to be more than 9.2 billion.

Within the European Union, airlines will be able to install the latest 5G technology on their aircraft, allowing passengers to use their smartphones and other connected devices just as they do on the ground. From a report: The European Commission has adapted the legislation on mobile communications to the most modern standards. As a result, 5G coverage can also be made available on aircraft. "The sky is no longer the limit when it comes to high-speed, high-capacity connections," said EU Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton. "5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies." The 5G coverage will be made possible by installing a so-called "pico-cell" in the aircraft.

Despite Apple Music supporting lossless streaming, wireless AirPods only support lossy Bluetooth codecs. Apple engineer Esge Andersen tells WhatHiFi that's not really an issue: "We want to push the sound quality forward, and we can do that with a lot of other elements. We don't think that the codec currently is the limitation of audio quality on Bluetooth products."

A new study has found that Apple's wireless earbuds can serve as a more affordable and accessible sound amplification device than medical hearing aids. Gizmodo reports: Inspired by a feature called Live Listen released in 2016 by Apple, which allows an iPhone or iPad to be used as sound-boosting microphone, researchers from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital wondered whether the performance of AirPods 2 and the original AirPods Pro using this feature could compare to medical hearing aids. Apple does not position Live Listen as a tool for those dealing with hearing loss but as a way for users with normal hearing to boost desired sounds, like the calls of a bird. However, the researchers found that, in some situations, consumer-level personal sound amplification products faired quite well against pricier medically prescribed solutions, and given the popularity of products like Apple's AirPods, there's no stigma associated with wearing them.

The researchers tested the $129 AirPods 2 and $249 AirPods Pro paired with iPhone XS Max smartphones running iOS 13. They compared these against the $10,000 OTICON Opn 1 behind-the-ear hearing aids and a more affordable alternative, the $1,500 Bernafon MD1. The four options were tested with 21 participants dealing with mild to moderate hearing loss, who were asked to repeat short sentences read to them by the researchers in varying environments. In a quiet setting, the AirPods Pro were found to perform as well as the cheaper hearing aids and almost as good as the premium model, while the Air Pods 2 performed the worst of all four tested devices but still helped participants hear what was being read to them more clearly than not using a sound-enhancing device at all. In a noisy environment, the AirPods Pro performed even closer to the premium hearing aid model, thanks to their built-in noise cancellation, but only when the distracting noises were coming from the sides of the participant. When the noise was coming from the front, alongside the sample sentences being read by the researchers, both wireless earbud products failed to help improve what was being heard. "Hearing aids remain the best option for those dealing with hearing loss, but for those who don't have access to them for whatever reason, a cheaper product like Apple's AirPods Pro could provide noticeable improvements in hearing and clarity for those dealing with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and could serve as a useful alternative until over-the-counter solutions are more readily available and affordable," concludes the report.

Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration decided to allow hearing aids to be sold over the counter and without a prescription to adults, a decision that "could fundamentally change technology," said Nicholas Reed, an audiologist at the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sony's first OTC hearing aids were announced last month.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Apple has limited the AirDrop wireless file-sharing feature on iPhones in China after the mechanism was used by protesters to spread images to other iPhone owners. AirDrop allows the quick exchange of files like images, documents or videos between Apple devices. The latest version -- iOS 16.1.1, released Wednesday -- caps the window in which users can receive files from non-contacts at 10 minutes. The previous options didn't limit the time involved. Users could choose to get files from everyone, no one or just their contacts. After the 10-minute period expires, the system reverts to the mode where files can only be received from contacts. That means that individuals won't be able to get an AirDrop transfer from a stranger without actively turning on the feature in the preceding few minutes. It makes it harder for anyone seeking to distribute content and reach people in a discreet manner.

Apple made the change to AirDrop on iPhones sold in China. The shift came after protesters in the country used the service to spread posters opposing Xi Jinping and the Chinese government. The use of AirDrop to sidestep China's strict online censorship has been well-documented over the past three years and was highlighted again recently. Apple didn't comment on why the change was introduced in China, but said that it plans to roll out the new AirDrop setting globally in the coming year. The idea is to mitigate unwanted file sharing, the company said.

Eric Schmidt wants to reshape Washington's industrial policy to combat an intensifying US-China tech rivalry. The former Google chief executive officer's philanthropic arm issued recommendations aimed at encouraging US politicians to counter China's rising technological ambitions by ramping up regulatory scrutiny, encouraging more private investment and offering tax credits to train workers. From a report: China surprised the US on key "battleground" technologies -- including wireless 5G, microelectronics and AI -- as the Asian nation's industrial policy enabled it to dominate markets for drones, high-capacity batteries, critical minerals, solar panels, turbines and shipbuilding, the Schmidt-backed Special Competitive Studies Project said Tuesday in a report.

"The US has some immense economic advantages, but there are some warning lights flashing," Liza Tobin, the project's senior director and a former China director for the US National Security Council, said on a call with reporters. "The US needs an America-style industrial strategy that leverages competition in our dynamic private sector and has carefully targeted incentives in sectors where we need to lead." The report calls on the US government to boost microelectronic production with the help of a large fund to unlock private capital, create an open-source security center to assist investments in digital infrastructure, establish a national security commission on digital finance and give regulators more power to screen investment flows to China that could threaten US national security.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: According to the Recording Industry Association of America's Mid-Year 2022 report (PDF), vinyl is continuing a trend initiated in 2020, when vinyl revenue surpassed CD revenue -- a state of affairs we haven't seen since 1986, according to the RIAA [PDF]. The RIAA reported that vinyl revenue grew 22 percent in the first half of this year to $570 million, outpacing CDs ($200 million) and representing physical music's largest revenue share. Japanese audio brand Audio-Technica has seemingly taken note of this trend and has decided to rerelease its Sound Burger portable record player. The product is one of several that the company is releasing to celebrate its 60th birthday. Based on a plate on the player's side, the company is producing just 7,000 units.

Debuting in 1980, the original Sound Burger AT727 offered a way for people to listen to their 33-1/3 and 45 vinyl records outside of their homes. There were some caveats, though; records stuck precariously out of the unit and, as noted by SlashGear, the player needed to sit on a flat surface during operation. The new Sound Burger AT-SB2022 looks much like the old one, but Audio-Technica added Bluetooth 5.2 support, so you can listen to your vinyl through wireless headphones. There's also a 3.5 mm jack this time around instead of stereo RCA outputs, but Audio-Technica is also including a dual RCA adapter. Additionally, there's no longer a need for clunky batteries, as the refreshed portable record player charges over USB-C. Audio-Technica claims the record play will last for about 12 hours before needing a charge, which it says will take around 12 hours to complete.

As noted by Digital Trends, the original Sound Burger, also known as Mister Disc in some geographies, required user maintenance to make sure records continued spinning at the proper speed. But Audio-Technica's 2022 record player has a DC servo motor driving its belt-drive system for "stable rotation," the record player's product page says. "Designed for both portability and stability, the tonearm employs a dynamic balance system in which stylus pressure is applied through a spring," the page says. Audio-Technica says its ATN3600L stylus works with the new record player. Other specs for the Sound Burger include a 50 dB output and a 20-20,000 Hz transmission band. Audio-Technica is selling the 2022 Sound Burger for $200.

Fierce Electronics reports on "a complex legal battle in U.S. district court" between Qualcomm and Arm "over licensing of intellectual property with potentially far-reaching impact..." Normally, Arm licenses its architectural designs and related IP to chipmakers such as Nvidia or Qualcomm, which in turn produce chips that are then sold to OEMs that use those chips to make servers and other computers and devices. In an updated Qualcomm counterclaim made public Oct. 26, Qualcomm argues that Arm is no longer going to license its CPU designs after 2024 to Qualcomm and other chip companies under technology license agreements. Instead, Qualcomm asserts, Arm will only license to a broad array of device makers....

Arm has not yet formally responded to Qualcomm's latest counterclaim but told Fierce Electronics via email on Friday that Qualcomm's complaint is "riddled with inaccuracies" that Arm will address in a formal legal response in coming weeks....

[Analyst] Dylan Patel in SemiAnalysis also said the counterclaim shows Arm is not planning to allow external GPUs, NPUs or ISPs in Arm-based SoCs. "It seems that Arm is effectively bundling its other IP with the CPU IP in a take-it-or-leave-it model," Patel said. "That would mean Samsung's licensing deal with AMD for GPU or Mediatek with Imagination GPU is not longer allowed after 2024...." Qualcomm argues Arm is making it clear to the marketplace that "it will act recklessly and opportunistically, threatening the development of new and innovative products as a negotiating tactic, not because it has valid license and trademark claims."
Again, Arm has called Qualcomm's complaint "riddled with inaccuracies." Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, tells Fierce Wireless that If Qualcomm's counterclaim is accurate, "this is a troubling step for the industry." If Arm were to get rid of tech licensing as described by Qualcomm, it would give rise to RISC-V use, something Arm "should be worried about," Gold said....

[Analyst] Patel has also questioned if Arm's original lawsuit is more than just about money and might be because Softbank (owner of Arm) and Arm remain angry that Qualcomm, as Patel puts it, worked with regulators to block Nvidia's $40 billion acquisition of Arm. After working for more than a year to seal the deal, Nvidia and SoftBank announced the termination of the proposed deal on Feb. 7, 2022, due to "significant regulatory challenges." Arm was expected to go public within a year, but an IPO has not occurred as of late October.

Long-time Slashdot reader UnderAttack writes: IoT devices are often stitched together from various odd libraries and features. The SANS Internet Storm Center has a story about a cat feeder that not only appears to reach out to Baidu.com every five minutes but also uses a vulnerable DNS library that uses repeating query ids allowing for simple spoofing not seen since the early dark years of DNS
The article, by a SANS.edu dean of research, concludes that "Some networking libraries use 'baidu.com' for internet connectivity checks. Even if the DNS lookup succeeds, there is no actual outbound connection in this case. The device is happy as long as an IP address is returned."