Mercury NZ Limited’s Chief Executive Stew Hamilton today announces changes to his Executive Leadership Team as the business positions itself to deliver on its new three-year objectives Read...

As any lawyer will tell you, a law doesn’t necessarily have to make sense, or be in any way enforceable, to be on the books. Following some legal back-and-forth resulting from the restrictions of Russian media channels on YouTube, a Russian court has presented Google with a fine of 2 undecillion rubles. That’s approximately 20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 US dollars. As The Register points out, this is a ludicrous amount of money. It’s about 200 trillion times the current estimated amount of “liquid” monetary value, in all currencies from all countries, currently in circulation on the planet. (I think I got that right. It’s a lot of zeroes.) The total was apparently reached after accounting for 17 Russian TV channels that were removed from YouTube following US sanctions in 2020, which have only been expanded since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The fine starts as 100,000 rubles for each day that Google keeps said channels restricted, and doubles for every week of non-compliance. There is no upper limit on the fine, and even an elementary school student could see how this quickly gets out of hand. According to a machine translation of the original news story on RBC.ru, Google’s Russian subsidiary has been effectively bankrupt since 2022. While several billion rubles have been paid in fines for similar actions, Google’s assets in Russia are already so far in the red that getting anything meaningfully valuable out of the company is near impossible. Google deactivated AdSense accounts in Russia in August, effectively shutting the American company out of the territory for its core business. Google-owned websites like Google Search and YouTube are still available to Russian residents, as are Chrome, Android-based devices, and plenty of other products. But Russians are noticing severe slowdowns as Google’s infrastructure across the region is essentially abandoned and local competitors like Yandex are trying to move into the vacuum. While the initial blocking of content was definitely inspired by US sanctions and a general crackdown on attempts by Russian state-controlled media to influence other countries, it’s worth noting that Russia isn’t exactly doing itself any favors when it comes to giving foreign companies access to its economic space. In March, Russia passed a new law that banned online advertising from “foreign agents,” which includes pretty much anything that Russian leaders consider “anti-Kremlin.” Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros GPS and magnetic mount Very good front captures up to 1944p (4:3) Interior captures with infrared Supports roll-your-own LTE for remote monitoring with optional module Cons Interior captures are a bit grainy at night Our Verdict The Vantrue Nexus X2 is an affordable front/interior dash cam with good to very good captures, GPS, and the ability to add LTE cloud capabilities (your account) down the road via an adapter. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Vantrue Nexus 2X dash cam Retailer Price $149.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The Nexus 2X is a dual-channel (front/interior) GPS-enabled dash cam with very good front captures and good interior cabin video. It comes ready for LTE connectivity for remote viewing and tracking via an auxiliary module (only available in the Americas) that Vantrue sells as an option. You must provide the SIM card and the service, which means slightly more hassle than with some LTE dash cams, but a lot more choice. What are the Vantrue Nexus X2’s features? The Nexus X2 is a 4.5-inch long, roughly cylindrical (with several squared faces) entity that’s about 2.5-inches at it’s deepest (the forward lens body). The interior camera is captive but rotates roughly 45 degrees up and down so you can adjust the interior coverage. The left side of the camera is home to the Type-C power connector (with captive auxiliary port power cable) and an SD/TF card slot. The right side is bare. I was expecting a separate connection for the LTE, but the LTE unit connects to the power cable and passes through to the main camera. It too features a sticky mount so you can affix it near the dash cam. If your not familiar, LTE-enabled dash cams allow you to check the status and location of your vehicle remotely, via the GPS and feed from the camera. Basically, it turns the unit into a GPS-enabled web/earth cam. The obvious power/save button, the 2-inch display, and the rotatable interior camera of the Nexus 2X. The Nexus 2X features a 2-inch color display on board with four buttons underneath for activating features and changing settings. It’s not touch, but the menus and options are logically laid out and generally easy to access. There’s also an orange power (long press)/lock video(short press) button obviously situated to the side. The color and location make the button very easy to spot and access when you’re in a hurry. I prefer it to the red that many vendors use, which is often so dark as to not stand out properly. Of course, you could also simply make use of the Nexus 2X’s voice control and utter the phrase “Vantrue, lock video.” Easy-peasy. The Nexus X2’s sticky mount is one of, if not the best in the business. It’s beefy and solid-feeling, mates easily with the dash cam magnetically, and adjusts in all directions. Not by a lot, mind you, but easily enough to obtain the perfect orientation for the front camera. Both the forward and cabin cameras use a Sony STARVIS 2 IMX675 sensor. The front sports 165 degree field-of-view opticals, and 150 degrees in the interior. Maximum resolution for the front camera is 1944p (the default, which we used, is 1440p) and 1080p for the interior. The Nexus X2’s sticky mount is one of, if not the best in the business. The Vantrue LTE module for use with GSM in the Americas. The Nexus 2X features integrated GPS, which worked well once it engaged. It took about a minute to hook up, and unlike the recently reviewed Wolfbox X5 — didn’t automatically set the time zone and time. Vantrue’s been around long enough to learn this trick. Come on now… On the other hand, connecting via Wi-Fi was quick and painless (it’s not always!). The Vantrue app is handsome, and found the camera right away (after I chose the type). Oddly enough, I was also able to connect to the Vanture Nexus 2X using Viofo’s app, which I confusedly opened the first time. Hey, there are too many dash cam vendors whose name starts with “v” — give me a break. The Vantrue app connected to the Nexus 2X showing the album, settings, and live view page. Other features include a parking mode (all cameras have this these days), time lapse (low frame rate) video, audio noise reduction, and the ability to sync time from your phone. That’s nice, but of course if Vantrue would just read the darn GPS info, it wouldn’t be necessary. Gripe aside, Vantrue allows you to tailor the Nexus 2X experience pretty much to taste. How much is the Vantrue Nexus 2X? The Nexus 2X by its lonesome is listed at $219.99, but sells on Amazon for $199.99. That’s not half-bad for a classy dash cam with very good captures and LTE capability. The LTE module itself lists for $149.99, but Vantrue currently sells the complete camera-and-module package for $269.99. Of course, you also need to factor in the cost of your LTE subscription. As mentioned, the Nexus 2X currently supports GSM services only in North and South America. How are the Vantrue Nexus 2X’s captures? The short answer is that the Nexus 2X delivers very good day and night front captures, and good interior day and night captures. There’s a noticeable difference between the external 1440p and the internal 1080p, but the latter is still of high enough quality to grab some detail out my MX-5’s small back window. Uniquely for Vantrue, the Nexus 2X didn’t seem to need the polarizing filter that improves the daytime capture quality of many of its dash cams. Vantrue sent one, but I never used it. The downside to polarizing filters can be darkening night time video, forcing you to remove it or basically wear your sunglasses at night. There’s a bit more detail available in the optional 1944p mode (the second image to follow), but it has the same horizontal 2560 resolution, which works out to a squarer 4:3 aspect ratio. Some may prefer the 2560x1444p shown below, which offers the more modern 16:9 ratio we’re all accustomed to. The 16:9, 1444p front video that the Nexus 2X defaults to. Here’s that 4:3, 1944p video I spoke of. You’ll need to scrutinize it to see the very slight uptick in detail. The 1440p front night capture below shows very good detail and largely true color. Yes, there’s a light nearby (which appears far brighter than it was), but my headlights weren’t on at this point. This is a very good capture for the circumstances. A Nexus 2X night capture at 1440p. Detail is excellent. I’m a study in concentration in this 1080p interior day capture as I head around the corner of our local “Slow” street — San Francisco’s dubious attempt to put pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles all on the same band of asphalt. And people do walk down the center. So why exactly did they invent sidewalks? The interior night capture below shows enough detail to suffice for legal purposes. Should I be so foolish as to ride-give in a two-seater. Overall, I was more impressed with the Vantrue’s video than I expected. It’s not as detailed as the 4K/5K dash cams we’re starting to see, but it’s darn good for 1440p and 1080p — and for once a Vantrue didn’t need the optional polarizing filter. Zero complaints. Did I mention the color was good, the stabilization excellent, and artifacts minimal? It also handled headlight flare very well. Enough said. Should you buy the Vantrue Nexus 2X? If you want good captures, and LTE connectivity that lets you choose your own service — the Nexus 2X is a good choice. Actually, it’s the only roll-your-own-LTE dash cam I’ve tested, so put it at the head of that category for sure. Even without LTE it’s a worthy choice, if not quite as good as the Miofive S1 Ultra. Read...

HealthNow has changed its brand to Extraordinary, and repositioned the business to meet growing demand for an expanded range of low cost ways for employers to reward employees. Read...

Celonis and PwC are extending their partnership to enhance business transformation through Process Intelligence, targeting significant operational improvements. Read...

TeamViewer has launched Session Insights, an AI-driven feature aimed at enhancing IT teams` efficiency, amid rising global demand for practical AI solutions. Read...

AMD will launch its next-gen PC GPUs with RDNA 5 technology in early 2025, AMD chief executive Dr. Lisa Su said Tuesday. They will be part of what she called the strongest PC portfolio in the company’s history. Su delivered the roadmap update during prepared remarks to analysts, describing the company’s results during the third quarter of 2024. Roughly half of AMD’s revenue comes from its data-center products, so Wall Street analysts focused most of their attention on that part of the business. AMD’s GPUs fall within its Gaming business, where revenue fell 69 percent to $462 million. That’s because the segment also includes AMD’s GPUs for gaming consoles, and Microsoft and Sony alike decreased the amount of inventory they had on hand. PC graphics also declined, as card makers and PC vendors began holding off, as well, anticipating AMD’s next-gen products. “In addition to a strong increase in gaming performance, RDNA 4 delivers significantly higher ray-tracing performance and adds new AI capabilities,” Su said. “We are on-track to launch the first RDNA 4 GPUs in early 2025.” An AMD representative confirmed that this was the first time AMD had stated the early-2025 timetable for the new GPUs. Although AMD hasn’t confirmed it, reports indicate that the chip will be known as the RX 8000 GPU, otherwise known as Navi 48 or Navi 44. Instead of attacking the “top of the stack” in terms of performance, they’ll likely be aimed at midrange price and performance points. Given that AMD is publicly confirming that they’ll arrive in early 2025, however, we’d expect to see them at the CES 2025 show in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, AMD has already announced a launch date for its next gaming/content-creation GPU, the Ryzen 9000X3D, on Nov. 7. Revenue already grew 29 percent year-over-year on strong demand for AMD’s latest Ryzen 9000 desktop and Ryzen AI 300 notebook processors, Su said. AMD’s Consumer business is usually strongest in the second half of the year, Su said. But with the combination of AMD’s existing Ryzen parts, plus the upcoming X3D chip, Su said she expects AMD to perform even better. “So I think the combination of those two have given us, let’s call it a stronger than the normal second half of the year,” Su said. “I think the main point is, this is the strongest PC portfolio we’ve had… in our history, I think, across desktop and notebook,” Su said. That momentum should continue into 2025, she added, with expectations that the PC market will grow in the mid-single digits. It will be helped, in part, as consumers migrate out of Windows 10, which ends support in October 2025. What does all this mean? A crazy, crazy CES 2025. Nvidia is already expected to announce its next-gen “Blackwell,” or RTX 5000, cards at the show. Add to that AMD’s own rival GPUs, plus whatever is in store on the CPU front, and 2025 will begin with a bang. Read...

Digital and telco services company Spark is selling its stake in the Connexa towers business and considering the sale of other non-core assets, as it looks to offset weak consumer spending and business investment. Read...

An Australian mining chief executive took a top spot at CHOGM`s business plenary to talk about how his company is going `real carbon zero` by 2030. Read...

The European Union can be a tough regulatory arena, especially for American tech megacorps. But according to a Microsoft lawyer, Google has been manipulating regulators by creating an “astroturf” group of cloud providers to lobby against Microsoft specifically. It’s a brazen and surprising accusation, directly from one corporation to another. In a lengthy blog post on Microsoft’s official site, the company’s deputy general counsel Rima Alaily accused Google of enticing smaller European cloud computing companies to create a lobbying group “directed and largely funded by Google for the purpose of attacking Microsoft’s cloud computing business in the European Union and the United Kingdom.” Or at least that’s what Microsoft claims it was told by one company that was approached by Google but declined to join the group. The Open Cloud Coalition (PDF) is the group in question, which Microsoft says is essentially a front for Google to attack its competition via regulatory lobbying. Citing the unnamed company that turned Google down, Microsoft accuses Google of essentially starting, funding, and recruiting for the Open Cloud Coalition, hiring third parties for lobbying and communication with the intent to present itself as a minor participating member. The group’s goal, Microsoft alleges, is to undermine Microsoft’s cloud computing and cloud storage offerings in the EU and UK. The blog post stops short of accusing Google of paying other companies to join, but definitely hints at the possibility: “It remains to be seen what Google offered smaller companies to join, either in terms of cash or discounts.” Microsoft points to Google’s recently publicized €470 million offer to CISPE (another European cloud service industry group) to continue its antitrust complaint against Microsoft, which ultimately failed as the parties reached an out-of-court settlement. Alaily goes on to outline Google’s efforts to use courts and regulators against Microsoft in the United States and elsewhere: “We understand Google is a main funder of the U.S.-based Coalition for Fair Software Licensing… The organization is run by a well-known lobbyist for Google in Washington DC, but Google’s affiliation isn’t disclosed publicly by the organization.” Directly accusing a competitor of funding and organizing shadowy lobbying groups is a pretty big stone to throw for Microsoft, and its glass house is pretty vulnerable. According to OpenSecrets, Microsoft and its subsidiaries have spent over $10 million on lobbying every year for the last three years in the US alone, and they’re on track to do so again in 2024. Make no mistake, Microsoft is not above weaponizing political influence against its opponents. But Microsoft is accusing Google of “shadowy campaigns” that obfuscate its involvement and direct influence, and doing so as a result of being under increased regulatory scrutiny in markets around the world. “By our count, there are at least 24 antitrust investigations against Google in the leading digital markets around the world. At a time when Google should be focused on addressing legitimate questions about its business, it is instead turning its vast resources towards tearing down others.” (Here I’ll point out that Microsoft accused Google of being under antitrust scrutiny is not without a bit of historical irony.) The accusations in the blog post don’t quite include anything that could put the company in danger of a civil lawsuit from Google. And even if Google’s involvement in the Open Cloud Coalition is being heavily exaggerated, the former would probably avoid litigious action just as a matter of damage control. But this bit of legal saber-rattling shows that both companies are willing to fight hard — in the conventional market, in lobbying and regulatory circles, and in the court of public opinion — to gain any advantage in the lucrative cloud market. Read...