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Tech Wrap April 24: ASUS's Vivobook, Sennheiser HD 505, WhatsApp's feature
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Three Intel senior executives to retire amid manufacturing shake up
By Max A. Cherney SAN FRANCISCO: Three senior executives in Intel 's manufacturing operations are set to retire, Intel told Reuters on Thursday, as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan implements sweeping change to resuscitate the struggling U.S. chipmaker. Intel told staff on Tuesday that corporate vice presidents in the technology development group, Kaizad Mistry and Ryan Russell, would retire, as would Gary Patton, corporate vice president at its Design Technology Platform organization and a former IBM executive. Intel also discussed changes to the technology development group, which is responsible for creating manufacturing processes, said two people briefed on the matter. The chipmaker plans to reduce its manufacturing capacity planning team and cut a portion of its engineering team, the people said. Intel declined to comment on the changes. Manufacturing operations are led by former Micron Technology executive Naga Chandrasekaran, who was hired about a year ago by then-CEO Pat Gelsinger. Chandrasekaran's responsibility expanded in March as he took over technology development and manufacturing. He has since reorganized staff under him, including layoffs as part of global cutbacks. When Intel announced its quarterly financial results last week, CEO Tan, who assumed the role in March, set a goal of slashing the chipmaker's workforce to 75,000 people by year-end, a reduction of around 22%. Intel also vowed to take a more disciplined approach to manufacturing investment. Intel said its next-generation 14A manufacturing process depends on securing a new, significant customer, otherwise it could suspend or terminate development. "We're developing Intel 14A ... from the ground up in close partnership with large external customers," Tan said in a memo released with the financial results. "Going forward, our investment in Intel 14A will be based on confirmed customer commitments." Tan also told investors that Intel's 18A process could only generate a reasonable return if it is used for in-house products. Tan has debated whether to stop offering 18A technology to external customers to focus on 14A, Reuters reported in July. Intel plans to ramp to high-volume manufacturing its Panther Lake PC chips this year using its 18A manufacturing process.
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First Post
4 hours ago
- First Post
Marshall Monitor III ANC Review: Wireless headphones with balanced sound and great battery backup
Pros: Vintage Marshall design that mixes nostalgia with class Highly comfortable to wear for hours Balanced and detailed sound output Outstanding battery backup, fast charging Functional active noise cancellation Clean and useful companion app Dual-pairing support Cons: Scant codec support Transparency performance could have been better Wear detection is erratic at times Price: Rs 29,999 Rating: 4.1/5 When one thinks of high quality wireless headphones in India under Rs 30,000, three names come to mind straight away - Sony WH-1000XM5, Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless and Bose QuietComfort. We now have a fourth contender and from an equally renowned brand. The brand Marshall needs no introduction, just that it's better known for its speakers here than headphones. But they now look to challenge the above three with their Monitor III ANC wireless headphones. Let's see how that goes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Everything from the carry case to the headphones has a trademark Marshall styling Marshall Monitor III ANC - Build, design and comfort: 8.5/10 The Monitor III ANC unmistakably looks and feels like a Marshall product with that trademark design and finish. The leathery black back with the golden Marshall logo makes it look classy. The same finish extends to the bulk of the headband too. The carry case is sturdy, compact and elegant with pockets to store a few cables too The earcups have excellent padding and the headphones can be worn for long with any discomfort or sweating. The inside of the headband could have done with a bit of padding though. The black and gold theme lends a classy look to the product The headphones are made of high quality materials overall and the build is quite solid. Despite that, it doesn't feel heavy and weighs just about 250 grams. The weight distribution is spot on and you don't feel any burden when you wear it. The Marshall Monitor III ANC has a pair of 32 mm drivers, and the ear-cups are just large enough to go over the ears, at least in my case. The soft cushions exert minimal pressure to stay in place without a wobble without causing any ear fatigue. The multifunctional joystick lets you control the audio playback as well as adjust the volume Unlike its Sony and the Sennheiser counterparts, the back of the earcups does not have touch controls. You get a distinct multifunctional joystick on the right earcup for controlling the playback, volume and power among other things. Its golden tinge adds more character to the design. The Marshall companion app gives you access to sound and control tweaks among other things A USB-C charging port and an LED indicator are located on the left earcup, and there are two neatly camouflaged buttons on the hinges - one to toggle ANC and the other (denoted with M) can be assigned a task through the companion app. All the buttons are quite tactile. All key functions of these headphones can be accessed using three smartly placed buttons A headphone jack is missing here, however, the company bundles a USB-C to Aux cable to use this as a wired headphone in case it runs out of battery. A USB-C charging cable is also present in the package along with a stylish carry case that matches the decor of the earcups on the outside and has a posh red velvet interior with a compartment to hold a few cables and cards maybe. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The earcups have great padding which lets you wear these headphones comfortably for hours The earcups can be folded before being stored away, occupying less space in your bag. These headphones once folded occupy very little space Marshall Monitor III ANC - Key features: 7.5/10 The Monitor III ANC is Bluetooth 5.3 compliant but only supports SBC and AAC codecs. Strangely, there is no support for higher end codecs like aptX HD, aptX Adaptive or even LDAC, which one expects in this price bracket. There is multi-point support to pair this product with two devices simultaneously. You get wear detection sensors to automatically pause the audio when you take the headphones off, and resume when you put them back on. However, it is a bit temperamental. At times it pauses the audio a good 3 to 5 seconds after taking them off, and on occasions, it doesn't pause it at all. The wireless range is good with the headphones retaining a strong connection at 10 metres with a clear line of sight, and does well even with a concrete wall in between. Like most headphones, it does not promise any IP rated ingress protection, so avoid wearing them during a workout or in the rain. One needs to install the Marshall Bluetooth app to access certain settings of this product, update the firmware, tweak the audio and ANC and also play around with the soundstage. As I mentioned earlier, you can also assign a function to the M button through the app. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Marshall Monitor III ANC - Performance: (8/10) Before we get to the sound quality, let's talk a bit about the ANC here. When it comes to ANC, Sony has raised the bar significantly in this segment, and this Marshall product doesn't come close to dethroning the WH-1000XM5. The ANC on the Monitor III ANC is certainly functional and can effectively eliminate some low frequency sounds like the whirr of a fan or that of a vehicle engine. But it isn't as effective when it comes to anything above lower midrange frequency sounds, even when you set the ANC to maximum from the app. The passive noise isolation is good, and in combination with the ANC, it does suppress the background buzz to a certain degree in busy areas or public transport. When you need to be aware of your surroundings, switching to Transparency mode lets ambient sounds through. While the ambient sounds feel natural, human voices could have done with a bit of amplification. I really had to strain my ears to have a conversation wearing the headphones when outdoors, and more often than not, I had to take them off. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Moving on to the sound quality, it is comparable to the XM5 and the Sennheiser Momentum 4, though the tuning is a little different from both. You get slightly boosted low frequencies for the extra warmth, though not as much as on its Sony counterpart. The Sennheiser output is a bit more detailed in comparison. Having said that, the Monitor III ANC produces a fairly balanced sound that is thoroughly enjoyable across various genres of music. One can only wonder how much better it would have sounded on a superior codec. The bass here is tight and punchy and does not overshadow the mids. The mids are reproduced well with crisp vocals and good instrument separation. The highs are largely well-tempered yet sharp and without any sibilance. However, there was a bit of a clash between the upper midrange frequencies and the highs in certain tracks. You can resolve this to an extent through the 5-band equaliser available in the app, but the default tuning generally works well in most cases. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These headphones are loud enough around the 60% volume level and I don't remember going beyond 75% even outdoors. One good part about the Marshall Monitor III ANC is that there is a good balance between the three frequency ranges even when listening at a lower volume, which is not the case in several headphones. The default soundstage is decently broad for closed back headphones. I said default because you can adjust it from the app by simulating different room sizes. You can certainly try it but I found the results a bit cosmetic. These headphones are great for music, and can be used for watching movies or webseries too as they offer very good dialogue clarity and a reasonable thump in action sequences. We did not face any latency issues either as there was no perceptible delay between audio and video when streaming content. Marshall Monitor III ANC - Call quality: (7.5/10) STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The call quality here is pretty good for over-the-ear headphones. Your voice is transmitted with sufficient clarity to the person on the line. There were absolutely no complaints when indoors. When outdoors, it doesn't filter out all the ambient noise but largely keeps it in check without impacting the conversation much. The overall performance in this department is satisfactory. Marshall Monitor III ANC - Battery life: (9.5/10) This is an area where the Marshall outshines the competition. The company promises an insane battery backup of 70 hours, and that too with ANC on. The number is pegged at 100 hours without ANC! During my test run, I managed to get upwards of 75 hours on a full charge with intermittent use of ANC, after which I lost track of the time. Even at that point, there was some juice left in the tank, which is incredible. At a couple of hours of daily listening and very little calling, these Marshall cans can go on for a month before the need for a top up. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The next best thing is the 50+ hours I got on the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless with ANC on all the time; not a bad result either. This pair of headphones supports fast charging too with just 15 minutes of charging providing you with close to 12 hours of playtime, which can get you through a working day or most longhaul flights. It can be charged fully in less than three hours using a standard USB-C charger. The app provides you with a handful of charging options to improve battery health. The USB-C port can be used to charge this device as well as to use it as wired headphones Marshall Monitor III ANC - Price and verdict The Marshall Monitor III ANC is priced at Rs 29,999 with a one year warranty. That may be 5K lower than the launch price of the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless in India, but those two can now be purchased for well under 30K. That being said, 30K is a fair price for what this Marshall offers, especially its balanced sound output and crazy good battery backup. So should you buy this over the Momentum 4 Wireless or the XM5? You certainly won't be disappointed if you do, but let reason dictate your buying decision. All three headphones sound great, though personally I would put the Momentum 4 slightly ahead of the other two in this department. When it comes to ANC, Sony is a clear winner. And you know by now, Marshall takes the battery crown. Choose one depending on the feature that matters to you the most. At their current selling price, Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless at a shade under 25K offers the best balance of features, performance and value.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Meta AI could be a threat to your privacy: Here's how to silence it on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook
Ever since first rolling out Meta AI in early 2023, Meta has been betting big on the chatbot, integrating it across its social media apps and even launching a standalone app. While Meta and other tech giants remain bullish on AI and its potential to transform how we interact online, not everyone is on board and some users would rather not have Meta's AI chatbot show up in their apps at all. Meta AI is the artificial intelligence chatbot by the tech giant that is present across all of its social media apps including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. The chatbot competes directly with the likes of Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude and is run on the company's Llama 3 model. While Meta AI has fallen behind the competition in recent months, the biggest selling point for the social media behemoth is that its AI can be summoned instantly across the world's most popular apps. In the last few months, Meta has only increased the number of Meta AI powered features on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. While there is a section of users who cannot get enough of these features, there are others who don't want any part of the AI carnage in their daily apps. If that wasn't enough, there was a privacy issue in June when Meta AI app's discover feed exposed the personal conversations with the chatbot on social media handles. Unfortunately, Meta is so expansively present across WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook that it isn't currently possible to cut it out of these apps entirely, but we can attempt to do the next best thing which is to limit the interaction with the AI chatbot. In order to limit the interactions with Meta AI on Instagram, go to your chats and search for Meta AI. Click on the 'i' icon and then tap on 'Mute' and switch it to 'Until I change it'. Similarly, to limit the interactions with Meta AI on WhatsApp, open the Meta AI chat and mute notifications for chat while choosing the 'always' option to never receive a notification for Meta AI chat. Meanwhile, if you want to limit Meta AI in group chats there is currently only one option available, which is to turn on 'advanced chat privacy' found in the group settings. However, turning this feature on would also mean that users in the group won't be able to save any media to their devices. On Facebook, one can similarly mute Meta AI chat as done on Instagram. There is also an option to open the basic Facebook mobile version in order to see minimal AI features on the app.
