Alienware’s first NVIDIA GeForce 40-series laptops arrive next week

Alienware has announced when you’ll be able to get your hands on its first laptops with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series graphics cards. Last month at CES, the brand unveiled a new 18-inch model, as well as more 16-inch laptops, and now the company has revealed some pricing and availability details.

The chunkiest system is called the Alienware m18. It will initially be available in the US on February 9th with a GeForce RTX 4080. That powerhouse system will start at $2,899. More configurations will be available at a later date, including an entry-level model that starts at $2,099 ($2,999 CAD in Canada).

Along with one of NVIDIA’s most powerful laptop GPUs, the Alienware m18 boasts Intel’s fastest 13th-gen HX mobile CPUs, up to 9TB of storage and either a 165Hz quad-HD or 480Hz 1080p display. It’s as thick as the existing m17 but there’s a promise of improved cooling, thanks to a vapor chamber covering the processor and graphics card, seven heat pipes and a quartet of fans. These are said to provide a 25 percent airflow improvement.

The m16 has a similar design and the same cooling boosts. Likewise, it will debut in the US with an RTX 4080 configuration on February 9th. That version of the m16 will start at $2,599. More variants are on the way, with the entry model slated to start at $1,899 ($2,699 CAD). 

As for the x16, that also has a 16-inch display, albeit in a slimmer, more portable and all-metal form factor. Alienware managed to cram six speakers into this laptop, including two upward-firing tweeters and dual woofers. You’ll be able to snap one up with Intel’s fastest non-HX 13th-gen CPUs. The x16 will debut in the US with an RTX 4080 on February 14th for $3,099. Other Intel and NVIDIA-powered variants, available later, will start at $2,199 ($2,999 CAD). 

Alienware plans to release AMD-powered versions of all of these laptops in Q2. It will reveal pricing closer to launch.

Meanwhile, Alienware has revealed that its first 500Hz monitor will arrive in the near future. The 24.5-inch display will debut in China on February 9th and it will make its way to North America “soon.” Pricing for the US and Canada will be announced later.

You’ll also need to wait a little longer to find out initial pricing and availability for the next Alienware x14, as well as Dell’s G15 and G16. Alienware will announce those details on March 2nd. On the same day, the brand will host an event on Twitch, during which it will reveal more peripherals and other hardware.

Netflix brings spatial audio to hundreds more titles, but only for Premium subscribers

Last summer, Netflix started using a spatial audio system that doesn’t require dedicated equipment. After debuting the tech with season four of Stranger Things and a few other other titles, Netflix is now rolling it out more broadly. However, you’ll need to be subscribed to the top-end Premium tier to check it out. The company says spatial audio is now available on more than 700 of its most-watched titles, including The Watcher, Wednesday and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

A spatial audio badge on shows and movies will make it clearer if a title supports that format. You can also search for “spatial audio” to see the full list of supported titles. In the coming months, you’ll be able to check out more series and films with spatial audio enabled, including You, Your Place or Mine, Luther: The Fallen Sun and Tour de France.

Netflix teamed up with Sennheiser to use Ambeo 2-Channel Spatial Audio tech. It’s designed for built-in stereo speakers, particularly laptops and tablets. Netflix says spatial audio should be effective on TVs that aren’t too far away from the viewer and phones with stereo speakers. The company claims that its spatial audio will offer a more immersive experience to those wearing headphones too.

Premium subscribers are getting another boost starting today, which could come in especially handy for those who watch Netflix shows and movies on the go and across several devices. You’ll now be able to download titles to six different devices, up from four. That’s six more devices than users on the ad-supported plan can download TV series and films to.

The Morning After: The verdict on Apple’s second-generation HomePod

Apple’s first HomePod in 2018 was late to the smart speaker game. Sure, it sounded good, but it lacked a lot of the basic functionality of its rivals. Yet again, with its second-generation $299 HomePod, the company delivers stellar sound quality, but this time, expanded smart home tools show Apple has learned from that first attempt.

The new HomePod can easily pair with HomeKit and Matter accessories and has temperature and humidity sensors. You can use that data to create automated triggers for other smart home devices. Even without a compatible smart thermostat, you can successfully trigger a smart plug, once the HomePod detects a certain temperature.

The most notable new feature on the HomePod isn’t even ready yet. Sound Recognition can listen for smoke or carbon monoxide alarms and notify your other Apple devices. Unfortunately, it won’t arrive in an update until later this spring. Check out our full HomePod review right here.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

The biggest stories you might have missed

A new AI voice tool is already being abused to deepfake celebrity audio clips

That was quick.

A few days ago, speech AI startup ElevenLabs launched a beta version of its platform, which can create entirely new synthetic voices for text-to-speech audio or to clone somebody’s voice. Well, it only took the internet a few days to make a mess. The company is seeing an “increasing number of voice cloning misuse cases.” Motherboard found 4chan posts with clips featuring generated voices that sound like celebrities reading or saying something questionable. One clip, for instance, reportedly featured a voice that sounded like Emma Watson reading a part of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Users also posted voice clips that feature homophobic, transphobic, violent and racist sentiments. It’s not entirely clear if all the clips used ElevenLab’s technology, but a post with a wide collection of the voice files on 4chan included a link to the startup’s platform. The company is now gathering feedback on how to prevent users from abusing its technology. It may even drop its Voice Lab tool altogether and have users submit voice cloning requests that it can verify manually.

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‘Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’ is delayed to April 28th

Respawn says it will use the extra six weeks to polish the game.

TMA
EA

Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment announced the delay of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor to April 28th. The game was previously slated to arrive on March 17th. “In order for the team to hit the Respawn quality bar, provide the team the time they need and achieve the level of polish our fans deserve, we have added six crucial weeks to our release schedule – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will now launch globally on April 28th,” Respawn posted on Twitter. The studio said it would use the extra time to fix bugs and polish the game to improve performance, stability and the player experience.

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Paramount+ Premium will absorb Showtime and rebrand as ‘Paramount+ With Showtime’

Rolls right off the tongue.

Paramount Global is combining two of its services. It will fold Showtime into the Premium tier of Paramount+ later this year. The combined offering will be known as Paramount+ With Showtime. Showtime’s linear TV network will be rebranded with the same name in the US. As part of the move, some Paramount+ original programs will air on the cable network – so maybe more people will finally recognize the brilliance of The Good Fight – which is getting a spin-off pilot, too. (The Good Fight itself was already a spin-off.) While the move may come as a disappointment to those who are only interested in Showtime’s content and aren’t sold on Paramount+, the move makes sense from a business perspective. There’s a wave of consolidation across the media industry, including in streaming, where HBO Max and Discovery+ will combine in the coming months.

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EU wind and solar energy production overtook gas last year

A report from UK clean-energy think tank Ember projects the gap to widen.

Energy generated from solar and wind power reportedly overtook natural gas in the EU for the first time last year. The data comes from UK clean-energy think tank Ember and projects the gap to grow. Solar and wind energy rose to an all-time high of 22 percent of the EU’s 2022 electricity use. Meanwhile, Ember projects fossil-fuel generation to drop by 20 percent this year – with gas falling the fastest. The clean energy industry had some unwanted assistance. The shift stems from reduced reliance on gas and coal after Russia invaded Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered the cutoff of natural gas exports to the EU as retaliation for Western sanctions.

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How to stream every game with Apple’s MLS Season Pass

Apple dabbled in live sports with weekly Major League Baseball games last year, but now the company is launching its most ambitious offering yet. Today, the company debuts MLS Season Pass, a subscription that gives soccer fans access to every game of t…

UK government reveals ‘robust’ plans to regulate crypto

The UK government has detailed “ambitious” plans to regulate the crypto industry, with proposals on stronger rules for trading platforms, crypto lending, new token issues and more. The goal, it says, is to protect consumers and businesses, while enabling “a new and exciting sector to safely flourish and grow,” it wrote in a press release. 

Last year saw the fall of FTX, Celsius and other crypto exchanges, along with wildly fluctuating prices for Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. As a result, critics in the UK have been calling for new rules that protect consumers from the “crypto wild-west,” as the opposition Labour party’s Tulip Siddiq put it.  

The UK government plans to strengthen rules around the operation of crypto trading firms like FTX, along with other financial intermediaries. The primary aim, it wrote, is to enhance consumer protection and the ability of exchanges to weather storms. As part of that, it’s proposing what it calls a “crypto market abuse regime” that would create rules around money laundering and other illegal schemes. It also plans to strengthen laws around cryptocurrency lending. 

At the same time, the treasury department is introducing a time-limited exemption that would allow designated crypto firms to issue new tokens. Companies registered with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for anti-money laundering purposes would be allowed to issue coins while the new regulations are written. 

In January 2022, the UK government promised a crackdown on misleading crypto ads, but that now seems quaint given the tumultuous year that followed. At the time, the government figured that around 2.3 million people in the country owned a cryptoasset.

Today’s proposal “delivers on the original policy intention of the measure to promote innovation, enhance consumer protection and ensure that cryptoasset promotions can be held to equivalent standards as promotions of financial services products with similar risk profiles,” the government said. The consultation will close on April 30th, 2023, at which point regulators will review feedback and formulate a response. 

Boeing completes the last ever delivery of the iconic 747 jumbo jet

The last Boeing 747 to ever be built has changed hands in front of thousands of people who wanted to say goodbye to the iconic widebody plane. Customers, suppliers, celebrities, as well as current and former employees — including the original staff known as the “Incredibles” who built the first 747 — gathered at the company’s Everett factory to witness Boeing delivering the plane to Atlas Air Worldwide. The event marks the plane’s end of production since it was first built in 1967. 

Boeing revealed back in 2020 that it was going to retire the model in a couple of years after it was done building the last orders for it. The 747 was one of the most famous four-engine widebody jets in the world and revolutionized air travel by doubling passenger capacity and thereby lowering the price of each seat. During the peak of its popularity in 1990, Boeing delivered 70 units in a single year. But like most older technologies, it eventually took a backseat to some of the company’s newer jets, particularly its two-engine planes that can fly the same routes but can use fuel more efficiently. 

As Reuters notes, the company only delivered five 747s in 2022, though the whole program itself produced 1,574 jets. The last planes Boeing delivered, including this one, will be used to transport cargo in the years to come. Yes, we won’t be seeing any new 747 anymore, but Bloomberg says the orders delivered for freighter use could be around until the 2050s. 

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said in a statement:

“This monumental day is a testament to the generations of Boeing employees who brought to life the airplane that ‘shrank the world,’ and revolutionized travel and air cargo as the first widebody. It is fitting to deliver this final 747-8 Freighter to the largest operator of the 747, Atlas Air, where the ‘Queen’ will continue to inspire and empower innovation in air cargo.”

Kim Smith, Boeing’s VP and general manager for the 747 and 767 programs, revealed that the model’s production line shut down as workers finished building different parts for the last plane. Employees who worked on in the factory have now been transferred to other programs or have voluntarily retired. 

YouTube TV drops MLB Network after failing to renew deal

YouTube TV has dropped the MLB Network from its service after failing to renew its agreement, according to a statement from YouTube given to The Streamable. “You will also lose access to any previous Library recordings from this channel,” the streamer wrote. “Members will be able to continue watching select national MLB games via coverage on FOX, ESPN, and TBS through our Base Plan.”

The dispute appears to be over compensation, according to a statement from MLB Network. “YouTube TV has been unwilling to negotiate a fair carriage agreement… consistent with what close to 300 other US providers have agreed to for distribution.” MLB Network was part of YouTube’s $65 Base Plan and one of the few that carried 4K content as part of YouTube TV’s 4K Plus add-on. 

The news isn’t too tragic yet, as baseball season is still a couple of months away. YouTube TV has previously lost access to other channels including Disney’s ESPN and ABC, but in the case of the latter, they were restored just a day later. That lends some hope that the streaming company can reach an agreement with MLB Network ahead of any disruption to games next season. 

In the meantime, “MLB Network remains widely available throughout the US, including on Altice USA (Optimum), AT&T U-verse, Charter Communications (Spectrum), Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, DISH, fuboTV, Sling TV, Verizon Fios and many others,” MLB Network wrote. 

Amazon once again broke labor laws during New York unionization drive, judge rules

Last month, Amazon failed to overturn a Staten Island warehouse’s vote to unionize and now it has taken another loss. A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge has ruled that the the company broke federal labor laws in an effort to push back a unionization drive at that facility and another that voted against the union, The New York Times has reported. Amazon can still appeal the ruling to the NLRB’s Washington board.

Federal administrative judge Benjamin Green ruled that Amazon supervisors unlawfully threatened wage increases and benefits if workers formed a union. The company also violated the law by removing a worker’s post on a digital message board inviting co-workers to sign an Amazon Labor Union petition to make Juneteenth a paid holiday, the judge said. 

Several other complaints by the union were dismissed, however. Those include accusations that Amazon said take-home pay would fall in the case of unionization, and that it promised improvements in an educational subsidy program if workers voted against the union. The union also protested Amazon saying workers would be fired if they formed a union but failed to pay union dues. The latter was not illegal, the judge ruled, and the other complaints were overstated.

Amazon took all that as a positive. “We’re glad that the judge dismissed 19 — nearly all — of the allegations in this case,” said spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis in a statement to the NYT. “The facts continue to show that the teams in our buildings work hard to do the right thing.”

The judge set aside one decision brought by the labor board as to whether employers can force workers to attend anti-union meetings. That puts the ball in the court of the NLRB, which can overturn a 75-year old ruling. “I believe that the NLRB case precedent, which has tolerated such meetings, is at odds with fundamental labor-law principles,” the labor board’s lawyer Jennifer Abruzzo wrote in a memo last year. 

Google Fi warns customers that their data has been compromised

Google has notified customers of its Fi mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service that hackers were able to access some of their information, according to TechCrunch. The tech giant said the bad actors infiltrated a third-party system used for customer support at Fi’s primary network provider. While Google didn’t name the provider outright, Fi relies on US Cellular and T-Mobile for connectivity. If you’ll recall, the latter admitted in mid-January that hackers had been taking data from its systems since November last year.

T-Mobile said the attackers got away with the information of around 37 million postpaid and prepaid customers before it discovered and contained the issue. Back then, the carrier insisted that no passwords, payment information and social security numbers were stolen. Google Fi is saying the same thing, adding that no PINs or text message/call contents were taken, as well. The hackers only apparently had access to users’ phone numbers, account status, SMS card serial numbers and some service plan information, like international roaming. 

Google reportedly told most users that they didn’t have to do anything and that it’s still working with Fi’s network provider to “identify and implement measures to secure the data on that third-party system and notify everyone potentially impacted.” That said, at least one customer claimed having more serious issues than most because of the breach. They shared a part of Google’s supposed email to them on Reddit, telling them that that their “mobile phone service was transferred from [their] SIM card to another SIM card” for almost two hours on January 1st. 

The customer said they received password reset notifications from Outlook, their crypto wallet account and two-factor authenticator Authy that day. They sent logs to 9to5Google to prove that the attackers had used their number to receive text messages that allowed them to access those accounts. Based on their Fi text history, the bad actors started resetting passwords and requesting two-factor authentication codes via SMS within one minute of transferring their SIM card. The customer was reportedly only able regain control of their accounts after turning network access on their iPhone off and back on, though it’s unclear if that’s what solved the issue. We’ve reached out to Google for a statement regarding the customers’ SIM swapping claim and will update this post when we hear back.