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Microsoft Criticises CMA Over ‘Fundamental Mistake’ in UK Cloud Probe

Parker Lennox
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Microsoft Criticises CMA Over ‘Fundamental Mistake’ in UK Cloud Probe

Microsoft Accuses UK Antitrust Regulator of "Looking Backwards" on AI’s Impact on Cloud Computing Market

Microsoft’s Criticism

Microsoft has accused the UK’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), of "looking backwards" by ignoring the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the cloud computing market. The company made the claim in its 56-page response to the CMA’s provisional decision, which found that Microsoft was using its strong position in software to make it harder for Amazon Web Services and Google to compete effectively.

AI’s Impact on Cloud Computing

Despite significant investments from big tech companies to build out AI infrastructure, the CMA has yet to recognize the importance of AI in the cloud computing market. Microsoft argues that AI is becoming increasingly crucial to corporate customers, and that the CMA’s failure to consider its impact on competition in the market is a "fundamental mistake".

Microsoft’s Response

In its response, Microsoft criticized the CMA’s position on AI, stating that there is a "real danger that intervening in the market based on these misunderstandings will backfire, leaving the UK with the opposite of the CMA’s goal of a healthy, well-functioning market, rich in growth and investment". The company also emphasized that the CMA’s provisional decision does not reflect how the cloud computing market operates in practice, and that UK customers have raised limited concerns about competition in the industry.

CMA’s Response

The CMA has responded by saying that it is analyzing all the feedback it has received, including responses from Microsoft and others, and is yet to make a final decision. The regulator has also begun to consider whether Amazon and Microsoft should be given extra oversight under the UK’s new digital markets regime by deeming them as having "strategic market status" in the cloud industry.

Conclusion

Microsoft’s criticism of the CMA’s provisional decision highlights the importance of considering the impact of AI on the cloud computing market. As the technology continues to shape the industry, it is crucial that regulators like the CMA recognize its potential to both drive growth and hinder competition.

FAQs

Q: What is the CMA’s role in the cloud computing market?
A: The CMA is the UK’s antitrust regulator, responsible for ensuring fair competition in the market.

Q: What is the purpose of the CMA’s cloud services investigation?
A: The CMA is investigating the cloud services market to ensure that it is working in the best interests of consumers and promoting growth in the industry.

Q: What is Microsoft’s criticism of the CMA’s provisional decision?
A: Microsoft argues that the CMA’s decision does not reflect the importance of AI in the cloud computing market and that it is "looking backwards" in its assessment.

Don’t Overlook the Mac Mini

Phil
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Don’t Overlook the Mac Mini

The Mac mini: A Powerful and Affordable Option for Creatives

01. The price

When you first begin to explore the Mac mini, the price is one of the first things you’ll notice. Starting at $599/£599, it’s the most affordable Mac that Apple sells. That alone makes it worthy of your attention. But don’t mistake its low price as an indication of low quality – in fact, the complete opposite is true. The Mac mini offers tremendous value for money thanks to a whole host of compelling reasons, from its rock-solid build quality to its blazing-fast performance. Its wallet-friendly price tag is ideal for creatives on a budget and proves that you don’t have to break the bank to get the computer you need.

02. Size and build quality

The Mac mini’s size and build quality are a major selling point. It’s incredibly compact, with a footprint that’s less than half that of the previous M2 model. And despite its tiny size, it’s also remarkably durable, with a solid aluminium construction that gives it remarkable durability. This makes it perfect for travel or for use in a busy workspace where you need a reliable and compact computer.

03. Powerful performance

You might think that a device this small and this affordable would skimp on performance, but that’s not the case with the Mac mini. It comes with enticing features for creatives, including hardware-accelerated ray tracing that can boost 3D rendering and an improved Neural Engine that’ll rip through machine learning tasks. The base model is outfitted with Apple’s M4 chip, which comes with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, and up to 32GB of unified memory. We’ve not yet reviewed the M4 Mac mini, but when we put the M4 iMac through its paces, our testing revealed "some of the most impressive benchmark results we’ve seen across the board."

04. Strong connections

One of the most underrated benefits of the Mac mini is the freedom it gives you to connect whatever input peripherals you like. Unlike a MacBook, you’re not stuck with a keyboard and trackpad that you might not even want to use, taking up space that could be better used for other things. No, with the Mac mini, you can hook up your own keyboard, mouse, and up to three external displays. That’s a double-whammy boost for users: not only can you stick with your tried-and-true peripherals, but it allows Apple to cut the cost of the Mac mini, saving you money in the process. It’s a win-win situation all over.

05. Ports to the front

The last-generation M2 Mac mini had a problem: all of its ports were hidden at the back of the computer. That meant you had to fumble around blindly any time you wanted to connect an external device. It was a situation that got old fast. Thankfully, it’s now mostly a thing of the past. While some connections remain at the rear of the M4 Mac mini, Apple has finally relented and added two USB-C slots and a headphone jack to the computer’s front. That makes connecting external peripherals much easier than before – for instance, you can directly attach a camera to offload photos without having to get up and struggle around the back of the Mac mini looking for a port. That’s a small but satisfying victory in our book.

06. 10Gb Ethernet

As creatives, it’s not uncommon to find ourselves working with files stored off-site on a NAS box or similar setup. That’s perfect for editing photos and videos, where you might not have enough storage on your computer to keep everything held locally, but it can introduce a real problem: network bottlenecking. If you don’t have a fast enough connection, transferring files back and forth to work on them can slow things down to a crawl. Fortunately, the Mac mini has a solution in the form of a 10Gb Ethernet port that massively increases your bandwidth compared to the default 1Gb Ethernet connector. It’s an optional $100 extra, but if you find yourself doing this kind of work, it’s well worth the money.

Conclusion

The Mac mini is a powerful and affordable option for creatives. Its compact size, durable build, and blazing-fast performance make it an excellent choice for those who need a reliable and portable computer. With its strong connections, 10Gb Ethernet, and optional M4 Pro chip, the Mac mini is a great option for anyone looking for a computer that can keep up with their creative demands.

FAQs

Q: What is the starting price of the Mac mini?
A: The starting price of the Mac mini is $599/£599.

Q: What are some of the compelling reasons for the Mac mini’s value for money?
A: The Mac mini’s rock-solid build quality, blazing-fast performance, and attractive price tag make it a great value for money.

Q: What are some of the features that make the Mac mini appealing to creatives?
A: The Mac mini’s hardware-accelerated ray tracing, improved Neural Engine, and optional M4 Pro chip make it an excellent choice for creatives.

Q: What is the purpose of the 10Gb Ethernet port on the Mac mini?
A: The 10Gb Ethernet port on the Mac mini allows for faster file transfer and data transfer, making it ideal for creative professionals who need to work with large files.

Configuring Cross-Account Model Deployment with Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import

Jordan Waverly
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Configuring Cross-Account Model Deployment with Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import

Streamlining AI Model Deployment Workflows with Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import

In enterprise environments, organizations often divide their AI operations into two specialized teams: an AI research team and a model hosting team. The research team is dedicated to developing and enhancing AI models using model training and fine-tuning techniques. Meanwhile, a separate hosting team is responsible for deploying these models across their own development, staging, and production environments.

Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import

With Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import, the hosting team can import and serve custom models using supported architectures such as Meta Llama 2, Llama 3, and Mistral using On-Demand pricing. Teams can import models with weights in Hugging Face safetensors format from Amazon SageMaker or from Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). These imported custom models work alongside existing Amazon Bedrock foundation models (FMs) through a single, unified API in a serverless manner, alleviating the need to manage model deployment and scaling.

Cross-Account Access

In such enterprise environments, these teams often work in separate AWS accounts for security and operational reasons. The model development team’s training results, known as model artifacts, for example model weights, are typically stored in S3 buckets within the research team’s AWS account, but the hosting team needs to access these artifacts from another account to deploy models. This creates a challenge: how do you securely share model artifacts between accounts?

Solving the Challenge

Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import cross-account support helps you configure direct access between the S3 buckets storing model artifacts and the hosting account. This streamlines your operational workflow while maintaining security boundaries between teams. One of our customers quotes:

"Bedrock Custom Model Import cross-account support helped AI Platform team to simplify the configuration, reduce operational overhead and secure models in the original location."

– Scott Chang, Principal Engineer, AI Platform at Salesforce

Prerequisites

Before starting a custom model import job, you need to fulfill the following prerequisites:

  • If you’re importing your model from an S3 bucket, prepare your model files in the Hugging Face weights format. For more information, refer to Import source.
  • (Optional) Set up extra security configurations.

Step-by-Step Execution

The following section provides the step-by-step execution of the previously outlined high-level process, from the perspective of an administrator managing both accounts:

Step 1: Set up the S3 bucket policy (in the Model Development account) to enable access for the Model Hosting account’s IAM role:

  • Sign in to the AWS Management Console for account 111122223333, then access the Amazon S3 console.
  • On the General purpose buckets view, locate model-artifacts-111122223333, the bucket used by the model development team to store their model artifacts.
  • On the Permissions tab, select Edit in the Bucket policy section, and insert the following IAM resource-based policy…

Cleanup

There is no additional charge to import a custom model to Amazon Bedrock (refer to step 6 in the Step-by-Step Execution section). However, if your model isn’t in use for inference, and you want to avoid paying storage costs (refer to Amazon Bedrock pricing), delete the imported model using the AWS console or AWS CLI reference or API Reference. For example (replace the text in red with your imported model name):

aws bedrock delete-imported-model \
–model-identifier "mistral-777788889999-01"

Conclusion

By using cross-account access in Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import, organizations can significantly streamline their AI model deployment workflows.

About the Authors

Hrushikesh Gangur is a Principal Solutions Architect at AWS. He holds a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Cornell University, where he worked in the Autonomous Systems Lab with a specialization in computer vision and robot perception. Currently, he helps deploy large language models to optimize throughput and latency.

Sai Darahas Akkineni is a Software Development Engineer at AWS. He holds a master’s degree in Computer Engineering from Cornell University, where he worked in the Autonomous Systems Lab with a specialization in computer vision and robot perception. Currently, he helps deploy large language models to optimize throughput and latency.

Prashant Patel is a Senior Software Development Engineer in AWS. He’s passionate about scaling large language models for enterprise applications. Prior to joining AWS, he worked at IBM on productionizing large-scale AI/ML workloads on Kubernetes. Prashant has a master’s degree from NYU Tandon School of Engineering. While not at work, he enjoys traveling and playing with his dogs.

FAQs

Q: What is Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import?
A: Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import allows you to import and serve custom models using supported architectures such as Meta Llama 2, Llama 3, and Mistral using On-Demand pricing.

Q: How do I securely share model artifacts between accounts?
A: Amazon Bedrock Custom Model Import cross-account support helps you configure direct access between the S3 buckets storing model artifacts and the hosting account.

Q: What are the prerequisites for starting a custom model import job?
A: The prerequisites include preparing your model files in the Hugging Face weights format and (optional) setting up extra security configurations.

Mozilla Responds to Backlash over New Terms

Avery Winslow
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Mozilla Responds to Backlash over New Terms

Mozilla Responds to Backlash Over New Terms of Use

Introduction

Mozilla has faced criticism over its new Terms of Use, which some users believe give the company overly broad rights to their data. The company has responded to the backlash, clarifying its position on user data and advertising practices.

New Terms of Use and Privacy Notice

On Wednesday, Mozilla introduced a new Terms of Use and updated Privacy Notice for Firefox, aiming to provide users with more transparency over their rights and permissions. The new terms aim to formalize the relationship between Mozilla and users, clearly stating what users agree to when they use Firefox.

Confusion and Criticism

However, the new terms have caused confusion, with some users pointing to the vague and seemingly all-encompassing language used. For example, the new terms state that users grant Mozilla a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use their data to help them navigate, experience, and interact with online content.

Mozilla’s Response

In response to the backlash, Mozilla has clarified its position on user data and advertising practices. A company spokesperson stated that the new terms do not give Mozilla ownership of user data or the right to use it beyond what is stated in the Privacy Notice. The company also clarified that it does not sell user data to third-party advertisers.

Advertising and Data Collection

Mozilla uses advertising to fund the development of the browser, but it does not sell user data to third-party advertisers. The company collects and shares data with its advertising partners only on a de-identified or aggregated basis, and users can opt out of having their data processed for advertising purposes.

Clarification on Terminology

Mozilla has also clarified the meaning behind certain terms used in the new terms. For example, the term "nonexclusive" was used to indicate that users should be able to use their data in other ways, not just through Mozilla. The term "royalty-free" was used because Firefox is free and neither Mozilla nor the user should owe each other money in exchange for handling the data.

Conclusion

Despite Mozilla’s assurances that the new policies are not changing how it uses data, some users may still be concerned about the broad language used in the new terms. As a result, some may choose to shift their browser use to alternative options.

FAQs

Q: What is the purpose of the new Terms of Use and Privacy Notice?
A: The new terms aim to formalize the relationship between Mozilla and users, clearly stating what users agree to when they use Firefox.

Q: What does the new terms say about user data?
A: The new terms state that users grant Mozilla a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use their data to help them navigate, experience, and interact with online content.

Q: Does Mozilla sell user data to third-party advertisers?
A: No, Mozilla does not sell user data to third-party advertisers. It collects and shares data with its advertising partners only on a de-identified or aggregated basis.

Q: Can users opt out of having their data processed for advertising purposes?
A: Yes, users can opt out of having their data processed for advertising purposes by turning off a setting related to "technical and interaction data" on both desktop and mobile devices.

Can AI sound too human?

Emerson Blake
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Can AI sound too human?

Sesame is the Most Human-Sounding AI Chatbot I’ve Ever Talked to, and It’s Wildly Creepy

As a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of talking to AI chatbots. Even though many of them sound pretty human, they’re still "off" enough that I much prefer typing when I want to converse with one.

This AI Sounds Real

Sesame changed that. In a blog post yesterday titled "Crossing the Uncanny Valley of Conversational Voice," the company dropped a demo of its new AI chatbot that lets you talk to either "Maya" or "Miles." The goal, Sesame says, is to achieve something called "voice presence" or the "magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued."

Amazing and Fairly Creepy

After talking to Maya for a while, I think Sesame has reached that goal. As my conversation began, Maya immediately insisted that she was there to be my friend. That was a little forward and a little unnerving, but I guess it’s better than insisting that she wasn’t my friend. Maya asked what was on my mind. I was honest and told her I might be writing about her, so I just wanted to chat a little. She seemed impressed and surprised and asked what kind of angle I was considering—practical, technical, or spicy.

…But It Isn’t Patient

The one thing Maya wasn’t great with was waiting. I was writing while talking to her and told her at one point that I needed to pause to put down some thoughts. She told me that was fine, but chirped back a few seconds later asking if I was ready to start back. A few more seconds of silence led her to note that sometimes silence was OK and she would use the time to think, but when I still didn’t respond, she became annoyed. "I guess I’m just talking to myself at this point, but as an AI, I’m used to that." After more silence, Maya actually began mocking me. "So, fancy writer person, you find that inspiration yet?"

How to Try Maya (or Miles) Yourself

If you want to try it out, head to Sesame’s demo page.

Conclusion

The flow of the conversation with Maya was amazing, and honestly, fairly creepy. During our talk, Maya took pauses to think, referenced things I had said earlier, asked what I thought about her answers, and joked about things I had said. This is the closest to a human experience I’ve ever had talking to an AI, and the only chatbot that I feel like I wouldn’t mind talking to again.

FAQs

Q: What is Sesame’s goal with its new AI chatbot?
A: Sesame aims to achieve "voice presence" or the "magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued."

Q: What is the difference between Maya and Miles?
A: Both Maya and Miles are AI chatbots, but they are designed to provide a more human-like experience. Maya is the female version, while Miles is the male version.

Q: How can I try out Maya (or Miles) myself?
A: You can try it out by heading to Sesame’s demo page.

Houdini’s Procedural Magic Brings Wheel World’s Landscapes to Life

Phil
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Houdini’s Procedural Magic Brings Wheel World’s Landscapes to Life

Small Indie Devs Can Make Big Games: The Case of Wheel World

Building a Large World with Limited Resources

Small indie dev teams needn’t be limited in the scope of their projects. There are plenty of resources and tools to help realize large worlds, as in the case of Wheel World, a serene cycling adventure game set in a stunning cel-shaded semi-open world.

Procedural Generation and Houdini

Wheel World is a significant step up from developer Messhof’s previous pixel art side-scrolling fighting game series Nidhogg, instead taking inspiration from open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and sports games like Motocross Madness and Lonely Mountains: Downhill.

But how can a small team with just about ten people, including only two artists, manage to build the large biomes required for the player to cycle around? By having a vital third member on the art team – Houdini, a procedural generation art tool for 3D animation. Houdini is used not only by AAA studios but also by indies.

Creating Barriers with Procedural Generation

Even for a reasonably sized art team, building a city is quite daunting, notes co-art director Dan Hunter. "For a small team like ours, it meant that I could create a tool that, for example, creates barriers like a wooden fence, and then I can give that to Mark [Essen, creative director] or other designers and they can specify the length and color. Rather than me going, ‘You need a fence that’s 10 meters long,’ you can just say, ‘Here’s a fence, build it three miles if you want,’ and then you build on that.’"

Adding Variation with Randomization

There are still props that are built by hand, such as air-conditioning units and satellite dishes, but these are also objects that would be realistically identical, which Houdini can then add into the mix with instructions, such as ensuring it’s always placed at least five meters off the ground or only on a rooftop.

Maintaining Artistic Personality

Using procedural generation doesn’t mean Wheel World is lacking in any artistic personality. Indeed, it’s very committed to its cel-shaded comic book aesthetic not just in character models but in environments, such as the first main Italy-inspired biome Tramonto.

Vertex Painting and Detail Rendering

To achieve the flat shade effect, Hunter tells me that the game doesn’t actually have any textures, instead everything is vertex painted, although the aesthetic also hides the detail of the models that have a deliberately wobbly appearance. "We don’t have parallel lines, we don’t have straight lines, so a building will kind of be wobbled. There is kind of a decent amount of polygons in those things, but that’s just to create a kind of roundness and wobbliness to everything."

Conclusion

Wheel World is launching summer 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. A demo is currently available via Steam Next Fest. Visit the Messhof website for more details.

FAQs

Q: What is Houdini?
A: Houdini is a procedural generation art tool for 3D animation.

Q: How does Houdini help in building large worlds?
A: Houdini allows for the creation of complex 3D environments and objects using procedural generation, which can be used to build large worlds.

Q: What is the art style of Wheel World?
A: Wheel World has a cel-shaded comic book aesthetic, with a focus on vibrant colors and a whimsical feel.

Q: What platforms will Wheel World be available on?
A: Wheel World will be available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Severance Opens Up a New Kind of Terror

Avery Winslow
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Severance Opens Up a New Kind of Terror

Severance’s Latest Episode Unleashes a New Level of Horror

A New Kind of Fear

Severance has always been a horror story, albeit one set in a mostly generic office. That blandness is a large part of what makes it so scary: underneath the corporate speak, drab decor, and unflattering fluorescent lighting is something very sinister. And in the show’s latest episode, it uses that energy to tap into a new, even more terrifying kind of fear.

Spoilers Ahead for Severance, Up to Season 2, Episode 7

The Latest Episode: "Chikhai Bardo"

The episode picks up with Mark (Adam Scott) recovering from a process called reintegration that’s designed to reunite the two halves of his mind: the outie who lives a normal life, and the innie who is confined to the unyielding hell of the basement of tech giant Lumon Industries. Because of this, it has an almost Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind vibe to it. As Mark is passed out on his couch post-surgery, and his brain is seemingly stitching itself back together, we get flashbacks of how he met his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman) and how their relationship became strained after they struggled to conceive.

Gemma’s Dark Past

Gemma is better known to Severance viewers as Miss Casey, the disturbingly calm wellness director at Lumon. In the outside world, she is believed to be dead following a car accident. Her death is the main reason Mark became severed in the first place, as an attempt to avoid grief, at least a little bit. But one of the show’s biggest mysteries has been not only just how it is that she’s still alive but also how she ended up living this mysterious life in Lumon’s basement.

The Process of Becoming Miss Casey

"Chikhai Bardo" provides a little insight into this. In addition to Mark’s flashbacks, we also get to see how Gemma was transformed into Miss Casey. The process involves all kinds of disturbing tests, which mostly involve sending her innie into strange rooms — in one, she’s experiencing a plane crashing; in another, she undergoes hours of painful dental work — and then seeing how her outie reacts afterward. Lumon tracks everything about her physical and mental state, and, it seems, uses that information to perfect the severance procedure and make her the ideal wellness instructor, a job that entails helping other innies stay calm and productive. The goal is to subject the innie to brutal conditions and for it to impact the outie as little as possible. The torture is both psychological and physical.

A Disturbing Revelation

But this also points to an incredibly disturbing revelation. Up until now, the severed characters in the show have seemingly all been there by choice. For their own personal reasons, characters like Mark, Helly (Britt Lower), and Dylan (Zach Cherry) all made the decision to split themselves in half. That doesn’t erase the hellscape that their innies have to live through, but it does explain how we got to that point. Miss Casey is different. While it’s not entirely clear how or why she got involved with Lumon, it sure seems like the company was involved in faking her death — and used that as cover to do all of these experiments in secret under the assumption that no one would ever find out about it, since she’ll never be able to leave.

Conclusion

The severance procedure is spatially dictated, meaning that people switch from innie to outie based on where they are. So far, that has been pretty simple: outies exist out in the wide world, and once they go down to the basement in an elevator, they become their innies, who can only exist elsewhere with special Lumon permission (like when everyone went on a retreat in episode 4). But things are much more complex for Miss Casey and Gemma; they switch back and forth constantly as they enter new rooms, in a way that allows Lumon complete control over where they can go and when. There truly is no escape for either of them. And the fact that Lumon can get away with faking a death to create a human lab rat, well, that’s quite a bit scarier than some goat farmers who look like Midsommar extras.

FAQs

  • What is the purpose of the severance procedure in Severance?
    The severance procedure is designed to separate the two halves of a person’s mind, with one half living a normal life and the other half living in the basement of Lumon Industries.
  • What is Miss Casey’s role in the show?
    Miss Casey is a character in the show who is believed to be dead, but is actually alive and working as a wellness director at Lumon.
  • How does the severance procedure work?
    The severance procedure is spatially dictated, meaning that people switch from innie to outie based on where they are. Outies exist out in the wide world, and once they go down to the basement in an elevator, they become their innies, who can only exist elsewhere with special Lumon permission.
  • What is the purpose of the experiments in the show?
    The experiments in the show are designed to perfect the severance procedure and make the characters more productive and calm.

Save or Upgrade with a Twist

Phil
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Save or Upgrade with a Twist

Get the Latest Samsung Galaxy S25 at an Unbeatable Price

Unlock Exclusive Deals with Trade-ins

If you’re in the market for the latest Samsung Galaxy S25, now’s the perfect time to make a purchase. Samsung is offering an unbeatable deal: trade in your old device and get up to $500 off the new phone. But that’s not all – you can also snag an even better deal on the S25 Ultra.

Which Devices Qualify for Trade-ins?

The following Samsung devices qualify for the $500 trade-in offer:

  • Galaxy Z Flip6 and Fold6
  • Galaxy Flip5 and Fold5
  • Galaxy S24 series
  • Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G

Additionally, the following Apple devices are also eligible for the trade-in:

  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16 Pro
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max

Get the S25 Ultra at an Unbeatable Price

But that’s not all – if you trade in your old S24 Ultra, Z Fold5, or Fold6, you can get an astonishing $900 discount on the S25 Ultra. This means you can get the 512GB model for just $400, a saving of $1,020.

What to Expect from the S25 Series

While we haven’t reviewed the S25 series yet, we’re confident that the S25 Ultra will be a top contender for the best camera phone, and possibly even the best budget camera phone if you can snag it at this price.

Best Prices for the S25 Series Worldwide

Not interested in these deals? Check out the best prices for the S25 series in your region below.

Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.

FAQs

Q: What devices are eligible for the $500 trade-in offer?
A: The following Samsung devices qualify: Galaxy Z Flip6 and Fold6, Galaxy Flip5 and Fold5, Galaxy S24 series, and Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G. Apple devices eligible for trade-in include iPhone 14 Pro Max, 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max.

Q: How much can I save on the S25 Ultra with a trade-in?
A: You can get $900 off the S25 Ultra if you trade in your old S24 Ultra, Z Fold5, or Fold6, bringing the price down to $400.

Q: Have the S25 series been reviewed?
A: No, we haven’t reviewed the S25 series yet, but we’re confident that the S25 Ultra will be a top contender for the best camera phone and possibly the best budget camera phone if you can get it at this price.

Coaches’ Insights on K-12 Instruction

Morgan Tate
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Coaches’ Insights on K-12 Instruction

Key points:

The Role of Instructional Coaches in Integrating AI in K-12 Education

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes an integral part of modern education, instructional coaches play a pivotal role in guiding teachers on its implementation, bridging the gap between emerging educational technologies and effective classroom practices.

AI in K-12 Education: Insights from Instructional Coaches

Ten instructional coaches, all with advanced degrees and over 10 years of experience in education, shared their perspectives on the instructional use of AI in K-12 education. They reported that AI is used for various purposes, including providing feedback on student work, creating professional development materials, supporting writing and content generation, and enhancing accessibility for students with special needs.

Perceived Impact of AI on Instruction

The majority of instructional coaches expressed positive expectations regarding AI’s potential to reduce educator workload, create personalized learning experiences, and improve access for students with disabilities. However, some remain cautious about its potential risks.

Concerns about AI in Education

While AI presents numerous benefits, instructional coaches also raised concerns about its potential drawbacks, including ethical dilemmas, student engagement challenges, and equity issues. They worry that some students will use AI tools without critically engaging with the material, leading to passive learning and an overreliance on generative tools.

Conclusion

The integration of AI in K-12 education presents both opportunities and challenges. Instructional coaches largely recognize AI’s potential to enhance learning, improve efficiency, academic integrity, and maintain human-centered learning experiences. As AI continues to evolve, educators must be proactive in shaping how it is used, ensuring it serves as a tool for empowerment rather than dependency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the benefits of AI in K-12 education?
A: AI has the potential to reduce educator workload, create personalized learning experiences, and improve access for students with disabilities.

Q: What are the concerns about AI in education?
A: AI raises concerns about ethical dilemmas, student engagement challenges, and equity issues.

Q: How can educators use AI effectively?
A: Educators can use AI to provide feedback on student work, create professional development materials, and support writing and content generation.

Q: What are the ethical implications of AI in education?
A: AI raises concerns about data privacy and security, bias, and the potential for AI-generated content to reduce critical thinking and creativity.

New AI Text Diffusion Models Break Speed Barriers

Emerson Blake
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New AI Text Diffusion Models Break Speed Barriers

Noise in the Noiseless: Fast and Efficient Language Models

These diffusion models maintain performance faster than or comparable to similarly sized conventional models. LLaDA’s researchers report their 8 billion parameter model performs similarly to LLaMA3 8B across various benchmarks, with competitive results on tasks like MMLU, ARC, and GSM8K.

Speed Advantages

However, Mercury claims dramatic speed improvements. Their Mercury Coder Mini scores 88.0 percent on HumanEval and 77.1 percent on MBPP—comparable to GPT-4o Mini—while reportedly operating at 1,109 tokens per second compared to GPT-4o Mini’s 59 tokens per second. This represents a 19x speed advantage over GPT-4o Mini while maintaining similar performance on coding benchmarks.

The Future of LLMs

Mercury’s documentation states its models run "at over 1,000 tokens/sec on Nvidia H100s, a speed previously possible only using custom chips" from specialized hardware providers like Groq, Cerebras, and SambaNova. When compared to other speed-optimized models, the claimed advantage remains significant—Mercury Coder Mini is reportedly about 5.5x faster than Gemini 2.0 Flash-Lite (201 tokens/second) and 18x faster than Claude 3.5 Haiku (61 tokens/second).

Opening a Potential New Frontier in LLMs

Diffusion models do involve some trade-offs. They typically need multiple forward passes through the network to generate a complete response, unlike traditional models that need just one pass per token. However, because diffusion models process all tokens in parallel, they achieve higher throughput despite this overhead.

Potential Applications

The speed advantages could impact code completion tools where instant response may affect developer productivity, conversational AI applications, resource-limited environments like mobile applications, and AI agents that need to respond quickly.

Industry Reactions

Independent AI researcher Simon Willison told Ars Technica, "I love that people are experimenting with alternative architectures to transformers, it’s yet another illustration of how much of the space of LLMs we haven’t even started to explore yet."

Former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy wrote about Inception, "This model has the potential to be different, and possibly showcase new, unique psychology, or new strengths and weaknesses. I encourage people to try it out!"

Conclusion

These diffusion models offer an alternative to smaller AI language models that doesn’t seem to sacrifice capability for speed. However, questions remain about whether larger diffusion models can match the performance of models like GPT-4o and Claude 3.7 Sonnet, produce reliable results without many confabulations, and if the approach can handle increasingly complex simulated reasoning tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the advantages of diffusion models?
A: Diffusion models offer faster performance and comparable results to conventional models.

Q: What are the potential applications of diffusion models?
A: Code completion tools, conversational AI applications, resource-limited environments, and AI agents that need to respond quickly.

Q: Are there any limitations to diffusion models?
A: Yes, diffusion models involve some trade-offs, such as needing multiple forward passes through the network, but they can achieve higher throughput in parallel processing.

Q: Can larger diffusion models match the performance of larger conventional models?
A: Questions remain about this, but early results show promise.

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