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Microsoft's annual Build developer conference will take place in Seattle and run from May 19 to May 22, the company announced on X. There are no details on what will be announced, but you can be fairly sure it'll match or beat Build 2024 in terms of AI-related products and services. Artificial intelligence played a large part in last year's conference, featuring in areas ranging from Windows search to Copilot+ to Microsoft Paint. In fact, a day before Build 2024, Microsoft unveiled its new Surface Pro PC powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips, capable of hitting 45TOPS of neural processing power. Were building a new path forward. Come join us at #MSBuild, May 19 22, 2025. https://t.co/MflbdY5UAh pic.twitter.com/YbRLwmepK1 Microsoft Events (@events_msft) February 4, 2025 The same sort of thing might happen this year, as rumors say that Microsoft could launch new Surface models later this year, including a laptop and 2-in-1, both using Windows on Arm with Qualcomm's latest PC-oriented chips. In fact, Qualcomm could also unveil a successor to the X Elite, which first arrived in October 2023. It's fair to say that the Windows 11, along with the company's Microsoft 365 suite, will see substantial AI enhancements announced for Build 2025. Microsoft has substantially changed its approach to AI in the intervening year as well. It's no longer wedded as closely to OpenAI and ChatGPT, having recently announced that it's bringing DeepSeek to Copilot+ PCs and Azure cloud. All of that adds up to what will likely be a very AI-intensive developer conference, even if a large chunk of the public isn't sold on it yet. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/microsofts-build-2025-developer-conference-kicks-off-on-may-19th-133025358.html?src=rss
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In recent years, the push to ban smartphones in schools has picked up, with advocates citing everything from improving focus to creating a safe environment. Now, a new study out of the UK investigates the effectiveness of these policies on social media use and overall well-being with interesting results. The study, published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe journal, included 1,227 individuals aged 12 to 15 from 20 schools with restrictive phone policies and 10 that permitted phone use. Researchers didn't find a link between restrictive school policies and lower phone or social media use and improved well-being. Notably, individuals unable to use their phones at school still used their devices the same amount of time on weekdays as their counterparts. So, they still had the same amount of potentially negative time on their phones per day, just at a different time of the day (assuming no sneaky use at school). These results are significant for advocates of school bans to consider, though primarily demonstrate the benefits of a more holistic plan to reduce adolescents' smartphone and social media use throughout the day. The study's authors note their research didn't look at how restrictive phone policies at school can impact instances of bullying or time engaging in face-to-face interactions. It also doesn't examine the difference between varied types of restriction or how long these policies have been in place. The UK government has been a strong proponent of banning smartphones in schools, announcing guidance in February 2024. The guidance called for schools to create policies that worked best for them, but outlined a few options including banning any smartphones on school premises. Other suggestions involved students handing in their phones upon arrival or storing them in lockers. The US, France and more countries have also taken steps to ban smartphones in schools. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and California Governor Gavin Newsom are among the proponents of smartphone restrictions in schools. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/uk-study-says-school-phone-bans-dont-affect-students-total-screen-time-130048601.html?src=rss
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Sonos will start selling a streaming box in the "coming months," according to The Verge. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that the company was working on a streaming device codenamed "Pinewood" back in 2023. He said it was going to cost between $150 and $200, but sources told the publication that it would set buyers back between $200 and $400 instead. To note, the Roku Streambar costs $130, while the Apple TV 4K with Wi-Fi costs $129. During an earnings call last year, Sonos said that it was planning to launch two new products in the fourth quarter of 2024, but it had to push back their release until its app was fixed. Sonos' app broke after the company rolled out a major redesign last April that was supposed to make it easier to find and play different kinds of content. But the app was extremely buggy and was missing basic features, such as sleep timers and alarms. It's not quite clear if one of the delayed products was the streaming box, but the box, The Verge says, is "deep into development." The streaming device will reportedly have an interface that can combine content from multiple services, including Netflix, Max and Disney Plus, in a single unified software experience. It will feature integrated Sonos Voice Control, but it will also come with a physical remote control with shortcuts for popular apps. For those with an expansive home theater setup, the box will apparently have multiple HDMI ports with passthrough capability, allowing users to plug in other devices they want to pair with their TVs, such as gaming consoles. Sonos has also reportedly designed Pinewood to be able to wirelessly transmit TV audio to its own soundbars and other audio devices without lag. Plus, it will allow users to create their own surround system for TV viewing. Users will be able to designate two separate speakers as front left and right channels, for instance. For internet connectivity, The Verge says it will have both a gigabit ethernet port and Wi-Fi 7. After a disastrous few months following its botched app overhaul, Sonos laid out a plan to win back customers' trust. One of the things it promised was to implement "ambitious quality benchmarks" at the beginning of a product development cycle. It also said that it's not going to release products before those standards are met, which presumably means that Pinewood is going through rigorous testing before it becomes available. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sonos-may-release-its-long-rumored-streaming-box-this-year-130017996.html?src=rss
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