Frequently considerations of decentralized technology's future social implications present freshly differentiated images of somehow superior methodologies that may be radically different than the present day. Yet the decentralized recording of centrally controlled operations could instead be a marked degradation to both the technology's potential and developmental promise. Without an equivalent preceding structural change, the introduction of decentralized technologies into established industries wishing to bolster rather than improve service offerings should give us all great cause for concern.

In a factually based, well-known business school anecdote a case of one of the first life insurance claims is often repeated. Shortly after this type of policy became available a life insurance policyholder did indeed pass away during the applicability of his high-payout protection. When the family of the deceased attempted to claim, the insurer wrote a new definition of how their company calculated 'one year' so as to [successfully] avoid settlement.

Spoken of as commendable industrial ingenuity or defenseless profiteering would most likely depend on whether it was relayed in a strategy or ethics lecture. However, with this tale in mind we now turn to the introduction of blockchain technologies within the insurance industries:

"ORLANDO, Florida - Blockchain technology has a future in workers compensation transactions as the technology has the potential to improve communication and efficiency industrywide, a presenter told attendees of the National Council for Compensation Insurance Inc.'s Annual Issues Symposium on Friday. The blockchain is a decentralized, peer-to-peer network that provides insurers and stakeholders a way of "producing, storing, managing and sharing data as a secure record of transactions," said Paul Meeusen, head of distributed ledger technology and director of finance reinsurance at Swiss Re and CEO of B3i.

Blockchain consists of a distributed ledger, consensus providing a "single version" of information, cryptography for secure and authentic transactions, and smart contracts, which are auto-executed under predefined conditions, Mr. Meeusen said. In a traditional insurance system, there is an inefficient flow of information from the policyholder to an insurer to reinsurer to the capital market, he said. Mr. Meeusen explained how the technology works to create efficiencies rather than collecting and examining data in separate systems.

"We are working together, but we keep control of our data," he said.

For workers compensation, blockchain can allow stakeholders opportunities for sharing personal and medical information, providing a secure place to store and access data. The technology would also allow for verification of comp coverage across the blockchain platform, he said. Blockchain also allows for real-time messaging and confidential sharing of information across the industry, he added. "There is definitely an efficiency component here," said Mr. Meeusen." May 19th, 2018, Louise Esola on Business Insurance

The blockchain may indeed offer transparent, decentralized and immutable recording of digital data entries. Possible extensions utilizing automatically executable or complexly triggered 'smart contract' events are also numerous. This is without question. The quality of the content though is perhaps something often either overlooked or simply subsumed into the excitement of the technology.

To replicate existing methodologies through new means may be to forgo opportunities for improvement. In other words, regardless of an insurance policy being held centrally by the issuing company or recorded via decentralized technologies, this says nothing about its practical implementation. The same issuing company formulated and enforces the terms.

The caveats, clauses, loopholes, and conditions of many insurance policies that prohibit payouts to holders are too numerous to list here in detail. It is sufficient to say that for many they form a recognizably accepted portion of the insurance process. To now immutably digitize the insurance company's terms and conditions with complexities that may not wholly be understood by the individual holders of such policies confers only benefits to the issuing company.

As rather than a personable exchange, clarification or justification in any lack of comprehension here the holder's digitally immutable and time-stamped agreement with such a document is forever locked. While the transparency of the documents themselves may be set, the comprehension and honoring of the policy remains largely one-sided. The use of immutable records is only beneficial provided sufficient knowledge of the meaning or implications of these records exists. A convoluted and one-sided policy remains just that, whether on or off the blockchain.

The very presence and survival of the hugely profitable insurance giants should hint at the business structure. Ultimately, like a casino, the company's calculations and metrics are superior to our understanding of probability.

Like around at the blackjack table a player's chance at profit or their enjoyment in the risk of participation itself outweighs what is essentially a guaranteed loss when measured on a sufficient timescale. The house always wins. This is why there is the [well decorated and ornately furnished] house itself. Aside from investment strategies as well as a multiplicity of financial activities, at its core insurance coverage exists as the house is betting that we, the policyholders, are wrong.

For any business, it is unsustainable to pay out more than you receive. Therefore the range in choice of insurance has and continues to be available as the purchasing of these, over a long enough time scale, earns the issuing company more than it costs for them when paying out.

This is not to marginalize a host of potential benefits, protections, and security provided by insurance offerings. As with automobile accidents for example, in a cost-benefit analysis, one's deference to experienced centralized behemoths for resolution may simply be prudent and well worth such costs particularly in consideration of the alternative's possible time requirements. It is simply to state that throughout all insurance offerings, the house [an insurance company] exists because it remains profitable.

When blockchain technologies are purported as a panacea for development and the future of the industry, perhaps we should all first step back and question whether we genuinely understand the policies themselves before getting too excited about their immutable recording.

Introduction

During the past few years, the terms artificial intelligence and machine learning have begun showing up frequently in technology news and websites. Often the two are used as synonyms, but many experts argue that they have subtle but real differences.

And of course, the experts sometimes disagree among themselves about what those differences are.

In general, however, two things seem clear: first, the term artificial intelligence (AI) is older than the term machine learning (ML), and second, most people consider machine learning to be a subset of artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Machine Learning

Though AI is defined in many ways, the most widely accepted definition being "the field of computer science dedicated to solving cognitive problems commonly associated with human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and pattern recognition", in essence, it is the idea that machines can possess intelligence.

The heart of an Artificial Intelligence-based system is its model. A model is nothing but a program that improves its knowledge through a learning process by making observations about its environment. This type of learning-based model is grouped under supervised Learning. There are other models which come under the category of unsupervised learning Models.

The phrase "machine learning" also dates back to the middle of the last century. In 1959, Arthur Samuel defined ML as "the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed." And he went on to create a computer checkers application that was one of the first programs that could learn from its own mistakes and improve its performance over time.

Like AI research, ML fell out of vogue for a long time, but it became popular again when the concept of data mining began to take off around the 1990s. Data mining uses algorithms to look for patterns in a given set of information. ML does the same thing, but then goes one step further - it changes its program's behavior based on what it learns.

One application of ML that has become very popular recently is image recognition. These applications first must be trained - in other words, humans have to look at a bunch of pictures and tell the system what is in the picture. After thousands and thousands of repetitions, the software learns which patterns of pixels are generally associated with horses, dogs, cats, flowers, trees, houses, etc., and it can make a pretty good guess about the content of images.

Many web-based companies also use ML to power their recommendation engines. For example, when Facebook decides what to show in your newsfeed when Amazon highlights products you might want to purchase and when Netflix suggests movies you might want to watch, all of those recommendations are on based predictions that arise from patterns in their existing data.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Frontiers: Deep Learning, Neural Nets, and Cognitive Computing

Of course, "ML" and "AI" aren't the only terms associated with this field of computer science. IBM frequently uses the term "cognitive computing," which is more or less synonymous with AI.

However, some of the other terms do have very unique meanings. For example, an artificial neural network or neural net is a system that has been designed to process information in ways that are similar to the ways biological brains work. Things can get confusing because neural nets tend to be particularly good at machine learning, so those two terms are sometimes conflated.

In addition, neural nets provide the foundation for deep learning, which is a particular kind of machine learning. Deep learning uses a certain set of machine learning algorithms that run in multiple layers. It is made possible, in part, by systems that use GPUs to process a whole lot of data at once.

If you're confused by all these different terms, you're not alone. Computer scientists continue to debate their exact definitions and probably will for some time to come. And as companies continue to pour money into artificial intelligence and machine learning research, it's likely that a few more terms will arise to add even more complexity to the issues.

The 56-year-old star took a joyride on the back of a motorcycle while on the set of his highly-anticipated film Top Gun: Maverick. He is set to reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell for the sequel to his 1986 classic Top Gun — and by the looks of it, he’s barely aged.

Cruise wore a big grin while wearing his iconic bomber jacket, blue jeans, and black aviator sunglasses.

In May, the actor shared the first shot from the set of the film to his social media on “#Day1” of production. The action star was decked in his aviation gear and held his helmet as he gazed across the tarmac at an F-18 Tomcat (Maverick’s plane of choice in the original film).

Cruise labeled the picture “FEEL THE NEED,” referencing Maverick’s iconic quote, “I feel the need, the need for speed.” According to Variety, the Risky Business star’s character will now be an instructor.


A post shared by Tom Cruise (@tomcruise) on May 30, 2018, at 10:40pm PDT

Top Gun: Maverick will hit theaters in 2019, with Cruise and Val Kilmer, Lieutenant “Iceman” Kazansky, reprising their respective roles in the highly anticipated action drama, along with a new set of co-stars.

Miles Teller is joining the film as Goose’s son. Goose was originally played by Anthony Edwards and died in an accident for which Maverick blames himself.

Other actors considered for the role were Hidden Figures’ Glen Powell, who’s since joined the cast in another role, and X-Men’s Nicholas Hoult.
Top Gun: Maverick is scheduled for release on July 12, 2019.

Looking to buy Microsoft Office for the best price in the land? You're in look at our comparison charts are constantly hunting for the cheapest Microsoft deals 24/7.

You could buy an Office subscription from Microsoft directly, but it's often possible to get a better deal from a reliable third party retailer. In our guide below, we'll give you the best possible prices for both Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Office 2016. We're expecting a brand new version of Microsoft Office soon, but until then, these will be your best options for cheap Microsoft Office prices.

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If you're in the UK and want to install your new copy of Microsoft Office on a new machine, you might be interested in our selection of the UK's best cheap laptop deals. We also have an Australian and US selection too.


Buy Microsoft Office 365 for the cheapest price

If you're looking to buy Microsoft Office 365, you should know that this is a subscription-based service. The prices below are for your first year for one user to use on one PC, along with a tablet or mobile too.

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The advantages of using Office 365 include having access to all the latest versions of programs in the Microsoft Office suite and having 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage. The latter is particularly useful for editing documents on the go. So you could go from writing on the laptop/desktop to making a few changes or crucial last minute updates on your mobile or tablet. If the online cloud storage and device switching won't be useful, we'd recommend scrolling further down this page and consider buying Microsoft Office 2016 instead for a one-off fee.

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Buy Microsoft Office 2016 for the best price

If you want to get one of the best Office suites out there and not have to worry about subscription costs further down the line, we'd suggest you buy Microsoft Office 2016, also known as just Office 2016.

While it does cost more than a year of Office 365, Office 2016 may work out cheaper for you in the long run. The cheapest version is usually the 'Home & Student' Edition which comes with a lifetime license for one user. And no, you don't have to be a student to buy and use this version which comes with the essential Office suite items like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

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Sometimes you come across a product and you think to yourself, “why on Earth did it take me so long to realize that I needed this?” Such is the case with the VicTsing 4-Button Slim Silent Wireless Mouse, which is only $9.99 right now on Amazon. It’s just like the wireless mouse you’re using right now, but there’s one key difference: It doesn’t make that annoying sound when you click it!

9 reasons you should buy the smaller iPhone XS instead of the iPhone XS Max (AAPL)

VicTsing 4-Button Slim Silent Wireless Mouse,3 Adjustable DPI Levels, Silent Click with USB Nano…
$9.99

Available from Amazon
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Here’s what you need to know from the product page:
Sensitive and Noiseless: Quiet clicks free your worry about bothering other beside you and keep you focused while working or studying. The optical laser allows for the quick response, precise movement and smoother tracking.
Skin-Friendly for Comfort: Streamline design with anti-fingerprint and sweat-resistant finish offers your hand maximum support and comfort. The sturdy anti-slip rubber scroll wheel ensures that your hand will not slip when scrolling.

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Portable and Pocket Size: Featuring slim (4.5*2.4*1.3in/115*62*32mm) which is twice thinner than ordinary mice, this portable wireless mouse is perfect for traveling. It can be easily put into your backpack or pocket. (Note: The Nano receiver is stored in the back of the mouse.)
Stable and Anti-Interference: 2.4GHz wireless transmission technology provides a powerful and reliable connection up to 33ft (10m). 3 adjustable CPI levels, 800-1200-1600, easily change the mouse sensitivity to match your activity.
Energy Saving: Powered by 2 AAA batteries. With short-circuit, protection and independent power supply function, this wireless mouse with separate switch button can still work with 1 battery. It would enter into a power-saving mode in 10mins of inactivity. Well compatible with Windows7/8/10/XP, Vista7/8, and Linux etc.

According to the Mirror, Manchester City could agree on a deal for Swansea City defender Joe Rodon. The Jacks, however, are trying to throw a spanner in the works by getting the center-back to sign a new deal at the Liberty Stadium. Rodon has been urged by his manager Graham Potter to spurn the advances of Man City and commit his future to Swansea.

De Bruyne To Return? Pep Makes 2 Key Changes | Expected Man City Line-Up vs Liverpool

Potter said: “We need to do this quickly and that’s something we’re working on as a club behind the scenes. Joe is a young player who is still at the start of his career. He’s clever and mature enough to know he’s only played nine matches. He knows he’s in the best place for him and in an environment which suits him.”

With Rodon’s contract expiring next summer, Swansea is running out of time to tie him down and will be resigned to losing him if they can’t agree on terms on an extension. He’s risen through the youth ranks to the City first-team this season, making nine Championship appearances, so regular playing time could be a major factor behind his decision.

Pep Guardiola might have already found David Silva's successor at Man City

The Sky Blues are a hard team to turn down, given they’re managed by Pep Guardiola and won the Premier League title with 100 points last season, but Rodon wouldn’t stand a chance of senior level football given he’d have Vincent Kompany, Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte for competition.

At Swansea, he’s getting competitive action on a weekly basis which will do wonders for his development. A move could ensure a little later in his career, but Potter is hoping Rodon will give the Welsh outfit another year of service before eyeing a switch.

Manchester City will be looking to cement their position at the top of the table with a positive result when they take on Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. Here is the team we think Pep Guardiola will select.

Goalkeeper: Ederson is certain to keep his place between the sticks this weekend while youngster Arijanet Muric will continue to deputize on the bench in place of the injured Claudio Bravo.

Liverpool FC handed huge injury blow ahead of Man City showdown

Defense: City has been handed a major boost as Benjamin Mendy has been passed the fit and is available for selection after recovering from injury so the Frenchman could come in at left-back against Liverpool while Kyle Walker is certain to keep his place on the opposite flank.

Aymeric Laporte played on the left side of the defense during the 2-1 win at Hoffenheim in midweek but he could move into a more central role alongside Nicolas Otamendi. Vincent Kompany will hope to keep his place but I think Guardiola may go with the pace of Laporte against a mobile Liverpool front three.

Guardiola keen on Lyon superstar

Midfield: Fernandinho is certain to keep his place in the holding midfield role but we should see one change in the middle of the park as Ilkay Gundogan is a major doubt after being forced off with a hamstring injury in midweek. The German international will be assessed but I don’t think City will risk him from the start.


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The city has been handed another major boost after Kevin de Bruyne returned to full training having made a swift recovery from a knee ligament injury. However, after so long on the sidelines I doubt Guardiola will start the Belgian international so we could see Bernado Silva playing alongside David Silva in midfield.

City Duo Train Successfully

Attack: Riyad Mahrez is pushing for a recall but I think we’ll see Leroy Sane keeping his place in attack while Raheem Sterling should also retain his spot in the front three so Mahrez may have to make do with a place on the bench.

Sergio Aguero was on target once again in midweek and the Argentinean international is expected to lead the line up front once again this weekend so Gabriel Jesus will provide a threat off the bench against Liverpool.

Here is how I think we’ll see City line-up:

Under dazzling autumn sunshine in the heart of Paris, Marc Fiot steps out of a new Zoe, Renault's flagship all-electric hatchback, and readily declares it "the future".

Does that mean the 70-year-old retiree, who says he hasn't missed an edition of the Paris Motor Show since 1966, is ready to join what carmakers insist will be the electric revolution?

"Not right away," Fiat says. "What's stopping us is the price -- it's a bit expensive for a small car."

The base price for a Zoe starts at 23,000 euros ($26,500) in France and doesn't include battery rental costs -- through the government is offering a 6,000 euro clean car rebate.

But higher costs relative to traditional vehicles are just one of the hurdles facing the industry as it races to bring electric cars into the mainstream.

"The problem is the range isn't enough," said Guillaume Magne, an 18-year-old who just recently got his license, after trying out Citroen's C-Zero.

Eleven automakers have made 33 cars available for free 30-minute test drives at the Place de la Concorde as part of the motor show, which runs until October 14.

But the crowd was thin as the show opened to the public on Thursday, though the exhaust and constant honking from traffic charging chaotically through to the huge square wasn't exactly an enticement to get behind the wheel.

Although global sales of all-electric cars jumped 50 percent last year, according to Jato Dynamics analyst Felipe Munoz, they represented barely 1 percent of new registrations.

Electric optimism was nonetheless on full display, with executives predicting that crackdowns on pollution and the push for self-driving vehicles made the shift from combustion engines inevitable.

"There isn't a single carmaker which isn't planning to develop its own range of models in the next three or four years," said Guillaume Crunelle, an auto expert at Deloitte.

He expects that by 2022-23, "they will absolutely be competitive in terms of price."

And Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, said that once buyers are assured that a car can go at least 300 kilometers (185 miles) on a single charge, "range is no longer a concern".

That is indeed the case with the new models on display, including SUVs from Mercedes and Audi, which long resisted offering all-electric models.

But executives admitted that a limited and disparate network of charging stations -- often using incompatible plugs or payment systems -- remained a deterrent to potential buyers.

Long charging times remain an issue as well, with minimum waits of about 15 minutes currently.

The goal with new batteries expected to hit the market in the coming years is for ultrafast charging in seven to eight minutes, similar to the time it takes to fill up at a petrol station.

But engineers still have to figure out how to contain the extreme heat generated by such power transfers.

For Yves Bonnefont, head of the high-end French carmaker DS, depending on the level of government support, "the market can either accelerate sharply or develop slowly".

Such support has given China a huge head start in the market, with Chinese brands largely unknown outside the country making up eight of the top 10 electric carmakers by volume -- the others being Renault and Nissan.

U.S. and European carmakers worry this could make them dependent on Chinese battery technology, not least because China holds huge reserves of the rare-earth minerals needed for lithium-ion and other battery technologies.

Another challenge for carmakers is that electric vehicles are far less complicated to build and service, requiring just a small fraction of the thousands of workers currently employed across the industry.

The outgoing Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche admitted as much this week when he warned that his company could not remain a "behemoth" as the industry undergoes a seismic shift.

So executives are hoping the growing number of offerings will prove a catalyst for widespread demand, particularly among younger clients more concerned about smog and ease of use than horsepower.

"It's a good option for commuting from home to work, around 35 kilometers twice a day," said David Kihouba, a pharmacist who lives outside Paris, as he checked out a Smart Fortwo at the Concorde. "Gas prices are only going to go up," he added.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been awarded £700,000 in taxpayers’ money to support innovations involving artificial intelligence to transform the legal services market for small businesses and consumers. It is one of 15 winning bidders to the £10m ’Regulators’ Pioneer Fund’ set up by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in its ‘grand challenge’ to support new technologies.

Other winners include the Civil Aviation Authority, which receives £1m to find ways of unblocking barriers to innovations such as flying taxis.

Business secretary Greg Clark said: ’The UK’s regulatory environment is recognized as being among the best in the world and through our modern industrial strategy we are building a business environment in which Britain’s dreamers, developers, and disruptors can continue to thrive. These projects will further strengthen our regulatory system and ensure that it keeps pace with the innovation and technological advances needed to power our economy now and in the future.’

According to the department, the SRA’s project, Data-Driven Innovation in Legal Services, ’will seek out and accelerate ethical AI-powered business innovations that support its regulatory objectives. The focus will be on growing the large underdeveloped legal services market for small businesses and consumers, where AI and automation can have a transformative impact’.

Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ’Smart use of technology could help tackle the problem that far too many people struggle to access expert legal advice.’ He said the grant ’will help us further build on our work to encourage new ways of delivering legal services, benefiting both the public and small business’.

The Civil Aviation Authority’s project, Innovation in Aviation Engagement Capability, includes the establishment of a new advisory service giving innovators preliminary regulatory guidance and a regulatory ‘sandbox’ to allow testing. A regulatory lab will convene relevant bodies to identify future legislative and regulatory barriers to innovations such as flying taxis, the department said.

Among the other regulators to receive grants are Ofcom, which will spend the money on using blockchain technology to improve the management of telephone numbers, and the Financial Conduct Authority, which is investigating digital regulatory reporting.

The new iPhone XS and XS Max from Apple have considered the true successor's to last year's iPhone X. But the smaller phone is going to be the best option for most people.

Apple unveiled three new iPhones this year: the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR.

While the iPhone XR is in a league of its own — it doesn't even go on sale until the end of October — the iPhone XS and XS Max are considered the true successors to last year's iPhone X, which featured a total redesign that removed the traditional home button in favor of a facial recognition system and an edge-to-edge OLED display.
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But if you're considering the iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max, which is the right phone for you?

Here are 9 reasons to choose the smaller iPhone XS instead of the larger iPhone XS Max:
1. The iPhone XS is more affordable than the iPhone XS Max.
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1. The iPhone XS is more affordable than the iPhone XS Max. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)



Price is probably the biggest consideration for most people, and the iPhone XS has the larger XS Max beat when it comes to value.

The iPhone XS starts at $999 for 64 GB of storage, but can cost up to $1,349 for 512 GB of storage.

The iPhone XS Max starts at $1,099 for 64 GB of storage but can cost up to $1,449 for 512 GB of storage.

To be clear, 512 gigabytes is an extraordinary amount of storage — I have over 200 apps on my iPhone X, plus tons of old texts and photos, and I'm only using 62 of my 64 total gigabytes of space (having 100 GB of iCloud storage helps there, but that only costs $0.99 a month).

So, you'll save at least $100 by choosing the iPhone XS instead of the larger Max model. One hundred dollars may not seem like much, but keep in mind, you'll also want to buy a handful of crucial accessories like cases and insurance plans on top of the cost of the phone, so these costs do add up.




2. The iPhone XS has the same display quality as the iPhone XS Max, but in a size that's more manageable for most people.
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2. The iPhone XS has the same display quality as the iPhone XS Max, but in a size that's more manageable for most people. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)



The iPhone XS and XS Max both feature the same OLED "Super Retina" display from last year's iPhone X — the same pixel density, same contrast ratio, same everything.

The only difference, screen-wise, between the iPhone XS and the XS Max, is the size. You're not losing out on quality.

For most people, the size of the iPhone XS is going to be more manageable. The iPhone XS Max might be perfect for people with large hands, or people who don't mind using their phone with two hands since many reviews have noted that one-handed use is not very easy.

The iPhone XS, on the other hand, is much more manageable in terms of overall size and still has a bigger display than most iPhones that came before it, including last year's iPhone 8 Plus.




3. The iPhone XS is lighter than the iPhone XS Max.
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3. The iPhone XS is lighter than the iPhone XS Max. (Apple)



You might not consider weight when purchasing a new phone, but it matters. You'll be carrying this device around all day in your hand, pocket, or bag, and you'll be lifting this thing and holding it to your face several dozen times a day. Weight matters.

The iPhone XS is 6.24 ounces or 177 grams.

The iPhone XS Max is 7.34 ounces, or 208 grams.




4. The iPhone XS is powered by the same brains as the iPhone XS Max.
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4. The iPhone XS is powered by the same brains as the iPhone XS Max. (Apple)



This is a big one. Buying the larger phone does not mean you're getting better performance. The iPhone XS and XS Max are both powered by the same A12 Bionic chip from Apple, which includes a 6-core CPU, a 4-core GPU, and a next-generation neural engine that's dedicated to machine learning.




5. The iPhone XS and XS Max have identical rear camera systems.
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5. The iPhone XS and XS Max have identical rear camera systems. (Apple)



Check out this specs sheet from Apple. There are literally no differences between the rear camera systems in the iPhone XS and the larger XS Max.




6. The iPhone XS and XS Max have identical front-facing cameras, too.
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6. The iPhone XS and XS Max have identical front-facing cameras, too. (Apple)



Again, this specs sheet from Apple says it all. Your selfies should look identical regardless of if you're using the iPhone XS or the larger and more expensive XS Max.




7. The iPhone XS is just as water-resistant as the iPhone XS Max.
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7. The iPhone XS is just as water-resistant as the iPhone XS Max. (Apple)



Don't buy the larger phone because you think it's more water-resistant — that's not the case.

Both the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max are equally rated IP68 by the IEC, which means you can submerge these phones down to two meters of water for up to 30 minutes, and you shouldn't have an issue.




8. The iPhone XS and XS Max both support Apple's new "dual-SIM" feature.
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8. The iPhone XS and XS Max both support Apple's new "dual-SIM" feature. (Screenshot)



All the new iPhones, including the iPhone XR, come with Apple's new dual-SIM feature, which lets people hold one physical nano-SIM card in their phone, as well as an electronic SIM card, or "eSIM."

Having two SIM cards in your iPhone lets you have two phone numbers and connect to multiple carriers or networks, which is ideal for traveling, or people who don't want to be bound to a single carrier.

China is getting separate versions of these iPhones that support two physical SIM cards, instead of the MSM and nano-SIM combination every other country gets.




9. The iPhone XS and XS Max both feature the same Apple ecosystem: iOS.
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9. The iPhone XS and XS Max both feature the same Apple ecosystem: iOS. (Apple)



No matter which phone you get, the iPhone XS or XS Max, you're going to be getting the same version of iOS 12, the same App Store, and the same security fixes and future updates straight from the company.

Starts at £5K
- 65 and 75-inch models available to pre-order

Samsung has revealed the prices of the 65 and 75-inch versions of its 8K TV, the Samsung Q900R.

Being one of the first commercially available 8K televisions, it was unlikely to be cheap. Early adopters generally need big pockets to be at the forefront of new technologies, and 8K is no exception.

The Samsung 65Q900R will set you back £4,999. The 75-inch equivalent, the 75Q900R is priced at £6,999.

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Both are available for pre-order from Samsung's own online store. You can order the 65-inch 8K TV here and the 75-inch version here.

The price of the 85-inch model is yet to be revealed as it is still, currently, unavailable in the UK.

You are really betting on the future of TV for the listed prices above. At present, 8K content is rare and no UK broadcaster has plans to adopt 8K any time soon.

Pep Guardiola might have already found David Silva's successor at Man City

Instead, you will be mostly viewing Ultra HD and, even, 1080p broadcasts upscaled to suit the Q900R's resolution (7,680 x 4,320). However, Samsung's sets use a proprietary Quantum Processor and 8K AI Upscaling to not only ensure the pixel count makes a difference, but images are cleaned up and enhanced. You should, therefore, see a picture quality benefit over a standard 4K TV.

All the processing and connectivity is provided in a separate media box, separated by a superthin, almost invisible cable to the display. And a "No-Gap" wall mount is included in the price.

You can also check out our first impressions of the Q900R when we saw it at IFA earlier this year: Samsung Q900R 8K QLED initial review.

Download music from YouTube in seconds with these great tools

There are dozens of YouTube music-ripping sites out there, though not all are trustworthy. The methods below work well, though we must warn you before moving forward: Ripping audio from YouTube is a breach of YouTube’s terms of use, which could potentially get you in trouble. There are ways to access music from YouTube without breaking the rules, such as Google’s new YouTube Music service that will be likely replacing Google Play Music at some point — so we recommend you consider legitimate options first.

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It’s also important to note that some of the many YouTube ripping sites out there use unconventional money-making practices like crypto-mining. While we do our best to recommend services that don’t use such tactics if you find your system running hotter or harder than usual, make sure you don’t hang around on those sites for too long.
STEP 1: COPY VIDEO URL

This method can all be done in the browser (this is our favorite) without having to download any special applications or jump through any hoops. That also means it’ll work on Windows, Mac, or even a Chromebook.

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The first step is to head over to the YouTube video you want to rip the audio from. Highlight the URL from your browser’s address bar, and copy it to your clipboard.
STEP 2: GO TO DUBEY


Open a new tab and go to Vubey’s homepage. There are a number of online tools for ripping the audio from YouTube videos, but Vubey is our current favorite. It has a clean, one-page interface and fast conversion to MP3.

Once you’ve loaded up the site, just paste your YouTube URL into the field labeled “Video URL.” Use the drop-down menu to select the quality of conversion you want to make and when ready, click the “Convert to MP3” button.
STEP 3: WAIT FOR THE CONVERSION

From there, it’ll load a new page where the conversion will happen. It can take a minute or two if you’re converting a particularly long video, but the wait is rarely too taxing.
STEP 4: DOWNLOAD YOUR AUDIO

Once the conversion is complete, just click the orange “here” link to download your MP3. This should download the file like any other, dropping it in your Downloads folder or wherever else you’ve set up as the default location.
Desktop alternative

Online services are great at downloading and converting YouTube videos, but because of YouTube violations, they tend to get taken down from time to time, leaving you trying to find an alternative. Desktop applications don’t have that problem, and our favorite of them all is 4K Video Downloader. Although its name might suggest otherwise, this tool isn’t just for downloading high-quality videos, it can also be used for ripping audio from them as well.

The instructions are fairly similar to the steps above except that you’ll be doing it within a traditional desktop program, rather than a browser window.

Pep Guardiola is keen to bring Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele to Manchester City, according to reports from France.

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The 21-year-old midfielder starred as Lyon beat City in the Champions League last month, with his dominant display in the center of midfield reportedly piquing Guardiola’s interest.

L’Equipe report Guardiola has urged City bosses to make a move for the Lyon starlet, with the Spaniard seeing him as a direct replacement for Fernandinho.

The Brazilian midfielder is contracted at City until 2020, however, at 33, Guardiola is keen to line up a replacement sooner rather than later.

City Duo Train Successfully

Ndombele, 21, spent last season on-loan with Lyon from Amiens, with his performances earning him a permanent move during the summer.

This season, the midfielder has already registered four assists in just eight games, is reportedly in line for his first call-up to the senior France side.

Benjamin Mendy and Kevin de Bruyne both safely came through a full one-hour training session on Wednesday.
And that will leave Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp guessing as to whether the Manchester City pair could yet play some part in Sunday's huge Premier League showdown at Anfield. City insiders stated De Bruyne, who has been absent for two months, showed no apparent issues with the knee ligament injury which has robbed Pep Guardiola of his star man at the start of this campaign. The Belgium midfielder was seen running and shooting, although City's medical staff are keeping a tight lid on where the 27-year-old presently stands.

Man City have stepped up their recruitment of Europe's top teenage footballing talent with a move for Gavin Bazunu. The goalkeeper, signed from Shamrock Rovers, is very highly rated in his homeland and is expected to a player for City's youth team for the next two seasons.

The city had been scouting Bazunu for several months and have beaten Arsenal to the signing of the shot-stopper.

"This is the first major sale of a player who has been developed in the Shamrock Rovers Academy since its inception in 2016," said Shamrock Rovers in a statement.

"Specifics on the transfer details are not being disclosed. However, it is fair to say that this is the biggest transfer by an Irish club in the professional era.

"The funds generated from player sales this season are significant which in itself shows that our strategy is being implemented extremely well."

Bazunu has kept a clean sheet for Shamrock Rovers in all of his appearances so far and is believed to have made a move to the Citizens in a transfer deal worth £2.8 million.