Monthly Archives: October 2022

Human brain cells transplanted into baby rats’ brains grow and form connections

Human neurons transplanted into a rat’s brain continue to grow, forming connections with the animals’ own brain cells and helping guide their behavior, new research has shown. In a study published in the journal Nature today, lab-grown clumps of human brain cells were transplanted into the brains of newborn rats. They grew and integrated with…

Microsoft takes AI image generation mainstream, strolling into ethics minefield

Enlarge / A preview of the Microsoft Designer app’s AI text-to-image functionality. (credit: Microsoft) During a Surface press event today, Microsoft announced integrations of AI-powered image-generation technology into its Bing search engine, Edge browser, and a new Office app called Microsoft Designer. The technology will be powered by DALL-E 2 by OpenAI, which made waves…

Surface Pro 9 comes in both Intel and Arm flavors, absorbing the Surface Pro X

Enlarge / Microsoft’s Surface Pro 9 is actually two totally different computers that look the same from the outside. (credit: Microsoft) Microsoft is introducing a pair of typical, iterative updates to its Surface Pro convertible tablet PCs today. One is a modest upgrade to the Surface Pro 8, with 12th-generation Intel processors that promise much-improved…

Surface Laptop 5 gets a boost from new Intel CPUs, but AMD option is going away

Enlarge / The Surface Laptop 5 in its new “sage” color. Its design is otherwise familiar. (credit: Microsoft) The Surface Pro 9 isn’t the only new Surface portable that Microsoft is refreshing today. It’s also sprucing up both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch members of the Surface Laptop family, giving them some new color finishes and…

Microsoft whiffs a desperately needed internal refresh for the Surface Studio desktop

Enlarge / The Surface Studio 2+ is the desktop’s first update in four years. (credit: Microsoft) For the first time in four years, Microsoft has updated the only desktop in its Surface PC lineup. The Surface Studio 2+ improves on the Surface Studio 2 by modernizing the internals and updating its port selection while leaving…

Microsoft’s Audio Dock adds ports, a woofer, & tweeters to your setup for $250

Enlarge / During actual use, there’d be some cables coming out of the Microsoft Audio Dock. (credit: Microsoft) As part of its Surface event today, Microsoft announced the Audio Dock, a USB-C docking station that can serve as your computer’s speakers and microphone, too. While the dock doesn’t include Thunderbolt 4 or even USB4, the…

Twitter reviewing policies around permanent user bans

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto) Twitter is reviewing its controversial policies around permanently banning users, potentially bringing its content moderation more in line with Elon Musk’s vision for the social media platform regardless of whether the Tesla chief becomes its owner. The Silicon Valley company has been assessing whether there are other content moderation…