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TikTok plans to spend €12B over 10 years in Europe, including on three data centers and a security audit, as the company begins work on its Norway data center (Paul Sawers/TechCrunch) November 30, 2023

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch: TikTok plans to spend €12B over 10 years in Europe, including on three data centers and a security audit, as the company begins work on its Norway data center  —  TikTok says it will spend €12 billion as part of an ongoing push to ingratiate itself with European regulators …

Pennsylvania judge orders further hearing on Uber services during DNC – CNET

Judge says UberX remains illegal in Philly despite the company’s agreement with a city body.
Source: CNet

NFL star takes heat from team after 'disturbing and unacceptable' Instagram post – CNET

Technically Incorrect: Cleveland Browns running back Isaiah Crowell apologizes. The team wants more from him.
Source: CNet

You'll swear by Samuel L. Jackson's uncensored 'Game of Thrones' summary – CNET

In a fun new HBO video, the actor has had it with these bleepin’ dragons and these bleepin’ White Walkers.
Source: CNet

​GTA V mod brings LGBT Pride parade to Los Santos – CNET

A free mod for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V lets gamers join the fun of an LGBT Pride parade as it marches down the streets of Los Santos.
Source: CNet

Sen. Al Franken questions Pokemon Go creator over data-collection policies – CNET

Lawmaker wants game developer Niantic Labs to explain what information it’s collecting from users, why and with whom it is sharing that data with.
Source: CNet

Jaguar Land Rover to start testing connected cars, autonomous tech in the real world – Roadshow

Over the next four years, JLR’s test fleet should grow to some 100 vehicles.
Source: CNet

Robotic furniture aims to help make room in tiny apartments (Tomorrow Daily 389 show notes) – CNET

Ori isn’t available to the public yet, but its three-in-one room design is a reflection of the rise of micro-apartments in major cities.
Source: CNet

Searching for Pokemon on the streets…and porn sites – CNET

The hit Nintendo game is driving the entire world to distraction, until some players finally take a break and look for Pokemon, uh, elsewhere.
Source: CNet

Stormtrooper dancers wow at 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' wrap party – CNET

Dance troupe Boogie Storm flips, whips and nea neas its way to the highest possible endorsement…from Luke Skywalker himself.
Source: CNet

Firefox will get overhaul in bid to get you interested again – CNET

The newest version of the browser includes technology designed to speed Firefox up and lock it down.
Source: CNet

Microsoft to release Azure Stack as an appliance in mid-2017

Microsoft is repositioning Azure Stack as a turnkey product that will be available in mid-2017 in conjunction with HPE, Dell and Lenovo. Here’s why.
Source: Microsoft

Hands-on review: LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB

Hands-on review: LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB

LaCie is an unknown brand to most people but the storage company, which was acquired by storage giant Seagate a few years ago, has a cult following amongst Apple aficionados. That explains why the brand has the largest number of DAS (direct-attached storage) devices on Apple’s online store.

Visually, LaCie is also very close to Apple’s minimalist design. The company has used some great designers in the past – including legendary French designer Philippe Starck and Scottish artist Neil Poulton – for its product lines.

The Porsche Design company is behind LaCie’s latest creation, a 4TB external hard disk drive that is equipped with a USB Type-C connector and is an obvious storage option for the Apple MacBook.

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB port

The drive comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable plus a USB-C to USB cable with a maximum theoretical output speed of 5Gbps (USB 3.0).

As expected, the device is fashioned from aluminium, with the words ‘Porsche Design’ rather than LaCie printed on top. The name of the drive maker is written in tiny characters on one side.

It’s bigger and heavier than the other 4TB external HDD we’ve previously looked at, the Seagate M3, which is now known as the Maxtor by Seagate M3.

Other than a barcode and a few more identifiers and logos at the bottom, the enclosure is remarkably clean. According to LaCie, "rounded corners, a sandblast finish and a high polished bevelled edge combine" to give the drive its unique look.

The reversible USB port and a status light can be found on one side of the Porsche Design drive.

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB angle

Three LaCie applications (Private-Public, Backup Assistant/Genie Timeline and Desktop Manager) are available for download on the firm’s website, which is handy as you will have to download them should you format the hard drive – which we had to do to get full access to the 4TB capacity.

Using CrystalDiskInfo, we could confirm that the drive was a Seagate Momentus ST4000LM016, a two-year old 2.5-inch drive previously known as the Spinpoint M10P with a 16MB cache and a 5400rpm spinning speed. The drive can also be found in the Backup Plus Portable external hard drive from Seagate as well.

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB underneath

Given that the LaCie Porsche Design Mobile costs £147 (around $195, AU$255), one would expect the bare hard drive to cost less. Surprisingly though, we couldn’t get an internal Momentus drive for less than £160 (around $210, AU$275).

That’s down to supply and demand – although the bill of materials for the LaCie external drive will obviously be higher, sheer demand (and competition) means that Seagate finds it more profitable to sell it cheaper than an internal hard disk drive.

When it came to performance, the drive acquitted itself much as expected, delivering great numbers on CrystalDiskMark (114MBps read speeds and 45MBps write). Just bear in mind that because it is an SMR-based (Shingled Magnetic Recording) hard disk drive, it is slower on random writes for small files.

LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB close-up

This is a 15mm hard drive which means that it uses five 800GB platters – each with a 1TB per square inch areal density – to achieve this capacity. Such a high areal density – one of the highest in the industry – translates into an equally higher than average transfer rate.

Early verdict

The LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive is a great little external hard disk but will suffer from some serious competition from its own siblings, more specifically the aforementioned Seagate/Maxtor/Samsung M3 drive.

The latter costs only £104 (around $135, AU$180) in the UK, which translates roughly into a 40% price premium for this LaCie model (as mentioned, it retails for £147 – around $195, AU$255 – at the time of writing).

That’s a lot of money for a storage device, but those looking for quality aesthetics – and an appearance to match their shiny new MacBook – will be content to pay that price for an external drive that not only looks good but also delivers on the performance front.

Source: Tech Radar

State of our (dis)union plays out on social media – CNET

Donald Trump says on Twitter that Bernie Sanders is selling out by endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.
Source: CNet

The best Prime Day deals under $50 – CNET

Prime Day is already half over. Here are the best deals we’ve found for tech under $50.
Source: CNet

Microsoft Patch Tuesday – July 2016

This month the vendor is releasing 11 bulletins, five of which are rated Critical.

Twitter Card Style: 

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Source: Symantec

Volkswagen has not yet attempted to recertify its new diesels in the US – Roadshow

Considering diesels formerly comprised 20 percent of the brand’s US sales, you’d think that would be important.
Source: CNet

HTC 10 gets a $100 discount this month – CNET

The struggling Taiwanese phone company is trying to tempt people to buy its flagship smartphone.
Source: CNet

Stormtrooper-helmet waffle maker takes aim at your breakfast – CNET

Satisfy your hunger for both syrup and galactic domination with waffles in the shape of Stormtrooper helmets.
Source: CNet

Pokemon Go safety tips from police include 'do not run into trees' – CNET

Technically Incorrect: The game has captured minds and hearts. Police in San Francisco fear it’s all too much, so they issue fascinating safety tips.
Source: CNet

Could Pokemon Go's server problems derail the phenom? (The 3:59, Ep. 76) – CNET

We debate the long-term prospects of Pokemon Go, talk about a new perk for Google Project Fi users and discuss Prime Day.
Source: CNet

Polaroid's new app uses motion to bring your photos to life – CNET

The Polaroid Swing app, the result of a partnership between Polaroid and a startup chaired by Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, wants to help you shoot “moving photos” and share them with the world.
Source: CNet

Top Amazon Prime Day headphone deals – CNET

While there aren’t a huge number of great Prime Day deals on headphones, a few are worth highlighting.
Source: CNet

Google's Project Fi boosts data speeds when traveling abroad – CNET

The search giant wants more people to use its experimental wireless service — which only a few phones are ready for.
Source: CNet

Oculus announces Connect 3 developer conference, says Rifts now shipping within days – CNET

Promising to be its largest developer conference yet, Oculus Connect 3 is headed to San Jose, California starting October 5th.
Source: CNet

Blinded by the (lack of) light: IIHS finds small-SUV headlights sadly deficient – Roadshow

Of 21 small crossovers tested, not a single one earned the safety group’s Good rating.
Source: CNet