Elizabeth Holmes has her 11-year prison sentence cut by two years

Elizabeth Holmes may be getting out of prison around two years earlier than expected. According to her profile on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Holmes' release date is now scheduled for December 29th, 2032. That means the time she'll serve is almost two years shorter than her original sentence, which was supposed to last for 11 years and three months. The agency has confirmed her shortened (nine years and seven months) sentence to The Guardian but didn't comment further, citing the privacy and safety of inmates. 

Holmes was indicted on charges of fraud back in 2018, a few years after a series of reports from the Wall Street Journal exposed that Theranos' proprietary "fingerprick" blood-testing technology was faulty. The publication had also reported that the company was aware of its issues but sent inaccurate test results to patients anyway. In 2022, Holmes was found guilty of defrauding investors and was sentenced to 135 months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release. 

The former Theranos chief, who had been out on bail from the time she was indicted, tried to convince the court to allow her to stay out of prison while she was appealing her case. She failed in her bid to stay out of prison, though, and reported to a minimum-security, all-female facility in Texas on May 30th. It's unclear why her sentence was quietly reduced, but factors like good conduct, the completion of assignments and rehabilitation programs, as well as the credits inmates receive for various activities could result in a shorter sentence. Based on the prison bureau's website, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who was Theranos' former president, will also be released two years earlier than expected in April 2034. 

As for Holmes, she was ordered to pay $452 million in restitution to the fraud victims in addition to serving time in prison and going through supervised release. As Gizmodo notes, Holmes had an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion before Theranos' downfall. Forbes had lowered her estimated net worth to nothing a year later, and her lawyers argued that she could not afford to add $250 per month to her restitution schedule after she gets out. 

Facebook Smartwatch May Release Next Year; To Feature Two Cameras

Earlier in February, we saw reports that say Facebook may be working on a smartwatch of its own. New reports provide more details on what this wearable may entail, as well as when it may be released. And it’s not anytime soon, to be sure.

The Verge reports that the smartwatch by Facebook will come with a detachable display. This display will also come with two cameras . Detaching the module will then let users take pictures and videos, Naturally, you’ll be able to upload them to the company’s many platforms, including Instagram. It may also come with LTE connectivity for this purpose, so that it can work without a phone.

One camera will sit in front, the way a front-facing camera on a phone will. This one exists mostly for video calls, which probably means a lower resolution. Another sits at the back of the module, allowing for 1080p recording with auto-focus. Facebook will also be working with other companies to make accessories to allow the module to be attached to things like backpacks. Which makes it sound like an action cam.

The Verge reports that the smartwatch by Facebook will come with a detachable display. This display will also come with two cameras . Detaching the module will then let users take pictures and videos, Naturally, you’ll be able to upload them to the company’s many platforms, including Instagram. It may also come with LTE connectivity for this purpose, so that it can work without a phone.

One camera will sit in front, the way a front-facing camera on a phone will. This one exists mostly for video calls, which probably means a lower resolution. Another sits at the back of the module, allowing for 1080p recording with auto-focus. Facebook will also be working with other companies to make accessories to allow the module to be attached to things like backpacks. Which makes it sound like an action cam.

The report also states that this is the social media company’s plan to circumvent Apple and Google, going straight to users. Which also goes to explain why, despite it being a smartwatch, the detachable module behaves quite like a dumbed down smartphone.

Facebook is also reportedly already working on second and third generations of the device. Which sounds like the company is confident of its success. But the first generation will not be seeing the light of day until some time in summer 2022.

Intel Expands 11th Generation Tiger Lake Lineup With Two New U-Series CPUs

Earlier today during its Computex 2021 keynote, Intel announced that it is adding two new CPU SKUs to its 11th generation Tiger Lake lineup. Specifically, the new CPU models are part of Intel’s U-Series Mobile CPU lineup.

Breaking it down, the new CPUs are the Core i7-1195G7 and Core i5-1155G7. Like all 11th generation CPUs, both U-Series processors are based on the chipmaker’s new 10nm SuperFin die lithography, and even come fitted with its Xe-LP integrated graphics, which has up to 96EU. As for its Cache size, both the Core i7-1195G7 and Core i5-1155G7 have 12MB and 8MB of Intel Smart Memory, respectively.

Specs-wise, both the Core i7-1195G7 and Core i5-1155G7 come with a 4-cores, 8-threads layout and have an operating power range between 12W and 28W. What is of particular interest, however, is the Core i7 variant, primarily because it is the first U-Series CPU that can achieve a maximum single-core Turbo boost clock of 5GHz, while running all cores on Turbo is capped at 4.6GHz. Lastly, both the Core i7-1195G7 and Core i5-1155G7 Intel’s Wi-Fi 6E wireless technology.

As for when these new CPUs will be available, Intel says that we can expect them to arrive “during the holidays” and that more than 60 consumer devices such as laptops should be fitted with either the Core i7-1195G7 or the Core i5-1155G7. In addition, the chipmaker expects more than 250 OEMs to have designs based on its new U-Series CPUs.

DualSense Controllers To Come With Two New Colours Next Month

Rumours about the DualSense controllers getting new colourways have been swirling around for the past week. But now, Sony Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that the rumours are true. The company also said that they will be available starting next month.

The announcement comes via the official PlayStation blog. The two new colourways are called Midnight Black and Cosmic Red. The former is basically an all-black version of the DualSense controller. As for the latter, the white half is swapped with burgundy red. Beyond that, it doesn’t look like there are any other differences. The PlayStation logo is still in all black, and the face buttons are still in grey.

In the blog post, SIE clarified that while both new colours for the DualSense will be available next month, exact dates will vary by location. This sometimes may mean that they won’t even show up in certain markets. We saw this happening with the DualShock 4 back buttons accessory. But with the official PlayStation Asia Facebook page sharing the two new DualSense colours, and the new colours showing up on the Malaysian page of the PlayStation website, the possibility of them arriving here is ever so slightly higher.

Of course, there’s no mention of price anywhere just yet. Ideally we’d like to see them being priced similarly to the standard white DualSense controller. That being said, it’s more likely that the different colours will see a slight premium added, like the way it is for the DualShock 4 controllers.

FCC Begins Pulling Licenses Of Two Chinese Telcos In America

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that it had begun the process of cancelling the operating licenses of two Chinese telcos. The move is likely part of Washington’s continuing efforts to root out any potential for Chinese espionage in the US.

According to the report by Reuters, the telcos named were China Unicom Americas as well as Pacific Networks and its subsidiary ComNet which collectively are owned by CITIC Group Corporation. At the moment, China Unicom Americas and Pacific Networks have a two-decade old authorisation to operate in the US.

The FCC accused the firms of failing “at this stage to dispel serious concerns” about their US authorisations. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks observed that many Chinese telcos also owned data centres in the US, but said that the agency currently lacked authority to “address this potential national security threat.”

Last Friday, the FCC, using a 2019 law, designated five Chinese companies as national security threats: Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Dahua Technology. In addition to that, Facebook last week has also dropped an application to build a new Internet cable between the US and Hong Kong based on “ongoing concerns from the US government about direct communications links.”

Taken all together and depending on your point of view, Washington is either deep in a fit of paranoia or acting prudently and rapidly to secure its networks. Regardless, there is a massive irony here.

Beijing is notorious for severely restricting the activities and reach of Western companies on the Chinese mainland – a decades-long complaint of the West. Washington, the champion of free markets and democracy, may end up doing the same thing to Chinese firms.