Comcast's recent speed upgrades now extend beyond the high end. The cable giant is increasing speeds for most of its Xfinity tiers across the US. The entry-level Performance Starter (aka Connect) plan is bumping up from 50Mbps to 75Mbps, while the biggest relative gains come to regular Performance (Connect More) customers climbing from 100Mbps to 200Mbps. Performance Pro/Fast service is increasing from 300Mbps to 400Mbps, while Blast/Superfast users will get 800Mbps instead of the previous 600Mbps. And you no longer need Comcast's absolute best plans to cross the gigabit threshold — Extreme Pro and Ultrafast (now Gigabit) customers have upgraded from 900Mbps to 1Gbps.

The flagship Gigabit Extra/x2 plan still peaks at 1.2Gbps for many customers. Comcast is in the midst of deploying 2Gbps service to more states, and in some cases offers 6Gbps access. The telecom hopes to cover over 50 million homes and offices with 2Gbps by the end of 2025, and plans to offer "10G" and next-gen DOCSIS 4.0 service in the future.

These upgrades aren't dramatic in most cases, but they could make a difference at the lower end by enabling higher-quality streaming and better service for multi-person households. The challenge, of course, is that rivals aren't sitting idle. AT&T is deploying 2Gbps and 5Gbps fiber to dozens of urban areas, and Google Fiber will soon provide 8Gbps service on top of restarting expansion. Comcast may be more competitive, but it won't always have the fastest options.

The entry-level increase might also irk regulators. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recently proposed raising the definition of broadband to 100Mbps. A Performance Starter or Connect customer would fall short of that new goal. If that baseline takes effect, Comcast would have to increase speeds again to satisfy the Commission and help fulfill goals of improving internet access for rural and low-income Americans.

TikTok is once again updating its livestreaming features, and this time the biggest improvements affect the people who can't watch. For starters, the upgrade now lets TikTok Live users host adult-only broadcasts. If a stream is likely to include lots of colorful language or tackle traumatic subjects, you can make sure the audience is mature enough to handle it. The option will be available in the "coming weeks." And no, it's not an officially sanctioned alternative to OnlyFans — TikTok's policies still forbid sexually explicit content.

The social video service is also raising the minimum age for hosts from 16 to 18 starting November 23rd. TikTok pitches this as a logical extension of its restrictions on teen content, but it also comes after incidents of abuse. Older viewers have sexually exploited teen hosts, for example, while teens have made threats against schools. In theory, the higher minimum age will reduce the number of school-age kids using Live to get into the kinds of trouble that wouldn't be possible using pre-recorded clips. Accordingly, a feature arriving in the weeks ahead will remind creators to block keywords they've filtered out in the past.

There is one upgrade that brings more people into the fold. A recently expanded Multi-Guest feature now lets a host invite up to five other participants using either a grid or panel layout. This can be helpful for pro creators who want to air full-fledged shows, of course, but it could also be helpful for any streamer who wants to bring more friends into a conversation.

TikTok is facing government pressure to implement audience controls like this. American and British officials are worried the social network might harm children, whether through promoting unhealthy behavior or jeopardizing privacy. Age restrictions won't necessarily prevent abuses of live broadcasts, but they could indicate that TikTok is addressing key concerns.

Discord is making it more affordable to pay for perks if a $10 Nitro subscription or Premium Membership is beyond your budget. After testing, the company is launching a $3 per month Nitro Basic plan on October 20th that offers 50MB file uploads and enables custom emoji anywhere. You'll miss out on regular Nitro's 100MB uploads, HD video streaming, custom profiles, server boosts and most Activities (more on those in a moment), but this might be useful if you just want to upload short videos or flaunt emoji from a streamer's server.

Activities (shown above) are also rolling out in earnest. Chatters can now play games, watch videos and otherwise share experiences without having to leave the app. Only Putt Party and Watch Together viewing are available for free, but regular Nitro users can invite non-subscribers to join an expanded catalog that includes games like Chess and Sketch Heads. More Activities should be available as developers build for Discord's platform.

Apps are becoming more useful at the same time. Discord is now testing Premium App Subscriptions that let you pay to unlock features without heading elsewhere first. And if you're running a server, there's now an App Directory that helps you find useful add-ons.

The strategy behind Nitro Basic and the other upgrades is clear. Discord is hoping to not only reel in more subscribers, but to foster an app ecosystem that ultimately bolsters the company's bottom line. Having said this, you might not mind if this helps you pass on a full-fledged Nitro account or participate in a viewing party.

PayPal is doing finally doing significantly more with its three-year-old Honey acquisition besides a name change. The payments giant has launched a unified PayPal Rewards program that merges Honey's cash back and discount-finding features with store offers and other PayPal-specific perks. You now have a single place to manage and use all the service's money-saving features. This will include a range of "card products" in the future, the company said.

The Rewards program is available in the US today, and you can check it out in a dedicated section of PayPal's mobile app. If you've earned Honey Gold points, they'll become PayPal Rewards points you can access in one place by linking accounts.

The move might not have much of a practical impact if you were already taking advantage of these deals before. It might be easier to keep track of them, however. There's also little doubt PayPal hopes you'll try Honey or other money-saving services if you hadn't considered them before.

Were you confused when NVIDIA introduced two GeForce RTX 4080 models with significantly different capabilities? You're not alone. NVIDIA is "unlaunching" the 12GB RTX 4080 over concerns they're confusing. While the company still believes the 12GB version is a solid video card, it said the lower-spec model is "not named right." The company didn't say if or how it might relaunch the card, and didn't elaborate further when reached for comment.

The 16GB RTX 4080 is still on track to launch November 16th at a price of $1,199 for NVIDIA's Founders Edition. This effectively raises the base price for RTX 40-level hardware. This might not be as bad as it sounds, mind you. The 12GB edition was supposed to start at $899, although its dependence on third-party manufacturers was likely to raise real-world pricing higher.

The muddled messaging largely stems from differences beyond RAM quantities. Where the 12GB model includes 7,680 CUDA (general-purpose processing) cores and a 192-bit memory bus, its higher-end counterpart offers 9,728 cores and a 256-bit bus. You're getting a considerably slower GPU with the 12GB unit despite the RTX 4080 branding, and the gaps are sometime huge. NVIDIA's own benchmarks showed the 12GB board trailing its 16GB sibling by up to 30 percent in well-known games. That could be more than a little disappointing if you bought the 12GB card expecting similar performance outside of RAM-dependent situations.

The cancellation won't necessarily create much of a headache for NVIDIA. The RTX 4090 launch reportedly created lines at stores, and the 4080 could easily be the go-to GPU for gamers who can't quite justify the $1,599 flagship. Still, it's rare to see a misstep like this — NVIDIA misjudged the market to the point where it had to axe a graphics card before it reached customers.

Google Fiber's sudden revival will include a dramatic boost to internet speeds. Google has revealed that it will offer 5Gbps and 8Gbps plans in early 2023 at respective monthly rates of $125 and $150. Both tiers will include symmetric upload and download rates, a WiFi 6 router and up to two mesh network extenders. The upgrades should help with massive file transfers while keeping lag and jittering to a bare minimum, according to the company.

Current customers, particularly in Kansas City, Utah and West Des Moines, can try the speedier plans as soon as November if they sign up to become "trusted testers." If you're eligible, Google will ask you how you expect to use the extra bandwidth.

This is a big jump from the previous-best 2Gbps service Google introduced in 2020, and could make a big difference if you're a gamer or thrive on cloud computing. If a 150GB Microsoft Flight Simulator download takes 11 minutes at 2Gbps, the 8Gbps plan could cut that wait to less than three minutes in ideal conditions. It certainly makes typical cable internet plans seem expensive. Comcast is already offering 6Gbps service in some areas, for instance, but that costs $300 per month on contract and doesn't yet include symmetric uploads.

Either way, the new plans represent a declaration of intent. Alongside the first network expansions in five years, the upgraded speeds suggest Google is getting back to Fiber's roots. That is, it's both raising expectations for truly fast internet access and (to a degree) spurring competition among incumbent providers. This could help Google pitch its other services, of course, but you might not mind if it gives telecoms an extra incentive to roll out '10G' and similar upgrades sooner than they might have otherwise.

Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset may have a few extra tricks. The Information's sources claim the mixed reality hardware will use iris scanning for signing in and making payments. This would make it easier to buy apps and could even simplify multi-user support, according to the tipsters. Apple has declined to comment, but it reportedly bought eye-tracking glasses creator SensoMotorics in 2017 with the headset in mind. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said in 2021 that Primax would supply the eye tracking modules, and that they support iris detection.

The headset might also have a few advantages over Meta's just-announced Quest Pro. Two of the previously claimed 14 cameras will supposedly track your legs, giving it an advantage in full-body tracking versus the 10-camera Meta device (which doesn't have leg-focused cams). The goggle-like design's combination of aluminum, fabric and glass is also said to be lighter than the 1.6-pound Quest Pro, although the tipsters didn't say by how much.

Past rumors also hinted at other premium features, including very high-resolution displays, detailed face expression tracking and even a way to magnetically clip on custom prescription lenses. The headset might be powered by the M2 chip in recent Macs, but could use a low display refresh rate to extend battery life at the expense of a more natural-feeling experience.

Numerous reported leaks have pointed to a headset launch sometime in 2023. The question is whether or not any final product will be accessible. More than one rumor has floated a price tag as high as $3,000. You might get more features than the $1,500 Quest Pro, but you'd also pay for them. Even more so than with Meta's hardware, that pricing could limit the initial Apple headset's audience to developers and other pro creators.

SpaceX's donations of Starlink satellite service to Ukraine might not last much longer. CNN says it obtained documents indicating that SpaceX sent a letter to the Defense Department in September claiming the company is "not in a position" to fund Starlink internet in Ukraine as it has without tens of millions of dollars in monthly funding. The company estimated that data access for the Ukranian government and military might cost $124 million for the rest of 2022 and almost $380 million per year, and asked the Pentagon to take over that financing.

Elon Musk elaborated on the reasoning in a tweet on Friday. SpaceX couldn't afford to fund the current infrastructure "indefinitely" while simultaneously delivering more Starlink terminals and managing data use "100X greater" than typical homes, Musk claimed. The satellite technology has not only been used to coordinate Ukranian military campaigns, but can be used to provide data to cell towers and other civilian networks that serve many people. The executive added that the "burn" was close to $20 million per month and included the cost of defending against Russian "cyberattacks & jamming."

The documents apparently contradict one of Musk's earlier claims, however. Where he said last week that only a "small percentage" of Starlink terminals and service received external funding, the letter suggests about 85 percent of the 20,000 Ukraine systems at the time (now 25,000) were at least partly funded by the US, Poland and others. A leak in April indicated that the US had already spent millions to get Starlink hardware to Ukraine. Even so, resources may have been tight. Ukranian commander General Valerii Zaluzhniy directly asked Musk to provide close to 8,000 additional terminals in July, but SpaceX answered by pointing the military leader to the Defense Department.

Word of the letter comes at a bad moment for Musk. He recently drew flak from Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky and diplomat Andrij Melnyk for proposing a peace deal that included conceding the illegally annexed Crimea region to Russia. Musk even half-joked his firm was "just following [Melnyk's] recommendation" to "fuck off" following the proposal. We'd add that Musk's net worth of roughly $220 billion is more than Ukraine's 2021 GDP — there have been numerous calls for the entrepreneur to personally fund Starlink service. There are doubts SpaceX is fully committed to supporting Ukraine's fight against Russia, and the funding request doesn't help matters.

Google's elaborate video chat booths will soon exist as more than just a clever design exercise. Ars Technicareports the company will start installing Project Starline prototypes in some of its corporate partners' offices for "regular" tests later this year. In other words, Google will see how its "magic windows" work beyond on-campus demos.

Program partners include Salesforce, T-Mobile and WeWork, among others. The in-house demos have included over 100 companies spread across healthcare, media and retailers.

Project Starline is effectively a bid to create a natural-feeling telepresence system. Each participant sits in a booth with an array of cameras and infrared projectors that create a realistic 3D depiction, with spatial audio capture making it seem as if the voice is coming from that digital persona's mouth. Combined with head tracking and a 65-inch, 8K glasses-free display, the system makes it seem as if the other person is sitting in front of you. This theoretically leads to more effortless meetings than you'd get by staring at a computer monitor with a webcam.

The question, of course, is whether or not the early access program will lead to installations at your employer's boardroom or the local store. While Google hasn't outlined the cost of a Project Starline booth, the technology is inherently expensive and consumes a lot of space. Smaller businesses might have trouble justifying this when off-the-shelf computers may be good enough. The timing is also less than ideal. While remote and hybrid work have taken off, Starline is coming right as more people are comfortable returning to in-person interaction. The audience for the tech isn't nearly as large as it might have been a year ago, and we wouldn't count on it getting bigger.

Don't worry that you might not be allowed to slip an Apple AirTag into your luggage for your next flight. As The Points Guy notes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that AirTags are allowed on checked baggage. Any item tracker whose battery has under 0.3g of lithium is clear to fly. You can track your suitcase without fear of the airline taking action.

The clarification comes after worries Lufthansa might ban active AirTags in baggage. There were concerns the German carrier would interpret the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) guidance to forbid any lithium-powered tracker that can't be turned off, including AirTags. There was speculation Lufthansa wanted to forbid the tags to mask problems with lost luggage and other air travel problems. However, ICAO can only issue guidelines — it's up to officials to adopt and enforce rules, and there are none pertaining to these devices in Germany or the US.

Lufthansa issued its own statement clarifying that Apple's devices are allowed on flights. Both the airline and German regulators have determined that item trackers with small batteries and low power "do not pose a safety risk." The company added that it sought exemptions for AirTags and similar tags for checked luggage restrictions.

The FAA and Lufthansa statements theoretically settle the matter. While we wouldn't completely rule out governments or airlines altering their stance, there haven't been any reports of fires or other incidents that would prompt a change of heart. You can safely use AirTags, Tile trackers and similar find-my-stuff products to provide some reassurance during your next vacation.