BOSTON, Dec. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Perigee, founded by a former NSA mathematician, combines network exploitation and machine learning expertise to stop malicious threats, improve behavior, and extend the life of connected devices in real-time. Today, Perigee announced the closing of their first institutional capital round of $1.5M.

The round was led by Outsiders Fund's Austin McChord and Teddy Seem, with additional investment from Westport, Contour Venture Partners, BBG Ventures, Innospark Ventures, Ray Rothrock, and Corey Thomas. The newly invested capital will be used to hire new talent, further develop the product, and grow the enterprise within environmental controls and beyond.

McChord, founder and former CEO of data backup service Datto, said, "Teddy and I are incredibly excited to work with such a talented team. This space is clamoring for new thinking and we are really excited to be backing Mollie and her vision around how the ever-changing security landscape can be improved."

Perigee's founder and CEO Mollie Breen previously led a team at NSA where she focused on critical infrastructure. With Perigee, she is extending that expertise to critical infrastructure across enterprises with a specific focus on connected devices.

The same brand of connected thermostats installed in the physician lounge and in the NICU will inevitably be a part of a different workflow and have a different risk profile. Perigee isolates threats unique to a specific thermostat, in real-time, in order to minimally impact an enterprise's critical operations.

"Connected devices are used to increase the ROI of certain critical operations by making them faster and automated, and we focus on increasing the ROI of the devices themselves by making them more trustworthy and longer lasting," Breen said.

Perigee is uniquely positioned to bridge IoT security and IoT analytics.

Breen said: "Analytics solutions are often not built with security in mind. We are a security-first solution, that quantifies improvements in a single device's overall behavior and hygiene, for all devices."

The company is focusing initially on devices within HVAC and environmental controls in critical industries like healthcare at a time when these sensors are of the utmost importance.

"HVAC and Environmental Controls play an important part in patient care. If you don't have those, especially now due to COVID-19, you're not taking care of them. These systems are just as important as your Electronic Medical Record. Secure them like it," said Mitch Parker, CISO of Indiana University Health.

The Perigee team sees HVAC and environmental controls as the optimal starting point to expand into the growing footprint of connected devices.

Breen said: "As real estate developers look to healthcare to set future standards for healthier buildings, working with hospitals means we understand the most critical devices today, and in the future too."

About Perigee

Perigee provides protection and enhancement for connected devices' entire life cycle. Perigee was founded in 2019 by former NSA mathematician Mollie Breen, CEO.Learn more at: http://www.getperigee.com

SOURCE Perigee

https://www.getperigee.com

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Perigee Raises Pre-Seed to Bring Security and Performance to HVAC and Environmental Controls - PRNewswire

Apple raised a lot of eyebrows this summer when it announced that it would stop using Intel processors. Its Mac computers would instead migrate to its own processors based on the Arm Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). Intel and AMD have been dominant in the PC laptop and desktop market for decades. For more than 15 years, Intel has been the sole supplier of processors for Apples Mac range. However, Apple has a long history with Arm.

Arm specialized in building energy-efficient processors that only used a few watts of power. This meant they were perfect for smartphones and tablets. From the very first iPhone right up until today, Apple has used Arm-based processors in its mobile devices. With that wealth of experience and expertise, the Cupertino company concluded that it could build processors that were energy-efficient, but also offered competitive performance. It, therefore, decided to expand the reach of its smartphone and tablet processors and move into the PC market.

See also: Want an Apple laptop? Here are the best you can buy right now

And so the Apple M1 processor was born. It is the SoC found in the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac Mini. It is also the first of a series of processors that will see Apple completely replace Intel in every Mac model. This transition will take about two years and the three new M1 based devices are just the beginning.

But, is the performance of the M1 competitive, or did Apple make a mistake? Lets find out!

Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority

The Apple M1 is an SoC. That means it has a CPU, a GPU, a Neural Engine, and I/O (like Thunderbolt). It has 16 billion transistors and is manufactured using a 5nm process.

The M1 has four performance cores, each designed to run a single task as efficiently as possible while maximizing performance. Four efficiency cores handle lighter workloads. There is also an eight-core integrated GPU. According to Apple, the M1 offers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, compared to 1.2GHz Intel Core i7-1060NG7 found in the previous generation of MacBook Air.

If you want more information on the Apple M1 then you might find my Apple M1 and new Macsvideo useful.

Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority

To test the performance of the Apple M1, I am using a MacBook Air with the 8-Core CPU/8-Core GPU variant of the processor along with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

According to the official Geekbench results, the MacBook Air with the M1 scores 1,690 for the Single-Core test. That means that the new MacBook Air has better single-core performance than every Intel Mac that exists. Not just every Intel MacBook Air, but every Intel-based Mac.

The new MacBook Air has better single-core performance than every Intel Mac that exists.

For multi-core, the M1 based MacBook Air scores 7,304. With just eight cores, this isnt going to be earth-shattering. The late 2019 Mac Pro has a 28-core Intel Xeon processor, so the mere eight-core MacBook Air isnt going to beat it. However, it does beat every other Intel-based Mac that isnt a Mac Pro. The only exceptions are the very high-end 27-inch iMacs from 2019 and 2020. Very impressive for Apples first laptop processor!

Cinebench is a real-world test that evaluates a computers processor by running CPU only rendering tasks and measuring the performance. Cinebench R23 gives the M1 based MacBook Air a score of 1,515 for single-core performance. That is higher than the Intel Core i7-7700K, higher than the Intel Core i7-1060NG7, better than AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2990, and just below the 11th generation Intel Core i7-1165G7.

Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority

As with Geekbench, the multi-core score isnt going to be revolutionary. It scores 7,326, which interestingly beats the Intel Core i7-7700K and the Intel Core i7-1060NG7 (from the previous generation of MacBook Air). But there are plenty of processors with 16, 24, 32, or more cores. These naturally score higher.

Speed Test G is our custom performance testing system that takes the best parts of traditional speed tests and combines them with the benefits of benchmarks. It runs primarily on Android (although there is a version for iOS) and measures performance by launching a series of apps that perform both single-core and multi-core tasks. As in real life, not everything is single-core, but neither is everything multi-core.

Speed Test G PC, a reimagining of Speed Test G this time for desktops and laptops gives the MacBook Air a run time of 56 seconds. That is faster than the 2019 MBP 16-inch with the i9-9980HK and faster than the 2019 MBP 13-inch with the i7-8569U.

The MacBook Air has no fan or active cooling. This makes it a perfect candidate for testing the thermal properties of the M1 chip. Does the processor slow down when it heats up? If so, by how much?

After a night of sitting in my office, the MacBook Air had a surface temperature of around 20C. I then ran several programs to stress the CPU and GPU to the maximum. This included Speed Test G PC and the Unity benchmark from the mobile version of Speed Test G (but built for the M1 on macOS). It was also connected to the mains, generating heating as a side product of charging. As the processor started to heat up, the bottom of the laptop became warm (due to the passive cooling), particularly in the center towards the back. This heat spread slowly outwards from that middle point.

Apple has managed to jump directly into the laptop and the small desktop market at a competitive level.

After an hour of heavy load, the temperature on the underside of the device hit 41C. Additionally, the battery stopped charging (although it wasnt full or even near the smart battery level of 80%). This was due to the heat. There is likely some software that detects the thermal situation and stops the charging to ensure that the device doesnt become too hot. Once the stress on the processor was reduced, the laptop started charging again.

While the laptop was nice and warm, I ran the multi-core test from Cinebench R23 again. The result was a 7,110, down from 7,336 less than 5%.

What this means is that the processor generates heat under heavy loads, as does every processor, but the passive cooling is able to disperse that heat efficiently. The overall impact on performance is minimal.

Credit: Gary Sims / Android Authority

Apple has managed to jump directly into the laptop and the small desktop market at a competitive level. The M1 is fast. Is it the fastest chip on the planet? No, but it isnt designed to be. Is it the fastest processor ever used in a Mac laptop? Absolutely. Will it handle your workloads? Almost certainly.

Opinion: Dont be duped by performance, Apples M1 silicon is all about platform control

It also means that Apple has successfully made the first steps in replacing Intel processors in its Mac range. The next iteration of processors those that will be used by the iMac will be very interesting, as Apple will be trying to loosen Intel and AMDs grip on turf that is traditionally their stronghold. Can Apple do it? If the M1 is a measure of the companys potential then the answer is a resounding yes.

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Apple M1 tested: Performance benchmarks and thermal throttling - Android Authority

By KC Ifeanyi2 minute Read

Theres a scant history of posthumous Oscar winners, but Chadwick Bosemans performance in Netflixs Ma Raineys Black Bottom is a shoo-in for a nominationand could possibly clinch a win on the power of one scene alone.

Adapted from August Wilsons 1984 play, Ma Raineys Black Bottom stars Boseman as Levee, a hot-tempered trumpet player in legendary blues singer Ma Raineys band. A recording session is fraught with mounting friction as Levees volatility leads to a devastating incident.

Ma Raineys Black Bottom marks Bosemans final onscreen performance since he passed away from colon cancer in August. Watching his frenetic and searing portrait of a deeply troubled musician serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the magnitude of talent cinema lost.

While Boseman is magnetic throughout the film, theres one monologue in particular thats practically gilded with Oscar gold.

After Levee shows an exuberant amount of deference to the white recording studio owner, Levees bandmates playfully rib him on how he talks a big game but is spooked by the white man. As playful as they were with their jokes, Levees temperament rapidly darkens before exploding into a heart-wrenching story explaining his tortured relationship with white men. When he was just eight years old, a gang of white men broke into his home and raped his mother in the kitchen. What followed was a slow-burn revenge plot his father carried out against the perpetrators that brought some justice for the crimes but ultimately ended in his murder.

Boseman masterfully carries the scene with an intensity of barely contained rage, which is only magnified by the fact that its a five-minute monologue with little editing.

But, as screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson explains, that scene almost turned out differently.

I wanted to keep it simple and just deal with Levee and his eyes and the eyes of the other men, Santiago-Hudson says.

However, he received notes to add more elements to the scene to break up the long shots.

They felt that in movies, you dont just sit on one character for three pages, he says.

He tried to incorporate more people in the scene or even just hands performing various actions relating to Levees story as sort of an abstract way to add more beats to the scene. But in the end, Santiago-Hudson pressed for his original idea to keep it as simple as possible, and thats what made the final cut.

I said, Trust it: the actor can do it. Augusts words can do it. [Director George C. Wolfes] direction can do it, Santiago-Hudson says. Im directing when Im writing. I dont tell George, You gotta use this camera or that lens. But Ill say, The camera begins to slowly creep in on Levees eyes. Occasionally well cut back to the other characters. You see how theyre absorbing the story. His rage grows. His eyes intensify.'

The most recent actor to earn an Oscar after his passing was Heath Ledger, who won as best supporting actor in 2008 for The Dark Knight. Boseman, who was undergoing surgeries and/or chemotherapy during filming, is equally deserving of the honor.

There was a transcendence about Chads performance, but there needed to be, said Viola Davis in an interview with The New York Times. This is a man whos raging at God, whos lost even his faith. So [Boseman has] got to sort of go to the edge of hope and death and life in order to make that character work. Of course, you look back on it and see that thats where he was.

KC covers entertainment and pop culture for Fast Company. Previously, KC was part of the Emmy Award-winning team at "Good Morning America," where he was the social media producer.

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Chadwick Boseman should win the Oscar for this scene in Netflix's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' - Fast Company

The loan disbursement of below Rs 50,000 ticket size has grown five times in the last two financial years, a report by the CRIF India shows. As per the report, the trend is seen in low-income families and borrowers are opting for personal loans for consumption needs and not for emergency purposes.

As per the CRIF India report, the small-ticket personal loans are primarily driven by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and fintech startups.

NBFCs and neo-age lenders or fintechs are increasingly targeting young, low-income, digitally-savvy customers who have small-ticket and short-term credit needs, and no or limited credit historycustomers who are generally avoided by the incumbents because of their high perceived risk," the report said.

As of March 2020, the report shows that more than 50 percent of volume share in small loans is of Rs 5000 or less segment which is a strong indication that the concept of checkout finance and payday loan is catching up.

As per the loan disbursal trends by age of the borrower, it is seen that personal loans demand is largely being driven by millennials and young borrowers in the age group 18-30 years with an increase in share from 27 percent to 41 percent in annual originations in the last 2 years.

In FY20, the proportion of loans disbursed to those with income of below Rs 3 lakh has grown over the last three years, reaching 69 percent in new loans in FY20.

In terms of volume, NBFCs continue to grow and have doubled their market share in the last two years, observed at FY2020 end. Their current market share as of August 2020 is 42 percent. Public sector banks and Private banks have lost significant volume share over the last 2 years.

In terms of value market share at the end of FY 2020, there is no significant shift in the last two years for NBFCs.

However, in FY 2020-21, disruptions due to COVID-19 have led to an increase in share of mature borrowers while younger borrowers have demanded lower volume of personal loans.

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Microsoft is reportedly designing Arm-based chips for Azure servers and some Surface PCs, signaling the computer giants increasing willingness to lower its reliance on Intel.

Bloomberg reported Friday that the Redmond, Wash.-based company is working on in-house processor designs for its own servers that run Azure, mirroring an effort by Amazon Web Services, which has already began offering cloud instances using its own Arm-based server CPUs, Graviton.

[Related: New Microsoft Security Chip Will Go Inside Intel, AMD CPUs]

The news organization, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the plans, said Microsoft is also exploring its own chip designs for some Surface PCs, which already include models with chips co-designed with Qualcomm and AMD separately.

In a statement to CRN, Frank Shaw, corporate vice president of communications at Microsoft, confirmed that the company is investing in its own chip design capabilities.

Because silicon is a foundational building block for technology, were continuing to invest in our own capabilities in areas like design, manufacturing and tools, while also fostering and strengthening partnerships with a wide range of chip providers, he said.

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Arm, which licenses chip designs to companies that make their own processors, has been making a bigger push into the data center over the past few years with its Neoverse platform. In September, the company revealed its V1 and N2 core designs, both of which Arm said significantly outperform CPUs made by Intel and AMD while also having high energy efficiency.

The emergence of Arm in the data center is being powered by many factors: customization, efficiency, ecosystem diversity, but all of that builds on top of performance, Chris Bergey, senior vice president and general manager of Arms infrastructure business, said in September. If Neoverse wasnt delivering a significant measurable value proposition you would not see the market adoption and momentum that we are achieving.

But Arm has also been finding more success with client computers in recent times, most notably with Apples Arm-based M1 processor, which is now available in a few Mac models. Apple has said that the M1 can outperform competing processors by up to two times.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Nvidia, a semiconductor company that primarily makes GPUs but is also starting to built its own server systems, is in the process of acquiring Arm from its current owner, SoftBank, for $40 billion.

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Microsoft Is Working On Arm-Based Chips For Azure, Surface PCs: Report - CRN

I appreciate the X900H's terrific contrast, its enhanced color reproduction, and its sleek design, but a TV like the Vizio OLED offers better contrast, better color, and an even thinner design. And although the X900H is far more affordable than Samsung's 2020 flagship, the Q90T, you can spend far less on the TCL 6-Series and land yourself a TV that performs just as well as (if not better than) the X900Hand a much better smart platform, to boot.

Still, if you invest in the Sony X900H, you're getting a terrific TV that will look good across all types of content, be it movies, sports, gaming, or streaming. Its price tag is a bit higher than it should be, but it's an expertly engineered TV with a spec list to back up the cost.

Editor's note: Due to COVID-19 complications, this review leans heavily on test results in lieu of hands-on time with the TV.

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The Sony X900H features an Android-based, built-in smart platform.

There are four sizes in the Sony X900H series ranging from 55 inches all the way up to 85 inches. The variant we've tested is the 65-inch model, which we received on loan. Here's how each of the sizes in the series shake out in terms of pricing:

Different sizes of TVs in a series tend to perform very similarly to one another, so we don't expect there to be major differences between the 55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch variants of the X900H. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the difference in local dimming zone count. Generally speaking, more local dimming zones are favorable, as they allow for tighter contrast control. Sony typically doesn't disclose its TVs' zone counts, but it's possible that each size in the series features a different amount of zones, which theoretically could affect contrastthough probably not to the degree that any size in the series performs drastically different than another.

Here's a rundown of key specifications shared by all sizes in the X900H series:

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The X900H's remote control is pretty basic, but it does include a microphone for voice integration.

In addition to Google Assistant and Chromecast support, the X900H features an Android-based smart platform. It's not our favorite smart platform on the market today (that honor goes to Roku), but it's flexible and supports a ton of apps.

The Sony X900H also supports eARC, Variable Refresh Rate, and Auto Low Latency Mode, but these enhancements require a firmware update. The X900H is also capable of supporting 120 FPS at 4K resolution after the appropriate firmware update.

Before testing each TV, we make sure the panel is on and receiving a continuous signal for at least 24 hours, allowing the pixels plenty of time to warm up. Our 65-inch X900H received this standard warm-up time before any readings were taken.

For SDR tests, we used Sony's "Custom" picture setting. For HDR tests, we also used the TV's "Custom" picture setting. Weve chosen these settings because of their accuracy (Sony reports that its "Custom" picture setting is the best-calibrated mode), but results may vary depending on which picture mode is enabled. For every test we conducted, the X900H's light sensor (which adjusts the TV's backlight setting based on ambient lighting conditions) was disabled.

We use a standard ANSI checkerboard pattern for most of our basic contrast testsincluding the ones reported belowbut we also use white and black windows ranging from 2% to 90% to test how well the contrast holds up while displaying varying degrees of brightness.

I'll expand on our test results throughout the review, but for now, here are some key takeaways:

HDR contrast (brightness/black level): 562.7 nits/0.077 nits (ANSI checkerboard) SDR contrast (brightness/black level): 359.5 nits/0.057 nits (ANSI checkerboard) HDR peak brightness: 771 nits (40% white window) HDR color gamut coverage: 91% (DCI-P3/10-bit) SDR color gamut coverage: 100% (Rec.709)

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

When it comes to upper-mid-range TVs in 2020, the X900H is ahead of most of the pack. It supports HDMI 2.1-adjacent features such as VRR, ALLM, and 4K gaming at 120 FPS, but these enhancements require a firmware update and only two of the TV's four HDMI ports will support them. On one hand, these next-generation features are great to have in your back pocket, especially if you plan on investing in an Xbox Series X or a Playstation 5.

On the other hand, some users might find themselves juggling cables if they want to plug in more than two devices that take advantage of such features.

Take a peek at the back of the Sony X900H's panel and you'll find a cutout with the following connectivity options:

4x HDMI (2x HDMI 2.1) 2x USB (1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0) LAN ethernet port, RF input, optical audio output, 3.5mm audio output

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The X900H's all-around great performance chops are anchored by the TV's excellent contrast and color reproduction.

From a performance standpoint, the X900H is a well-rounded TV with good-enough grades across the board, but it excels particularly well in the always-important categories of contrast and color. It features Sony's proprietary Triluminos display technology, whichdespite the slippery nature of TV marketing termsoperates similarly to quantum dot technology. For evaluation purposes, here's all you really need to know: The Sony X900H gets considerably bright for its VA-style panel due to its display hardware, which enhances brightness and allows for extra-wide, extra-vivid colors.

In fact, pretty much everything we threw at the X900Hfrom Netflix shows to UHD Blu-rayslooked fantastic. One reason for its impressive performance is the X900H's overall contrast, which pairs bright highlights with steady, consistently low black levels. While sending the X900H a test pattern in HDR, we measured a peak brightness of around 770 nits. And although the TV's average black level range of .05 to .09 nits isn't as deep as some of its OLED-equipped competitors, the X900H does a tremendous job keeping the black levels in that rangedarker picture elements tend to remain dark, even when brighter bits are introduced.

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The Sony X900H might not be capable of the perfect black levels you'll see on an OLED, but its respectable black levels don't fluctuate depending on content type.

The X900H's well-balanced performance sheet is also anchored by well-saturated, accurate colors. The TV covers 100% of the Rex.709 SDR color standard and bolsters its picture processing with terrific out-of-the-box calibration, so just about everything that airs on TV is sure to look great (just be sure to use the TV's "Custom" picture mode). For newer, HDR-mastered content like big-budget Netflix productions and 4K Blu-rays, the X900H's wide color gamut keeps things looking vivid enough to appreciate, but true color-chasers might be better off investing in a brighter, more-dazzling picture like the one found on the quantum dot-enhanced Samsung Q90T.

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The TV's design is all about sharp lines and minimal fuss.

The X900H may not feature the razor-thin panel you'll find on an OLED TV, but its svelte design and clean lines are sure to look smashing in any room you happen to grace with its presence.

The panel emphasizes clean lines with minimal textures, and the metal feet that it rests atop are among the slimmest I've seen from TV stands of this particular design class. This, combined with the TV's super-thin bezels, gives the X900H an air of levitation. The negative space underneath the TV is more than enough to accommodate a small armada of soundbars and streaming devices, though should you decide to wall-mount your new TV, the X900H is ready to hang, too.

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

A chunky remote control alongside one of the X900H's razor-thin feet

The included remote control isn't as sophisticated; its blocky form and meat-and-potatoes appearance won't make it the star of your coffee table, but it's familiar enough to navigate easily and Sony seems to be slimming it down with each passing year, which is appreciated. Believe it or not, this remote used to be chunkier!

It would have been a bummer if a TV of this caliber didn't feature finely-tuned motion handling, and thankfully, the X900H doesn't disappoint. Backed by a 120 Hz native refresh rate, the TV is packed with various enhancements that compliment its hardware. The X900H features Sony's X-Motion Clarity software, which essentially tweaks standard black frame insertion functionality by allowing the content itself to determine the size and duration of each black frame. In practice, this makes for improved motion performance that limits the amount of dimming that typically results from black frame insertion software. This feature, along with the more rudimentary motion smoothing options, can be disabled.

All of that is to say that the X900H looks great during fast-paced, motion-heavy content like sports, action movies, and video games. The specific manner in which you wish to see the TV's motion enhanced is entirely up to you, and since Sony is releasing a firmware update that allows for 4K content at 120 FPS, future video game titles that push these boundaries will hopefully look (and feel) stellar on the X900H.

Another promised firmware update will include Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), the former of which eliminates screen tearing during gaming and the latter of which optimizes the TV's settings when it detects a gaming device .

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The X900H's limited viewing angles make for a subpar experience if you're not sitting in an ideal seat.

Like most VA-style TV panels, the X900H's Achilles' heel is its narrow viewing angles, which prevent the picture from looking its best when you move away from a direct, head-on position. Move just three or four feet off to the side and the picture will take on a washed-out appearance, its colors losing vibrancy as you step away from the center. As a result, the X900H is not a great TV for movie night, as only the folks with direct lines of sight will appreciate the TV at its best. This is a particularly tough pill to swallow when you consider that the smallest size in the series is a not-so-personal 55 inches.

Of course, the tradeoff to a VA panel's typical viewing angle limitations is its propensity for excellent contrast, and as we've discussed, the X900H is no slouch in that department. Interestingly enough, the Sony X800Halso released this yearfeatures an IPS-style panel, which allows for terrific viewing angles at the expense of its contrast.

Credit: Reviewed / Jackson Ruckar

The X900H will treat you right, but you can stretch your dollar further with other options.

If you compare the Sony X900H to some of the most competitive TVs in its price bracket, the results are all over the place, but the takeaway is clear: The X900H is a better pick than more affordable TVs that underperform (relative to their price range) but a not-so-great pick when compared to more affordable TVs that overperform.

A TV like the Hisense H9Gwhich features quantum dot-enhanced brightness, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and an excellent color gamutis a few hundred bucks cheaper than the X900H but doesn't come with the same array of features. Between the two, I'd recommend spending the extra $200-$400 on the X900H, if only for the inclusion of eARC (which is strangely absent in the H9G).

On the other hand, a TV like the TCL 6-Seriesone of our Best of the Year award-winnersis cheaper than both the Sony X900H and the Hisense H9G, but it still manages to perform at their level. Plus, the 6-Series offers nearly all of the X900H's special features, like eARC, VRR, and ALLM.

It's yet to be seen whether or not the TCL 6-Series will prove to be a paradigm-shifting TV that forces companies like Sony and Hisense to offer out-of-the-box support for next-generation features at a fiercely competitive price, but for now, it's hard to deny just how pricey TVs like the X900H look in comparison.

The Sony X900H is a terrific TV with a respectable array of features that will check the boxes on most people's wishlist, even A/V enthusiasts who want a taste of the high-end features of tomorrow. As a TV whose price tag is in the second-highest tier, however, the X900H is sandwiched between top-tier options that offer more than it ever could and third-tier options that are nipping at its heels. When TVs like the TCL 6-Series cost far less than the X900H and still manage to go toe-to-toe with it, it's hard not to eliminate the second-highest price tier from consideration altogether.

For this reason, I'd recommend folks take a hard look at the TCL 6-Series if they're in the market for a TV in the X900H's price range. The TCL's design elements aren't as slick as Sony's, but I'd put the 6-Series' picture up against the X900H's any day of the week, and being a Roku TV, it also comes with our favorite smart platform built right in. That said, while the 6-Series comes with VRR and ALLM right out of the box, it won't display 4K content at 120 FPS.

If you're amenable to spending a bit more, the Vizio OLED is a fantastic way to maximize your dollar. It offers perfect black levels, brightness capabilities that come close to the X900H's, and an eye-poppingly thin panel.

The Sony X900H is a fantastic TV, but there are ways to wring more value out of your money.

Michael Desjardin

Senior Staff Writer

Michael Desjardin graduated from Emerson College after having studied media production and screenwriting. He specializes in tech for Reviewed, but also loves film criticism, weird ambient music, cooking, and food in general.

Julia MacDougall

Senior Scientist

Julia is the Senior Scientist at Reviewed, which means that she oversees (and continually updates) the testing of products in Reviewed's core categories such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, and more. She also determines the testing methods and standards for Reviewed's "The Best Right Now" articles.

We use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If youve found different results in your own research, email us and well compare notes. If it looks substantial, well gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.

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Sony X900H 4K LED TV Review: sleek design and a great picture - Reviewed

Calaphon

Calaphon's Performance Cool Touch oven is a countertop oven that uses quartz heating, but keeps the outer surface 75% cooler than ordinary toaster ovens, so you can touch the surface and use the top for storage without burning anything or anyone. Usually $300, the Calphalon Performance Cool Touch Oven is currently selling for $210. Not only is this only the third time it's been on sale in a year, but it's also within $10 of the all-time low price of $200.

This toaster oven is chock-full of cool tech, like a gorgeous high-contrast LCD and touchscreen interface. It has a dozen cooking functions, like toast, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies and proofing (for bread). You can also "stack" baking commands for one-step unattended cooking, such as going from bake to broil automatically.

The oven can fit a 12-inch pizza and comes with a baking pan, dehydrator basket, wire rack and pizza pan.

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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Tesla Shares of the electric vehicle company jumped more than 1% to a new all-time high ahead of Tesla's inclusion in the S&P 500. The stock will be added to the benchmark index before the opening bell on Monday based on Friday's closing prices. There is likely to be high volume and volatile trading into Friday's close.

Moderna Shares of the biotechnology company fell more than 4% as investors took profits after a key panel advised the Food and Drug Administration to grant the company's coronavirus vaccine emergency use authorization. Despite investors' move to take profits on Friday, Moderna shares have more than doubled in value over the last six months as it became clear its vaccine could be approved for widespread use

FedEx Shares of the shipping company slipped more than 4% after FedEx failed to give 2021 guidance during its quarterly update. The company did, however, beat top and bottom line estimates during the second quarter, earning an adjusted $4.83 per share on $20.56 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected $4.01 per share and $19.46 billion in revenue.

Scholastic Shares of the publishing company slipped more than 10% after Scholastic missed top and bottom line estimates in the fiscal second quarter. The company also did not provide a 2021 outlook, citing ongoing uncertainty around the impact of Covid-19 on schooling.

Kohl's & Macy's Shares of both Macy's and Kohl's rose in midday trading after Jefferies upgraded both stocks to a buy rating. While Kohl's stock rose 2.2% and Macy's added 2.7%, analyst Stephanie Wissink said both should endure business pressure from Covid-19 and rebound into 2021. She likes Kohl's "attractive" cash flow, yield and buyback program and doesn't see Macy's suffering the permanent earnings and sales losses other brokerages have assumed.

Airbnb Shares of Airbnb jumped 5% after Susquehanna initiated coverage on the newly public company with a positive rating. The Wall Street firm said Airbnb created the short-term rental market and is the clear leader in the space. The strong brand enables the company to generate a significant majority of its traffic directly, which is "unparalleled" in the online travel sector, Susquehanna said.

United States Steel United States Steel saw its stock drop 5.2% in midday trading after management said it expects a fourth-quarter per-share loss of 85 cents, worse than the 60-cent loss expected, according to a FactSet consensus estimate. Despite the underwhelming EPS outlook, the company said it expects better demand for flat rolled steel in 2021 and is already seeing better performance in December.

Palantir Technologies Shares of Palantir fell nearly 3% after Credit Suisse downgraded the big data analytics company to underperform from neutral due to valuation concerns. Palantir went public via a direct listing at $10 per share on Sept. 30. The stock has more than doubled since its IPO, last trading around $26.50 per share.

Winnebago Industries The recreational vehicle maker's stock popped 8% following a big earnings beat. Winnebago earned an adjusted $1.69 per share for its fiscal first quarter, well above the consensus estimate of 98 cents, according to Refinitiv.Revenue also came in above estimates. The company cited strong demand and interest in outdoor activities into the new year.

- CNBC's Yun Li and Thomas Franck contributed reporting.

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Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Tesla, FedEx, Airbnb, Winnebago & more - CNBC

Charley Pride played music. William Norwood performed live-saving surgeries. Rosemary Shinohara worked long nights at the newsroom, picked blueberries, ran triathlons, and read mystery novels. Veronica Gutierrez, age 29, liked puzzles.

They all died of COVID-19, their deaths reported this week amid a tragic and unprecedented surge in infections and fatalities across the US. The US recorded nearly 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in the last seven days alone.

Wednesday marked the deadliest day in the pandemic so far, with close to 3,500 reported deaths. That's more American deaths from a single catastrophe than on any other day in the past 100 years, including 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and D-Day.

Below are the names, faces, and a small peak into the lives of just a few Americans whose deaths were reported this week.

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FedEx will use Boeing 767 aircraft, like the one pictured here, to deliver COVID-19 vaccines.

Air cargo is vital to our lives. Planes swiftly deliver our food and mail, goods we buy online (like the laptop I'm writing this on) and flowers we order for Mother's Day. Approximately 35% of world trade travels in airplanes, according to the International Air Transport Association, accounting for $6 trillion worth of goods.

It's also critical to public health. Air cargo carriers will be at the forefront of distributing the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines around the planet. Transporting vaccines by air isn't new -- that's how flu vaccines get distributed every year -- but the significance and scope of the COVID-19 vaccine distribution is unmatched. Pfizer alone expects to produce up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and 1.3 billion in 2021, and they'll all need to get somewhere.

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Familiar giants like UPS, DHL and FedEx will play a big role in the process, but so will passenger airlines with cargo operations, like American, United and Delta. Here's what they're doing to prepare to keep the vaccines safe and carry them to you.

Just keep in mind that even though vaccines are now being administered, the coronavirus pandemic is raging on, with almost 74 million cases and 1.65 million deaths around the world to date. Social distancing and mask wearing are still absolutely essential for fighting the spread of the virus and protecting the health of you and others. And they'll remain that way for many months, even after you're vaccinated.

Pfizer's vaccine, just approved for use by the FDA on Friday, needs to be stored at a temperature of minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius). Cargo that must be kept extremely cold typically can be transported in "active" containers with built-in temperature controls (like a portable freezer) or "passive" containers that are cooled with dry ice. Either way, all containers used to ship the vaccines will have temperature recorders to ensure vaccine safety.

The advantage of passive containers is that they're lighter, making them more portable, and they don't require a power source. Intending to distribute its vaccine as fast as possible, Pfizer went with the passive option by designing its own containers (according to The Wall Street Journal, the containers are the size of a suitcase).

Airlines have more options for vaccines that don't need to be kept as cold, likeModerna's(which still needs FDA approval). United Airlines, for example, says that with 15 different cargo container options, "we can support a variety of temperature needs whether ambient, cool or frozen."

Delta employees offload vaccines from an aircraft.

UPS says it will monitor all shipments from a new dedicated command center. The facility will be staffed around the clock and will collect data from the temperature recorders in shipping containers. Each UPS package also will have a tag identifying it as a vaccine shipment. The company built its own dry ice manufacturing facility at its hub in Louisville, Kentucky, with a capacity of more than 24,000 pounds each day.

Other carriers will monitor shipments as well. American Airlines will do so from its Cargo Control Center at its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, and Delta Airlines will have a "Vaccine Control Tower" with centralized monitoring and customer reporting.

Cargo containers are loaded into a United Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport in 2018.

It depends on the carrier and the available aircraft it has in its fleet. But generally a bigger plane is better, since it can fit more shipments. United Airlines says one of its Boeing 777-200s, one of the largest aircraft in its fleet, has the ability to carry more than a million doses of vaccine. American also operates the 777, while Delta's largest airliner is the comparatively sizedAirbus A350.

With largely wide-body fleets includingBoeing's 777, 767 and 747; the Airbus A300; and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, FedEx and UPS will be able to move large quantities of doses as well.

Now playing: Watch this: How United Airlines prepares a Boeing 777 between flights

2:33

Yes. Though it depends on the route flown, United and American will use both all-cargo and passenger flights. The vaccines will be stored below the passenger cabin in the cargo hold.

A FedEx employee handles dry ice for a shipment.

Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide, the same molecule humans and animals breathe out. As long as it's handled properly, it'll keep everything from food to medicines cold for long periods without posing much of a health risk (that is, unless you touch it with bare hands).

The bigger danger is if dry ice warms above minus 78.5 degrees Celsius ( minus 109.3 degrees Fahrenheit). At that point it will sublimate, meaning it turns directly to an odorless and colorless gas, skipping the liquid state. Carbon dioxide is harmful when we breathe it in. A small amount can cause a loss of cognitive function, fatigue or unconsciousness (not ideal conditions for a pilot), and too much can lead to a coma or even asphyxiation.

Because those dangers are compounded in an enclosed space like an airplane, the Federal Aviation Administration on Dec. 10 issued a Safety Alert for Operators advising carriers to do the following (among other things):

American monitors flights from its operations control center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Given that the FAA manages the nation's air traffic control system, it'll have a big role. In an email to CNET, an agency spokeswoman said this:

"The FAA will handle flights carrying COVID-19 vaccines the same way we handled flights carrying personal protective equipment in the spring of 2020. Airlines will provide lists of flights carrying COVID-19 vaccines to the FAA's Command Center, which will alert air traffic facilities in the field that these are priority flights. The Command Center will closely track the flights along their routes to ensure they are given priority to the degree possible."

The FAA also issued an advisory for airports handling vaccine flights, with points like giving priority access to ground vehicles collecting the vaccine, and it relaxed rules on how much dry ice airlines can carry on their flights. (Even passengers can carry a small amount in checked baggage.) United said it can now carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight -- five times more than normally permitted, and FedEx will be able to transport approximately 500,000 dry ice shipments a month.

Vaccines ready for shipment at a UPS facility.

Once a vaccine shipment arrives at an outbound shipping facility, airlines will need to keep it cold. This temperature-controlled cargo infrastructure already exists, though some companies will be expanding their network to meet demand.

FedEx says it's added more than 10 secure cold storage facilities over the past three years and now has more than 90 in North and South Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. The company also added ultracold freezers, and expanded freezer and refrigerator capacity at some locations.

UPS has invested in a "freezer farm" in Louisville for ultracold storage and will supply portable freezers for vaccine dosing sites where dry ice isn't available.

American will use its existing temperature-controlled facilities at airports in Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, London, Chicago and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Delta will rely on cold storage at airports in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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COVID-19 vaccine is flying high and on dry ice to reach you - CNET