News: Technology News

Dying Light 2’s latest trailer is definite nightmare fuel

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 05:06:12 +0000

Dying Light 2’s latest trailer is definite nightmare fuel

The latest Dying Light 2 trailer shows off new stealth and horrifying new special enemies

(Image credit: Techland)

Move over Resident Evil Village, there’s a new survival horror game in town and – after catching Dying Light 2’s second gameplay trailer – we can safely say it’s downright frightening.

The trailer, which made its debut in the middle of TechLand’s Dying 2 Know YouTube livestream, showed off a new hospital environment that was packed to the brim with turned civilians.

According to the game’s director, these nests are nearly impossible to fight through, but they can be navigated carefully if you’re stealthy enough.

Of course, as things always do in these sorts of situations, things go awry and before long the casual stroll through a creepy decrepit hospital turns into a heart-pumping nightmare roller-coaster as we have to watch the game’s protagonist, Aiden Caldwell, escape from the hospital before he’s either eviscerated by zombies or turned into one by the virus.

Besides the awfully uninviting environment, the trailer is also a showcase for a few of the new zombie sub-types you’ll encounter along the way – including the Revenant, a brand-new infected species that’s smarter than the regular infected.

A real showcase of what the PS5 and Xbox Series X can do

While livestreams are rarely a good indicator of what a final game will look like, the latest trailer does show us what the PS5 and Xbox Series X can really do.

Namely, that’s the ability to include a number of high-resolution enemies on screen at once in an ultra detailed environment. That’s easier to do when the setting is somewhere inside as then the game’s engine only renders a small area at a time, but Dying Light 2’s environments seem both complex and incredibly detailed.

Watching the trailer you can see some interesting options presented to the player – when exactly to use the flashlight that could attract the infected and when to take chances by stumbling around in the dark by crawling underneath tables.

We'll be excited to see if we can complete some of the game's missions in multiple ways like, say, Far Cry or a Bethesda title might allow, but so far the game's white-knuckle parkour gameplay and frenetic combat look pretty darn enticing.

Dying Light 2 will be available on December 7, 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PS5.

Dying Light 2’s latest trailer is definite nightmare fuel

Micron says DRAM, NAND shortages will persist for another year

Fri, 02 Jul 2021 05:02:44 +0000

Micron says DRAM, NAND shortages will persist for another year

Chip shortages have led to unmet demand

While reporting the fiscal results for its third quarter, computer memory and data storage manufacturer Micron revealed that it believes DRAM and NAND shortages will continue through next year.

At the same time in a separate press release, the company announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Texas Instruments to sell of one of its manufacturing plants in Lehi, Utah where it previously made 3D Xpoint chips through a partnership with Intel.

The sale of the plant is valued at $1.5bn by Micron and in total, the company will receive $900m in cash from Texas Instruments and approximately $600m in value from select tools and other assets.

Shortages vs demand

Back in March of this year, Micron warned of an industry-wide “severe undersupply” for DRAM chips and so far demand for these chips has risen by 20 percent this year. When it came to NAND chips, the company warned demand was rising in the “low-to-mid-30% rage” though there was still some excess supply.

During a recent presentation, Micron updated its previous position stating that “industry bit demand growth” is expected be slightly higher than 20 percent as there is still unmet demand for DRAM. However, the company expects the current DRAM shortages to continue into next year and this is true for NAND chips as well which are also growing at the same rate.

Despite these shortages, Micron was still able to bring in $7.42bn in revenue during the third quarter of this year. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra provided further insight on the company's Q3 fiscal results in a press release, saying:

“Micron set multiple market and product revenue records in our third quarter and achieved the largest sequential earnings improvement in our history. Our industry-leading 1α DRAM and 176-layer NAND now represent a meaningful portion of our production, and Micron is in the best position ever to capitalize on the long-term demand trends across the data center, intelligent edge and user devices.”

Via ZDNet

Micron says DRAM, NAND shortages will persist for another year

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Update 5 greatly improves performance

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 20:34:52 +0000

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Update 5 greatly improves performance

During a Live dev Q&A livestream, Asobo Studio CEO Sebastian Wloch, showcased the upcoming performance improvements for PC and the upcoming Xbox release.

Throughout the live stream, Wloch compared the current build against the new Update 5, which is set to launch on July 27th, to show off just how much of an improvement this technical update brings to Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Running an Intel Core i7-900K CPU and an NVIDIA Geforce RTX 2060 Super GPU, Wloch’s PC is absolutely no slouch, yet on Ultra graphics with a 4k upscale, he only managed to achieve 30 to 40 FPS when flying over Manhattan, with his CPU maxing out at 100% capacity.

Switching to Update 5 however has the framerate soar to a much more appropriate 55 to 60 FPS, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck at 100% rather than the CPU since Update 5 is targeted at making primarily CPU based improvements.

Update 5 is set to launch on July 27th, the same day that the Series X|S versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator launch. With this performance improvement, hopefully, console players can expect to see the gorgeous vistas of Microsoft Flight Simulator without the framerate being more akin to a slideshow.

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s Update 5 greatly improves performance

Rigetti unveils the world's first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computers

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 22:32:40 +0000

Rigetti unveils the world's first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computers

Rigetti's multi-chip quantum processor

Rigetti Computing, one of the frontrunners in full-stack quantum computing, announced today the world's first multi-chip quantum processor. Based on a proprietary modular architecture, the quantum processor is meant to boost the commercialization and scalability of fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Rigetti's multi-qubit chip connects and nests multiple identical dies into a large-scale quantum computer. This substantially reduces the manufacturing and engineering complexity required in producing practical quantum computers. It should, in theory, also provide a way for Rigetti to ramp up the qubit count in its quantum computers.

“Scalability is a central objective across the entire quantum computing industry. Rigetti is the first to demonstrate an elegant, effective solution to this major technical challenge,” said Marko Lončar, professor of electrical engineering and quantum hardware at Harvard University who is also familiar with the company's work.

“We’ve developed a fundamentally new approach to scaling quantum computers,” says Chad Rigetti, founder and CEO of Rigetti Computing. “Our proprietary innovations in chip design and manufacturing have unlocked what we believe is the fastest path to building the systems needed to run practical applications and error correction.”

The key to commercial and practical quantum computers lies in increasing the number of fault-tolerant qubits in quantum computers. Rigetti's quantum volume, which is the maximum qubit count which a quantum computer can retain without losing coherence in its qubits, is 31. That should change soon. Rigetti plans to place its new chip architecture as the centerpiece in an 80-qubit quantum computer that it plans to reveal by the end of this year.

Rigetti unveils the world's first multi-chip quantum processor for scalable quantum computers

A new supercomputer has joined the top five most powerful devices around the world

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:45:20 +0000

A new supercomputer has joined the top five most powerful devices around the world

The latest update to the list of the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers saw only one new entry in the top 10, confirming that although these devices are still improving their performance, the pace of innovation is slowing down.

Perlmutter, a US-based supercomputer located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, entered the June edition of the Top500 list in fifth position, bumping Nvidia's Selene device to sixth place.

At 64.6 petaflops, Perlmutter is the most notable change to the list; it also fared well in the Green500 list, which focuses on the energy efficiency of supercomputers, claiming number six spot thanks to a power efficiency of 25.55 gigaflops per watt.

In total, there were only 58 new entries in the Top500 list. This is not far off the record-low of 44 new entrants registered last November, and indicates a slowdown compared to earlier years. In 2007, for example, 300 new devices made it to the ranking.

This is mostly blamed on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, which drove investment in commercial high-performance computing systems to an all-time low.

The authors of the list admitted that the latest edition "saw little change", with Japan's Fugaku supercomputer still retaining a strong lead in the number-one spot.

Fugaku came online last March and boasts a record-breaking 442 petaflops – meaning that it is three times more performant than the nearest competitor, IBM's Summit, which is hosted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and claims 148.8 petaflops.

A product of a partnership between Riken and Fujitsu, Fugaku uses Fujitsu's custom ARM processor, which has enabled the device to reach peak performance of over an exaflop. "Such an achievement has caused some to introduce this machine as the first 'exascale' supercomputer," said the Top500 authors.

Exascale computations can perform a quintillion calculations each second, and are expected to significantly speed up applications ranging from precision medicine to climate simulation. China, the US and the EU have all unveiled aggressive goals to achieve exascale computing systems in the next few years.

In Japan's Research Organization for Information Science and Technology (RIST), Fugaku is set to advance a selected 74 scientific projects, many of which aim to accelerate research to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, such as early detection of disease or high-speed and high-precision drug discovery simulations.

Competing behind Fugaku, the rest of the list's top 10 remained largely the same, with IBM's Sierra in third place following the company's Summit supercomputer.

China saw a significant drop in the number of devices it can claim on the list. From 212 Chinese machines featuring on the previous iteration, the country now accounts for 186 supercomputers on the Top500 list.

"There hasn't been much definitive proof of why this is happening, but it is certainly something to note," said the list's authors.

Despite the drop, China still dominates the Top500: the next biggest competitor, the USA, lags behind with 123 systems on the list. This has led some researchers to conclude that the gap between the two countries is rapidly closing.

It remains true, however, that the performance of Chinese supercomputers is far outstripped by other systems. The USA has an aggregate performance of 856.8 petaflops per second, while China's machines produce on average 445.3 petaflops per second.

In another noteworthy development, the Top500's authors highlighted the marked increase in the use of AMD processors, especially among the few new entries. The company's EPYC processors power half of the 58 new contestants, and three of the devices included in the top 10 – Perlmutter, Selene and Germany's Juwels Booster Module.

Compared to the same time last year, AMD noted that EYMC systems also power five times more supercomputers throughout the entire list.

"We are committed to enabling the performance and capabilities needed to advance scientific discoveries, break the exascale barrier, and continue driving innovation," said Forrest Morrod, senior vice president of the data center and embedded systems group at AMD.

In terms of system interconnects, the authors observed little change, with ethernet used in around half of the systems. A third of the supercomputers leveraged Infiniband and less than a tenth relied on OmniPath. Custom interconnects accounted for 37 systems.

Source

Unbroken: New soft electronics don't break, even when punctured

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 13:28:01 +0000

Unbroken: New soft electronics don't break, even when punctured

Want a smartphone that stretches, takes damage, and still doesn't miss a call?

A team of Virginia Tech researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Macromolecules Innovation Institute has created a new type of soft electronics, paving the way for devices that are self-healing, reconfigurable, and recyclable. These skin-like circuits are soft and stretchy, sustain numerous damage events under load without losing electrical conductivity, and can be recycled to generate new circuits at the end of a product's life.

Led by Assistant Professor Michael Bartlett, the team recently published its findings in Communications Materials, an open access journal from Nature Research.

Current consumer devices, such as phones and laptops, contain rigid materials that use soldered wires running throughout. The soft circuit developed by Bartlett's team replaces these inflexible materials with soft electronic composites and tiny, electricity-conducting liquid metal droplets. These soft electronics are part of a rapidly emerging field of technology that gives gadgets a level of durability that would have been impossible just a few years ago.

The liquid metal droplets are initially dispersed in an elastomer, a type of rubbery polymer, as electrically insulated, discrete drops.

"To make circuits, we introduced a scalable approach through embossing, which allows us to rapidly create tunable circuits by selectively connecting droplets," postdoctoral researcher and first author Ravi Tutika said. "We can then locally break the droplets apart to remake circuits and can even completely dissolve the circuits to break all the connections to recycle the materials, and then start back at the beginning."

The circuits are soft and flexible, like skin, continuing to work even under extreme damage. If a hole is punched in these circuits, the metal droplets can still transfer power. Instead of cutting the connection completely as in the case of a traditional wire, the droplets make new connections around the hole to continue passing electricity.

The circuits will also stretch without losing their electrical connection, as the team pulled the device to over 10 times its original length without failure during the research.

At the end of a product's life, the metal droplets and the rubbery materials can be reprocessed and returned to a liquid solution, effectively making them recyclable. From that point, they can be remade to start a new life, an approach that offers a pathway to sustainable electronics.

While a stretchy smartphone has not yet been made, rapid development in the field also holds promise for wearable electronics and soft robotics. These emerging technologies require soft, robust circuitry to make the leap into consumer applications.

"We're excited about our progress and envision these materials as key components for emerging soft technologies," Bartlett said. "This work gets closer to creating soft circuitry that could survive in a variety of real-world applications."

Source

This Chinese 7nm chip will take on next-gen Nvidia and AMD GPUs

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 22:04:22 +0000

This Chinese 7nm chip will take on next-gen Nvidia and AMD GPUs

Biren Technology, a Chinese startup that designs GPUs and accelerators, is reportedly building a new 7nm chip that will rival Nvidia's next-gen 5nm data center GPUs, according to a report from Chinese media jiemian.

The CTO and chief architect of Biren Technology, Mike Hong, at an interview recently, informed the Chinese media that the firm's new 7nm GPU is progressing very well and is expected to tape out in the current year itself. The chip is being designed as an accelerator for tackling HPC and AI/ML workloads. The firm is pretty confident of the performance believing that the new 7nm could rival next-gen Nvidia 5nm Ada Lovelace-based GPUs as well.

Ada Lovelace is allegedly Nvidia's next-gen microarchitecture meant to succeed the current-gen Ampere designs and will be built using a 5nm process from either TSMC or Samsung. In the AI and HPC space, right now the company is making its Ampere-based A100 accelerators that already packs some impressive specs:

6,912 CUDA Cores,
432 Tensor Cores,
up to 80GB of HBM2E,
up to 2TB/s of memory bandwidth.

So next gen Ada Lovelace will certainly be at least as impressive and taking it on will be no easy feat.

Then there are other challenges as well for the new Biren chip. Over the last few years, AMD has also been making valiant efforts to meaningfully get into the lucrative server and HPC market. Last year, it launched its 32GB MI100 accelerator based on the CDNA architecture and touted the card as the world's first GPU to break the 10TFLOP FP64 barrier. And we also can't forget Intel's upcoming Xe HP GPUs called Arctic Sound.

via CnTechPost

This Chinese 7nm chip will take on next-gen Nvidia and AMD GPUs

AMD's Big Navi already showing FineWine magic, RX 6900 XT almost on par with RTX 3090

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 22:01:49 +0000

AMD's Big Navi already showing FineWine magic, RX 6900 XT almost on par with RTX 3090

AMD FineWine Technology, as the community loves to call it, is a situation where a Radeon GPU is seemingly able to catch up or even surpass its corresponding GeForce rival SKU due to the performance gains it undergoes during its life cycle. In essence, it gets better as it ages, something like a high-quality wine would do.

The gains it achieves are a consequence of subsequent driver updates as well as more favorable game optimizations. The FineWine phenomenon generally starts to kick in a couple of years into a GPU generation. However, the RX 6000 series (Big Navi) GPUs, that launched last year and aren't even a year old at this point appear to be showing these signs already.

According to a performance analysis done by German media 3DCenter, while both RTX 30 series cards, based on Ampere architecture, and the RX 6000 series, based on Navi 2X architecture, have gained quite a lot over launch day numbers, its the Team Red figures that are far more impressive.

The data shows that on average, AMD cards have gained more than 10% performance in the last six months with the biggest gains seen at 1080p. Nvidia cards see the biggest improvement at QHD resolution likely indicating the CPU bottlenecks that was suggested by a report earlier.

The performance gains of individual cards have also been presented for those interested to look at how each of the cards has done so far over its life span. There are three charts (click on them to enlarge) for this data one each for the resolutions 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

Overall, these are good signs for AMD and also for its fans and users and it's possible we could see this trend continue as it generally has done in previous generations. However, things could be different this time and Nvidia could fight back too. The graphics landscape is after all changing as new cutting-edge technologies like Ray-Tracing are taking shape, and for now, Nvidia clearly has the upper hand in this.

Source and images: 3DCenter

AMD's Big Navi already showing FineWine magic, RX 6900 XT almost on par with RTX 3090

WD My Book NAS devices are being remotely wiped clean worldwide

Fri, 25 Jun 2021 03:19:09 +0000

WD My Book NAS devices are being remotely wiped clean worldwide

Western Digital My Book NAS owners worldwide found that their devices have been mysteriously factory reset and all of their files deleted.

WD My Book is a network-attached storage device that looks like a small vertical book that you can stand on your desk. The WD My Book Live app allows owners to access their files and manage their devices remotely, even if the NAS is behind a firewall or router.

Today, WD My Book owners worldwide suddenly found that all of their files were mysteriously deleted, and they could no longer log into the device via a browser or an app.

When they attempted to log in via the Web dashboard, the device stated that they had an "Invalid password."

"I have a WD My Book live connected to my home LAN and worked fine for years. I have just found that somehow all the data on it is gone today, while the directories seems there but empty. Previously the 2T volume was almost full but now it shows full capacity," a WD My Book owner reported on the Western Digital Community Forums.

"The even strange thing is when I try to log into the control UI for diagnosis I was-only able to get to this landing page with an input box for “owner password”. I have tried the default password “admin” and also what I could set for it with no luck."

Password no longer working in My Book Live
Source: WD Forum

My Book devices issued a factory reset command

After further owners confirmed that their devices suffered the same issue, owners reported that the MyBook logs showed that the devices received a remote command to perform a factory reset starting at around 3 PM yesterday and through the night.

"I have found this in user.log of this drive today:
Jun 23 15:14:05 My BookLive factoryRestore.sh: begin script:
Jun 23 15:14:05 My BookLive shutdown[24582]: shutting down for system reboot
Jun 23 16:02:26 My BookLive S15mountDataVolume.sh: begin script: start
Jun 23 16:02:29 My BookLive _: pkg: wd-nas
Jun 23 16:02:30 My BookLive _: pkg: networking-general
Jun 23 16:02:30 My BookLive _: pkg: apache-php-webdav
Jun 23 16:02:31 My BookLive _: pkg: date-time
Jun 23 16:02:31 My BookLive _: pkg: alerts
Jun 23 16:02:31 My BookLive logger: hostname=My BookLive
Jun 23 16:02:32 My BookLive _: pkg: admin-rest-api
I believe this is the culprit of why this happens…No one was even home to use this drive at this time…"

Unlike QNAP devices, which are commonly connected to the Internet and exposed to attacks such as the QLocker Ransomware, the Western Digital My Book devices are stored behind a firewall and communicate through the My Book Live cloud servers to provide remote access.

Some users have expressed concerns that Western Digital's servers were hacked to allow a threat actor to push out a remote factory reset command to all devices connected to the service.

If a threat actor wiped devices, it is strange as no one has reported ransom notes or other threats, meaning the attack was simply meant to be destructive.

If you own a Western Digital My Book NAS device, it is strongly advised that you disconnect it from the network until we learn more about what is happening.

Update 5:45 PM EST: Western Digital told BleepingComputer that they are actively investigating the attacks but do not believe it was a compromise of their servers.

They believe that attacks were conducted after some of the My Book owners had their accounts compromised.

"Western Digital has determined that some My Book Live devices are being compromised by malicious software. In some cases, this compromise has led to a factory reset that appears to erase all data on the device. The My Book Live device received its final firmware update in 2015. We understand that our customers’ data is very important. At this time, we recommend you disconnect your My Book Live from the Internet to protect your data on the device. We are actively investigating and we will provide updates to this thread when they are available." - Western Digital

However, their statement doesnt explain how so many account were breached at approximately the same time.

BleepingComputer has sent further questions regarding the attacks to Western Digital.

Thx to Jol for the tip.

WD My Book NAS devices are being remotely wiped clean worldwide

Surface Laptop, Laptop 2, Laptop Go get June 2021 firmware update

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 21:40:17 +0000

Surface Laptop, Laptop 2, Laptop Go get June 2021 firmware update

Microsoft is now pushing the June 2021 firmware update to Surface Laptop, Laptop 2, and the Laptop Go. The firmware update brings improvements to the system stability, integration between system services. The update also addresses some critical security vulnerabilities. Improvements to the Bluetooth and WiFi connection reliability is another noteworthy change in the latest firmware update. You can read the full official changelog below.

Surface Laptop, Laptop 2 firmware update changelog

Windows Update History Name	Device Manager Name	Version and Update
Surface – Firmware?- 11.8.86.3877	Surface ME – Firmware	11.8.86.3877 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Intel – System – 2102.100.0.1044	Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System	2102.100.0.1044 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Surface -System – 6.119.139.0	Surface Integration Service Device – System devices	6.119.139.0 Improves integration between system services and improves system stability.
Surface – Firmware – 138.3732.768.0	Surface UEFI – Firmware	138.3732.768.0 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.

Surface Laptop Go firmware update changelog

Windows Update History Name	Device Manager Name	Version and Update
Surface – System – 6.304.139.0	Surface System Aggregator– Firmware	6.304.139.0 Improves battery telemetry.
Intel – Software Component – 1.62.321.1	Intel(R) ICLS Client – Software devices	1.62.321.1 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Intel – System – 2102.100.0.1044	Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System	2102.100.0.1044 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Surface – Firmware?- 13.0.1763.5	Surface ME – Firmware	13.0.1763.5 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Intel – Net – 22.40.0.7	Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz – Network adapters	22.40.0.7 Improves Wi-Fi connection reliability.
Intel – Bluetooth – 22.40.0.2	Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth – Bluetooth	22.40.0.2 Improves BT connection reliability.
Surface – Human Interface Devices – 3.31.139.0	Surface Hid Mini Driver – System	3.31.139.0 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.
Surface -System – 6.119.139.0	Surface Integration Service Device – System devices	6.119.139.0 Improves integration between system services and improves system stability.
Surface – Firmware – 9.101.140.0	Surface UEFI – Firmware	9.101.140.0 Addresses critical security vulnerability and improves system stability.

The June 2021 firmware update is already available for Surface Laptop 3, Surface Book 3, and Surface Pro X.

Meanwhile, you can go to Settings>Update and Security>Windows Update to download and install the update on your Surface Laptop/ Laptop 2/ Laptop Go.

Source: Microsoft(1,2,3)

Surface Laptop, Laptop 2, Laptop Go get June 2021 firmware update

Gamers rejoice, graphics cards are finally getting cheaper

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 21:23:06 +0000

Gamers rejoice, graphics cards are finally getting cheaper

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last one year or so, you are likely aware of the exorbitant prices that GPUs have been selling for during this time. However, according to a new report by German media 3DCenter, prices for graphics cards, and especially Nvidia GeForce ones, are starting to fall after nearly six months.

The report has been prepared using data from the major German retailers like Mindfactory, Caseking, Computeruniverse, and more.

The graph above shows the movement of the average prices for graphics cards in those shops. As mentioned above, it seems the price of Nvidia GPUs is taking a noticeable dip after it had peaked in May at +204% over MSRP. Although it must be noted here that it is still 91% higher, or nearly twice, over MSRP. If the trend continues, then we expect the RTX 3000 series cards to continue getting cheaper and they could reach MSRP levels around Christmas.

Radeon RX 6000 series cards however are showing a somewhat mixed trend. The prices had actually fallen around the end of last month but have begun to creep up again.

Aside from the global chip shortage, the RDNA 2-based RX 6000 series GPUs have struggled to meet demand as they are built on TSMC's 7nm node that has a lot of buyers. Nvidia cards, on the other hand, utilize a more abundant Samsung 8nm process but became scarce due to the high demand for GPUs from Ethereum miners.

Source and image: 3DCenter

Gamers rejoice, graphics cards are finally getting cheaper

Super-sized 16TB external SSD launched by Sabrent, the new Rocket XTRM-Q is here

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 21:20:27 +0000

Super-sized 16TB external SSD launched by Sabrent, the new Rocket XTRM-Q is here

Storage components maker Sabrent has launched today its new external solid-state drive (SSD) dubbed Rocket XTRM-Q. However, this is no ordinary external SSD as the XTRM-Q packs a whopping 16TB of storage space.

The new drive actually features dual 8TB NVMe SSDs inside an enclosure for 16TB in total. The size of the enclosure isn't too big as you can probably make out from the image above. It measures 4.5" long, 2.56" wide, and 0.68" high. In terms of build, its body is made of aluminum that makes it strong and also helps to dissipate heat. This is important if it works as well as the company says since SSDs are generally more heat-sensitive than HDDs. There is also a rubbery case on top for further protection.

Now coming to the drive itself, each 8TB drive inside the enclosure can be run individually or you can run them in RAID 0 mode for a total of 16TB of storage. When running RAID 0 mode, the speed of the drive will double providing up to 2800MB/s. For speeds like this, a reasonably fast interface is necessary. For that, the Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q comes with support for Intel Thunderbolt 3. A Thunderbolt cable is included along with a power adapter,

The Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 16TB launches at a price of $2,899.99 and is available for purchase on Amazon's US website.

The XTRM-Q isn't the only large-sized SSD that Sabrent has been in news for as last year in December, the company said it was preparing a SATA 16TB internal 2.5" SSD.

Source: Sabrent America (Twitter)

Super-sized 16TB external SSD launched by Sabrent, the new Rocket XTRM-Q is here

Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual reality

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 13:59:28 +0000

Robot-assisted surgery: Putting the reality in virtual reality

Cardiac surgeons may be able to better plan operations and improve their surgical field view with the help of a robot.

Controlled through a virtual reality parallel system as a digital twin, the robot can accurately image a patient through ultrasound without the hand cramping or radiation exposure that hinder human operators. The international research team published their method in IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica.

"Intra-operative ultrasound is especially useful, as it can guide the surgery by providing real-time images of otherwise hidden devices and anatomy," said paper author Fei-Yue Wang, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Management and Control of Complex Systems, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. "However, the need for highly specialized skills is always a barrier for reliable and repeatable acquisition."

Wang noted that the availability of onsite sonographers can be limited, and that many procedures requiring intra-operative ultrasound also often require X-ray imaging, which could expose the operator to harmful radiation. To mitigate these challenges, Wang and his team developed a platform for robotic intra-operative trans-esophageal echocardiography (TEE), an imaging technique widely used to diagnose heart disease and guide cardiac surgical procedures.

"Our result has indicated the use of robot with a simulation platform could potentially improve the general usability of intra-operative ultrasound and assist operators with less experience," Wang said.

The researchers employed parallel control and intelligence to pair an operator with the robot in a virtual environment that accurately represents the real environment. Equipped with a database of ultrasound images and a digital platform capable of reconstructing anatomy, the robot could navigate the target areas for the operator to better visualize and plan potential surgical corrections in computational experiments.

"Such a system can be used for view definition and optimization to assist pre-planning, as well as algorithm evaluations to facilitate control and navigation in real-time," Wang said.

Next, the researchers plan to further integrate the currently proposed parallel real/virtual system with specific clinical needs to assist the translational research of such imaging robots.

"The ultimate goal is to integrate the virtual system and the physical robot for in-vivo clinical tests, so as to propose a new diagnosis and treatment protocol using parallel intelligence in medical operations," Wang said.

Source

Microsoft Weekly: A round of Windows leaks, Xbox mini fridges, and hybrid work

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 20:52:53 +0000

Microsoft Weekly: A round of Windows leaks, Xbox mini fridges, and hybrid work

In the last seven days we’ve seen the set of E3 2021 announcements from Microsoft – including the Xbox Mini Fridge -, the leaking of a Windows 11 ISO, and a number of other bits of news. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of June 13 - 19.

A round of Windows leaks

The week started in what the Redmond firm could call not ideal conditions, since screenshots of the yet-to-be announced Windows 11 emerged. A little later that same day, the situation got even more interesting as an ISO of build 21996.1 made its way onto the web.

Naturally, we got our hands on it and have chosen to highlight a number of the OS’s new features – like the Windows 10X-esque centered taskbar icons, rounded corners, or the translucent UI (in some places) – via either screenshots of the desktop UI, the OOBE, the new window snapping UI, the new set of wallpapers, and more.

It does seem that out of all, the Home version requires an internet connection to complete setup, but luckily there’s a workaround. In case you want to test this out yourself, you might want to be quick as Microsoft is already issuing DMCA complaints to take down the leaked ISO.

We won’t have long to wait until an official announcement though, with the dedicated set of events scheduled for June 24 at 11AM ET and June 24 at 3PM ET (the latter of which is aimed at developers). On that day we might also see the performance boots that the OS brings, especially for big.LITTLE x86 CPUs – as shown in a set of tests.

Xbox mini fridges

As is tradition, Microsoft held its annual E3 event on the Sunday just before the event’s kickoff, and on this occasion, it was joined by the Bethesda folks (the parent company of which it finalized the acquisition of this year).

To further emphasize the above, the showcase even started with Starfield, Bethesda’s first new IP in years. Powered by the Creation Engine 2, the title showcased an in-game cinematic sequence and perhaps more surprisingly, a release date as well.

The sci-fi game is coming November 11, 2022 (exactly 11 years after the release of Skyrim) and yes, it will be exclusive to Microsoft platforms.

While we’re on the subject of Bethesda, there was also some new ESO and Fallout 76 content announced, along with the fact that Game Pass is getting a number of the missing titles from the publisher, alongside titles like the entire Yakuza series, and even Turtle Rock’s Back 4 Blood on day one. Also in the Bethesda camp was a new IP from Arkane Austin, dubbed Redfall. The co-op vampire hunting game is coming summer 2022, unsurprisingly also to Game Pass day one.

We’ll touch on the fact that Injustice: Gods Among Us and Shadows Awakening are now free to claim, and that there’s in fact a rather good selection of Deals with Gold to peruse, while also mentioning that game stories is now a supported feature in the Xbox app and that the June update for the console has brought party chat accessibility options, among other things.

Speaking of other things, Battlefield 2042 gameplay was shown off during the game showcase, as was an interspersed story / gameplay trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl (which lands April 28 next year, also in Game Pass), a cinematic announce trailer for co-op Xbox exclusive Contraband from Avalanche Studios, a cheeky meta cinematic announce trailer for The Outer Worlds 2, and more.

Alternate-universe sci-fi RPG Atomic Heart got yet another trailer at the event – sans release date -, Diablo II: Resurrected made an appearance too – showcasing its launch day of September 23 -, and Age of Empires IV got its long overdue launch date of October 28, available across PC and Game Pass.

In additional unexpected news, Sea of Thieves got a Pirates of the Caribbean crossover, bringing Jack Sparrow, Davy Jones and crew to the game thanks to a new original story dubbed A Pirate’s Life, which is coming for free to the tile on June 22.

Another game that got a release date was Flight Simulator, which lands on Series X|S consoles on July 27 – and has just gotten its World Update V, with a free Top Gun expansion coming this fall -, as well as Forza Horizon 5. The latter is set in Mexico and rather unexpectedly, lands on November 9 this year.

Of course, after the advent of Craig memes from last year, it was expected that 343 would show an updated look at Halo Infinite, complete with Joseph Staten on stage, a highlight of the game’s story and multiplayer, and an announcement that they will launch together this holiday. Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer is also adding personal AIs for players, among other things.

Finally, the option to make your controllers more personal is now back, as Microsoft has relaunched the Xbox Design Lab with support for the new controller. That said, it’s not the only hardware announcement that the company made at this event.

After rumors of a streaming stick started circulating, folks assumed that the ‘one more thing’ at the end would be this. However, the Redmond giant leaned heavily into the memes and has announced it’ll make an Xbox Mini Fridge (shaped like the Series X).

Yes, it’s real, and yes, it’s coming holiday 2021 – even outside the United States.

Hybrid work

Slotting just between the Xbox E3 showcase and the Windows event next week was a virtual presentation focused on hybrid work.

At this event, Microsoft has announced new Teams Rooms features like a “front row” layout for meetings, improved video layouts across multiple screens, new Together Mode scenes on the Surface Hub, and much, much more. Naturally, these features will be rolled out to Insiders first.

On the subject of Teams, the firm has additionally integrated Headspace for mindfulness exercises and to boost personal wellbeing in remote work situations. Worthy of mention is also the fact that inline chat message translation is now available for Teams on Android.

Last but not least, Whiteboard has received a redesign, which aims to help folks collaborate better in hybrid environments.

Dev channel

Edge Dev build 93.0.916.1 is now out, with a number of bug fixes.
Better sharing and file picking were among the enhancements that arrived to OneDrive in May.
Microsoft has elected Satya Nadella as chairman of its board of directors.
Visual Studio 2022 Preview 1 is now available for Windows.

Logging off

We end with a bit of an interesting bug related to the newly added News and Interests taskbar widget.

For folks running one of the various flavors of Windows 10 that have this feature, (1909 and up), there are instances in which the News and Interests text and icon appear blurry.

The issue has now been acknowledged by the firm as occurring on “certain display configurations”. Of course, which ones these are is set to remain a mystery. What’s also going to remain a mystery is when Microsoft plans to fix it, as the only time frame indication given was that it’ll happen in an “upcoming release”.

If you couldn’t care less about the widget, it can thankfully be turned off.

Missed any of the previous columns? Be sure to have a look right here.

Microsoft Weekly: A round of Windows leaks, Xbox mini fridges, and hybrid work

Intel Alder Lake-S compatible DDR5 memory announced by TEAMGROUP

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 21:58:20 +0000

Intel Alder Lake-S compatible DDR5 memory announced by TEAMGROUP

Memory manufacturer TEAMGROUP has announced today its first-to-market DDR5 memory in the form of its new Elite U-DIMM DDR5 RAM for desktops. The model has been rated to do 4800 MT/s at 1.1V with a CAS Latency of 40-40-40-77. In terms of capacity, it's a 16GB module and comes in a standard dual channel kit for 32GB in total. The new memory also supports on-die ECC that should lead to a generally more stable system than previous-gen DDR modules.

Back in December, the firm announced that its DDR5 modules were entering the validation phase and it seems the hardware is finally ready for wider deployment. In fact, TEAMGROUP has confirmed that its new Elite DRAM is compatible with the 600 series chipset. This means the new Elite DDR5-4800 kits will work on Intel's upcoming socket LGA 1700 that will be introduced with Alder Lake-S.

The upcoming Alder Lake platform should be exciting for PC and desktop enthusiasts due to multiple aspects. It will not only be the first to market with DDR5 compatibility but it will also debut with the new big.LITTLE design or, as Intel calls it, the "Big-Bigger" architecture. The top-end Alder Lake-S processor is rumored to pack 16 cores, 24 threads where half would be the bigger Golden Cove cores (that have hyper-threading), while the other half would be smaller Gracemont ones (lacking hyper-threading) . There is also a slim chance that we finally see ATX12VO taking off with Alder Lake-S.

There is no word on compatibility with AMD's motherboards as AM5, which is expected to support DDR5 and still appears to be some distance away. The Elite DDR5-4800 is said to be available worldwide within the next few weeks. You can read the official press release here.

Intel Alder Lake-S compatible DDR5 memory announced by TEAMGROUP

Xbox Design Lab offers over 30 million color combinations for custom controllers

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 10:41:52 +0000

Xbox Design Lab offers over 30 million color combinations for custom controllers

What just happened? The revamped Xbox Design Lab lets you pick a color for every piece of a custom Xbox Series X controller of your liking. There are 18 colors to choose from in each section, with millions of combinations to get your new controller order in, looking just how you've imagined it. You can even get it laser engraved to say something silly like "Git Gud."

Microsoft has returned with a improved version of Xbox Design Lab. You can use their revised web app to customize a controller, based on the model that ships with their Xbox Series X and Series S, with millions of color combinations.

The service comes with free 14-day shipping and each controller will cost you $69.99, about $10 more than grabbing a plain-colored device off the shelf at your local retailer. The premium is likely worth it to many gamers who’ve been dying to rep the colors of their favorite sports team, or just dreaming of a controller with yellow-purple drip like the one Microsoft showed off on Twitter. You can place your order today in the US, Canada, and most Western European countries.

In the customization page there are 6 regions on the controller to select from a rich and vibrant roster of colors. There are a further 2 lists of choices for the forward-facing buttons where you’re offered a handful of styles from minimalist and modern to classic and iconic.

There's also the option to have a word or phrase laser engraved in small gray text along the bottom of the front plate of the controller for an additional charge of $10.

This wireless controller can connect via Bluetooth to the following devices:

Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
Xbox One
Windows 10 Devices
Android
iOS

There's no support for patterns, designs, or logos, just solid fill colors, but this shouldn’t be an issue if the controllers come out even half as vibrant as the render shown on the Design Lab page.

There are no other configurable options outside of colors and engraving. A wired option, or perhaps the ability to opt for the older style of D-pad would have been welcome additions, but an extra ten bucks to get your controller looking exactly how you imagined it definitely isn’t a terrible option to have.

Source

The beautiful Nordics now available in Flight Simulator with World Update V

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:25:25 +0000

The beautiful Nordics now available in Flight Simulator with World Update V

The fifth major content update to Microsoft Flight Simulator has arrived today in the form of World Update V, which adds the picturesque Nordic regions. This means the Scandinavian countries like Norway, Sweden, as well as the regions lying further north like Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard, and more, have now been added.

Of course, with places like this that carry such scenic beauty, excellent aerial imagery is a must and that has been updated which is also one of the highlights of this patch. The patch also features updated elevation data.

In terms of specific content addition, the update features:

Improved data for 100 airports and 77 carefully selected points of interest,

Five bush trips, one for each of the Nordic countries.

Five landing challenges designed to test and hone aviation mettle throughout a range of conditions. The airports used for the landing challenges, Denmark’s Bornholm, Iceland’s Ísafjörður, Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda, Norway’s Svalbard, and Finland’s Vaasa

Of course, the local languages of Sweden, Norway, and Finland have been added.

Check out the new Nordics World Update Trailer that showcases several of these places:

The complete patch notes for Microsoft Flight Simulator World Update V (1.17.3.0) that detail all the additions and improvements can be seen here. The update is now available to download for free for owners of the game on the Microsoft Store and Steam, as well as Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

The beautiful Nordics now available in Flight Simulator with World Update V

Cyberpunk 2077 gets version 1.23 update with a host of fixes and improvements

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:22:02 +0000

Cyberpunk 2077 gets version 1.23 update with a host of fixes and improvements

CD Projekt RED (CDPR) has released a new patch for Cyberpunk 2077 that brings a host of fixes and improvements to the game. The new patch fixes issues related to quests, gameplay, visuals and more. You can head down to check out the full changelog for the update:

Quests & Open World

Space Oddity

Fixed an issue where the "Open the package" objective could change location.

Gig: Family Matters

Fixed an issue where Juliet's car could disappear on sight after completing the quest.

Fixed a streaming issue in Juliet's house.

Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to enter Juliet's house if the player didn't meet either of the Attribute requirements.

The Heist

Fixed an issue where Jackie could go through glass.

Fixed an issue preventing some guards from attacking the player.

Fixed an issue where the "Search the Arasaka officer" objective could remain active after fulfilling it.

Fixed an issue where the mech didn't spawn in the lobby.

Fixed an issue where some Arasaka guards could clip through the door.

Fixed an issue where some guards could spawn on player's sight.

Fixed an issue where Arasaka officer's body could be unaccessible, making the player unable to loot the shard and blocking progression.

The Nomad

Removed unnecessary button prompts.

The Hunt

The news segment in the shard from River will now properly play audio.

The Beast in Me

Fixed an issue where progression could be blocked if the player left Claire after the Santo Domingo race too early.

Queen of the Highway

Fixed an issue where the Basilisk could clip through some of the trees.

Down on the Street

Fixed an issue where there were no quest-related dialogue options when talking to Wakako.

Forward to Death

Smoke and dust will no longer flicker when riding the Basilisk.

Gig: Goodbye, Night City

Fixed an issue where progression could get blocked after rescuing Bruce if the player called Delamain.

Path of Glory

Fixed an issue where V could get stuck in the AV if they stood at the landing spot before it arrived.

Gig: No Fixers

Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to open the door to Dakota's garage at the end of the quest.

Fixed an issue where Iris could teleport instead of walking.

Gig: Getting Warmer...

Fixed an issue where fixer's car could drive straight through the intersection instead of turning right.

Fixed an issue where the prompt to use the coolant on 8ug8ear could still be selected while plugging her out, which could break the animation.

Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to pick up 8ug8ear.

Fixed an issue where NPCs could spawn underground, blocking progression.

Gig: Many Ways to Skin a Cat

Fixed an issue where notifications from Regina regarding this gig could appear during The Heist.

Fixed an issue where it was possible to connect to the computer after failing the quest by destroying the van, which resulted in player getting stuck.

Fixed an issue where progression could get stuck on the "Go to the Revere Courier Servies facilities" objective.

Cyberpsycho Sighting: Where the Bodies Hit the Floor

Fixed an issue where after collecting the information the next objective to send it to Regina wouldn't appear.

Cyberpsycho Sighting: On Deaf Ears

Fixed an issue where after collecting the information the next objective to send it to Regina wouldn't appear.

I Fought the Law

Fixed an issue where River wouldn't be present at the meeting spot before entering Red Queen's Race.

Apart from addressing the various quest bugs, the new patch also fixes multiple gameplay issues including the one related to Adam Smasher. You can check out the list of fixes below:

Fixed an issue where after killing a NPC and stealing their car, their body could get stuck in the car.

Adam Smasher will no longer receive damage during animations between his attack phases.

Fixed an issue where dropping a NPC's body caused too much destruction.

Cataresist cyberware should now work properly.

Furthermore, CDPR has also addresses a couple of bugs related to the appearance of characters and NPCs. Here is the changelog for the same:

Fixed Johnny's spectral appearance in various quests.

Fixed various issues related to clipping in NPCs' clothes.

Fixed appearance of rocks in the Badlands.

The Pickup

Fixed an issue where one of the Maelstromers was T-posing.

Moving on, the new update brings some stability and performance related improvements as well. You can check those out below:

Numerous crash fixes in animations, UI, scene, physics and gameplay systems.

Memory optimizations and memory management improvements in various systems (reducing the number of crashes).

Various console CPU optimizations.

Memory and I/O improvement leading to fewer instances of NPCs with identical appearances spawning in the same area, and to improved streaming.

Lastly, the update brings some platform specific fixes as well. You can head down to check out the changelog for the same:

PC-specific

Fixed an issue where it wasn't possible to click the upgrade button while playing with 1280x720 resolution.

Fixed an issue where toggling the Windowed and Fullscreen modes with Alt+Enter made the game appear unresponsive.

[Steam] Changing language settings to default will now set it to the language of the Steam client.

A popup message asking to verify integrity of game data will now be displayed when incomplete or corrupted game data is detected.

Xbox-scpecific

Fixed an issue where signing out during a scene fade-out could result in the game being partially unresponsive.

Fixed an issue where the Pause Menu would open again on its own if the Xbox guide and the Pause Menu were closed in quick succession.

Cyberpunk 2077 had a rocky start with Sony delisting the game from PlayStation Store and Microsoft offering no-questions-asked-refunds. Even with all the controversies, CDPR sold more than 13 million copies of the game in 2020. Just yesterday, Sony confirmed that it will allow CDPR to re-list Cyberpunk 2077 on the Playstation Store but it also recommended users to play the game on the PS4 Pro or PS5 for the best experience.

Cyberpunk 2077 gets version 1.23 update with a host of fixes and improvements

Intel's Speed Select Technology ironically hurting performance, but a fix is coming

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:19:07 +0000

Intel's Speed Select Technology ironically hurting performance, but a fix is coming

Intel's Speed Select Technology (SST) is a power management solution from the company that allows users to manage core prioritization and frequency regulation depending on the workloads in order to improve performance and efficiency.

However, as an Intel engineer has observed, there is performance regression by more than 10% in benchmarks with the mode enabled. And while it isn't stated, the impact in a real workload might be lower but it's still a cause for concern.

The engineer further explains that the standard Linux PCI interface which is used here is causing the delay as it searches through hundreds of PCI devices, during mapping, that are attached to the system. For those wondering why the need to mention hundreds of devices here, that's because Intel SST is a complex solution and is only available in Xeons and not in the mainstream Core lineup.

Since the root cause of the problem has been identified, the good news is that a patch that promises to fix this should be available soon via a future firmware if it isn't already out. The fix is a fairly simple one and will use the cached data that will speed up the search process.

Here's what the full LKML message says:

It was observed that some of the high performance benchmarks are spending more time in kernel depending on which CPU package they are executing. The difference is significant and benchmark scores varies more than 10%. These benchmarks adjust class of service to improve thread performance which run in parallel. This class of service change causes access to MMIO region of Intel Speed Select PCI devices depending on the CPU package they are executing.

This mapping from CPU to PCI device instance uses a standard Linux PCI interface "pci_get_domain_bus_and_slot()". This function does a linear search to get to a PCI device. Since these platforms have 100+ PCI devices, this search can be expensive in fast path for benchmarks.

Since the device and function of PCI device is fixed for Intel Speed Select PCI devices, the CPU to PCI device information can be cached at the same time when bus number for the CPU is read. In this way during runtime the cached information can be used. This improves performance of these benchmarks significantly.

Intel launched SST back in 2019 inside Cascade Lake Xeon CPUs. The technology is quite versatile as it enables several options like setting core prioritization, base clock tweaking, and more. As stated above, SST is implemented in the firmware and carried out by the processor's Power Control Unit (PCU). For more information on SST, visit Intel's official site here.

Intel's Speed Select Technology ironically hurting performance, but a fix is coming

Here’s what’s inside Google’s first-ever retail store

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:15:14 +0000

Here’s what’s inside Google’s first-ever retail store

Buy a speaker, try Google Stadia, or fix a cracked phone screen—the store is open.

The inside of the store is wood-on-wood, with these crazy bendy poles everywhere.

First image of article image gallery. Please visit the source link to see all images.

After years of flirting with the idea of opening a physical store, Google announced its first-ever permanent retail location last month. Today, June 17, is the official grand opening, and Google celebrated with a blog post detailing what the store is like.

Officially, this is "The Google Store Chelsea," and it lives in New York City on 15th and 9th, aka the Chelsea Market building, aka the headquarters of Google's New York City campus. Unlike the stark white Apple Stores that Google is chasing after, the Google Store has a natural look, with warm wood walls and furniture. Whimsical bendy rods shoot out of the floor and decorate the store, looking like a giant version of a bead maze from a pediatrician's office. The store was designed by Ivy Ross, Google’s VP of hardware design.

What can you buy in a Google Store? It's essentially an offline version of store.google.com. That means it will sell Pixel phones, earbuds, Pixelbook laptops, Chromecasts, Google TVs, Stadia controllers, and Nest-branded speakers, smart displays, thermostats, smoke detectors, cameras, Wi-Fi routers, and doorbells. Google also notes that it will "have experts on hand to help visitors get the most out of their device, such as troubleshooting an issue, fixing a cracked Pixel screen, or helping with installations."

"Sandbox" areas for Pixel, Stadia, and Nest will pitch customers on the benefits of each product line. The Pixel area shows off the phone's camera technology with various lighting effects; the Stadia area is one of the only places the public can actually try the game streaming service; and the Nest section is a big living room full of smart home devices. A "workshop" space will host regular events and lessons. There's also a rotating exhibit called the "Google Imagination Space," a "17-foot-tall circular glass structure" that surrounds a visitor with several vertical screens. Right now, it's pitching Google Translate, and visitors can "experience real-time translation of your speech into 24 languages simultaneously and then learn how this all happens on the back end using several Google technologies."

A one-off store or the start of a Googley retail empire?

It's hard to say if this is a one-off vanity store for Google's NYC HQ or if Google is getting serious about retail. One of the co-authors of the blog post is "Nathan Allen, Head of Store Design & Special Projects," which is a very interesting title for someone at a company with a single retail store. According to Allen's LinkedIn, he held the title of "Head of Design for Experiential & Special Projects" until two months ago, but "Head of Store Design" apparently provides enough work to be his full-time job now. The blog post also notes that during the development of the store, Google "built a full-scale mockup of the space at our retail hangar in Mountain View." Again, having a "retail hangar" to experiment with sounds like part of a process rather than a one-off thing.

Apple has over 500 physical Apple Stores, but the company is also a hardware juggernaut. It's not clear if Google's limited and inconsistent hardware selection can support a retail store. Microsoft is in a similar boat as Google, shipping low-volume, aspirational hardware in an ecosystem flooded with compromised partner devices. Microsoft started its retail store idea in 2009 and ended up getting out of the space in 2020.

Regardless of Google's future retail plans, this Google Store is going to be a special case. Google owns this entire building, so it's not risking much as a retail venture since the property costs are accruing anyway. Google is turning 5,000 square feet of the ground floor from what could be office space into a public retail store. If the idea works out, maybe the company will build more stores. If not, the store can either stick around as a vanity project or can go back to being office space.

I wonder what happens if you walk into the store and shout, "Hey, Google."

Here’s what’s inside Google’s first-ever retail store

(To view the article's image gallery, please visit the above link)

GPS III’s Long Journey Is Picking Up Speed

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:11:04 +0000

GPS III’s Long Journey Is Picking Up Speed

With the launch of a fifth new-generation satellite, the US finally has a constellation able to globally beam M-Code signals that are tough to spoof or jam.

Today the US Space Force launched its newest satellite, one of only a handful of the new GPS III design, which is more accurate and more resistant to interference—like signal-jamming—than its older siblings.

The launch means that more of the country’s GPS satellite constellation has stronger position, navigation, and timing abilities and is designed to live longer than its predecessors—around 15 years, by which time people not born yet could be using its services for tasks that seem sci-fi now. (Designing for the longer term also leaves less space trash to clean up.) The GPS satellite club—“GPS” being the name for the American brand of the generic “global navigation satellite system,” or GNSS—already has 31 operational members, 27 of them from three previous generations. This is only the fifth GPS III orbiter and will supplant one of the older satellites.

Everything from cell phones and smart watches to navigation systems on cars, commercial planes, and cargo ships relies on GPS. The system points the way home, pinpoints who’s nearby to swipe left on, dictates your phone’s weather forecast, and lets runners brag about their fastest miles.

As much as GPS is about position and navigation, it’s also about timing. The strict tick-tick of the satellites’ atomic clocks helps time-stamp financial transactions, track and synchronize power grids’ energy distribution, and sync the base stations that send cell signals. “It’s no longer a matter of ‘Did you use GPS today?’ but ‘How many times did you use it, whether you knew it or not?’” says Tonya Ladwig, vice president for navigation systems at Lockheed Martin, which is building the GPS III crew.

As indispensable as it has become to civilian life, strictly speaking, GPS wasn’t created for any of that: It’s currently operated by the Space Force, and it serves military ends. “That could be troops in combat. That could be movement of equipment. That could be our ships at sea doing strategic deterrence missions,” says Margaret Sullivan, materiel leader for the GPS III space vehicle program at the Space and Missile Systems Center. “That also includes aiding precision-guided munitions—on time, on target, every time.”

But since its capabilities were unleashed to the wider world, GPS has become intimately woven into our existential tapestry. “The US government realized what an enormous benefit this would be, not only to our US and allied military, but to the entire world,” says Sullivan, who estimates GPS services have contributed more than $75 billion annually to the US economy.

Yet some problems have been stitched into that tapestry, too. Older satellites have, of course, old technology, and they work in an environment that’s more treacherous than it used to be. Orbiting infrastructure—like the terrestrial sort—is vulnerable to meddling. Agents can spoof a GPS signal, creating a forgery that masquerades as the real thing, to trick, say, a ship into thinking it’s in the wrong place. Or they could jam the signal, broadcasting interference that drowns out the weak “You are here now” signal from space. Take Russian jamming of US drones over Syria. Or watch how the US’s own GPS jamming has led commercial pilots, flying in the vicinity of homeland military tests, into trouble. But troublemakers don’t have to be government operatives, just people with some extra cash and a little bit of digital know-how.

Interference is a pain if your neighbor is pranking you and your Google Maps. It’s also a problem for military operations. “If you are trying to thread your way through an unfamiliar or unfriendly environment, you need to be able to rely on accurate and available positioning to know where you are, navigation to know where you’re going, and timing to synchronize all of your operations,” says Sullivan.

“Folks have known that there are challenges with GPS for decades,” says Dana Goward, president of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, a nonprofit that in part advocates for a GPS backup, an alternative system so that we’re not so beholden to this one set of satellites. “And no system is perfect. I’m not calling the baby ugly. I’m calling the baby precious and needing of attention.”

Relatively easy interference is part of why the GPS III modernization program exists. These satellites have been in the works since 2008, when Lockheed got the contract. While the first III was originally scheduled to go to space in 2014, it was delayed until 2018. Since then, four more—including today’s launch of SV-05—have gone to orbit, although the first four only came online in 2020. It took more than a year to declare the first one operational, but timelines have sped up since then. Ladwig expects SV-05 will get the green light just a few weeks after launch.

This morning’s launch, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket using a previously flown and refurbished rocket booster, puts into orbit the 24th GPS satellite that can beam out what’s called M-Code, a signal with beefed-up security. That’s the magic number the Space Force needs to provide full M-Code operations around the world. Or, really, Sullivan puts it this way: “It’s not magic. It’s math.” Two dozen satellites in their proper orbits can cover the whole planet.

M-code’s encryption makes it harder to spoof: Receivers on the ground can use the code itself to tell whether a signal is authentic. While the older version of the military’s protected signal is also encrypted, M-code’s cipher represents “next generation-security,” says Sullivan.

On GPS III satellites, M-Code will also be broadcast more powerfully, making it harder to jam. “Think about somebody yelling or speaking out loud to a crowd and trying to have everyone hear them,” says Ladwig. If someone else is yelling (a would-be jammer) the speaker (a GPS satellite) will have to speak louder to be heard.

But M-Code is fully useful only if users on Earth can receive it correctly, and the requisite on-the-ground infrastructure, made by defense contractor Raytheon, doesn’t quite exist yet. The company’s Next-Generation Operational Control System is years late and billions of dollars over budget. It's now set to come online in 2023.

To stopgap the situation, Lockheed Martin was tasked with updating the Space Force’s current GPS ground-control system, which the company has sustained since 2013, to deal with M-Code Early Use (basically, the beta version). The Space Force approved the software update this required, for use in operations, in late 2020. Another upgrade allows the Space Force to control the GPS III satellites, and these—along with their M-Code–enabled older peers—accommodate global, early M-Code operations while the permanent version makes its way to completion.

Civilians won’t catch the M-Code signal, which is meant for military operations like targeting weapons, guiding aircraft, and delivering supplies. But they can nevertheless take advantage of a new one that GPS III satellites broadcast, called L1C. It’s the fourth “civil signal” out there but unique in that it is “interoperable” with broadcasts from other global navigation satellite systems, like Europe’s Galileo, Japan’s QZSS, and China’s BeiDou. A person with the right receiver could pick up signals from any of those constellations, giving even more accuracy (and a bit of backup). L1C also beams out stronger than the legacy signals.

With GPS III, regular users will also get a level-up in accuracy (if, that is, they have receivers that can make use of that detailed data—kind of like how watching TV in HD requires an HDTV). In the past, GPS has let you know your location to within about 10 to 33 feet of where you actually are. With the new sats, it’ll be more like 3 to 10 feet.

This boost happens thanks to sharper atomic clocks: A GPS receiver picks up signals from different satellites, stamped with the ultraprecise times when they were sent. The receiver can then tell how long the signals took to travel to Earth and use the difference to tell each satellite’s distance from its location. That information calculated, the receiver can spit out the spot you’re occupying on Earth, basically through fancy triangulation. The better the timestamps, the more accurate your position. Now when you’re using your GPS to drive, you can know for sure that you juuuuust missed your turn.

So how meddle-resistant and powerful is this new generation of GPS satellites? The most-cited claims, made by the Lockheed Martin makers and sometimes by the military, say that GPS III is three times more accurate, and eight times more resistant to jamming than previous GPS iterations.

But some industry observers think GPS III’s abilities aren’t as revolutionary as they might sound. “The program likely has been oversold,” says Goward. Its buzz, he continues, “is not untrue, but perhaps not as important as it might seem.” The threefold increase in accuracy won’t matter much to the average user, he argues. After all, they can intuit that they’re still on the right AllTrails track even if their dot rests a few feet from the path. “For those people who require really, really accurate GPS positioning,” like precision agriculturalists who use geospatial data to optimize their fields, says Goward, “they need down to centimeters.”

And in a recent op-ed in National Defense Magazine, former Air Force Space Command chief scientist Gene McCall contended that an eightfold anti-jamming boost would also not be enough. Even these stronger GPS signals, which have to travel thousands of miles from space, are still weak compared to the disruptive ones.

But Sullivan points out that the satellites’ security isn’t just about power; it’s also about how the signal is designed. And the on-the-ground user equipment will also have “additional anti-jam and security capabilities,” she says, “so those things work together.”

It’s been a long road to get GPS III satellites orbiting and operational, and their developmental journey isn’t over. Like the earthly objects they’re meant to guide, they’re moving ahead, but they haven’t yet arrived.

GPS III’s Long Journey Is Picking Up Speed (may require free registration to view)

A new HTTP spec proposes elimination of obnoxious “cookie banners”

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 02:42:09 +0000

A new HTTP spec proposes elimination of obnoxious “cookie banners”

Explicit privacy communication mechanism can simplify UI and limit user fatigue.

The UK Times has a particularly obnoxious cookie banner—it blocks nearly all site content until dealt with. There's also no "simple deny" option of just clicking an X.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), passed in 2018, requires websites to ask visitors for consent prior to placing cookies. As any Internet user is now aware, this means an extra step required when visiting nearly any website for the first time—or potentially every time, if you choose not to accept cookies. A new proposed HTTP standard from None of Your Business and the Sustainable Computing Lab would allow the user to set their privacy preferences once, inside the browser itself, and have the browser communicate those preferences invisibly with any website the user visits.

Advanced Data Protection Control

The proposed standard enables two methods of automated preference delivery—one which communicates directly with the web server hosting a site being visited, and another which communicates with the website itself.

When ADPC communicates directly with the web server, it does so via HTTP headers—a Link header pointing to a JSON file on the server, and the ADPC header emitted by the user's browser. When communicating with the website itself, the mechanism is via JavaScript— configuration is passed as an object to the DOM interface, e.g., navigator.dataProtectionControl.request(...).

In either case, the user's privacy preferences are communicated to the website or server as a list of request identifiers they consent to. This list is sent in ADPC headers for the HTTP-based approach and as the final return value of the DOM interface in the JavaScript approach.

Although both mechanisms accomplish the same goal in similar fashions, there are plenty of reasons to support both. The HTTP-based approach is probably more efficient—but it obviously would require new versions of web server applications which explicitly support it (or at least, new pluggable modules in the case of servers like Apache which support them). Meanwhile, the JavaScript-based mechanism works without any special web server configuration necessary—but it won't work for users who refuse to enable JavaScript.

Consent requests resource

A JSON file is at the heart of the website's end of ADPC, whether using HTTP or Javascript mechanisms to reach it. That consent file will look something like this:

{
  "consentRequests": {
    "cookies": "Store and/or access cookies on your device.",
    "ads_profiling": "Create a personalised ads profile."
  }
}

In HTTP-based ADPC, the webserver links to the consent file directly in its response to an HTTP GET:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Link: ; rel="consent-requests"

When the web browser detects this link, it can either respond with previously user-configured settings or request an answer from the user via a pop-up dialog (most likely, one spawned from the browser's lock button). Once the user has set their preferences accordingly, the browser includes an ADPC header on future HTTP GET requests:

GET /page.htm HTTP/1.1
Host: website.tld
ADPC: withdraw=*, consent=cookies

In the above example, we see a configuration similar to what one might see on a network firewall: a default DENY in the form of withdraw=*, overridden by a specific acceptance of cookies. So for our website which wanted both to set cookies and create an advertising profile, the cookie request is granted (allowing storage of, e.g., user authentication and personal settings), but advertising profile is denied.

Another benefit of the ADPC scheme is that the user is interacting with their own browser, with consistent UI regardless of website. Another benefit is that it's possible for the user to set persistent preferences for a site without needing to allow cookies—something which isn't possible for a website which must ask for consent via a banner embedded in the webpage itself.

Finally, cookie banners may frequently not be displayed at all—in our testing, popular ad-blocking plugins blocked the display of many cookie banners, including but not limited to The Guardian's. Such blocking can be due to collateral damage caused by overly aggressive block rules or deliberate attempts to minimize "click fatigue." In either case, they prevent the user from directly expressing consent or refusal to privacy-related issues.

Request, not command

It's important to realize that ADPC is not a mechanism for enforcing a user's privacy profile—it's simply a normalized way of requesting it in compliance with the European Union's GDPR and similar privacy laws elsewhere.

Nothing technically prevents a hypothetical ADPC-compliant website from requesting permission to create an advertising profile for a user, being denied, and then creating that profile anyway. But legitimate sites can request consent in a more machine-readable, consistent, and less user-fatiguing way.

ADPC does still assist users in dealing with shady sites that ignore their users' preferences—in the event of a GDPR or other lawsuit, users' preferences are more likely to be logged and readable from their own systems. If a user refuses to accept any cookies via a cookie banner, their expressed preference cannot be saved and logged—but ADPC preferences will be.

Even if a user interacting with a cookie banner accepts cookies (but disables ad profiling), that cookie is much more likely to be mistakenly "cleaned" by the user themselves. That "cleaning" could be in the quest to maintain privacy or even fix problems with frequently visited websites. Since ADPC preferences are only good for that one thing—expressing or refusing consent on privacy issues—there is much less reason for them to be destroyed.

Listing image by Rdsmith4 / Wikimedia

A new HTTP spec proposes elimination of obnoxious “cookie banners”

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella now doubles as the company’s chairman

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 02:35:47 +0000

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella now doubles as the company’s chairman

One leader once again

On February 4th, 2014, Microsoft found its new CEO in the cloud — Azure boss Satya Nadella took the top job, Steve Ballmer retired, and Bill Gates stepped down as chairman. Now, after growing Microsoft to become one of the most valuable companies in the world yet again, Nadella has now been unanimously elected chairman of the Microsoft board.

It’s the first time in two decades that Microsoft’s chairman will also be its CEO, after Bill Gates originally stepped down as CEO in 2000 (Gates left the Microsoft board entirely in 2020), and it’s a testament to how much Nadella is now trusted to lead the company forward. When Gates stepped down as chairman in 2014, the board elected independent chairman John Thompson, who’d previously been CEO and chairman of Symantec and who’ll remain an independent director on the Microsoft board.

We spoke to Nadella in 2018 about how he was changing Microsoft, and how Windows wasn’t the future of the company, but rather cloud services. Windows 10 was imagined as a ongoing service, too, but PC sales turned around in 2020 after Microsoft ended support for Windows 7, and started to see big growth in 2021. It sure seems like the company now believes in distinct versions again: Windows 11 is coming soon.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella now doubles as the company’s chairman

Apple‘s Tim Cook: Sideloading is “not in the best interests of the user”

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 02:33:36 +0000

Apple‘s Tim Cook: Sideloading is “not in the best interests of the user”

The interview also touched on privacy, AR, health, and future products.

Apple has been under a mountain of scrutiny lately from legislators, developers, judges, and users. Amidst all that, CEO Tim Cook sat with publication Brut. to discuss Apple's strategy and policies. The short but wide-ranging interview offered some insight into where Apple plans to go in the future.

As is so common when Tim Cook speaks publicly, privacy was a major focus. His response to a question about its importance was the same one we've heard from him many times: "we see it as a basic human right, a fundamental human right." Noting Apple has been focused on privacy for a long time.

He explained:

You can think of a world where privacy is not important, and the surveillance economy takes over and it becomes a world where everyone is worried that somebody else is watching them, and so they begin to do less, they begin to think less, and nobody wants to live in a world where that freedom of expression narrows.

And when asked about regulatory scrutiny, he pointed to the GDPR as an example of regulation Apple supports and also said Apple would support further expanding privacy-related regulations.

But beyond regulations strictly centered on privacy, he wasn't as effusive. "As I look at the tech regulations that's being discussed, I think there are good parts of it and then I think there are parts of it that are not in the best interests of the user," he said.

As an example of the latter, he said "the current DMA language that is being discussed would force sideloading on the iPhone." He added:

That would destroy the security of the iPhone and a lot of the privacy initiatives that we've built into the App Store, where we have privacy nutrition labels and App Tracking Transparency... these things would not exist anymore.

Privacy watchdogs have praised Apple's App Tracking Transparency move even as advertisers have lambasted it, but the nutrition labels have been less of a hit. Many observers have pointed out that the labels are often inaccurate or incomplete.

"Android has 47 times more malware than iOS does," Cook claimed. "It's because we've designed iOS in such a way that there's one app store and all of the apps are reviewed prior to going on the store. And so that keeps a lot of this malware stuff out of our ecosystem, and customers have told us very continuously how much they value that, and so we're going to be standing up for the user in the discussions."

Tim Cook's Brut. interview.

The interview wasn't all about regulation and privacy, though; Cook also responded to open-ended questions about Apple's future product strategy. When asked what he believes Apple's products will look like many years from now, he carefully offered the caveat that no one can really predict where things are headed:

We approach the future with great humility because we know we can't predict it. I'm not one of those people that is going to say I can see 20 years out, and 30 years out, and tell you what is going to happen. I can't. I really don't believe anyone can.

To back that point, he talked about Apple's path towards putting its own silicon in Macs:

We didn't know when we were working on the chip for the iPhone that it would become the heart of the iPad, and we didn't know that it would eventually become the heart of the Mac as it just did in this past year. We didn't know that, but we kept discovering, and we kept pulling the string, and we kept our minds open about where that journey would take us, and it's taken us somewhere that's incredible and that has a great future ahead of it.

That said, Cook named augmented reality (AR) and the intersection of health and tech as areas where he sees future potential. He said he sees AR "as a technology that can enhance life in a broad way." And once again hinting at ambitions plans for future AR hardware, he said: "We've been working on AR first with our phones and iPads, and later we'll see where that goes in terms of products."

On the health side, Cook said he is "exceedingly optimistic" about the intersection of health and technology:

You know, when we started shipping the Watch, we did so thinking about it from a wellness point of view, but we put a heart rate sensor on it, and I was getting tons of emails about people that found out they had heart problems that they didn't know about it. And so we started adding more function to the Watch... and I begin to get even more notes from people that found that they'd had a problem because of this ability to continually monitor themselves. I think the idea of continually monitoring the body, much like happens in your car with warning lights and so forth, I think this is a big idea that has a long road path ahead of it. All of those things make me incredibly optimistic.

The mention of a car as inspiration drew a smirk from Brut.'s interviewer, who shortly afterwards asked if Apple plans to design and begin selling a car. "In terms of a car," Cook answered, "I've gotta keep secrets, and there always has to be something up our sleeve."

Apple‘s Tim Cook: Sideloading is “not in the best interests of the user”

RTX 3080 prices might start dropping following Bitcoin bust, says Nvidia partner

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 02:30:55 +0000

RTX 3080 prices might start dropping following Bitcoin bust, says Nvidia partner

Is this the beginning of the end of our GPU stock woes?

The cryptocurrency bust last month did more than just slash the price of Bitcoin by tens of thousands of dollars, it also led to the sinking of GPU demand in China, helping lower the prices of graphics cards for the rest of us.

Nvidia board partner ASRock reports that it expects its graphics card sales to continue to grow rapidly this year, according to Digitimes, despite what it says is flagging demand in China for the latest Nvidia Ampere and AMD Big Navi graphics cards and a resulting decline in graphics card prices.

China recently extended its ban on cryptomining in the country and has cracked down hard on cryptocurrencies in general, directing financial institutions and payment processors in the country to stop processing transactions involving cryptocurrencies.

China accounts for about 65% of the entire planet's Bitcoin mining capacity, so China's aggressive moves on crypto is going to have an outsized impact on the demand for the high-end graphics cards needed to mine cryptocurrencies.

That impact is sorely needed, as earlier this week, an analysis of global graphics card sales for Q1 2021 indicates that as many as 25% of all graphics card sold in that quarter were sold to cryptominers.

ASRock, meanwhile, said this week that its Q1 net profit increased 167% year-over-year, driven in large part by graphics card sales. Tom's Hardware notes that this made Q1 2021 ASRock's most profitable quarter ever, despite underperformance in its motherboard division owing to the ongoing semiconductor shortage.

Graphics card sales are expected to make up 20% of the company's sales in Q2 2021, with motherboard sales making up 50%. The company also reports that it expects AMD's graphics card shipments to pick up in the second half of the year after AMD made capacity adjustments and other supply chain improvements.

Thanks Elon: is the end of the Great Graphics Card Crisis of 2021 in sight?

While we sincerely wished that Elon Musk's Bitcoin antics last month would collapse cryptocurrency prices and free up graphics card stock for something other than making carbon emissions out of math, we honestly didn't dare to hope that it would actually happen – and especially not this soon.

Obviously, China's recent announcements were much more consequential than anything Elon Musk could have said, but we can definitely see a potential sea change in Tesla's stance toward Bitcoin (at least as far as graphics card availability is concerned). If ASRock's numbers and projections pan out in the months ahead, we could really start to see some relief from the dearth of middle-to-high-end graphics card stock we've all been enduring for nearly a year now.

And while AMD's adjusted capacity and supply chain boost are great news for those hoping to get a new graphics card sometime before the launch of the RTX 4000-series, we are much more excited to hear about the slumping demand from cryptominers.

This week's report that cryptominers bought up 700,000 graphics cards in the first three months of this year alone, is absolutely shocking – and there is definitely some schadenfreude in knowing that those cards were bought at a major premium just before the price of major cryptocurrencies tanked. But that's pretty cold comfort if you've been desperately trying to get your hands on the latest graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.

More than anything, this report tells us that crypto seriously needs an extended time out, both for the broader consumer market and for the health of the climate. If ASRock is right, cryptominers are doing exactly that, and that's the best news we've heard in months.

RTX 3080 prices might start dropping following Bitcoin bust, says Nvidia partner