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Qualcomm accelerates automotive AI with Snapdragon's latest chips
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Why it matters: While smart glasses and other wearables have been getting a great deal of attention lately, the market poised to be the largest and most impactful new category of personal devices is cars. With the shift to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and ongoing advances in assisted and autonomous driving, the automotive industry is on the verge of becoming the "next big thing" for the tech sector.
Apple's $299 iPad to get AI-ready hardware by next year
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Something to look forward to: Despite a slow start, Cupertino has been working hard to equip everything with a screen with Apple Intelligence (which is yet to arrive, of course). The iPhone 16 lineup and the iPhone 15 Pro hardware are good to go. All of its M1 Macs or later installed with Sequoia 15.1 are capable. The iPads are straggling behind but should get caught up by next year.
Solar power from satellites poised to become reality within a year
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: The European Space Agency spent years studying space-based solar power as a potential solution for meeting one-third of the country's energy needs. Sunlight, on average, is more than 10 times as intense at the top of the atmosphere as it is at the Earth's surface. Their analysis indicated that implementing this solution would require infrastructure costing hundreds of billions of dollars, primarily in the form of geostationary satellites positioned 36,000 km above the Earth.
T-Mobile and AT&T warn that FCC's proposed unlocking rule could increase phone prices
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? T-Mobile has expressed strong reservations about the FCC's proposed rule that would require carriers to unlock users' phones within 60 days of activation. In a filing with the agency last week, the carrier argued that locking phones to its network enables it to offer cheaper handsets to consumers, and that an unlocking mandate could significantly increase phone prices.
Leaked internal report shows Apple Intelligence is two years behind ChatGPT
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In brief: Days before Apple Intelligence makes its public debut, a new report suggests it may have some catching up to do right from the start – at least compared to OpenAI's offerings. However, Apple may have a few tricks up its sleeve to compensate for any shortcomings.
The Army wants Microsoft to "substantially" lower the price of its $80,000 HoloLens-based goggles
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: The HoloLens-based goggles that Microsoft is selling to the US Army have had a long and difficult history. While the hardware and software issues of the early models appear to have been addressed in the latest version, the problem now is the price: the military branch wants the headsets to "be substantially less" than the current cost of $80,000 per unit.
Qualcomm touts Snapdragon 8 Elite chip's massive performance gains and AI capabilities
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Why it matters: As the mobile industry continues to evolve, the Snapdragon 8 Elite represents a major step forward in processing power and efficiency. Its impact on the next generation of smartphones and mobile devices will undoubtedly be significant, potentially reshaping user experiences and expectations.
MIT engineers create solar-powered desalination system producing 5,000 liters of water daily
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Bottom line: The MIT engineers' solar-powered desalination system represents a significant leap forward in sustainable water treatment technology. By eliminating the need for batteries and maximizing the use of solar energy, the system can be deployed in regions lacking reliable power infrastructure. Engineers...
Amazon has replaced plastic air pillows with crumpled paper in its packaging worldwide
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? Amazon says it has reached its goal of eliminating plastic air pillows from its warehouses and distribution facilities globally. The familiar packaging has now been replaced with paper filler, which the company says is not only better for the environment, but also offers the same, if not better, protection for fragile goods.
Baidu CEO: 99% of AI companies won't survive bubble burst
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Recap: The rising popularity of generative AI has given place to the development of numerous startups making bold claims about the technology's capabilities. Many onlookers liken the trend to a classic market bubble, a sentiment shared by the CEO of Chinese tech giant Baidu. However, when the lofty expectations for AI collide with reality, most AI startups may not survive.
New attack methods work against Spectre mitigations in modern PC CPUs
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Facepalm: Spectre-based flaws are still causing some security issues in recent Intel and AMD CPUs. A newly developed attack can bypass protection "barriers" OEMs added to avoid personal data leakage. However, microcode and system updates should already be available for affected systems. Six...
TSMC admits it can't produce enough AI chips as demand outpaces supply
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: Chip-on-wafer-on-substrate is a packaging technology that integrates multiple chips into a single package to create high-performance computing and AI components. The field is currently dominated by TSMC, though other Taiwanese firms such as UMC, ASE Technology Holding, and Powertech Technology are also entering the market.
Mozilla advises Firefox users to update if they want browser add-ons to keep working
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In context: Root certificates are an essential element for modern browser security. They protect users by verifying signed web pages, extensions, and other types of content. However, developers must update root certificates constantly; otherwise, the root of the trust chain breaks, and everything goes down the drain.
Shipments of OLED monitors are soaring, up 181% this year
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: OLED monitors are soaring in popularity among consumers, and manufacturers are cashing in on the craze. According to the latest data from TrendForce, OLED monitor shipments are expected to reach 1.44 million units by the end of the year – a 181 percent increase compared to 2023.
China's new resistive magnet is 800,000 times stronger than Earth's field
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. In a nutshell: Scientists in China have created a mind-bogglingly powerful resistive magnet that has officially broken the world record by sustaining an incredible 42.02 tesla. That is over 800,000 times stronger than the magnetic field produced by Earth itself, which has a flux density of about 50 microtesla.
Intel could have beaten AMD to 64-bit transition but wrongly chose not to, engineers reveal
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. The big picture: The x86-64 instruction set was initially announced by AMD in 1999, providing a significant upgrade to the leading PC computing architecture. The technology proved highly successful, and Intel had to chase after a competitor for the first time in x86 history. Things could have been much different, though.
Hyundai wants to eliminate touchscreens entirely with holographic windshield displays
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Forward-looking: There's no doubt we're now surrounded by touchscreens everywhere, including in our vehicles. While these displays have enabled automakers to integrate more high-tech features, the over-reliance on screen controls has revealed significant safety drawbacks. Fortunately, some automakers are starting to think outside the box… or rather, outside the dashboard.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition is thinner, lighter and gets larger screens
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? Special Editions of products don't usually offer a slew of improvements over the standard versions – they're often just a bit prettier. With the Special Edition model of the Galaxy Z Fold, however, Samsung has made a foldable that is not only thinner and lighter than the Z Fold 6, but it also has more memory, a bigger screen, and an upgraded camera.
The $120,000 Titan A900 crams 6TB of RAM into what's quite possibly the world's most powerful desktop PC
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. Why it matters: Titan Computers has unveiled its new A900 model, a powerhouse workstation for those seeking top-tier performance. Designed to tackle deep learning, AI, and other demanding workloads, this beast packs impressive specs into an understated gold-colored desktop PC chassis. The centerpiece...
AMD confirms one Ryzen 9000X3D CPU arrives on November 7
Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. What just happened? AMD has just "announced" that at least one Ryzen 9000X3D processor will be available in a few weeks on November 7. However, this is more a teaser, likely aimed at stealing some of the thunder from Intel's Arrow Lake launch this week as AMD hasn't provided specifications, pricing, performance claims, or even confirmed the CPU's name or model.
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