الجمعة، 30 سبتمبر 2022

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Researchers in Scotland have devised a way to “neutralize” creepy crawlies in the coolest way possible: by shooting them with a laser. Ildar Rakhmatulin, a research associate at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, recently partnered with a group of engineers, biologists, and machine learning specialists to create a cockroach-compromising, AI-powered laser device. Rakhmatulin had previously created Raspberry Pi and laser combinations to kill mosquitos, but after recognizing the effect roach infestations could have on the restaurant industry and general public health, he wanted to go bigger.

The system begins with a single-board Jetson Nano, a small computer capable of running deep learning algorithms. Using 1,000 images of cockroaches in different lighting, Rakhmatulin and his team trained the Nano to recognize its target and track the insect’s movement. Once the two cameras attached to the device have located a roach, the Nano calculates its target’s distance within 3D space. It then sends this information to a galvanometer, which uses mirrors to adjust the laser’s direction. The laser can then be shot at the target.

The Jetson Nano is the core of Rakhmatulin’s roach laser. (Photo: Nvidia)

The laser’s effect varies depending on its power level. Lower power appears to trigger the insects’ flight response, which the team thinks might teach roaches not to return to a particular area. Stronger power levels “neutralized” (AKA killed) the roaches. Better yet, the team is already testing it on a wider range of pests, like hornets.

Technology like Rakhmatulin’s could be a viable alternative to more conventional anti-roach measures. Mechanical and sticky traps are better used as monitoring tools than as a way to get rid of roaches, since they only catch or kill a few wanderers at a time. While effective on a larger scale, many pesticides contain “forever chemicals” that leach into the environment and pose serious public health risks. Some are even dangerous to use around children or pets.

But it’ll be a while before the team’s roach laser becomes available to the hospitality industry or public health agencies—if ever. Though the technology is relatively inexpensive (Rakhmatulin writes each of the device’s five components was under $250), it’s so far incapable of targeting a specific part of an insect’s body, which would make it more effective. Its actual laser component is also dangerous to the human eye without proper precautions.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/7q8TfV3
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

If you use the internet, you’ve answered a few CAPTCHAs. (Okay, maybe more than a few.) These unavoidable tests of humanity are a hallmark of the online experience, but they’re inconvenient and intrusive. Cloudflare, a cloud server network, claims to have created a more discreet substitute. On Wednesday the company announced Turnstile, a “privacy-preserving” alternative to CAPTCHA. Unlike many Cloudflare products, this one will be free to use for any site owner—even those who aren’t Cloudflare customers.

Turnstile differs from CAPTCHA in that it doesn’t require any input from the site visitor whatsoever. Rather than asking a site visitor to click on blurry palm trees or copy down a few characters, Turnstile automatically picks from a handful of browser challenges based on recent telemetry and client behavior. It then runs the selected challenge behind the scenes. The result is a quick and easy check against malicious activity that doesn’t exclude blind site visitors and others with accessibility concerns.

But according to Cloudflare, near-universal annoyance with CAPTCHA wasn’t its only motivation to create an alternative. CAPTCHA works by assigning site visitors individual scores, which are based on various signs of legitimacy. One of these signs is the presence (or lack) of a Google cookie, which signifies that the visitor likely has a Google account and is therefore not a bot. Another is the use of a VPN: visitors with a VPN look suspicious, while those without a VPN appear more legitimate. Not only is this unfair to people who use VPNs, but it presents clear privacy risks. By looking for the aforementioned traits, Google’s CAPTCHA can view and store a visitor’s IP address, device ID, browser plug-ins, and more.

Turnstile’s browser challenges largely rely on what are referred to as Private Access Tokens (PAT), or a new type of cryptographic token built into the Privacy Pass protocol. PAT help to verify that HTTP requests are coming from legitimate devices and site visitors while isolating device and visitor data. Though Turnstile briefly checks a few aspects of visitors’ session data, like headers and browser characteristics, PAT preserve the integrity of that data by requesting validation from the device manufacturer (like Apple or Google). Cloudflare says Turnstile could eliminate a vast majority of CAPTCHA uses, thus making the web a more confidential—and less frustrating—space to be. Those who are interested in trying out Turnstile on their sites can now sign up to do so.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/lfLKMAb
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Hot on the heels of Logitech’s G Cloud handheld announcement, there’s a new cloud gaming portable on the horizon. Verizon, Razer, and Qualcomm have teamed up to launch the Razer Edge 5G, an Android-powered gaming device that will let you play your favorite phone games, as well as console and PC games streamed from the cloud. We don’t have most of the details, but as the name implies, this device will have a 5G connection for cloud gaming on the go.

The Edge 5G will run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon G3x Gen 1, the current top-of-the-line gaming platform from Qualcomm. It previously only appeared in a dev kit produced in partnership with Razer. The brief teaser video of the Edge 5G doesn’t reveal many details, but we can assume it shares some chipset-level capabilities with the dev kit, like USB-C video output, high-refresh display support, and Snapdragon Sound-enabled speakers. The companies have not announced if the device will be optimized for any particular cloud gaming platform, but we can assume Stadia won’t be on the list.

The only parts of the Edge 5G shown in the teaser are the d-pad, a thumbstick, and a couple of miscellaneous buttons. It spends a strangely long time focused on one of the triggers. You can also see the screen for just a moment — it’s widescreen with rounded corners. The profile of the device makes it look much bulkier than the Logitech G Cloud or Nintendo Switch, as well.

Verizon says the new handheld will be the first 5G-enabled gaming handheld, which is true. There just hasn’t been any demand for one until now… and maybe not even now. True, one of the issues cited with the Logitech G Cloud was the need for Wi-Fi to play cloud games, but adding mobile data to such a device is going to increase the cost and greatly impact battery life. In addition, you need a fast, and more importantly, reliable internet connection to stream games from the cloud. Current 5G networks are still struggling to live up to the claims carriers make every time they add coverage or band support.

Razer will unveil the Edge 5G in full on Oct. 15 at Razercon. Verizon’s involvement means this device will probably be limited to operating on the carrier’s 5G network. While Verizon is partially limited in how it locks 5G devices, Razer could simply decline to get it certified on other 5G networks. That means buyers would have to pay whatever Verizon asks if they want mobile data on the handheld, and if not, there’s little reason to buy this over another portable game machine.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/qGIAUgm
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

After what has seemed like an interminable period, we will finally be getting some Intel Arc GPU benchmarks soon. Yes, we previously promised we wouldn’t be covering Arc GPUs until they launched because we were also tired of the “coming soon” announcements too. However, several reviewers have posted online they have the cards in hand, so it won’t be long now. The official release date is Oct. 12, so we should see benchmarks before then.

Another new ripple is Intel has revealed pricing for the 16GB version of the A770, as well as the A750. Intel will also be bundling the highly-anticipated Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II with its Arc GPUs at launch. If you sign up at Intel Gaming Access, you can get three more games: Batman Gotham Knights, Ghostbuster Spirits Unleashed, and The Settlers.

Intel had unveiled Arc’s A770 price at $329, but it wasn’t clear at the time if that was the 16GB or 8GB version. Intel has now clarified it’s for the 8GB version only. Those boards will be made exclusively by Intel’s partners. The boards Intel makes, and sells, will only be the 16GB variant. That model will cost just $349, a shockingly low $20 extra over the 8GB version. This begs the question of who would even bother with the 8GB model at these prices? It seems silly to even offer it, as nobody in their right might would pass up double the VRAM. Still, that’s what Intel is going with. It’s unclear what the pricing will be for partner boards, however.

Intel has also revealed that the next model in the stack — the A750 8GB — will be $289. This GPU sports the same chip as the A770, except with some parts disabled. Both feature the biggest Arc die at 406mm squared, which is larger than the RTX 3060’s 392mm GA104 die. This is also an 8GB GPU, which should be sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gameplay. We’ve yet to see partner boards for this model, however.

It was previously reported that Intel was having a tough time finding partners for Arc. Intel is obviously making its own cards, similar to both Nvidia and AMD. However, it will still need partners to handle demand on a global scale, assuming there’s demand. It’s unknown if the biggest GPU companies will ever make Arc boards, or if their contracts with AMD and Nvidia will hamper that pairing. Both of the Intel branded boards are also labeled “Limited Edition,” so it’s not clear what kind of volume Intel has planned for them. It will be selling them direct to customers though.

The Gunnir Arc A770. (Image: Cool3c)

Intel also showed off some of its partner cards at its Innovation event this week. Notably missing were the big three: Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. Instead, the boards that have been photographed are from two names we don’t hear very often: Gunnir and ASRock. Videocardz showed off the cards spotted at the event, and it’s notable as some of them are triple-fan, dual-slot GPUs. This is a cooling upgrade over Intel’s dual-fan design. One of the Gunnir boars also has dual eight-pin PCIe connectors, whereas Intel’s version has eight-and-six pin connectors. Intel’s GPUs also look retro compared to monster GPUs like the RTX 4090 and 4080. Nvidia’s GPUs are both triple slot, with some 4090 partner boards even being quad-slot. Intel’s GPUs are also half the TDP as well, with both A7 cards listed as 225W GPUs. The RTX 4090 is a 450W card.

The impending release of these GPUs marks the end of a long journey for Intel. The company has been upfront about the challenges it’s faced along the way, which included many delays. The big question right now isn’t so much how they will perform, but what are the drivers like? In reviews of the previous Arc GPUs, the drivers were hammered for being buggy. Intel has spoken openly about this situation and has promised to remedy things before launch. Whether that’s the case will be uncovered soon enough.

Intel is clearly looking to make a splash with its GPUs with extremely aggressive pricing, even before you even factor in the inclusion of CoD, which should be a blockbuster title. We’re not sure if Intel is making any profit on these GPUs. Either way, we’re excited to finally see some benchmarks and to find out whether the drivers are up to snuff.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/ZoRnl9a
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

The DALL-E image-generating AI made waves when it debuted earlier this year. The engine offers creepily accurate renderings of almost any description imaginable, and you can now access it free and without waiting through a queue. It’s not unlimited, but OpenAI will be happy to sell you more credits once you run through your allotment.

At its core, DALL-E is an advanced machine learning model built to understand natural language and turn it into an image. It’s not the first neural network to attempt this, but it’s certainly the most capable one that’s been made available to the general public. When it launched publicly in April 2022, demand was extremely high, and OpenAI had to use a waitlist to control access. Now, you can just sign up and begin creating your wildest dreams right away.

According to OpenAI, DALL-E is currently spitting out more than two million images per day with over 1.5 million active users. The company says feedback from users (especially artists) has helped to refine the quality of DALL-E images. Having used DALL-E earlier this year and again today, it does seem more accurate and “artistic.” The image at the top of this post was created with DALL-E from the prompt “abstract head in profile filled with glowing circuit boards.”

Some particularly good examples of DALL-E images provided by OpenAI.

Since launching, DALL-E has also added new features like Outpainting, which allows you to leverage the AI to expand an image beyond its original borders. The AI just makes up more content out of nothing, and it’s surprisingly believable. You still have to provide a text prompt to tell the AI what the image is, though.

OpenAI says it’s already testing DALL-E with several potential customers with the aim of turning it into a paid service. While it’s free to try for individuals, you only get 50 credits per month, and each set of four text-prompted images eats up a credit. You can purchase an additional 115 credits for $15, which works out to 13 cents per action. But be aware, each frame you add to an image in Outpainting also costs you a credit. It could get spendy if you get really into tinkering with the AI. You could just sign up for more free accounts, but each one requires phone number verification.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/O1Cwq3G
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

الخميس، 29 سبتمبر 2022

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Mortal Kombat 11 was one of the big AAA launch titles for Stadia, but it hasn't gotten many since then.

Stadia exploded onto the gaming scene in 2019 with some big promises and veteran gaming executives on board. Google said it was committed to making Stadia the future of gaming, but now it’s the past. Google has announced that Stadia will shut down in January 2023, and the game purchases are ending immediately. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Google will refund all past Stadia purchases. Stadia’s failure leaves Amazon, Nvidia, and Microsoft as the leading providers of cloud gaming services.

Google initially only made Stadia accessible to Pro subscribers, but the service opened up to everyone in 2020. Stadia launched with a handful of popular games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Mortal Kombat 11, but Google also promised exclusive first-party games from its Stadia Games & Entertainment division, which was run by Jade Raymond of Assassin’s Creed fame. One of the first signs that Stadia was in trouble came in early 2021 when Google shuttered SG&E without warning, and this was mere weeks after Stadia finally started to get positive buzz for how well it ran Cyberpunk 2077 while the Xbox and PS4 struggled to keep up.

With no first-party titles, Google pledged to continue courting developers to get more games on the service. Reports indicate it was paying tens of millions to snag AAA ports, but there were still surprisingly few big releases. Following the shutdown of SG&E, Google was allegedly seeing subscriber numbers falling hundreds of thousands short of expectations. That’s when it began working on a new vision for Stadia, or rather, the underlying technology that it calls Immersive Stream. In late 2021, Stadia began to appear as a white label game streaming service for companies like AT&T. According to Google’s shutdown plans, this is the only part of Stadia that will survive.

This tweet aged like a fine milk.

Throughout 2022, Stadia continued to get just a trickle of indie games, which led to rumors that Google was going to shut down the service. However, Google publicly denied that in late July, saying that it was always working to bring more games to the platform. And just a few weeks later, we know the rumors were true.

Google says it will refund all purchases of games on the Stadia Store, as well as Stadia hardware on the Google Store. Stadia controllers are designed to connect over Wi-Fi, making them of limited utility in the absence of the cloud gaming platform. They should still work as generic USB game controllers, though. The refunds will take place over the coming months, finishing up in January 2023 when the service is discontinued. In the meantime, Stadia users can keep playing the games they already have in their libraries.

Despite the well-meaning refunds, this is not a good look for Google. The company has a reputation for losing interest and then canning services on which people come to rely. It asked for trust when it announced Stadia, and then failed systematically over the following three years to live up to our expectations. At the end of the day, no matter what PR and community managers say, Google is as predictable as the tides.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/xwz9SLE
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

It’s common for people to split their computing between a computer and mobile device, but they don’t always talk to each other as seamlessly as they should. Intel hopes to fix that with its new Unison app. This tool can connect to your smartphone and make your files, messages, and more available on Windows. Well, as long as you’re using the latest and greatest Intel chips.

Unison is the product of Intel’s acquisition of Screenovate, which it announced at CES 2022 early this year. As an independent firm, Screenovate made bespoke apps for PC manufacturers like Dell that provided mobile integrations, and now Intel is bringing a version of that to PCs powered by its chips.

Intel says there will be a “simple pairing process” to link your phone and PC with Unison. With your machines connected, some of the core parts of the mobile experience will be replicated on your Windows machine, including phone calls, notifications, text messaging, and file access (photos taken on your phone will sync to a special gallery inside Unison).

Android users will get the full suite of features, but the iPhone won’t support the same deep integrations. Some messaging features won’t work, and notifications from third-party apps won’t have as many features. However, iPhone users who value computer-phone cooperation will almost certainly use a macOS machine, which has more extensive integrations than even the most well-supported Android-Windows pairings.

There’s an elephant in the room, too. Microsoft already bundles much of this same functionality with Windows in the form of the Phone Link app (previously branded as “Your Phone”). This app lets you connect a phone to your PC to get messages, notifications, and even photo synchronization. It’s possible Unison will offer a smoother experience for the basics, but Phone Link offers expanded features for some popular (and unpopular) Android phones, like those from Samsung and Microsoft. For example, these devices can mirror apps from your phone to your PC without installing them. Unison doesn’t do that at all.

Intel Unison will debut on a subset of laptops based on Intel Evo technology with 12th Gen Intel Core processors. These will be HP, Lenovo, and Acer machines, but that’s just the first step. Intel says that Unison will arrive on more computers in early 2023, but these will be those with 13th Gen Intel Core-based designs. Those with older CPUs will, apparently, have to make do with the very similar Phone Link tools Microsoft includes with Windows 10 and 11.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/jZLD9uS
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

(Photo: Adam Cai/Unsplash)
Volvo is taking a new step toward protecting its customers and their passengers. Select new vehicles will soon come with interior radars that aim to prevent children and pets from accidentally being locked inside.

The automaker’s new tech depends on “occupant sensors” built into the overhead console, roof-mounted reading lamps, and the trunk. These monitor the vehicle’s entire interior for the smallest movements. Should a distracted parent or pet owner attempt to lock the vehicle with a child or animal inside, the vehicle will block the lock attempt and display a reminder to check the interior on the vehicle’s center console screen. It’ll also activate climate control to keep children and animals from overheating or freezing, the company said.

Volvo’s rendering of the EX90’s interior using Unreal Engine. (Image: Volvo)

Most drivers swear themselves incapable of forgetting a child or pet in the car, but almost a thousand US children have died of hyperthermia in locked cars since 1998. The ASPCA estimates just as many pets die after being left in hot vehicles every year—either because they are forgotten or because owners think it’s safe to leave them behind. These deaths are preventable. According to Volvo, keeping the car unlocked, running climate control, and notifying drivers is the most practical way to achieve this.

Volvo’s flagship EX90 electric SUV will be the first of its fleet to include the radar. The automaker announced earlier this month that it would officially unveil the EX90 on November 9, but it’s revealed a few details in the days since. The new model is designed to be Volvo’s safest vehicle yet, with external sensors Volvo claims will reduce serious crashes by up to 20 percent. Another new internal sensor will monitor drivers’ eye movements, nudging those who appear to be sleepy or distracted and calling for help if a driver falls asleep at the wheel.

These features will eventually make their way to all of Volvo’s new vehicles. Volvo says it’ll include its interior sensors “in all countries where the 60GHz frequency used by the system is approved for automotive use,” so long as it receives the right regional approvals.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/gIwS9HF
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Samsung has only just released its last flagship phones for 2022, the Z Fold4 and Flip4, but its first launch of 2023 is already leaking. New renders purport to show the upcoming Galaxy S23 and S23+ in all their glory. The phones are a bit larger than the outgoing models, and the design takes some cues from the S22 Ultra.

These renders are not direct from Samsung — they come courtesy of OnLeaks, which has a history of accuracy working from leaked CAD files. Some elements like the material finish and color are mere guesses, but the shape and size of the device should be close to what we see in a few months.

The S23+ (above) will be in the middle of the lineup, with the smaller and cheaper S23 on one side and the S23 Ultra on the other. According to Smartprix, the S23+ will have the same 6.6-inch display size as the S22+, but the overall body is a bit larger. The S22+ is 157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6 mm, but the S23+ will allegedly be 157.7 x 76.1 x 7.6mm. Hopefully, the added space will allow Samsung to increase the battery size, which was smaller in the S22+ than in previous models.

It also looks like Samsung is dropping the distinctive camera island it has used on the Galaxy S family for the past several years. No more will the frame jut out to surround the camera sensors. The S23 will reportedly feature individual raised rings around each of the three camera sensors, a design that Samsung debuted earlier in 2022 with the S22 Ultra. Lest you think the base model S23 will retain the S22’s design, there’s a separate leak via Digit.in with renders of that phone. It’s visually identical to the S23+, but the phone will be smaller with a 6.1-inch screen.

The Galaxy S23 is smaller than the Plus variant, not that you can tell from a render.

Given the track record of OnLeaks releases, we’d put money on these renders being spot-on for the S23+. We won’t know for sure until Samsung reveals the S23 family officially, which is expected in February 2023. Perhaps Samsung will have an upgrade that isn’t discernable in these leaked images — maybe a better primary camera or faster charging. In terms of design, this is only a minor departure from the S22+. Regardless, the S23 family will have the latest Qualcomm chips, and it sounds like Samsung won’t saddle the international market with an inferior Exynos variant for once.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/1ALtEOY
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

(Photo: Gravity Industries)
If you’ve ever wanted to zip around in a real-life jetpack, your opportunity awaits—if you’ve got exorbitant amounts of cash, of course.

Gravity, a “human flight” startup based in the United Kingdom, demonstrated its latest jet suit at this year’s International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. Gravity founder Richard Browning hovered several feet over a lawn as attendees looked on, floating back and forth between crowds to give everyone a look at his invention in action. Browning’s movements were similar to those of a SCUBA diver: slow, graceful, and calculated. But at the end, he zoomed across the grass to demonstrate the jet suit’s dexterity at higher speeds.

Considered the world’s first patented jet suit, Gravity’s technology packs 1,000 horsepower and allows the user to fly anywhere from 10 to several hundred feet off the ground. (It’s technically capable of reaching a 12,000-foot altitude, but Gravity keeps its flights a little tamer for obvious safety reasons.) It uses five gas turbine jet engines, which run on jet fuel, diesel, or kerosene. These help the user obtain speeds up to 80 miles per hour.

The 75-pound suit probably isn’t the comfiest thing to wear on a hot day—or at all, for that matter. Once the “backpack” part of the jet suit goes on, the user inserts their arms into a pair of apparatuses each containing two turbines. (The fifth turbine is in the central pack.) It’s by moving these apparatuses that the user can manipulate their position and glide through the air.

The jet suits themselves cost around $400,000, but Gravity offers individual flight experiences for $3,500 and personalized flight training programs for $8,500. Gravity says it can take time for new users’ vestibular systems to adjust to the unique sensation of flying in the suit. Once they’ve overcome any motion sickness or imbalance, new users can focus on honing their movements.

But Gravity’s jet suits don’t exist just for the sake of novelty. The company has lent its technology to the Royal Navy, who used it to hop from battleship to boat in the middle of the ocean. Gravity’s also partnering with a British air ambulance service to allow medics to reach emergencies quicker and stabilize patients before conventional vehicles arrive.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/SPIjQhD
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Intel’s 2022 Innovation event just wrapped up, and it featured a peek at new Intel-powered technology like Unison, as well as the much-anticipated pricing for its Arc GPU and Raptor Lake CPUs. It also teamed up with Samsung to show off a concept slidable PC. The device was only on stage for a few minutes, but it stole the show.

When Samsung Display CEO JS Choi first held the device aloft, it looked like a typical tablet, but with a tug on one side, it expanded into a 17-inch landscape display. The demo hardware did not appear to be a fully functional PC, but Choi described it as a “display for PC.” We’ve seen foldable phones and even a few foldable laptops before, but a slidable PC would be new. You can see the entire demo in the timestamped video below.

Choi and Intel’s speakers spent a few minutes sliding the display back and forth  (and they do seem genuinely giddy about it), but there was no discussion of how the screen worked. If it’s anything like other slidable prototypes we’ve seen, the flexible OLED rolls up inside the frame, and indeed, you can see a faint crease in the screen where the panel would have to double back on itself when in the smaller configuration.

As a piece of hardware, Samsung’s slidable screen looks incredible. We already know the company can make a foldable that works — the latest generation of Android foldables are surprisingly durable, with software integrations that make the form factor shine. The Galaxy Z Fold4 even supports stylus input, and the flexible OLED doesn’t get marked up by the tip. However, adding a slidable display to a Windows laptop might not yield the same results. Windows is only modestly optimized for touch, and Samsung’s display still measures 13 inches when compressed. There is little functional difference between using Windows on a 13-inch screen versus a 17-inch one.

Despite these potential issues, we may well see laptops and convertible PCs with these Samsung slidable screens in the coming year. The laptop market is cooling after a pandemic-fueled climb, but high-end computers are still selling well, and OEMs can eke out more profit from these devices. You can bet that any laptop with this technology will be expensive. The second-gen Lenovo X1 foldable PC retails for $2,500, and the Z Fold 4 is $1,800, and both have smaller displays than the one Samsung showed off at Intel Innovation.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/3eYQiol
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

الأربعاء، 28 سبتمبر 2022

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

(Screenshot: Chegg.com)
In the face of Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, a 17-year-old engineer has created a drone that can locate landmines. Igor Klymenko and his family had to flee their home in Kyiv earlier this year when Russia began its invasion. After a few weeks of hearing bombs and planes outside of their basement hideaway, Klymenko recalled a previous attempt to create a mine-detecting drone back in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea. Klymenko had felt desperate to find a way to help both soldiers and civilians. At the time, landmines were responsible for killing or injuring upwards of 7,000 people a year, The Smithsonian reports—a figure unlikely to have dropped in recent months.

Metal detector operators, landmine probes, and animals trained to sniff out explosives are the most common (and least expensive) ways to detect landmines before it’s too late. But all of these methods require being within relatively close proximity to the mine. Klymenko’s solution was to devise a system that could detect mines from above-ground and wouldn’t require putting people or animals in harm’s way.

His invention begins with a 4DRC F5 PRO quadcopter—an inexpensive, commercially available drone often used for photography and videography. Klymenko built a custom metal detector to hang from the drone as it flies. Before lift-off, the drone records its static GPS coordinates and waits for Klymenko to set a geographical search radius.

Once the attached metal detector has located a landmine, it sends an infrared signal to a phototransistor on a user-operated Arduino board. Klymenko wrote a C++ code to determine the landmine’s GPS coordinates based on the drone’s speed as well as the length of time between its initial GPS scan and the infrared signal’s receipt. These coordinates, which reliably fall within two centimeters of accuracy, can help civilians avoid landmines and guide professional deminers once the war has ended.

Klymenko hopes to enhance his invention by adding a few key features. A spray paint system would allow the drone to mark the landmines’ locations on the ground, while a ground-penetrating radar would further improve the detector’s accuracy. Klymenko might even someday introduce AI to determine the exact type of landmine, as well as a detonation system to prevent located mines from injuring people. Despite working toward degrees in computer science, math, and machine building at the University of Alberta and the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Klymenko aims to have a scalable product by the end of the year.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/leS3yPi
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Everyone is currently focused on the revenge NASA has exacted for dinosaurs by crashing the DART spacecraft into an asteroid, but that wasn’t our first salvo against the space rock menace. It’s been just over three years since Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe shot the asteroid Ryugu with multiple metal slugs to collect its samples. It wasn’t just about justice for dinos, though. The Hayabusa2 materials have been on Earth since late 2020, and new research reveals how Ryugu has changed over its lifetime, including a cataclysmic impact that made it the small-ish rock it is today.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) split its precious 5.4 grams of Ryugu among six different teams around the world. One of the most interesting discoveries is how and where Ryugu formed. Based on remnant magnetization in the samples, scientists have determined that Ryugu formed in the primordial solar nebula, which existed before the formation of the planets and has since condensed to the planets, moons, asteroids, and comets we see today. That means, by some measures, parts of Ryugu are older than the solar system.

Ryugu formed when the nebular gas was still very dense, blocking sunlight and driving temperatures down to -200 degrees Celsius (-328 degrees Fahrenheit). This parent body picked up large volumes of water and carbon dioxide ice and likely measured about 62 miles (100 kilometers) in diameter. The water and carbon dioxide reacted in the parent body to form hydrous silicates and carbonate minerals, which make up the majority of the samples obtained by Hayabusa2. There was even some liquid water still trapped inside crystals in the samples.

The research suggests that the original Ryugu collided with a smaller object, roughly one-tenth of its size, a billion years ago. This event blasted the parent body to pieces, and part of it reformed as the sub-kilometer asteroid we know today. Scientists report that today’s Ryugu is a mixture of the internal and external materials of the parent body. It is believed that water-bearing asteroids like Ryugu, which formed and were then pulverized outside the orbit of Jupiter, could have played a part in early formation of planets in the solar system.

We’ve clearly learned a great deal already from a few grams of Ryugu, and there’s much more to come. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission picked up as much as several kilograms of material from Bennu, and it’s on course for Earth right now. It’s expected to land about a year from now, in September 2023.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/AoxqYeQ
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

الثلاثاء، 27 سبتمبر 2022

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Today is Intel’s big event: Intel Innovation. There, CEO Pat Gelsinger announced pricing for its much-anticipated products, including its 13th Gen CPUs and its flagship GPU. The TL;DR summary is Intel is offering extremely aggressive prices to compete with AMD on the CPU front, and with Nvidia on the GPU front—giving it a surprising advantage in its upcoming battle with the red and green teams.

On the GPU front, Gelsinger announced the company’s flagship GPU would be priced at a surprisingly low $329. It was previously rumored the company would position it somewhere in the $300 to $399 range, but most of us figured it’d be somewhere at the higher end.

This puts Intel in an incredibly competitive position to go up against the RTX 3060 and Radeon 6600 XT. Both of those GPUs are around $400 now, give or take a fire sale here or there. Plus, this GPU can be outfitted with either 8GB or 16GB of memory, but it’s not clear if this price is only for the 8GB version. Intel is positioning it as the ultimate GPU for 1440p gaming, opting to not compete in the 4K arena with the RTX 3090 and Radeon RX 6900 XT. The big question is whether Intel’s software is ready for broad deployment. We will find out when it launches on Oct. 12.

The official specs for the Intel Arc A770 and A750 specs. (Image: Intel)

Raptor Lake’s specs have already been leaked, by Intel, so there are no surprises there. Now, and on the heels of yesterday’s Zen 4 launch, Intel has announced very aggressive pricing for Raptor Lake (via The Verge). The top of the stack is as follows:

Core i9-13900K: $589

Core i9-1300KF: $564

Core i9-13700K: $409

Core i9-13700KF: $384

Core i9-13600K: $319

Core i9-13600KF: $294

Notably, the 13900K is a lot more affordable than the Ryzen 9 7950X, which costs $699. Both are 32-thread CPUs. Intel says its 13th CPUs offer big gains over Alder Lake, including a 15 percent single-core uplift and a 41 percent multi-core performance improvement. Additionally, these processors will work on older 600-series motherboards, and DDR4 is still supported. This is not the case with AMD’s new AM5 platform, so upgraders on a tight budget will likely be giving Intel a close look this time around.

Official specs for Intel’s 13th Generation CPUs. Click to expand. (Image: Intel)

Raptor Lake CPUs will become available on Oct. 20, setting up an epic showdown with AMD’s Zen 4 chips. Both companies are pushing power limits to new heights this time around, so it’s about to get toasty on the test bench. Intel is going way beyond what AMD is allowing, however, with reports it has an “extreme power” mode allowing up to 350W of power consumption. AMD is “only” going up to 230W, but Intel is taking it even further. That mode will likely require a chiller or some kind of exotic cooling, however.

Intel has also talked about releasing a 6GHz CPU, but that will come at a later time. In its official Raptor Lake release, the highest frequency is 5.8GHz for the i9-13900K. That sounds like a “KS” CPU is waiting in the wings, likely to tackle a future Zen 4 chip with V-Cache.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/u8kEpwJ
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Until recently, DART was a spacecraft about the size of a vending machine. Now, it’s debris scattered across the surface of a small asteroid called Dimorphos. This was very much the intention, though. NASA succeeded in smashing DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) into its target on Monday, Sept. 26. Now, scientists get to assess the data from the impact, including some stunning images of the event.

NASA live-streamed the big moment, which was the first real-life test of planetary defense technology. The idea is that a sufficiently large impactor spacecraft could change the orbit of a dangerous asteroid, ensuring that it doesn’t hit Earth. We would, of course, need a lot of warning to push an asteroid out of the way, but how much? And how big would the impactor need to be? Those are questions that DART could help answer.

This first-of-its-kind test was observed from a few angles, including from the DART spacecraft itself. It carried a camera known as DRACO that relayed images right up to the moment of impact. That’s important because scientists haven’t seen very many asteroids up close, and our previous assumptions about what they’re like have fallen short.

In the above footage, the surface of Dimorphos is strewn with rubble — it looks a great deal like the asteroid Bennu, which NASA recently visited with the OSIRIS-REx probe. The team behind that mission was surprised when they found the surface of Bennu to be so craggy that it was difficult to find a safe place for OSIRIS-REx to boop the asteroid. Japan found the asteroid Ryugu to be similarly uneven.

Before beginning its death spiral, DART dropped off a small cubesat that could observe the event. The Italian-made LICIACube returned images of the impact as well, showing a sizeable burst of material emanating from Dimorphos. Its larger companion, Didymos, is visible in the frame.

Some ground-based observatories were watching the event as well. The ATLAS Project, a collaboration between NASA and the University of Hawaii, used the ATLAS 2 telescope to record the impact. It shows a large puff of material escaping the binary pair, which is visible even though it cannot resolve the individual asteroids.

While DART has done its job, this is only the beginning. There’s more data to collect, and the European Space Agency is preparing to send a probe to Didymos-Dimorphos that will further analyze the effects of the impact.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/D6jQvwJ
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Air travel must often be approached with the same attitude you’d bring to a game show: wary yet eager as you throw caution to the wind and embrace the unknown in the name of a new adventure. Maybe you’ll have a good experience, with straightforward ticket prices and working in-flight Wi-Fi; maybe you’ll lose everything at the last minute, having been hit with a canceled flight just moments after unexpectedly having to pony up for a checked bag. A lack of airline accountability can make for a whirlpool of exasperating (and financially painful) circumstances. Soon, this could change, as yesterday the White House proposed a slew of regulations that would protect air travelers from shady airline practices.

First up on the docket would be disclosing flight-related fees upfront. As of now, you often don’t see extraneous fees until you go to pay for a flight. Other times, it’s not clear what fees might be charged to change your flight, or you could get to the gate without ever having learned the cost of sitting with your child. The White House’s new rule would require that airlines and travel search websites “disclose upfront—the first time an airfare is displayed—any fees charged to sit with your child, for changing or canceling your flight, and for checked or carry-on baggage.”

(Photo: Rayhan Fahmi/Unsplash)

A second proposed rule would require airlines to refund travelers for in-flight Wi-Fi that they purchased but couldn’t use. (Yes, you read that right: airlines can currently charge you for internet connectivity, fail to provide it, and then refuse to give you a refund.) Though only Wi-Fi was named in the US Department of Transportation’s press release, the rule would also protect other services purchased yet never fulfilled.

“Airline passengers deserve to know the full, true cost of their flights before they buy a ticket,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in the release. “This new proposed rule would require airlines to be transparent with customers about the fees they charge, which will help travelers make informed decisions and save money.”

These proposals constitute only the most recent of Secretary Buttigieg’s attempts to even the air travel playing field. This month the Department of Transportation introduced a customer service dashboard that tells travelers whether their airline is committed to certain delay or cancellation remedies, like complimentary hotel accommodations or immediate free rebooking. The dashboard, combined with the above proposals, are in direct response to the Biden administration’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which was signed last year.

The Department of Transportation has given the public 60 days to issue comments on the above rules prior to their amendment or implementation. Both can be found under docket number DOT-OST-2022-0109 on Regulations.gov.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/oH2Ai71
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

(Photo: Thibault Penin/Unsplash)
Netflix has come a long way since it first began shipping DVDs in paper sleeves. The subscription streaming service announced yesterday that it’s digging its heels into the video games industry by establishing its very own games studio.

The internal studio is in Helsinki, Finland and is headed by former Zynga and Electronic Arts executive Marko Lastikka. At Zynga, Lastikka spearheaded FarmVille 3; before that, he co-founded and managed EA’s Helsinki studio, Tracktwenty, where he helped build SimCity BuildIt. Lastikka’s newest studio at Netflix will join Next Games, Night School Studio, and Boss Fight Entertainment—all pre-existing teams acquired by the streaming service over the last year.

Netflix made its first foray into the gaming space in September 2021 when it hired another former EA exec, Mike Verdu. Verdu has since helped the company introduce a handful of exclusive mobile games, including two Stranger Things games, a game that combines basketball with dart guns, and mobile poker. Netflix has even come to offer a few premium versions of non-exclusive titles, like Exploding Kittens (originally a card game) and Heads Up. These have been available to all Netflix subscribers at no additional cost.

(Image: Netflix)

Despite the ease with which subscribers can access these titles, however, Netflix’s games haven’t been all too popular. Less than one percent of subscribers showed interest in the service’s mobile gaming library in August. We even suspected at the time that Netflix might eventually cut its losses and dip out of mobile games, but it seems the company has doubled down instead. (This wouldn’t be the only questionable choice Netflix has made in recent months: It also hinted at password-sharing fees and ad-supported subscription tiers earlier this year after its stock price took a plunge.)

“Creating a game can take years, so I’m proud to see how we’re steadily building the foundation of our games studios in our first year, and look forward to sharing what we produce in the coming years,” said VP of game studios Amir Rahimi.

Netflix didn’t say in its announcement whether its new studio’s titles would be included with regular subscriptions or come at an extra cost. It’s not even clear whether the company will stick with mobile games exclusively; some subscribers watch Netflix on their computers or gaming consoles, and the service has experimented with remote-driven interactive shows in the past. It did confirm the games would be ad-free and lack in-app purchases, which is refreshing, given mobile games’ tendency to make microtransactions integral to the user experience.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/Vb06SNL
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

The Artemis 1 launch is still hanging in limbo, but it’s only a matter of time before NASA has humans walking on the moon once again. This time, the agency intends to use the moon as a waypoint to more distant locales like Mars. However, some scientists believe Mars should be our second stop. Instead, they say, the mission should start with a quick swing past Venus.

After Artemis 1 finally gets off the ground, it will take two more missions before humans return to the lunar surface. Toward the end of the planned Artemis launches, NASA hopes to have the Gateway station up and running allowing for a long-term human presence around the moon. This will provide a jumping-off point for Mars in the 2030s, following the agency’s moon-to-Mars model. But if we’re going to send people beyond lunar orbit for the first time, scientists like Noam Izenberg of the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory think Venus should come first.

Venus is poorly studied compared with Mars, although it’s considered Earth’s sister planet. The two worlds have very similar mass and composition, but it is also the victim of a runaway greenhouse effect. The atmosphere is corrosive and about 100 times denser than Earth’s, and temperatures hover around 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 degrees Celsius), which is hot enough to melt lead and zinc metals.

Naturally, Izenberg and his allies are not proposing people take a stroll on the surface of Venus. Only a handful of automated probes have landed on the surface, and they didn’t last more than a few minutes. “The current NASA paradigm is moon-to-Mars. We’re trying to make the case for Venus as an additional target on that pathway,” Izenberg tells The Guardian.

The Gateway station is supposed to be a stepping stone to Mars, but maybe we should start with Venus.

Venus is closer than Mars, so a flyby mission could be completed in as little as a year, compared with about three years for a Mars return mission. According to Izenberg, Venus could also help us get to Mars. While Venus is on the opposite side of Earth from Mars, Izenberg says the planet could provide a gravity assist that actually gets astronauts to the red planet faster and with less fuel.

Sending people to Venus, even if they don’t land, could allow them to do science that isn’t possible with automated probes. And there’s plenty of reason to learn about Venus. It has so much in common with Earth, but the conditions on its surface are comparatively hellish. As we identify more exoplanets in the cosmos, we might want to be able to tell the difference between an Earth-like world and one more like Venus. It’s uncertain if NASA will heed this call, but it’s currently busy with the first leg of its quest to escape Earth orbit.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/kYCdHvZ
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

Kona "grille" pops open for the SAE Combo Charging System plug. At a fast-charge station, a full charge is as little as an hour. At home on 240 volts, 9.5 hours.

The shift to electric vehicles is seen as a necessary move as Earth faces the ever-growing impacts of climate change, but it could put a severe strain on infrastructure. Researchers from Stanford have published a study that claims the way most people charge their EVs is exactly the wrong way to do it for the future of the grid. They say if we don’t make changes, peak electricity demand could increase by 25 percent come 2035.

This new study, published September 22 in Nature Energy, is based on a separate one published earlier this year. In the first study, the team developed a model for charging demand that can be adapted to various population and environmental factors. Now, they’ve applied that model to the entire western United States. The analysis examines what will happen in the US if EV usage continues increasing at expected rates through 2035 — specifically, what will happen if everyone keeps charging their cars at night.

Most EV owners simply plug in their car after returning home, and some specifically program systems to hold off charging until later at night. That’s not entirely the fault of drivers, though. The traditional wisdom is that it’s better to charge at night when peak usage is lower, so power companies may offer discounted rates during those times. Not so, says the study.

Currently, California leads the way in EV adoption, with rates hitting six percent of all car sales earlier this year. When the rate reaches 30 or 40 percent, Stanford researchers say the power grid will come under extreme stress. As EV ownership increases, nighttime home charging will require more energy storage and generation capacity, while also wasting more solar and wind energy during the day.

Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC electric vehicle at a charging station.

The solution, according to the study, is to shift EV charging to workplaces and fast-charging stations that can be used during the day. The model predicts that as we reach 50 percent EVs on the road, these changes could make a significant impact. With no changes, more than 5.4 gigawatts of energy storage would be needed. If we can shift the bulk of that to daytime, we would need only 4.2 gigawatts of storage capacity.

It’s going to take changes in electricity pricing and infrastructure to make this work, but the study authors say it’s worth the effort. That’s particularly true if we need to shift more energy production to solar, which is useless at night unless there’s sufficient capacity to store it.

Now read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/xlNgSnP
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,

NEWS TECHNOLOGIE

AMD’s long-awaited Zen 4 CPUs are finally out in the wild. Although AMD is launching four CPUs, it naturally wants reviewers to test its flagship Ryzen 9 7950X first, so that’s the bulk of the reviews so far.  With its $699 MSRP, it’s a bit too expensive for most folks, but it helps AMD put its best foot forward. And what a foot it is; the Ryzen chip is easily the fastest CPU on the planet, for now. Intel’s Raptor Lake is expected to be arriving soon (date still TBD) and it will give AMD some serious competition. For now though, AMD gets to bask in the limelight of having vanquished Intel’s 12th generation CPUs.

Prior to launch, AMD claimed it had achieved a 13 percent increase in instructions per clock (IPC) with Zen 4 over its previous architecture. That boost along with clock speed increases allowed it to claim an overall boost of 29 percent in single-core workloads. Multi-core workloads include more factors, so that number is harder to pin down, but AMD still promised major gains. Overall, the company was telling the truth according to tests from our sister site PCMag. The Ryzen 9 7950X was top dog in almost every CPU test, though it was neck-and-neck with the Core i9-12900K in some.

The Ryzen 9 7950X crushed the Alder Lake CPU in Cinebench, now the de factor multi-core benchmark for CPUs. Its score of 35,063 is leagues ahead of the Core i9’s 27,131. It’s notable that this score is also more than double that of the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. It’s also a massive leap over the previous generation’s flagship chip, the 5950X. However, the Ryzen CPU was just five points “faster” than the Core i9-12900K in the Adobe Test Suite. Things were pretty close in Handbrake too, which is a video encoding benchmark. Only nine points separated the two top-tier CPUs on that round. The Ryzen chip also lost to the Intel CPU in POV-Ray by a few points.

In gaming, the results did not show a knockout punch for AMD. Instead, it’s merely able to keep up with Intel in most scenarios. In 1080p gaming, it generally was very close to Intel’s Core i9 CPU but did lose by a few points in several tests. Generally speaking, AMD’s CPUs have never been the fastest for gaming, 5800X3D aside, but it seems Zen 4 at least closes the gap to Intel’s chips. If anyone thought Zen 4 would crush Intel in gaming, they’re likely to be disappointed in these results. They’re not bad, just very similar to what Intel offers.

One new “feature” of Zen 4 is it’s designed to run very hot, up to 95C. That might surprise some folks, but it’s exactly what was reported ahead of its launch. AMD’s tiny chiplets and high core counts make for a lot of heat in a very small area. PCMag tested its chip with a 240mm AIO and saw it hitting 95C without any overclocking involved. It says excessive heat is why AMD doesn’t include an air-cooler with its CPUs this time; they wouldn’t be able to handle it. You could probably get away with a beefy Noctua cooler, but a lot of Zen 4 owners will likely be investing in a liquid cooler to keep temps at bay.

AMD has seriously pumped up with power requirements with Zen 4, with expected results. As a refresher, this chip is rated at 170W TDP, with a maximum of 230W. PCMag’s tests showed it pulling 565W from the wall total running Adobe Premier, which is higher than any previous AMD processor. That’s 41W more than the Core i9-12900K system too, so it’s a power-hungry CPU indeed. Those temps should only occur during multi-core workloads. PCMag analyst Michael Justin Allen Sexton told us that during gaming the 7950X ran at 70C, which is fine for most people.

Overall, Zen 4 is pretty much exactly as AMD stated it would be. It’s a huge leap over Zen 3, and also faster than Alder Lake. As we mentioned before, that doesn’t mean much since Raptor Lake is its true competitor, and we don’t have those numbers yet. But it’s a solid showing for AMD, as it’s been able to uphold the legacy of its Zen architecture in its fourth iteration. It delivers record-breaking performance along with an entirely new platform with all the latest technologies, including DDR5 memory and PCIe Gen 5 storage. For now, the ball is in Intel’s court, and it’s clearly itching for a fight. It’s already talking about how its next-gen CPU can hit 6GHz.

Now Read:



from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://ift.tt/ZLYwcWk
مرسلة بواسطة في ليست هناك تعليقات:
التسميات: ,
الاشتراك في: الرسائل (Atom)