Latest News - Page 1358

It seems the gigantic crackdown on cryptocurrency mining operations in China is going to the next level, with Chinese Bitcoin mining outfit, Optimum Mining Host, moving 1 million Bitcoin mining rigs from China to Canada.

Moving 1 million anything from one place to another is a gigantic operation no matter what it is, which is why the company is getting Black Rock Petroleum Company to help out. Moving all of that hardware out of China is going to be hard -- for many reasons, not just a logistics reason -- with the 1 million rigs being moved out of China and into Alberta, Canada spread out across 3 locations.

The new Alberta, Canada relocation will have the 1 million Bitcoin mining rigs will be spread across three Natural Gas producing sites. The first 200,000 machines will be hosted by the Quirk Creek Gas plant which is operated by Caledonian Midstream Corporation.

Another day, another game with NVIDIA's black magik DLSS technology gracing it offering huge performance increases across the board. Today, F1 2021 is taking DLSS for a lap around the race track.

F1 2021's new update includes support for NVIDIA DLSS technology, which on the flagship GeForce RTX 3080 Ti will offer 90FPS+ at 4K with ray tracing enabled, max graphics settings and DLSS set to "Performance Mode". But the GeForce RTX 3070, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, GeForce RTX 3080, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, and GeForce RTX 3090 can all crank 4K 60FPS+ with DLSS enabled in F1 2021.

NVIDIA also has some F1 2021 gameplay that compares the game with DLSS enabled and disabled, with ray tracing support on the PC and next-gen consoles. There's ray-traced reflections and shadows that will be used in cutscenes, replays, Photo Mode, and more.

The Oculus Quest 2 is less than a year old, but already it seems like Facebook is getting ready to phase out the smaller version for a slightly larger capacity headset. Facebook may soon replace the Quest 2 64GB with a 128GB option.

Currently, Facebook offers two models of the Quest 2 standalone VR headset. Both versions have the exact performance specifications and features, aside from the storage capacity. The entry model includes 64GB of storage, which is not a lot for a system with games that range from 1GB to 10GB in size. The larger 256GB option carries a $100 higher price tag, making it less accessible and less attractive to new buyers.

A series of leaked images may indicate that Facebook is attempting to sweeten the deal a little bit. Multiple images of a 128GB Quest 2 headset have surfaced online. A pair of pictures on Imgur shows what appears to be new retail packaging for the larger headset. UploadVR noticed a French game news website called GAMERGEN found a retail listing for the 128GB version, which carried the same price as the current 64GB model.

The latest rumor for NVIDIA is that they will be refreshing their Ampere GPU range with the GeForce RTX 30 SUPER series GPUs for both desktop and laptops.

According to leaker @kopite7kimi on Twitter, the new GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs is "one step in Jensen's smooth upgrade to Ada Lovelace". Ada Lovelace being the next-gen GPU architecture from NVIDIA, meanwhile, the new GeForce RTX 30 SUPER series GPUs would have no node change meaning they'll be made on Samsung's 8nm process again.

What we should expect to see from NVIDIA in the new GeForce RTX 30 SUPER series GPUs is increased CUDA cores, higher GPU clock speeds, and possibly more VRAM. We could expect models with 8-20GB of VRAM, and most likely a boost in memory width which will provide much more memory bandwidth.

China has taken a few steps closer to the abyss, with the US and its allies in the UK, EU, and other countries have accused China of a global cyberespionage campaign.

Microsoft servers have been victims of purported cyberattacks from China earlier this year, and now a new joint effort between NATO members including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and others are joining forces to stop Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks. This is all happening barely a week from the World Economic Forum-led Cyber Polygon 2021 event.

On top of this, we have the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a new advisory list. On this list are 50 tactics, techniques, and producers that Chinese state-sponsored hackers use.

Jeep teased something big during the extended cut of its new Stellantis EV Day promotional video, with an amphibious SUV capable of driving underwater. Check it out:

Right at the end of the video you can see the unannounced Jeep driving underwater with fish swimming around, with the company of course stating: "Fictionalization. Do not attempt". I don't know how Jeep would be able to sell a car that could drive underwater as shown in the video, because what happens if the car malfunctions and you're stuck underwater?

The future EV (electric vehicle) would be watertight obviously, so we can expect an engineering feat from Jeep to be able to pull it off. I'm sure we'll see Tesla talk about underwater EVs soon, it'll come. I can see future Jeep SUVs driving under water to a certain level, but a fully amphibious vehicle? Hmm.

GPU prices are beginning to feel a little more normal... at least in Germany and Austria according to the latest data from 3DCenter. Check out their price trend chart:

As you can see we're finally back to around January 2021 levels when it comes to pricing for both AMD's new Radeon RX 6000 series and NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs. But man, were the prices freaking out of this world at their peak towards the second half of May 2021... 300%+ above MSRP.

This time last month we saw prices coming down from the 2-3 weeks before that, and now they've come down again. Just a month ago, GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs were 191% above MSRP in Germany, while Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs were 181% above MSRP... now they're 156% and 150% above MSRP, respectively.

NVIDIA has just unleashed its very latest GeForce Game Ready 471.41 WHQL drivers, which are Game Ready for the new DLSS-infused version of Red Dead Redemption 2.

The new GeForce 471.41 WHQL drivers also add Game Ready support for Chernobylite, which also supports NVIDIA's magic DLSS technology. The new drivers weigh in at 700MB or so, depending on which version you grab, as well as more games now supported by GeForce Experience's Optimal Settings. These games include:

There are two new G-SYNC Compatible displays that have been validated, with the Samsung LS28AG700N (28-inch 4K 144Hz) and the Samsung LC27G50A (27-inch 1440p 144Hz) monitors. There's the usual list of fixed issues, and the usual list of known issues that will be fixed in future driver releases.

Bloomberg estimates that Nintendo could make a $40 profit on every Switch OLED sold, and Nintendo steps in to deny the claims.

Nintendo sells every Switch console at a profit, and the new Switch OLED, which retails for $50 more than the base Switch, will be no different. But how much profit will Nintendo make on each new premium Switch? Bloomberg spoke to hardware manufacturers and supply line operators for a rough estimate.

The findings were that the Switch OLED cost Nintendo roughly $10 more to make than existing models including the new rigid OLED panel displays, doubled NAND flash storage, and dock revisions. If accurate, this would mean Nintendo makes a $40 profit on every unit sold.

Ubisoft's new free-to-play Tom Clancy's xDefiant is a hero shooter with heavy emphasis on gunplay.

Today Ubisoft San Francisco announced xDefiant, a new free-to-play 6vs6 arena shooter with playable characters straight Tom Clancy IPs like Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, and The Division. xDefiant is described as "fast-paced firefights meets punk rock mosh pit" with a strong emphasis on gunplay, similar to Riot's competitive shooter Valorant.

xDefiant has different factions lifted right out of Ubisoft's previous games, including the Wolves from Ghost Recon Breakpoint, the Cleaners and Outcasts from The Division, and Splinter Cell's elite Echelon operatives. Each faction has their own unique abilities--the Echelon can see through walls using special goggles, for example, and the Outcasts can pop up a proximity heal. The devs say xDefiant will have new characters not found in other games.

Valve designed the Steam Deck from the ground up to support suspend and resume, allowing for convenient on-the-go play.

Quick and easy access is one of the biggest advantages of mobile gaming. It's incredibly important that consumers can jump right into a game from a click of a button without waiting. Like Nintendo with its Switch, Valve designed its new Steam Deck handheld-PC hybrid with this seamless access in mind. Only Valve put a dedicated suspend/resume button right on the Steam Deck--a feature that was planned from the get-go.

"We all agreed early on that we needed that feature, that it would be a core part of how people experience the device. As we've seen, many other mobile platforms, how people use their phones...that's what they're used to. Press the button and everything comes back up the way they left it," Valve developer Pierre-Loup Griffais said in an IGN interview.

The new Switch OLED disappointed many, but Nintendo R&D is experimenting with deep learning. Does that mean a DLSS-powered Switch 4K will happen after all?

Note: This is a sizable article filled with both facts and speculation. The facts are regarding Nintendo's R&D spending habits, with breakdowns of DLSS and NVIDIA's mobile Tegra chips. The speculation is which chip the theoretical upgraded Switch could use and why.

While scouting Nintendo's recent 2021 Annual Report, I noticed something interesting: The company specifically mentions deep learning in its R&D activities. References to deep learning are also found in the 2020 report, confirming Nintendo has been investigating and experimenting with deep learning since as early as April 2019. Deep learning is not mentioned in any other annual report from Nintendo, and the company spend more on R&D in FY2021 than it has in any other period in its history.

Back in 1963, two researchers named Penzias and Wilson discovered what is called the cosmic microwave background.

This discovery is the best evidence humans have towards tracing the expansion of our universe back to a single point or explosion - the Big Bang Theory. Since this is considered the "beginning" of the universe, will there be an end? According to Katie Mack, a theoretical cosmologist and Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University, the universe will have an end, and we are already transitioning into it.

Mack explains in an article on The Big Issue that star formation across the universe has been slowing for billions of years and that the space between galaxies is becoming further and further apart after the effects of the Big Bang fade. Mack says, "if you judge by comparing the number of stars that have already been born in the cosmos to the number that will form in the future, our universe is at least 90 percent finished. In 100 billion years, other galaxies will be so far away we won't be able to see them, and most of the stars in the Milky Way will have already burned out."

A new eco-friendly school is being constructed to battle worsening air quality in a populated city, and the school with have an infinity cyclist track on the roof.

The architecture firm named Nudes will build the school in the Indian city of Pune after it won a competition for the construction of an eco-friendly school to be made in the city. Pune has seen a rise in population in the last decade, which has caused air quality to drop below World Health Organization guidelines, thus the competition for an eco-friendly school to be constructed in the densely populated region.

Nudes have proposed a very ambitious design for the school. It features a vertical garden that is designed to improve the air quality around it. Nudes has dubbed the design "Forest School", and on the roof of the Forest School will be a cyclist track that students of the school can use to exercise. The cyclist track is in the shape of an infinity symbol. The images below have been sourced from Nudes.

A new study that has been published in the journal Science Advances has revealed some information about how homo sapiens came to be.

The researchers behind the study used publicly available genome data on the modern human, Neanderthals, and Denisovans to construct an evolutionary family tree for homo sapiens. Using the ancestral recombination graph, the researchers discovered the shared regions in the human genome and the ones that were unique to each group.

Speaking to Inverse, Nathan Schaefer, a bioinformatician at the University of California, San Francisco, and the paper's lead author said, "If you sequence a bunch of people, you could make a tree that would show how everyone's related, on average, across the whole genome." It was discovered that between 1.5% and 7% of the modern human genome is unique to our species. "In other words, at least 93 percent of the modern human genome is shared between our species and the two other ancient hominins," explains Inverse.

China's space agency has released some more images taken by its Mars rover named Zhurong, and this time we can see that the rover is visiting some old "friends".

The images were released by the China National Space Agency (CNSA) and show off close-up shots of rock formations on the surface of Mars, landscapes, and tracks left by the rover. Additionally, the CNSA released more images that show off the parachute and the backshell that assisted the rover landing on the Red Planet back on May 15.

The black and white images seen above show off the rover departing the back cover and the chute. As for the fourth image, it shows the parachute deployed during the rover's descent down to where it landed in the Utopia Planitia. China became the first nation to ever successfully get to Mars with a lander, orbiter, and rover in the same mission. Until now, space agencies have had separate missions for each of those elements, usually in this order; orbiters, followed by surface missions - landers first, then landers with rovers, according to Universe Today.

The universe is constantly expanding, and at the moment, researchers believe that the observable universe has stretched 46 billion light-years from its beginning 13.8 billion years ago.

By measuring the cosmic microwave background radiation, researchers are able to quantify how fast the universe is expanding and thus its size, which are both key factors in figuring out how many atoms are in the observable universe. According to Space.com, there are a few assumptions to be made before the calculation can be made; all atoms are contained within stars (they aren't, but the majority of them are), and all of the atoms in the universe are hydrogen atoms (they aren't, but hydrogen atoms account for 90% of the total atoms in the universe).

Calculation: 10^11 to 10^12 galaxies in the observable universe, and each galaxy contains between 10^11 and 10^12 stars. That answer puts the total number of stars in the observable universe to be between 10^22 and 10^24. Now for weight. The average star weighs 2.2x10^32 pounds, which calculates the average mass of the universe to be around 2.2x10^55 pounds. Now that the mass of the universe has been found, we need to figure out how many atoms can fit inside of it. Each gram of matter contains around 10^24 protons, putting the average number of atoms in the observable universe to be 10^82.

Blue Origin is going to hit a milestone in the coming weeks as the company conducts its first space tourism flight with passengers on board.

On July 20, Blue Origin will take Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his brother along with two more passengers on the company's New Shepard rocket. Upon a successful launch, Blue Origin will break two records, one for the youngest astronaut in space and one for the oldest. Wally Funk, an 82-year-old aviator who tried to enter NASA's astronaut program in the 1960s, will break the record set by John Glenn at the age of 77.

As for the youngest record that is set to be broken, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen will break the record set by the fourth person ever to enter space, military pilot Titov in 1961. Daemen's father is the CEO of the hedge fund Somerset Capital Partners and passed down his ticket to his son Oliver who is planning on studying physics and innovation at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. For more information on this story, check out this link here.

A rare meteorite that dates back billions of years could provide researchers with many secrets to how life formed on Earth.

The meteorite is called Winchcombe and fell to Earth in early 2021. Since then, researchers have been studying its properties and have found that it dates back to near the beginning of our solar system around 4.5 billion years ago. Winchcombe is a rare type of meteorite called a carbonaceous chondrite, which means that it is rich in water and organic matter.

Dr. Ashley King, a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellow in the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum, said, "Winchcombe is the first meteorite fall to be recovered in the UK for 30 years and the first-ever carbonaceous chondrite to be recovered in our country. STFC's funding is aiding us with this unique opportunity to discover the origins of water and life on Earth. Through the funding, we have been able to invest in state-of-the-art equipment that has contributed to our analysis and research into the Winchcombe meteorite."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared an awesome animated video of the highly anticipated Cybertruck seemingly saving the world.

Musk uploaded the video to his Twitter account with the caption "Cybrrrtruck". The video shows off the Cybertruck and the Roadster in what seems to be a post-apocalyptic world where robots have taken over Earth. The Cybertruck can be seen smashing its way through robot dogs and a fence where both vehicles then latch onto a bomb.

The Cybertruck and Roadster then drag the bomb along a dirt road to eventually drive off a cliff towards what looks like a world engine from Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. Both vehicles release the bomb into the circular vortex to destroy it. As for the motivation behind Musk sharing the video, I can only suspect that he just found the video as cool as I did. For more information on this story, check out this link here.