Latest News - Page 611

If you thought robot dog flamethrowers were a thing of the future, you would have thought wrong as they are completely real, and you can buy one today.

Introducing Thermonator, the world's first flame-throw-wielding robot dog, and it's capable of launching a stream of fire up to 30 feet. The robot dog has been built on the Unitree Go2 quadruped robot that is akin to Boston Dynamics' iconic robot dog called Spot, except smaller and lighter. It should be noted that Boston Dynamics requires its buyers not to turn their robot dogs into weapons of any kind, which is why Thermonator is designed for "wildfire control and prevention," "snow and ice removal," and "entertainment and SFX."

Thermonator is equipped with a LIDAR sensor for navigation through mapping the objects it detects through its laser eyes, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, smartphone remote control, and first-person navigation through an on-board camera system. Thermonator weighs 37 pounds, is 30 × 20 × 20 inches, and features an ARC Flamethrower with a built-in fuel tank that can be filled with gasoline or a gasoline/diesel mixture.

Many members of the younger generation cringe when they get a hold of a parents phone as they quickly realize that parent doesn't close apps once they are done using it, leading to the assumption they are wasting battery life. But what if I told you that assumption was wrong?

Or at least it is for iPhone users. Users around the world are always looking for more ways to save battery, and one of those strategies is closing every app after use is done or in a large fell swoop every now and again. 9to5MacApple reports iOS chief Craig Federighi answered a question about if closing apps saved battery, to which he said, "no and no". Additionally, Apple's own support pages state that force-quitting an app should only be done if the app stops responding or is freezing.

Why is this the case? iOS is simply that good. Quitting apps seeming like the logical thing to do to save battery life is based on the presumption that more apps running in the background = more battery being drained. This isn't the case for iOS, as Apple's operating system freezes background apps, suspending any resources they demand to run, meaning background apps don't impact battery once they aren't being used (unless they have background processes such as GPS tracking or background music playing).

ASML is considering a rather large expansion of its operations in the Dutch city of Eindhoven, signing a letter of intent to look into an expansion that would house 20,000 new employees in an underdeveloped area north of Eindhoven, near the city's airport.

We've been reporting that the Dutch government is very keen on keeping its largest company in the Netherlands -- ASML, obviously -- from expanding out of the country and instead keeping it home in the Netherlands. The Dutch government kicked off "Operation Beethoven" to do just that.

The Dutch government announced $2.7 billion in planned infrastructure upgrades in the Eindhoven region to prevent ASML from moving some of its operations overseas. ASML CFO Roger Dassen said in a recent statement: "As we have said before, ASML prefers to keep its core activities in the Netherlands as close as possible to the existing locations" in the neighboring town of Veldhoven, where ASML is headquartered.

NVIDIA announced its next-gen GB200 server AI platform at its GTC (GPU Technology Conference) last month. Quanta Computer received its first order for the new GB200 server chips, which will enter mass production in September 2024.

UDN reports that Quanta has confirmed it received its first order of NVIDIA GB200 servers, calling it the "most powerful AI chip on Earth" and that mass production begins in September, and will increase quarter by quarter into 2025. UDN reports that according to industry expectations, Quantua is more optimistic about the momentum of server shipments this year than originally expected.

This is because four of the major cloud service providers (CSPs), Microsoft, Google, Amazon AWS, and Meta, are all ordering NVIDIA GB200-powered AI servers, which Quanta will make.

Samsung has just announced that it has started mass production of its 9th-Gen V-NAND flash memory, which offers a chunky 33% performance improvement over the 8th-Gen V-NAND already on the market.

Samsung's announcement concerns the mass production of its 1-terabit (Tb) triple-level cell (TLC) 9th-Gen vertical NAND (V-NAND), which the South Korean giant says solidifies its leadership in the NAND flash market. Samsung has the industry's smallest cell size and thinnest mold, allowing the company to improve the bit density of the 9th-Gen V-NAND by around 50% compared to 8th-Gen V-NAND.

Innovations in areas like cell interference avoidance and cell life extension have been pumped into the new 9th-Gen V-NAND from Samsung, enhancing product quality and reliability while removing dummy channel holes which significantly reduce the planar area of the memory cells.

Mechrevo has just announced a couple of new gaming laptops today: the new Kuangshi 16 Super and the Yanshi 16 Super Supreme, both launched in China.

The new gaming laptops feature external water-cooling that keeps the flagship Intel Core i9-14900HX processor -- with 24 cores, and 32 threads sat up to 5.8GHz -- nice and cool. Speaking of keeping super-fast laptop chips cool, you can opt for NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4090 or GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards inside of Mechrevo's new gaming laptops.

Upon purchase, gamers can choose between an external radiator for water cooling or an integrated dual-fan cooler. The big differences between the Kuangshi 16 Super and the Yanshi 16 Super Supreme gaming laptops are the decision between the GeForce RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 and whether you want external water cooling or not.

SAPPHIRE is well known in the AMD Radeon GPU world for some of the best Radeon series graphics cards over the years, and now the company has unveiled its first AM5 socket motherboard, the new NITRO+ B650I Wi-Fi Ultra Platinum. Check it out:

The company had a NITRO+ B550I series motherboard on the market, which is based on the AMD AM4 socket, while the new NITRO+ B650I Wi-Fi Ultra Platinum motherboard is based on the AM5 socket. The AM5 socket itself has been around for a few years now, but AMD has promised that AM5 still has a few more years of life with next-gen Zen 5-based Ryzen 9000 series CPUs to work on the AM5 socket.

SAPPHIRE's new NITRO+ B650I Wi-Fi Ultra Platinum motherboard has 8+2 phase (70A powerstage) VRM which is controlled by the XDPE 192C3B PWM IC. A heatsink cools the power delivery systemk, while we have 2 x DDR5 DIMM slots that support up to 64GB of DDR5-6000 memory, while power is provided through a single 8-pin connector and regular 24-pin ATX power connector.

TCL has just unveiled its new flagship Q10K series Mini-LED family of TVs, aimed at the mid-range model market, with sizes ranging between 65-inch and a monster 98-inch, all with 4K resolutions and super-smooth 144Hz refresh rate.

We've seen the company unveiling new monster-sized TVs and gaming monitors over the last few months, but with the new Q10K series we have high-end Mini-LED panels that will be a huge upgrade for TV owners if they're moving into 4K 144Hz on a TV (which is awesome) and Mini-LED (which is beautiful).

Inside, TCL's new Q10K series features competitive mini-LED panels with multiple dimming zones depending on the screen size: from 1512 zones to a huge 2592 zones. The TVs feature a 4K 144Hz HVA panel with a maximum brightness of up to 3800 nits. TCL's new Q10K 4K Mini-LED TVs will be launched alongside the flagship Q10K Pro series as a more affordable TV.

A space startup has claimed to have discovered a breakthrough force of nature humans will use to propel objects for the next 1,000 years.

The claims come from Exodus Propulsion Technologies, who's co-founder is Charles Buhler, a former NASA engineer that worked on a selection of legendary NASA programs such as the International Space Station (ISS), the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Space Shuttle. Additionally, he is the lead scientist and co-founder of NASA's Electrostatics and Surface Physics Laboratory at Kennedy Space Center and has a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from Florida State University.

According to Buhler, who spoke to The Debrief, the startup presented its new findings of a breakthrough force that Buhler believes "will be this force that we will use to propel objects for the next 1,000 years... until the next thing comes." Adding, "There are rules that include conservation of energy, but if done correctly, one can generate forces unlike anything humankind has done before."

HighPoint has just unveiled its new Rocket PCIe Gen5 NVMe Switch and M.2 RAID AIC adapters, which support up to a whopping (and wallet-busting) 32 SSDs... with an insane 960TB of Gen5 SSD capacity per PCIe slot. Yes, 960TB of Gen5 SSDs in your system, in a single slot. Whaaaaat.

We've already seen companies like OWC and Apex Storage offer PCIe Gen4 products that support 16 devices per PCIe slot, but HighPoint is the first to market with a PCIe Gen5 solution. It can house 32 SSDs and up to 960TB of Gen5 SSD storage. That's huge.

The new HighPoint Rocket 7600 and Rocket 1600 series will target different markets. The Rocket 7600 series products are designed for edge servers based on Linux and Windows and high-performance PC systems. Meanwhile, the Rocket 1600 Gen5 adapters have been designed for the enterprise market.

Samsung has just announced that its next-generation HBM4 memory is in development, and will make its first appearance in 2025 with next-gen speeds, capacities, and features.

The South Korean everything giant posted a blog explaining its next-gen HBM4 is in development, with its current HBM3E "Shinebolt" memory as its flagship HBM. HBM3E "Shinebolt" memory has 36GB capacities using 24Gb DRAM and up to 9.8Gbps bandwidth, with the memory technology supporting 12-Hi stacks and 2.5D advanced packaging technology.

HBM4 is Samsung's next step. If the company uses the same 24Gb modules, we should expect to see 16-Hi stacks. This will allow up to 256GB of HBM4 on future-gen AI GPUs with speeds that should hit 10Gbps or more. Samsung is surely cooking up denser DRAM modules, where we should see 24Gb+ that will drive total capacities of HBM4-powered AI GPUs through the roof.

It might be all too easy to think that the only VR headset that matters is somewhere in the Meta Quest lineup while the Apple Vision Pro is a different beast entirely. But Meta is looking to change things by expanding the world of virtual reality headsets to include those from other manufacturers - and it wants its Meta Horizon OS to be the software that powers it all.

In a press release detailing the move, Meta said that the Meta Horizon OS is what currently powers the Meta Quest headsets and that it combines the core technologies powering current mixed reality experiences. Now, it wants other companies to produce headsets that can run the same software.

As part of that new generation of hardware Meta sees the rising popularity of gaming, entertainment, and fitness experiences as a key factor in bringing other companies to the market. Some companies are already working on new devices that are powered by Meta Horizon OS, Meta says, with ASUS ROG at the top of the list. It's developing an all-new performance gaming headset, Meta says, adding that Lenovo is also going to develop mixed reality devices for production, learning, and entertainment.

When Apple launched the Apple Vision Pro to the public in February it was the hottest thing in town, and it remained that way for a few weeks. But as is so often the case with these launches, once the dust settled, interest was already starting to wane. Now, a new report claims that demand for the high-end spatial computer has been so low that Apple has had to take drastic action.

That action, according to the normally well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, comes in the form of cutting its 2024 shipments to somewhere between 400,000 and 450,000 units which is considerably down on the market consensus of anything up to 800,000 units - and potentially even more.

Kuo points out that Apple cut the orders even before launching the Apple Vision Pro in new markets. Right now it's only available in the United States and it's thought that demand has fallen so sharply in the United States that Apple is taking a more conservative view of the demand it can expect when the headset finally starts to ship to other countries.

Qualcomm is rumored to be revealing its Snapdragon X Plus chip at an event tomorrow, and it seems like this will indeed be happening, as the details of the SoC have just been leaked.

VideoCardz has got hold of some apparent press slides detailing the three variants of the Snapdragon X Elite, as well as the Snapdragon X Plus silicon which will run alongside it (there'll just be one version of that - to begin with, anyway).

The rumor mill was correct in its assertion that the Snapdragon X Plus would be a 10-core SoC, cut down a pair of cores compared to the 12-core Elite CPU. At least assuming this leak is correct anyway - we must treat any pre-release spillage with some caution until the info is confirmed by Qualcomm, which will no doubt happen at the mentioned event tomorrow.

One of the first apps that appeared on the iPhone way back in 2007 was the Calculator app, a simple calculator that has so far not been made available on the iPad. It's pretty amazing that there has so far not been a calculator app, built by Apple, available on the iPad to date. But that could finally be about to change and it's thought that it might happen sooner rather than later.

That's according to MacRumors, with a report detailing that after 14 years Apple is getting ready to bring the iPhone's Calculator app to the iPad. The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter, saying that the new Calculator app will be part of the iPadOS 18 software update.

This news follows a report from last week that some of Apple's upcoming AI features will include a new math feature linked to the Calculator app. That appears to be part of this new Calculator app news, but the original AppleInsider report does add extra context. We're told to expect a resizable window and a list of recent calculations and more.

As we get ever closer to the June WWDC event at Apple Park we're learning more and more about what we can expect from the big opening keynote. That keynote will be streamed online and has historically been when Apple previews all of its big new software updates. This year iOS 18 is expected to be at the forefront of those previews and we've been hearing a lot about potential new AI features. Now, a new report has added more color to Apple's plans for those features.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, writing in the weekly Power On newsletter, Apple's AI features will not use server-side components as is normally the way but rather go the other route, and run the large language models required to make them work on-device instead. That will mean that the features will use Apple's iPhone chips to process requests and handle data. As a comparison, chatbots like ChatGPT use servers that handle processing over the Internet.

Gurman says that Apple's large language model will run entirely on-device which will mean that there are some benefits to be noted. One of those benefits is that Apple will be able to boast performance improvements due to the lack of an internet request. With no need to send information to a server and then wait for a response, iPhone owners can expect a speedier experience than might otherwise be possible.

There have been rumors upon rumors of a new HomePod being in the works that will include a display for the very first time. We've seen images of what that could look like and we've even heard that Apple is reportedly testing a variety of different options. Now, a new leak may have given us another indication that such a HomePod really is on the way.

The latest information comes via a post on the X social network which appears to show a display mounting for a HomePod that is similar to the one that we have on the current HomePod, but notably different. There are no volume button markings for example, and it's claimed that is because the whole display will be an LCD touchscreen similar to that of an iPad.

The image shared on X shows a large curved glass screen that would cover the entire surface of a HomePod and matches a previously leaked HomePod prototype, 9to5Mac notes.

Intel's 14th-gen and 13th-gen Core i9 CPUs have been hit by issues with crashing when running some PC games, and while a cure of sorts has been pushed out by one motherboard vendor, namely ASUS, we now know the extent of the catch with this fix.

You're unlikely to have missed this one, but just in case, the crashes for the mentioned top-end processors seem to be worse with games that use the Unreal Engine - but whatever the case, they're a definite pain, and at this point, widely reported.

Cue ASUS with a band aid that arrived in the form of a firmware update for its Intel Z790, B760, and H770 motherboards, which came packing a new 'Intel Baseline Profile.'

A group of FTX investors agreed to drop charges against the disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) in exchange for his devout cooperation in gathering information on celebrities who took money from FTX to endorse the company.

SBF's cooperation will reduce his civil liabilities, which are plenty, and come after his 25-year prison sentence, where he was found guilty on seven counts of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy. Now, FTX investors are looking for as much information as SBF can provide on the seemingly long list of celebrities who took money from FTX to promote the brand. Celebrities such as Tom Brady, Larry David, Steph Curry, Shaquille O'Neal, and supermodel Gisele Bundchen immediately come to mind, but there are undoubtedly others that have been initially forgotten.

Notably, SBF isn't the only one that is rolling on celebrities as other former FTX officials like Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, and Caroline Ellison, former girlfriend of SBF, have also all agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and provide any information they can, which they reportedly already have begun to.

AMD's Radeon RX 7800 XT has sunk to a fresh low at Newegg, albeit with a slight twist on the usual discount offered by the retailer.

In the case of the PowerColor Hellhound RX 7800 XT graphics card, the usual discount code is in evidence, but that $50 reduction is only being offered to Newegg+ members.

What's more, it only reduces this PowerColor GPU to $480, whereas if you head to Newegg's store on eBay, you can grab this Hellhound graphics card for $469 with no need for any membership.