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Intel Arc GPUs

takyon writes:

Intel Patches To Make It Easier To Run Their Discrete Graphics On Arm, Other Architectures

A change currently being evaluated for Intel's "i915" Linux kernel graphics driver would make it easier for building driver support for their forthcoming discrete graphics products for targeting other non-x86 CPU architectures like Arm.

Sent out today as a "request for comments" were patches that change the Intel Linux kernel graphics driver to allow it to optionally build without support for integrated graphics -- leaving the driver just capable of discrete graphics support. While Intel graphics have traditionally been about their integrated graphics on their processors, Intel is moving hard and fast on bringing up their discrete graphics support under Linux with DG2/Alchemist for Intel Arc graphics cards coming together as well as their Xe HPC accelerator.

Because of the integrated graphics being part of Intel's x86 CPUs, their driver really hasn't had to care about other CPU architectures since such combinations haven't been possible. But now with discrete graphics cards and their HPC accelerators, it will be possible to have Intel graphics on say an Arm, POWER, or RISC-V platform. The change being proposed by this RFC patch series would allow building the Linux kernel graphics driver with just that discrete graphics support included.

See also: Intel's Vulkan Linux Driver Adds Experimental Mesh Shader Support For DG2/Alchemist

Intel Arc GPUs Could Give Gamers a Reason to Drop Windows 11 for Linux

upstart writes:

Intel Arc GPUs could give gamers a reason to drop Windows 11 for Linux:

Intel's developers are working on bringing Resizable BAR (or ReBAR) to its upcoming ARC graphics cards for Linux, which is great news for PC gamers who are looking to jump ship from another operating system like Windows 11.

DannyB writes:

SpaceX rolls outs 'premium' Starlink satellite internet tier at $500 per month

SpaceX has quietly rolled out a new, more powerful "premium" tier of its Starlink satellite internet service that's targeted at businesses and enterprise customers.

The new product, which was added to the company's website Tuesday night, comes at five times the cost of the consumer-focused standard service. Starlink Premium requires a $500 refundable deposit, a $2,500 fee for the antenna and router, and the service costs $500 per month.

The standard Starlink service, which launched in October 2020, has a $99 refundable deposit, a $499 hardware fee and the service costs $99 per month.

[...] Starlink Premium also offers "unlimited service locations" flexibility. Unlike the standard product, which only guarantees service at a specific service address, SpaceX says Starlink Premium is capable of connecting from anywhere.

SpaceX's new Starlink Premium tier promises up to 500Mbps for $500 a month

SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink is getting a pricey new high-performance tier called Starlink Premium. Announced by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the new service includes a larger high performance antenna and advertises speeds of between 150 and 500Mbps (20 to 40ms latency), up from the 50 to 250Mbps (20 to 40ms latency) promised by its regular service. Premium also claims roughly double the upload speeds at 20 to 40Mbps, compared to 10 to 20Mbps for the standard tier.

This increase in performance doesn't come cheap. While the base Starlink service costs $499 for the hardware and $99 a month, Starlink Premium will cost $2,500 for the antenna, and $500 a month. Deliveries are due to start in the second quarter of this year. There's also a $500 deposit to reserve a Premium dish. Starlink's website says the new tier is targeting "small offices, storefronts, and super users across the globe."

A large enough constellation of satellites will ensure Starlink is a smashing success.

See Also:

SpaceX launches Starlink Premium internet plan, and it's not cheap

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Chromebook sales dive as device makers put Windows 11 PCs first:

A combination of declining demand and tight supply hit shipments of Chromebooks and tablets at the end of last year, according to new data.

Analyst IDC reports that tablets sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 dipped 11.9% compared to Q4 2020, leaving full-year tablet shipments of 169 million units, 3.2% ahead of 2020. Shipments of Chromebooks, a popular acquisition for many during the earlier stages of the pandemic, declined a massive 63.6% in Q4 2021 year on year, albeit still leaving its full-year growth at 13.5%.

The decline in Chromebook shipments is much worse than was predicted by IDC back in June when it expected Chromebook full-year 2021 shipments would reach 43 million units, 33.5% over 2020.

Instead, full-year Chromebook shipments for 2021 – led by HP, Lenovo and Acer – reached just 37 million units. Chromebook shipments fell 29.8% year on year in Q3 2021 as education buying stalled. In the same quarter in 2020, Chromebook shipments more than doubled, thanks to education sales – and did so at the expense of Windows 10 devices.

IDC notes that, while sales of Chromebooks in the US and Europe have fallen off, demand is still growing in emerging markets.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

NASA details transition of International Space Station to commercial operations:

NASA has provided an update to Congress on the transition of the ISS into a commercial operation, detailing how it's working to develop supply and demand for the "low-Earth orbit commercial economy."

The space agency has already entered into one contract to attach commercial modules to a space station docking port and awarded agreements for the design of three free-flying commercial space stations.

"US industry is developing these commercial destinations to begin operations in the late 2020s for both government and private-sector customers, concurrent with space station operations," NASA said in the International Space Station Transition Report published Tuesday.

The report said NASA is focused on inspiring humankind through STEM student participation, microgravity research and development, orbital activities, partnering with minority institutions, and exploring "ways to engage a diverse group of students, educators and the general public through inspirational opportunities."

NASA is also hosting hundreds of different experiments at the ISS National Laboratory, including from commercial users, government agencies and academia.

Original Submission

DECISION – 'aristarchus':

Introduction:

Actions have consequences. This is not a matter of free speech or censorship.

Doxing "Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly revealing previously private personal information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet." This is the definition upon which we are basing this decision. Legally, the term does not appear to be well-defined in the US but doxing is also covered by laws relating to harassment, threats, and abuse. Elsewhere in the world, the definitions are sometimes more clearly defined but might cover a broader interpretation than the US definitions. Which interpretation is applicable could depend on the location of the perpetrator.

Background:

We first noticed that something was amiss in late 2020. Submissions from 'aristarchus' would contain certain words, phrases and names which were apparently unconnected with the rest of the content. We were unable to understand their significance at that time, but they would be meaningful to the intended victim. (Story submissions by 'aristarchus' often contain additional material that he has inserted himself.) In almost all cases we removed them prior to posting the submission as a story because they had no bearing on the rest of the submission.

In late 2021 the doxing became more blatant both in comments that were made to stories and as well as on IRC. We also contacted the victim (by now it was obvious to us who it was) who responded and explained what had been published, where and when. We also discovered additional material that had not been seen by the victim. He had been suffering this abuse for a considerable time.

Please Note:

upstart writes:

Craob X: An Intel Alder Lake CPU-based laptop that is completely wireless & void of any connectors:

Company Craob plans to launch its newest concept laptop, the Craob X. The Craob X is a fully wireless laptop based on Intel Alder Lake CPU and utilizes the latest technology for memory and display. However, the most prominent feature is the lack of any ports on the company's design, making this the ultimate in fully wireless capability in a laptop.

My Laptop Guide was the first to report on this revolutionary laptop design. The website was able to access pictures and a few specifications on the device; however, the Craob website does offer a few details, such as a bezel-less 4K+ display and LPDDR5 connectivity.

The new Craob X laptop utilizes the Intel Core i7-1280P Alder Lake processor revealed earlier this month by Team Blue. The Craob X offers a 13.3-inch laptop size, a 4K+ bezel-less screen, and a punch-hole camera—a design much different than the latest MacBook Pro systems.

Craob's X laptop offers up to 32GB of LPDDR5 memory along with 2 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage capability. The new notebook will utilize the most contemporary WiFi6E technology for wireless connectivity.

[...] No price point is available at this time.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

US DoJ, Microsoft and 35 states support an appeal of Epic Games-Apple decision:

In another twist to the Epic Games lawsuit against Apple, the US Department of Justice (DoJ), Microsoft, and 35 state attorneys-general have all submitted legal filings disputing the lawsuit's original ruling from September last year.

The original ruling had sided with Apple on nine out of 10 counts. It found Apple engaged in anticompetitive conduct under California's competition laws, but ultimately it ruled the iPhone maker was not an antitrust monopolist.

The ruling, made by District Judge Yvonne Gonzales-Rogers, came to this conclusion as she found Apple's developer program license agreements were not contracts and other competitors had enough market share in submarkets such as mobile gaming.

That decision is now up for appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, with both Apple and Epic Games filing appeals as neither side were happy with the outcome.

In all the third-party briefs, which were filed over the weekend, the consistent argument that arose was Gonzales-Roger's interpretations of the Sherman Act[*] were too narrow and wrong. The Sherman Act is a US law that was specifically drafted to prohibit anticompetitive behaviour.

[*] Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Huge record-breaking lightning bolt spans 3 U.S. states:

It's not quite the right time to debunk that myth about lightning never striking the same place twice, as an enormous bolt has set a new global record.

The longest single flash of lightning has been captured by satellites of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, recorded and announced by the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization on Tuesday.

The "megaflash" stretched 768 kilometres (give or take 8 kilometres) or 477.2 miles (give or take 5 miles) across parts of the southern U.S. including Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi on April 29, 2020.

The flash in question measures as long as the distance between New York City and Columbus Ohio. Or if you want another, between London and Hamburg.

[...] If the WMO isn't cranking up AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" today, they're doing it wrong.

---

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Taiwan firm's takeover of German chip supplier falls through:

A proposed takeover of German chip supplier Siltronic by Taiwan's GlobalWafers has fallen through after the German government failed to give its approval by a Monday night deadline.

The Economy Ministry said Tuesday that it was unable to conclude in time its examination of the deal, worth nearly 4.4 billion euros ($4.9 billion), citing in particular antitrust approval by Chinese authorities that was granted only last week.

GlobalWafers said that the takeover offer "will not be completed and will lapse" after the inconclusive end of the 14-month review process. The company said in a statement that it "made extremely far-reaching remedy proposals and commitments to address the concerns of the German government and repeatedly offered its willingness to discuss alternative solutions."

Munich-based Siltronic, which has about 4,000 employees in Europe, Asia and the U.S., makes silicon wafers used in chips for electronic devices.

Original Submission

FBI Urges Athletes to Keep Personal Devices at Home, Use Burners During Beijing Winter Olympics

upstart writes:

FBI urges athletes to keep personal devices at home, use burners during Beijing Winter Olympics:

In a notice released on Monday, the FBI warned Olympic athletes about bringing their devices to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and March 2022 Paralympics while also raising concerns about the potential for cyberattacks against the event.

In a wide-ranging alert, the FBI said entities associated with the games should prepare for "a broad range of cyber activities to disrupt these events", including distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, data theft or leaks, phishing campaigns, disinformation campaigns, or insider threats.

The attacks would seek to "block or disrupt the live broadcast of the event, steal or leak sensitive data, or impact public or private digital infrastructure supporting the Olympics."

"Additionally, the FBI warns Olympic participants and travelers of potential threats associated with mobile applications developed by untrusted vendors. The download and use of applications, including those required to participate or stay in country, could increase the opportunity for cyber actors to steal personal information or install tracking tools, malicious code, or malware," the FBI said.

"The FBI urges all athletes to keep their personal cell phones at home and use a temporary phone while at the Games. The National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are also advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary phones due to cybersecurity concerns at the Games. The FBI to date is not aware of any specific cyber threat against the Olympics, but encourages partners to remain vigilant and maintain best practices in their network and digital environments."

owl writes:

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2022/02/tesla-recalls-53822-cars-because-they-wont-stop-at-stop-signs/

Tesla's controversial hands-free driver-assistance system is the subject of yet another safety recall. In November, the automaker had to recall nearly 12,000 cars after a software update affected some of the cars' forward-looking safety systems. Now, Tesla wants to recall 53,822 cars to remove a "rolling stop" feature that flouts traffic laws.

The issue affects Models 3, Y, S, and X running firmware 2020.40.4.10 or newer and participating in the "full self-driving" beta program. This software allows selectable moods for the car's driving style—chill, average, and assertive. And it's the last of those that's the problem.

In assertive mode, if a Tesla approaches a four-way stop intersection at less than 5.6 mph (9 km/h) and it detects no other road users or pedestrians near the intersection, it will carry on traveling at that speed instead of coming to a complete stop at the stop sign.

Tesla first released the rolling stop function in October 2020. But in January of this year, it met with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration twice, deciding to issue the recall suspending the law-breaking feature the day after the second meeting.

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Earth has a second known 'Trojan asteroid' that shares its orbit

A recently found space rock is schlepping along with Earth around the sun. This "Trojan asteroid" is only the second one discovered that belongs to our planet. And it's probably a visitor.

Trojan asteroids, which are also found accompanying Mars, Jupiter and Neptune, hang out in two locations near a planet where the gravitational pulls of that planet and the sun balance each other (SN: 10/15/21). Because of this balancing act, these locations are stable spots in space. In 2010, astronomers discovered the first known Earth Trojan — called 2010 TK7 — orbiting within one of these two regions, known as L4, tens of millions of kilometers from Earth and leading our planet around the sun (SN: 8/2/11).

Now, researchers have found another one. Dubbed 2020 XL5, this roughly 1-kilometer-wide asteroid is also at L4, astronomer Toni Santana-Ros of the University of Barcelona and colleagues report February 1 in Nature Communications.

2020 XL₅. 2010 TK₇. Earth trojan.

Journal Reference:
T. Santana-Ros, M. Micheli, L. Faggioli, et al. Orbital stability analysis and photometric characterization of the second Earth Trojan asteroid 2020 XL5 [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-27988-4)

Original Submission

upstart writes:

FCC aims to stop broadband bill shock, reviving plan nixed by Ajit Pai:

The Federal Communications Commission is moving ahead with plans to require broadband "nutrition labels" that include details on the actual price of Internet service and information about data caps and performance.

The consumer labels that home Internet and mobile broadband providers would have to provide at the point of sale will be similar to those adopted by the FCC in 2016. The labels and related rules requiring greater transparency were eliminated under former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, but the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act approved by Congress in November 2021 requires the FCC to issue new rules mandating the display of the consumer labels.

Today's 4-0 FCC vote approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks public comment on the plan. There's generally at least a few months between an NPRM and a commission vote to issue final rules. The deadline for initial comments will be 30 days after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register, and reply comments will be due 45 days after Federal Register publication. The docket where comments will be filed can be found here.

[...] "Today's FCC vote is a welcome step forward and a win for consumers," Joshua Stager, deputy director for broadband and competition policy at New America's Open Technology Institute, said today. ISPs are "notorious for keeping customers in the dark" with "hidden fees, surprise bills, and dense contracts," he said.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Hubble Space Telescope Revisits a Galactic Oddball:

The dwarf galaxy NGC 1705 is featured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This diminutive galaxy lies in the southern constellation Pictor, and is approximately 17 million light-years from Earth. NGC 1705 is a cosmic oddball — it is small, irregularly shaped, and has recently undergone a spate of star formation known as a starburst.

Despite these eccentricities, NGC 1705 and other dwarf irregular galaxies like it can provide valuable insights into the overall evolution of galaxies. Dwarf irregular galaxies tend to contain few elements other than hydrogen or helium, and are considered to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the Universe.

[...] By observing a specific wavelength of light known as H-alpha with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, astronomers aimed to discover thousands of emission nebulae — regions created when hot, young stars bathe the clouds of gas surrounding them in ultraviolet light, causing them to glow.

Original Submission

upstart writes:

US bans telecom giant China Unicom over spying concerns:

China Unicom has become the latest Chinese telecoms giant to be banned from the US over "significant" national security and espionage concerns.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it had voted unanimously to revoke authorisation for the company's American unit to operate in the US.

The firm must stop providing telecoms services in America within 60 days.

The announcement comes after larger rival China Telecom had its licence to operate in the US revoked in October.

FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said: "There has been mounting evidence - and with it, a growing concern - that Chinese state-owned carriers pose a real threat to the security of our telecommunications networks."

China Unicom told the BBC its American unit "has a good record of complying with relevant US laws and regulations and providing telecommunication services and solutions as a reliable partner of its customers in the past two decades".

Original Submission