The Hot Take: Interesting new physics? He re-writing the laws of physics?
Like his promise to get a million robocabs on the road, this doesn't add up Elon Musk has put Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI in harness to build a chip fabrication outfit called "Terafab" capable of producing a terawatt's worth of computing power each year, then send most of it into space.âŚ
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: Only going to shoot costs up on Ai accelerators and RAM or Samsung Chips.
Samsung Electronics' labor union has voted overwhelmingly to initiate dispute proceedings following a breakdown in wage negotiations, raising concerns over potential disruptions to the supply of HBM4 memory for Nvidia's next-generation AI accelerators.
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: Only after weeks of articles about Linux gaming coming for your piece of the pie?
Microsoft has now confirmed itâs scaling back âupsellsâ (or ads/recommendations) in Windows 11 as part of its efforts to make the operating system a bit âcalmer.â On March 20, Microsoft announced a major update for Windows 11 that focuses on performance and quality-of-life improvements. Microsoft said itâs making File Explorer faster, moving the Start menu to WinUI 3 from React, adding an option to pause Windows updates for as long as you want, and even cutting back Copilot in apps like Notepad. The big release with the movable taskbar is being tested because Windows 11âs reputation has been at an all-time low for various reasons. For example, this yearâs first Windows update triggered BitLocker recovery, affected the performance of games, caused boot issues, and even crashed some PCs with a Black Screen of Death. However, these bugs arenât the only problem hurting Windows 11âs reputation. The primary reason is that the company has been adding Copilot to all areas of the OS, including the Start menu and even Notepad. The Copilotification of Windows has pushed back Microsoftâs loyal audience, including enterprises, and some upset users have coined the term âMicroslop.â Microsoft plans to reduce ads in Windows 11 The company is in damage-control mode, and itâs taking steps to win back Windows 11 usersâ trust, including plans to roll back the requirement for a Microsoft account during OOBE. That broader reset also appears to include Windows 11âs built-in promotions. As first spotted by Windows Latest, in a post on X, Scott Hanselman, one of the engineering leaders spearheading Windows fixes, said a âcalmer and more chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal,â which is one of the clearest signs yet that Microsoft is at least aware users are tired of being nudged toward its own services across the OS. Scottâs statement was in response to a userâs complaint that Microsoft employs âborderline malware tacticsâ to push things like Edge, Bing, and ads into the Start menu. And itâs actually true. For those unaware, Microsoft previously tried to show Bing Chat (now Copilot) pop-ups when it detected the default browser was Chrome. Bing pop-up ad in Google Chrome showing after some server-side update | Image Courtesy: WindowsLatest.com Microsoft also tried to automatically reset default browser settings and installed the Bing extension when you clicked on the Bing Chat pop-up. The pop-up was rolled back after outrage, but itâs just one of the many examples of how ads have ruined Windows. Thankfully, Microsoft is considering reducing these upsells, but it doesnât look like the ads will disappear entirely. âYes, a calmer and more chill OS with fewer upsells is a goal,â says Scott Hanselman, VP, Member of Technical Staff at MSFT. Itâs not a formal product announcement, but it does suggest the company wants Windows 11 to feel less noisy and less pushy. Windows 11 has an upsell problem Microsoft has a history of promoting its own products as âsuggestedâ apps in Windows 11, and those efforts have multiplied with Windows 11, where there are ads for Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and even Copilot during the first setup screen (OOBE). Likewise, if you use Chrome as your default browser, Microsoft often uses full-screen alerts to nudge you to use Edge instead. Itâs true that you can turn off some of these ads, including the âsuggestedâ apps in the Start menu from Settings > Personalization > Start, but I wouldnât call that a real solution. The real solution is simple: Windows shouldnât have ads because youâve paid for it when you bought the operating system or the device that came pre-installed with it. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. The post Microsoft says itâll make Windows 11 a calmer OS with fewer upsells or ads, as it tries to win back users appeared first on Windows Latest
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: What happens when you have a dual-opoly between 3 major chip makers.
It doesnât sound like Crimson Desert, the recently released prequel to Black Desert Online, will support Intel Arc GPUs anytime soon, if at all. On the gameâs FAQ page, its developer Pearl Abyss advised players expecting Arc support to apply for a refund. âIf you purchased the game expecting Intel Arc support, please refer to the refund policy of the platform where the game was purchased for available options,â the company wrote. Apparently, though, itâs not from lack of guidance from Intel. The chipmaker told Wccftech that it reached out to Pearl Abyss âmany timesâ over the past several years. The Intel spokesperson said that the company has tried to help the developer âtest, validate, and optimize support for Intel graphicsâ for years. Intel also tried to provide the developer âearly hardware, drivers, and engineering resourcesâ across several generations of GPUs, âincluding Alchemist, Battlemage, Meteor Lake, and Lunar Lake.â The chipmaker said itâs âhugely disappointed that players using Intel graphics hardwareâ canât play the game, but that it remains âready to assist Pearl Abyssâ however it can. It also advised players to reach out directly to the developer for âdetails on the choice not to enable Intel support at launch.âPearl Abyss, of course, doesnât have the obligation to tweak the game so that it runs on PCs with Intel Arc GPUs. The good news is that since the title came out just a few days ago, it will still be easy to get a refund. Steam, where Crimson Desert is now one of the top-selling games, issues refunds within two weeks of purchase. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/intel-says-crimson-desert-devs-ignored-offers-of-help-to-support-arc-gpus-155514896.html?src=rss
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: I would love this, brings back more privacy if you ask me.
Microsoft's big sweeping set of improvements coming soon to Windows 11 don't address its controversial Microsoft account requirements, but that might soon change.
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: We'll own nothing and be happy folks.
Japanese PC peripherals and accessories stalwart Elecom has announced that it is pulling out of the Blu-ray drive market.
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: Microsoft is just consuming Linux one bite at a time for sure...
Canonical has announced a collaboration with Microsoft to integrate Ubuntu Pro security features with Microsoft Defender, improving protection for enterprise Linux systems. This brings advanced threat detection and response tools into Ubuntu environments, giving organizations a more unified way to secure critical workloads across platforms. Linux is at the center of many enterprise systems, from cloud infrastructure to databases and transaction platforms, so tightening its security is a clear priority. Canonical connecting its Ubuntu Pro service directly with Microsoft Defender means firms running Ubuntu will be able to plug into Microsoftâs broader security ecosystem without needing to stitch separate tools⌠[Continue Reading]
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: Intel hopefully catches up. We'll have to see what the real word benches say.
When an apparent Medusa Point APU based on AMD's next-generation Zen 6 architecture found its way to Geekbench earlier this week, the big news was the amount of reported L3 cache. Well, whoever is uploading benchmark runs of the mystery chip to Geekbench has done so again, and this time the highlight is on the performance and what looks like
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: So we can lock in that price gouging?
Samsung is reportedly pushing memory customers into surprise three- to five-year supply contracts. It thinks it can spot price swings âearly onâ and adjust investment before it gets caught with too much new capacity and nowhere to ship it. Samsung chief executive Jun Young-hyun said, âWe are now working with our major customers to shift this transaction environment toward fixed-term supply contracts, three- to five-year contracts. We expect to be able to identify fluctuations [in the market] early on and, because we are aware of them in advance, we will be able to flexibly adjust our investment scale accordingly.â That is a sharp turn from a few months ago, when Samsung was reportedly so slammed it barely had room for quarterly contracts, never mind multi-year ones. Under the cunning plan, Samsung gets a longer view of demand for planning and expansions, while customers get a âslight discountâ off todayâs prices in exchange for less uncertainty. The arrangement would help Samsung keep DRAM pricing steadier by âlocking inâ peak shortage levels, even if demand cools and the cycle normally rolls downhill. For consumers, it risks prolonging the pain, since earlier estimates of the DRAM cycle easing in 2027-2028 seem optimistic if supply is already tied up. Suppliers have been muttering that the boom might not last âToo Longâ, and multi-year deals look like another way to avoid over-investment while keeping everyone else boxed out. Â
Read the full articleThe Hot Take: Looks like we're all jumping on the bandwagon to out price tech....
"This year is the most severe year since the company was founded," MSI told investors.
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