China Begins Mass Production of Homegrown DUV Chip Tools

The Hot Take: ASML needs competition, but I wasn't saying from China. LOL

According to The Information (paywalled), a state-backed Shanghai company has begun mass-producing China's first homegrown immersion DUV lithography machines, with about five units expected this year for SMIC, Hua Hong, and CXMT. Roughly 20 more units are expected in 2027. Tom's Hardware reports: The Information didn't name the manufacturer, but its sources described the operation as having pulled DUV development teams from several Chinese companies, one of them the state-backed startup Shanghai Yuliangsheng Technology. SMIC has been testing a…

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NVIDIA Uses 88-Core Vera CPU to Accelerate Next-Generation CPU and GPU Design

The Hot Take: Still not buying the ARM SoC's are better than discrete system CPUs. We'll have to see how Intel/AMD ACE instructions far against this.

NVIDIA has started using clusters of its own Vera processors to develop future CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators. The company says initial electronic design automation testing shows performance improvements of up to 1.

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Intel grows as strongly as it has in more than 15 years: AI boom drives Xeon demand massively

The Hot Take: Good to hear, and hope it's true.

Intel is back with unusually strong quarterly figures. In the second quarter of 2026, the company generated revenue of around 16.1 billion US dollars, 25 percent more than in the same period last year. According to Intel, this was the strongest revenue growth in more than 15 years. The data-center processor business in particular benefited […]

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Microsoft still wants to force New Outlook on everyone by 2027, even as users call it painful, and prefer Outlook Classic

The Hot Take: Trying to kill a dinosaur client.

New Outlook is “painful and drives me crazy,” one user told me as their organization prepared to ditch Outlook Classic. But does that mean Microsoft will hold off on its plans to force New Outlook? Certainly not. According to Microsoft’s roadmap, it still plans to move all Classic Outlook users to New Outlook starting in March 2027, and we’re not that far away now. New Outlook for Windows has been around for almost three years, as it was first rolled out to testers in 2023. Fast-forward to 2024, and Microsoft released New Outlook for…

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Snapdragon X Elite with GeForce RTX 4060: Windows on Arm demonstrates real eGPU capabilities for the first time

The Hot Take: Interesting, we'll see if they get the ext GPU with the SoC internal GPU issues worked out but I'm still thinking Risc-V may do it better.

Windows on Arm systems were long regarded as an interesting alternative to conventional PCs, but they were significantly limited when it came to demanding hardware support. A current test now shows that this situation is gradually changing. A notebook with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite could be successfully operated with an external NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, […]

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Intel Confirms HyperThreading Returns Starting With Coral Rapids In 2028

The Hot Take: Hopefully better implemented to prevent all the exploits of the past.

Hyper-Threading is what Intel calls its implementation of what is more academically known as "Simultaneous Multi-Threading" (SMT). This describes a method where a single processor core can interleave processing of two or more separate program threads, usually delivering an overall performance uplift on multi-threaded tasks. Intel killed off

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After OnePlus, Nothing could exit multiple global markets

The Hot Take: Mobile market consolidation it seems.

Last week, OnePlus announced what was rumored for months: its exit from the North American and European markets. Now a new report claims Nothing will follow suit, exiting 12 "or more" global markets. This includes the Middle East, Japan, and "parts of Europe". Unfortunately, the report doesn't go into any more detail about specific countries. Nothing is also said to be reducing its workforce by 40%, while its R&D unit is facing layoffs of around 50% in China and 30-40% in London. Nothing Phone (4a) Pro Obviously,…

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Intel knows it needs to ‘leapfrog’ ARM and AMD, says CEO Lip-Bu Tan

The Hot Take: I don't think so much ARM as AMD.

Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has acknowledged that the semiconductor giant must catch up to rivals AMD and Arm, and said it now assumes edge AI and robotics will be a business as big as PCs. Tan made those remarks during Intel’s Q2 earnings call, which saw the company report $16.1 billion revenue – a 25 percent year-on-year increase. “Q2 was another quarter of solid execution,” the CEO said. “Revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share were above our guidance. This marks the seventh consecutive quarter of exceeding our financial expectations.” Yet…

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Intel Foundry Securing Packaging & Wafer Deal With NVIDIA To Make Next-Gen Feynman GPUs Could Be Its Biggest Customer Win Yet

The Hot Take: USA domestic manufacturing is blowing up and saving Intel.

Intel Foundry might be heading into a big deal with NVIDIA, as the company is expected to offer packaging and wafer support for next-gen Feynman GPUs. NVIDIA Feynman GPUs Could Be Intel Foundry's Biggest Win To Date With Chipzilla Providing Both Packaging & Wafer Supply A deal between Intel and NVIDIA won't be a major surprise for those following our previous reports, but it is definitely a big win for Intel's Foundry business. Earlier this year, we reported that NVIDIA might be looking into Intel's upcoming process & advanced…

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Microsoft Responds to LG Monitors Installing McAfee Ads On Windows

The Hot Take: M$ is the only one to give us Ads on Windows 11....

LG is removing a McAfee pop-up ad from its LG Monitor App Installer after criticism that some LG monitors were silently installing the app through Windows Update and showing ads on every boot. Microsoft says LG agreed to disable the McAfee pop-up, but the broader issue remains: Windows allows certain peripheral companion apps to install automatically without notifying users. Ars Technica reports: Following Gamers Nexus' video, a Microsoft representative stated that the LG Monitor App Installer will no longer show pop-up ads for McAfee. In…

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