The recently announced remake of The Witcher is getting more than just a visual upgrade, CD Projekt Red confirmed in a new investor presentation. Instead, the first game in its critically-acclaimed adaptation of the fantasy series will get the full-blown open world treatment. That’s good news for everyone who’s been…
Source: Kotaku – Remake Of The First Witcher Game Promises An Open-World Overhaul
Alexa, are you feeling okay? Amidst ongoing reports of turmoil in the tech industry from mass layoffs to consumer privacy issues, there has been buzz around the future of Amazon’s iconic voice assistant. As former employees and sales trends paint a devastating picture for the fate of Amazon’s Alexa, the technology is…
Source: Gizmodo – Amazon Alexa’s ‘Colossal Failure’ Is Just a Symptom of a Larger Hemorrhage in the Tech Industry
Amazon’s cloud-computing unit is rolling out new chips designed to power the highest-end of computing, supporting tasks such as weather forecasting and gene sequencing. From a report: Amazon Web Services, the largest provider of over-the-internet computing, on Monday said it would let customers rent computing power that relies on a new version of its Graviton chips. Peter DeSantis, a senior vice president who oversees most of AWS’s engineering teams, said in an interview that the product is a springboard for making what the industry calls high-performance computing more readily available.
The newest chip is the latest piece of Amazon’s effort to build more of the hardware that fills the massive data centers that power AWS. Amazon says making its own chips will give customers more cost-effective computing power than they could get by renting time on processors built by the likes of Intel Corp., Nvidia Corp. or Advanced Micro Devices. The move has put AWS in direct competition with those companies, which are also among its biggest suppliers. DeSantis said the chipmakers remain “great partners,” and that AWS plans to continue to offer high-performance computing services based on chips made by other companies.
On Tuesday, AWS Chief Executive Officer Adam Selipsky announced a new version of the Inferentia chip, which is designed to draw inferences from vast amounts of data. Inferentia2 is built to handle bigger sets of data than its predecessor, enabling things like software-generated images or detecting and interpreting human speech, Amazon said. […] The latest version of AWS’s line of Graviton processors, the Graviton3E, will have twice the ability of current versions in one type of calculations needed by high-performance computers, DeSantis said. When combined with other AWS technology, the new offering will be 20% better than the previous one. Amazon didn’t say when services based on the new chip would be available.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Amazon’s New Chip Moves AWS Into High-Performance Computing
There are many requirements to install CShell Checkpoint and SNX on Ubuntu. Bypass these requirements by using a chroot wrapper.
The post CShell/SNX chrooted Wrapper Automated Setup for Linux appeared first on Linux Today.
Source: Linux Today – CShell/SNX chrooted Wrapper Automated Setup for Linux
Pizza is a delicious convenience that most of us appreciate in that moment when we want a hot meal (that we didn’t have to prepare) delivered straight to us. But what comes next—storing the leftovers—can be tricky. Pizza boxes are not exactly easy to fit into the refrigerator, but you know you’re going to want to…
Source: LifeHacker – The Best Ways to Store Leftover Pizza
If history is anything to go on, Google won’t announce the next entry in its Pixel A series until I/O 2023. That means we could be waiting as much as six months before the company is ready to share any substantial information on the device. Of course, that’s not stopping the rumor mill from getting an early start on leaking details about the Pixel 7a.
Over on Smartprix (via XDA Developers), Steve Hemmerstoffer of OnLeaks fame has shared early renders of the upcoming device. Unsurprisingly, the images suggest the Pixel 7a will look a lot like its predecessor and Google’s 2022 flagships. According to Smartprix, the dimensions of the new device are nearly identical to the Pixel 6a, with the former reportedly coming in at 10.1mm thick at the camera bump. The phone also looks to feature relatively thin bezels, a not-so-prominent chin and a center display cutout for the selfie camera.
Notably, the renders indicate the Pixel 7a will feature a SIM tray on its left side, suggesting – at least for the time being – Google won’t follow Apple’s decision to go all in on eSIM. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the search giant has decided to bring back the headphone jack; the analog port is nowhere to be found on the Pixel 7a.
The more interesting aspects of the Pixel 7a may be features that don’t show up in renders. According to Smartprix, the phone is likely to feature a 90Hz display from Samsung and an upgraded main camera sensor from Sony. It could also be the first Pixel A series phone to feature wireless charging. That’s about all we know about the device at the moment. However, we’re certain to get a fuller picture of the Pixel 7a as more information leaks, or when Google decides to get ahead of the rumor mill like it did with the Pixel 4.
Source: Engadget – Shockingly, the Pixel 7a will probably look a lot like the Pixel 6a
The Great Barrier Reef is in danger and should be labeled with that official designation on the list of World Heritage sites, according to a joint assessment by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The report,…
Source: Gizmodo – UN Wants to List the Great Barrier Reef as ‘in Danger.’ Australia Disagrees
Low-polygon models, blurry textures, and low-resolution effects are replaced with shiny new upgrade in Portal with RTX. [credit:
Nvidia ]
Valve’s first-person puzzle-platformer Portal was a genuine phenomenon when it was released back in 2007, and its core gameplay mechanics—solving puzzles and thwarting enemies by shooting interconnected portals onto various surfaces—still hold up today. But the game’s visuals haven’t aged as well, particularly its low-resolution textures; it was built using the same game engine and some of the same assets as 2004’s Half-Life 2, and there’s only so much that a modern GPU can do to spruce it up.
Enter Portal with RTX, a remastering of the game with ray-tracing effects and other improvements that Nvidia says will be available for free to all Portal owners starting on December 8. The update was originally announced in September alongside the RTX 4000-series GPUs. Developed by Lightspeed Studios, Portal with RTX doesn’t just add fancy lighting effects to the original but also includes “hand-crafted hi-res physically-based textures” and “enhanced high-poly models” that substantially overhaul the aging game’s visuals for the modern era.
As a DirectX 9 game from early in the Xbox 360 lifespan, the original Portal runs well on just about anything, including old Intel-integrated GPUs. But Portal RTX‘s system requirements are a lot higher; Nvidia lists the RTX 3060 as the minimum recommended GPU and says it can achieve “playable” 30 FPS frame rates at 1080p with DLSS enabled. Jumping to 60 FPS at 1080p requires an RTX 3080 with DLSS enabled, while hitting 60 FPS at 4K will require at least an RTX 4080 with DLSS 3 enabled. The CPU and RAM requirements also climb along with the GPU requirements (check the Nvidia-provided system requirements table below).
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Source: Ars Technica – Free ray-tracing update will overhaul Portal’s graphics on December 8
By his own admission, Elon Musk jumps into sleep’s deep, dark nothingness next to a pistol in a box with Washington Crossing the Delaware on it, four drained, gold, caffeine-free Diet Coke cans, and a replica of a Deus Ex: Human Revolution gun held together by screws.
Source: Kotaku – Elon Musk Sleeps Next To A Deus Ex: Human Revolution Gun For No Reason
Two major tabletop conventions are happening this weekend: Dragonmeet in London and Pax Unplugged in Philadelphia, and if you’re going to either, I am very jealous and hope you have a wonderful time. So many of my favorites will be there; if you’re in the UK say “hi” to Rowan, Rook and Decard at Stall 41 and if you’re…
Source: Gizmodo – The Gaming Shelf Seeks Out Far Horizons
I love Apple Music, but I’ll admit, at this time each year, I’m jealous seeing everyone’s Spotify Wrapped. Apple Music lets me imagine I have a sophisticated taste with an expertly curated library, while Spotify lets its customers bask in the embarrassment of their actual listening history. I, too, want to be humbled.…
Source: LifeHacker – Apple Music Finally Has Its Version of ‘Spotify Wrapped’
Federal water authorities warned California cities and industrial water users to prepare for water cuts in 2023 as the state enters what is likely to be a fourth consecutive year of drought.
Source: Gizmodo – California Cities Brace for Water Cuts and a Fourth Year of Drought
Sometimes Fairy-type Pokémon look cute and are cute. Other times they look cute and they want to kill you and your entire family. Tinkaton falls squarely into the latter category. In fact, it even has a preferred victim: the spooky-looking Corviknight.
Source: Kotaku – This Scarlet And Violet Pokémon Might Commit Murder And Fans Are Obsessed
Enlarge / The Pixel 4. (credit: Ron Amadeo)
Google and iHeartMedia—the US’s biggest radio station operator—are being hit with a false advertising lawsuit for ads they ran about the Pixel 4 (which we found to be overpriced and full of half-working experiments). The FTC and four states say the companies aired “nearly 29,000 deceptive endorsements by radio personalities” during 2019 and 2020, with Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine saying that “Google and iHeartMedia paid influencers to promote products they never used, showing a blatant disrespect for truth-in-advertising rules.” The two companies have settled the lawsuit and will be required to pay $9.4 million in penalties.
Google’s ads had on-air personalities give first-hand accounts of how much they liked the Pixel 4, but, to quote the FTC’s press release, “the on-air personalities were not provided with Pixel 4s before recording and airing the majority of the ads and therefore did not own or regularly use the phones.” Therefore the first-person claims made in the ads, like, “It’s my favorite phone camera out there, especially in low light, thanks to Night Sight Mode,” “I’ve been taking studio-like photos of everything,” and “It’s also great at helping me get stuff done, thanks to the new voice-activated Google Assistant that can handle multiple tasks at once,” can’t be true.
It seems like everything would have been fine if these ads weren’t in first-person. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey explains: “It is common sense that people put more stock in first-hand experiences. Consumers expect radio advertisements to be truthful and transparent about products, not misleading with fake endorsements. Today’s settlement holds Google and iHeart accountable for this deceptive ad campaign and ensures compliance with state and federal law moving forward.”
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Source: Ars Technica – Influencers were paid by Google to promote a Pixel phone they never used
Enlarge (credit: Russell Burden)
Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan parasite that can infect any warm-blooded species. In lab studies, infection with T. gondii has been shown to increase dopamine and testosterone levels along with risk-taking behaviors in hosts including rodents, chimps, and hyenas. Oh, and humans.
But its effects have not really been studied in the wild, so some researchers decided to assess how infection impacts gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. They found that “the odds that a seropositive [infected] wolf becomes a pack leader is more than 46 times higher than a seronegative wolf becoming a pack leader.”
Serum samples have been taken from the wolf packs in Yellowstone since 1995. These scientists assayed samples from 229 individual wolves taken over the years—116 males, 112 females, and one hermaphrodite—to try to correlate the presence of antibodies against the parasite with demographic factors and specific behaviors. (The relationship between antibodies and infection is complicated, given that the parasite can persist at low levels indefinitely after infections.)
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Source: Ars Technica – Behavior-changing parasite moves wolves to the head of the pack
Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano erupted for the first time in 40 years, and has NASA watching a few of its space-related facilities in the nearby area. Mauna Loa is the world’s largest volcano, which erupted late Sunday, November 27, 2022.
According to U.S. Geological Survey, Mauna Loa erupted at 11:30 p.m. local time. Since the initial eruption,
Source: Hot Hardware – Why NASA Is Closely Watching Eruption Of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, The Largest Volcano On Earth
Tall as a 20-story building, a rocket carrying the Shenzhou 15 mission roared into the night sky of the Gobi Desert on Tuesday, carrying three astronauts toward a rendezvous with China’s just-completed space station. From a report: The rocket launch was a split-screen event for China, the latest in a long series of technological achievements for the country, even as many of its citizens have been angrily lashing out in the streets against stringent pandemic controls.The air shook as the huge white rocket leaped into a starry, bitterly cold night sky shortly before the setting of a waxing crescent moon. The expedition to the new space station is a milestone for China’s rapidly advancing space program. It is the first time a team of three astronauts already aboard the Tiangong outpost will be met by a crew arriving from Earth. The Chinese space station will now be continuously occupied, like the International Space Station, another marker laid down by China in its race to catch up with the United States and surpass it as the dominant power in space.
With a sustained presence in low-Earth orbit aboard Tiangong, Chinese space officials are preparing to put astronauts on the moon, which NASA also intends to revisit before the end of the decade as part of its Artemis program. “It will not take a long time; we can achieve the goal of manned moon landing,” Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s crewed space program, said in an interview at the launch center. China has been developing a lunar lander, he added, without giving a date when it might be used. The launch of Shenzhou 15 comes less than two weeks after NASA finally launched its Artemis I mission following many delays. That flight has put its uncrewed Orion capsule into orbit around the moon.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – China Launches Astronauts To Newly Completed Space Station
SpaceX is readying a Falcon 9 rocket for launch on early Wednesday morning. The mission, featuring both private and public payloads, exemplifies the current state of the spaceflight industry and the changing manner in which we’re exploring space.
Source: Gizmodo – SpaceX Set to Launch Private Moon Lander, Along with NASA ‘Flashlight’ Probe
Enlarge / This ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano from 2019, passively cooled with a big heatsink, was $145 when the author last looked on eBay. It’s not a Raspberry Pi, and it looks like Batman’s reception desk system, but it can do the work. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)
“Raspberry Pi boards are hard to get, probably also next year,” says Andreas Spiess, single-board enthusiast and YouTuber, in his distinctive Swiss accent. He’s not wrong. Spiess says he and his fellow Pi devotees need “a strategy to survive” without new boards, so he suggests looking in one of the least captivating, most overlooked areas of computing: used, corporate-minded thin client PCs.
Andreas Spiess’ suggestion to “survive” the Raspberry Pi shortage: cheap thin clients.
Spiess’ Pi replacements, suggested and refined by many of his YouTube commenters and Patreon subscribers, are Fujitsu Futros, Lenovo ThinkCentres, and other small systems (some or all of which could be semantically considered “thick clients” or simply “mini PCs,” depending on your tastes and retro-grouch sensibilities). They’re the kind of systems you can easily find used on eBay, refurbished on Amazon Renewed, or through other enterprise and IT asset disposition sources. They’re typically in good shape, given their use and environment. And compared to single-board enthusiast systems, many more are being made and replaced each year.
They’ve always been there, of course, but it makes more sense to take another look at them now. “Back to the future,” as Spiess puts it (in an analogy we’re not entirely sure works).
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Source: Ars Technica – Used thin client PCs are an unsexy, readily available Raspberry Pi alternative
Pokémon is no stranger to item duplication glitches, and players have already discovered some big ones in Scarlet and Violet. While an earlier version of the exploit required precise button press timing and a lot of hassle, a new and improved version lets players endlessly multiply their rarest items super fast.
Source: Kotaku – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Duplication Glitch Creates Endless Items
