We test drive the OpenMandriva Lx 5 “Iodine”, the latest release that combines user-friendliness with cutting-edge technology.
Source: LXer – OpenMandriva Lx 5 Review: Distribution of Simplicity and Power
Monthly Archives: December 2023
Prime members can buy a Blink Video Doorbell and two Outdoor Cameras for $100
If you recently moved into a new place or are just looking to update your home’s security, now’s a good time to do so. Though Black Friday has come and gone, Blink’s video doorbell and two fourth-generation outdoor smart security cameras bundle is currently on sale for $100 (the devices add up to $315 if bought separately). There’s a small catch, though: the deal is only available to Prime Members.
While Prime Members had access to a similar deal back in September, this time around, the two Blink outdoor cameras included are the fourth-generation model. The cameras offer better image quality and low-light sensitivity. They also have an expanded field of vision, 143 degrees compared to their predecessor’s 110 degrees. The cameras should function for two years before the battery needs replacing. The bundle includes six double AA lithium batteries, along with one Sync Module 2, one USB cable, three mounting kits and a power adapter.
Blink’s outdoor camera and video doorbell both allow you to hear and speak with whoever is outside. You can also use the doorbell wirelessly by setting up in-app chimes or with a Blink Mini indoor camera. Otherwise, you can choose to hook it up to your existing system. You can store any clips from these devices in the cloud with a 30-day trial of the Blink Subscription Plan included. After that, Blink Plus will cost you $100 annually.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prime-members-can-buy-a-blink-video-doorbell-and-two-outdoor-cameras-for-100-103504782.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Prime members can buy a Blink Video Doorbell and two Outdoor Cameras for 0
Rolls-Royce Exits Electric Propulsion To Focus On Core Businesses
Rolls-Royce announced plans to sell its electric flight division to focus on its core businesses. AeroTime reports: The sale of the electric business division could bring in between 1 and 1.5 billion pounds to Rolls-Royce coffers. In this regard, Rolls-Royce is betting on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as the main driver of decarbonization for the aviation industry. All of Rolls-Royce’s in-production engine types will be able to run on 100% SAF. The engine maker is optimistic about its new UltraFan, an improved efficiency engine technology which was successfully tested earlier in 2023. Rolls-Royce expects UltraFan engines to power both widebody and narrowbody aircraft in the future. Rolls-Royce also noted that it sees opportunities in the executive aviation segment and is targeting 8-9% growth in Pearl engine deliveries.
Rolls-Royce is currently in the middle of a restructuring program to turn itself around and boost profitability. The pandemic had a strong impact on the engine maker, as the company’s service revenues depend heavily on the number of hours engines are in use. [CEO Tufan Erginbilgic] said he expected the group to increase its profits to the 2.5-2.8 billion pound range, up from the 0.65 billion pound profit it reported in 2022. The civilian aerospace division is expected to make the largest contribution to this turnaround and reach profit margins of 15 to 17% by 2027 (compared to the group’s goal of 13-15%), up from the meagre 2.5% it reported for the last fiscal year. New submitter HammerOn1024 comments: “They are SELLING not shutting down, so keep the harping to a dull roar please.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – Rolls-Royce Exits Electric Propulsion To Focus On Core Businesses
Threadripper 7000 Series, Wayland, Linux 6.7 & Other November Highlights
November was very busy on Phoronix with all of the benchmarking around the new AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000 series, the much anticipated Framework 13 laptop review, a lot of Wayland accomplishments being made this week, excitement building around the upcoming KDE Plasma 6.0 desktop release, and the Linux 6.7 kernel getting underway with new features like the Bcachefs file-system…
Source: Phoronix – Threadripper 7000 Series, Wayland, Linux 6.7 & Other November Highlights
Roundcube Webmail Joins the Nextcloud Family
In an unexpected move, Nextcloud announces the addition of Roundcube Webmail to its growing family of open-source solutions. Here’s more on that!
Source: LXer – Roundcube Webmail Joins the Nextcloud Family
Latest Steam Client Update Improves Steam Overlay for CS2 and Other Games on Linux
Valve released today a new stable Steam Client update that brings various improvements for Linux gamers, as well as a couple of new features and numerous bug fixes.
Source: LXer – Latest Steam Client Update Improves Steam Overlay for CS2 and Other Games on Linux
A Strong Solar Storm Is Inbound With a Full Halo CME
The Space Weather Prediction Center is closely watching the arrival of a super-hot plasma eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), that will slam into Earth tonight, writes longtime Slashdot reader StyleChief. Images of the huge sunspot “rotating to face the earth” can be viewed here. The Space Weather Prediction Center reports: With 3 CMEs already inbound, the addition of a 4th, full halo CME has prompted SWPC forecasters to upgrade the G2 Watch on 01 Dec to a G3 Watch. This faster-moving halo CME is progged to merge with 2 of the 3 upstream CMEs, all arriving at Earth on 01 Dec. G3 (Strong) conditions are now likely on 01 Dec. Continue to monitor spaceweather.gov for the latest updates. “The rapid Earth-bound CME left the sun on Nov. 29 during a powerful M9.8-class solar flare eruption,” reports Space.com. “But it isn’t alone.”
“The speedy plasma outburst will merge with several slower upstream CMEs that left the sun a day earlier (Nov. 28), creating a ‘Cannibal CME’ that will likely trigger a strong geomagnetic storm akin to a Nov. 5 event that supercharged auroras and STEVE around the world.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot – A Strong Solar Storm Is Inbound With a Full Halo CME
Servo Browser Engine Continues On Its Path To Be Embed-Friendly
Following good progress in October and this former-Mozilla browser engine project receiving funding recently for “table” support, Servo developers continued implementing more functionality over the course of November…
Source: Phoronix – Servo Browser Engine Continues On Its Path To Be Embed-Friendly
Huawei is allegedly building a self-sufficient chip network using state investment fund
We’ve seen Huawei’s surprising strides with its recent smartphones — especially the in-house 7nm 5G processor within, but apparently the company has been working on something far more significant to bypass the US import ban. According to a new Bloomberg investigation, a Shenzhen city government investment fund created in 2019 has been helping Huawei build “a self-sufficient chip network.”
Such a network would give the tech giant access to enterprises — most notably, the three subsidiaries under a firm called SiCarrier — that are key to developing lithography machines. Lithography, especially the high-end extreme ultraviolet flavor, would usually have to be imported into China, but it’s currently restricted by US, Netherlands and Japan sanctions. Huawei apparently went as far as transferring “about a dozen patents to SiCarrier,” as well as letting SiCarrier’s elite engineers work directly on its sites, which suggests the two firms have a close symbiotic relationship.
Bloomberg’s source claims that Huawei has hired several former employees of Dutch lithography specialist, ASML, to work on this breakthrough. The result so far is allegedly the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S processor fabricated locally by SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), which is said to be about five years behind the leading competition (say, Apple Silicon’s 3nm process) — as opposed to an eight-year gap intended by the Biden administration’s export ban.
Huawei’s Mate 60, Mate 60 Pro, Mate 60 Pro+ and Mate X5 foldable all feature this HiSilicon chip, as well as other Chinese components like display panels (BOE), camera modules (OFILM) and batteries (Sunwoda). Huawei having its own network of local enterprises would eventually allow it to rely less on imported components, and potentially even become the halo of the Chinese chip industry — especially in the age of electric vehicles and AI, where more chips are needed than ever (as much as NVIDIA would like to deal with China). That said, Huawei apparently denied that it had been receiving government help to achieve this goal.
Given Huawei’s seeming progress, and the fact that China has been pumping billions into its chip industry, the US government will just have to try harder.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/huawei-is-allegedly-building-a-self-sufficient-chip-network-using-state-investment-fund-051823202.html?src=rss
Source: Engadget – Huawei is allegedly building a self-sufficient chip network using state investment fund
OpenZFS 2.2.2 & OpenZFS 2.1.14 Released To Fix Data Corruption Issue
Following a rare but nasty data corruption issue, OpenZFS 2.2.2 and OpenZFS 2.1.14 were released this evening to address the problem…
Source: Phoronix – OpenZFS 2.2.2 & OpenZFS 2.1.14 Released To Fix Data Corruption Issue