NVIDIA started an online firestorm this week when it announced DLSS 5 at its GTC conference. The company claims it’s meant to deliver “photorealistic” lighting and materials in games by using neural processing. But it differs considerably from previous versions of DLSS, which were focused on using machine learning to upscale lower resolutions and generate additional frames, and gamers online aren’t too happy. To help us break this down, Anshel Sag, VP and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy joins us to discuss his experience with NVIDIA’s DLSS 5 demos. Also, we dive into what’s next for Xbox with Project Helix.

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Topic

• NVIDIA announced DLSS 5, the disgust was immediate (with Anshel Sag from Moor Insights & Strategy) – 0:51

• Arizona attorney general sues Kalshi for operating an illegal gambling business – 36:22

• Polymarket users threaten the life of a reporter at The Times of Israel over accurate reporting – 36:59

• Apple announces AirPods Max 2 with improved noise cancellation – 44:33

• Elon Musk’s xAI faces class action suit over facilitating CSAM dsitribution – 47:38

• Samsung stops selling Galaxy Z TriFold after 3 months because components got too expensive – 51:22

• Around Engadget: Apple Studio XDR review, Dell XPS 16 review – 53:49.346

• Listener Mail: Stick with iPhone on Linux? And are there any good Android tablets? – 55:41

• Pop culture picks – 58:46

Credits

Hosts: Devindra Hardawar
Guest: Anshel Sag
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/engadget-podcast-why-does-everyone-hate-nvidias-dlss-5-ai-upscaling-121335918.html?src=rss

Blue Origin has revealed its plans for an orbital AI data center system in a new filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The company has asked the agency for permission to deploy 51,600 satellites, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and SpaceNews. Called Project Sunrise, the initiative aims to launch and operate a constellation of satellites that can deliver computing capacity for artificial intelligence uses.

Project Sunrise’s satellites will be placed in sun-synchronous orbits at altitudes between 311 and 1,118 miles. Each layer in the constellation will have between 300 to 1,000 satellites and will be approximately 3 to 6 miles apart. In its filing, Blue Origin said the constellation would complement terrestrial data centers.

The satellites will, of course, will be fitted with solar panels to be able to gather energy from the sun. Blue Origin explained that the orbital AI data center will lower the “marginal cost of compute capacity compared to terrestrial alternatives,” because the satellites will be powered by the sun, won’t need land and won’t need grid infrastructure. Project Sunrise will “enable US companies developing and using AI to flourish, accelerating breakthroughs in machine learning, autonomous systems and predictive analytics,” Blue Origin added.

By filing its request with the FCC, Blue Origin has officially joined SpaceX in the list of companies looking to build an AI data center in space. In January, SpaceX asked the FCC for permission to deploy 1 million satellites for its constellation. The company justified at the time that “orbital data centers are the most efficient way to meet the accelerating demand for AI computing power.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/blue-origin-also-wants-to-put-ai-data-centers-in-space-115614142.html?src=rss

Welcome to Edition 8.34 of the Rocket Report! The most important significant news this week, I believe, is the decision by Canada to make a serious investment in launch infrastructure at a spaceport in Nova Scotia. Tensions have risen between the United States and Canada of late (for reasons which are baffling to this author, who has always had an affinity for the nation to our north), and as a result Canada is seeking launch independence. This is an important start, but it will require a sustained, long-term commitment to really develop a flourishing launch industry.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Canada makes major commitment to space launch. The country’s leading minister of national defense, David J. McGuinty, announced on Monday a $200 million investment in “core infrastructure” for a spaceport in Nova Scotia. The investment is a 10‑year, $200 million agreement to lease a dedicated space‑launch pad that will serve as the central foundation for a multi-user spaceport near Canso, Nova Scotia. The facility is operated by Maritime Launch Services.

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The film adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel Project Hail Mary hits general release today, March 20, and it’s great—go see it! Though a little light on the science, the movie goes hard on the relationship between schoolteacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) and an extraterrestrial named Rocky, and it’s a ride well worth taking.

But as good as it is, the movie shares a small flaw with the book: Despite having very few things in common, Grace and Rocky learn to communicate with each other extremely quickly. In fact, Grace and Rocky begin conversing in abstracts (concepts like “I like this” and “friendship”) in even less time than it takes in the book. Obviously, there are practical narrative reasons for this choice—you can’t have a good buddy movie if your buddies can’t talk to each other. It’s therefore critical to the flow of the story to get that talking happening as soon as possible, but it can still be a little jarring for the technically minded viewer who was hoping for the acquisition of language to be treated with a little more complexity.

And because this is Ars Technica, we’re doing the same thing we did when the book came out: talking with Dr. Betty Birner, a former professor of linguistics at NIU (now retired), to pick her brain about cognition, pragmatics, cooperation, and what it would actually ake for two divergently evolved sapient beings not just to gesture and pantomime but to truly communicate. And this time, we’ll hear from Andy Weir, too. So buckle up, dear readers—things are gonna get nerdy.

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BrianFagioli writes: Opera GX has officially landed on Linux, bringing its gamer-focused browser experience to Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and openSUSE-based systems. The browser includes GX Control for limiting RAM and network usage, a Hot Tabs Killer to shut down resource-heavy tabs, and built-in sidebar integrations for Discord and Twitch. Opera says this is not just a one-off port, but a long-term effort with ongoing updates and community engagement. “PC gaming has long been associated with a single dominant platform, but that’s changing,” says Maciej Kocemba, Product Director at Opera GX. “Bringing GX to Linux users — who are renowned for the control they like to exert over their tools — means gamers and developers can manage browser resources, customize their setup, and keep their system performing exactly the way they want.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

AleRunner writes: “China is helping Cuba race to capture renewable solar energy as the United States imposes an effective oil blockade on the Caribbean island, creating its worst energy crisis in decades,” reports The Washington Post. Later in the article, it states that “China’s decades-long push into clean energy technology is now helping to protect it from the soaring oil and gas crisis spurred by Trump’s war against Iran,” and that “Chinese exports of solar equipment to Cuba skyrocketed from about $5 million in 2023 to $117 million in 2025 and show no sign of stopping.” According to researchers from Ember, solar could be responsible for as much as 10% of Cuba’s electricity generation. “That would be among the fastest expansions of solar energy anywhere […] and place Cuba ahead of most countries — including the U.S. — in the share of electricity generated by sun power,” the report says.

As the Iran war drives energy prices higher, countries around the world are working overtime to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. China sees this as a big opportunity. “Chinese authorities have made clear that they intend to replicate what they’re doing in Cuba elsewhere,” reports the Washington Post.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.