NASA Tests Out 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine!

One promising technology is the Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE), which relies on one or more detonations that continuously travel around an annular channel. In a recent hot fire test at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the agency achieved a new benchmark in developing RDE technology. On September 27th, engineers successfully tested a Read more about NASA Tests Out 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine![…]

EU Parliament adopts Right to Repair law with broad support

[…] At the Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, the right to repair was adopted with 590 votes in favour. The legislative file, first presented by the EU Commission in March, aims to support the European Green Deal targets by increasing incentives for a circular economy, such as making repair a more attractive option than replacement Read more about EU Parliament adopts Right to Repair law with broad support[…]

Particle Accelerator can now be built on a Chip

Particle accelerators range in size from a room to a city. However, now scientists are looking closer at chip-sized electron accelerators, a new study finds. Potential near-term applications for the technology include radiation therapy for zapping skin cancer and, longer-term, new kinds of laser and light sources. Particle accelerators generally propel particles within metal tubes Read more about Particle Accelerator can now be built on a Chip[…]

IBM chip speeds up AI by combining processing and memory in the core

  Their massive NorthPole processor chip eliminates the need to frequently access external memory, and so performs tasks such as image recognition faster than existing architectures do — while consuming vastly less power. “Its energy efficiency is just mind-blowing,” says Damien Querlioz, a nanoelectronics researcher at the University of Paris-Saclay in Palaiseau. The work, published Read more about IBM chip speeds up AI by combining processing and memory in the core[…]

BMW Ends Heated Seat Subscriptions Because People Hated It

Last year, BMW underwent media and customer hellfire over its decision to offer a monthly subscription for heated seats. While seat heating wasn’t the only option available for subscription, it was the one that seemed to infuriate everyone the most, since it concerned hardware already present in the car from the factory. After months of Read more about BMW Ends Heated Seat Subscriptions Because People Hated It[…]

Magic Leap 1 Vaporware Headsets Will Cease To Function After 2024

Magic Leap 1 AR headsets will “cease to function” from 31 December 2024, the company announced. Magic Leap sent an email to all customers containing the following: As such, we are announcing that Magic Leap 1 end of life date will be December 31, 2024.  Magic Leap 1 is no longer available for purchase, but Read more about Magic Leap 1 Vaporware Headsets Will Cease To Function After 2024[…]

SanDisk Extreme SSDs Are ‘Worthless,’ Multiple Lawsuits Against WD Say – wipe your data

Last week we wrote about a lawsuit against Western Digital that alleged that the firm’s solid state drive didn’t live up to its marketing promises. More lawsuits have been filed against the company since. ArsTechnica: On Thursday, two more lawsuits were filed against Western Digital over its SanDisk Extreme series and My Passport portable SSDs. Read more about SanDisk Extreme SSDs Are ‘Worthless,’ Multiple Lawsuits Against WD Say – wipe your data[…]

Water-soluble circuit boards could cut carbon footprints by 60 percent

German semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG announced that it’s producing a printed circuit board (PCB) that dissolves in water. Sourced from UK startup Jiva Materials, the plant-based Soluboard could provide a new avenue for the tech industry to reduce e-waste as companies scramble to meet climate goals by 2030. Jiva’s biodegradable PCB is made from Read more about Water-soluble circuit boards could cut carbon footprints by 60 percent[…]

100x Faster Than Wi-Fi: Light-Based Networking Standard Released

Today, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has added 802.11bb as a standard for light-based wireless communications. The publishing of the standard has been welcomed by global Li-Fi businesses, as it will help speed the rollout and adoption of the  data-transmission technology standard. Advantages of using light rather than radio frequencies (RF) are Read more about 100x Faster Than Wi-Fi: Light-Based Networking Standard Released[…]

How Hardware Testing Got Plugged Into A Continuous Integration Framework

The concept of Continuous Integration (CI) is a powerful tool in software development, and it’s not every day we get a look at how someone integrated automated hardware testing into their system. [Michael Orenstein] brought to our attention the Hardware CI Arena, a framework for doing exactly that across a variety of host OSes and microcontroller Read more about How Hardware Testing Got Plugged Into A Continuous Integration Framework[…]

“Clearly predatory”: Western Digital sparks panic, anger for age-shaming HDDs, making it impossible to repair RAID pools

When should you be concerned about a NAS hard drive failing? Multiple factors are at play, so many might turn to various SMART (self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology) data. When it comes to how long the drive has been active, there are backup companies like Backblaze using hard drives that are nearly 8 years old. Read more about “Clearly predatory”: Western Digital sparks panic, anger for age-shaming HDDs, making it impossible to repair RAID pools[…]

US judge grants final approval to Apple’s $50m broken ‘butterfly’ keyboard settlement

A US federal court this week gave final approval to the $50 million class-action settlement Apple came to last July resolving claims the company knew about and concealed the unreliable nature of keyboards on MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers released between 2015 and 2019. Per Reuters (via 9to5Mac), Judge Edward Davila on Thursday Read more about US judge grants final approval to Apple’s $50m broken ‘butterfly’ keyboard settlement[…]

HP Can’t Fix Bricked Printers After Faulty Firmware Update which bricked non HP-ink cartridges

Last week the Telegraph reported that a recent firmware update to HP printers “prevents customers from using any cartridges other than those fitted with an HP chip, which are often more expensive. If the customer tries to use a non-HP ink cartridge, the printer will refuse to print.” Some HP “Officejet” printers can disable this Read more about HP Can’t Fix Bricked Printers After Faulty Firmware Update which bricked non HP-ink cartridges[…]

HP disables customers’ printers if they use ink cartridges from cheaper rivals

Hewlett-Packard, or HP, has sparked fury after issuing a recent “firmware” update which blocks customers from using cheaper, non-HP ink cartridges in its printers. Customers’ devices were remotely updated in line with new terms which mean their printers will not work unless they are fitted with approved ink cartridges. It prevents customers from using any Read more about HP disables customers’ printers if they use ink cartridges from cheaper rivals[…]

Samsung to pay out $303M for memory patent infringement to Netlist.

Samsung Electronics has been stung for more than $303 million in a patent infringement case brought by US memory company Netlist. Netlist, headquartered in Irvine, California, styles itself as a provider of high-performance modular memory subsystems. The company initially filed a complaint that Samsung had infringed on three of its patents, later amended to six Read more about Samsung to pay out $303M for memory patent infringement to Netlist.[…]

Chips Act: Council and European Parliament strike provisional deal

The Council and the European Parliament have reached today a provisional political agreement on the regulation to strengthen Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, better known as the ‘Chips Act’. The deal is expected to create the conditions for the development of an industrial base that can double the EU’s global market share in semiconductors from 10% to Read more about Chips Act: Council and European Parliament strike provisional deal[…]

Microsoft Readies AI Chip as Machine Learning Costs Surge

After placing an early bet on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, Microsoft has another secret weapon in its arsenal: its own artificial intelligence chip for powering the large-language models responsible for understanding and generating humanlike language. The Information: The software giant has been developing the chip, internally code-named Athena, since as early as 2019, according Read more about Microsoft Readies AI Chip as Machine Learning Costs Surge[…]

Researchers synthesize graphene using intense light

DGIST Professor Yoonkyu Lee’s research team used intense light on the surface of a copper wire to synthesize graphene, thereby increasing the production rate and lowering the production cost of the high-quality transparent-flexible electrode materials and consequently enabling its mass production. The results were published in the February 23 issue of Nano Energy. This technology Read more about Researchers synthesize graphene using intense light[…]

EU right to repair law could see fixes for up to 10 years for more goods, still offers ways out though

The European Commission has adopted a new set of right to repair rules that, among other things, will add electronic devices like smartphones and tablets to a list of goods that must be built with repairability in mind. The new rules [PDF] will need to be need to be negotiated between the European Parliament and Read more about EU right to repair law could see fixes for up to 10 years for more goods, still offers ways out though[…]

RGB on your PC – OEM bloatware alternatives tested (with an ASUS)

RGB on your PC is cool, it’s beautiful and can be quite nuts but it’s also quite complex and trying to get it to do what you want it to isn’t always easy. This article is the result of many many reboots and much Googling. I set up a PC with 2×3 Lian Li Unifan Read more about RGB on your PC – OEM bloatware alternatives tested (with an ASUS)[…]

Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers

[…] “With the help of a quantum annealer, we demonstrated a new way to pattern magnetic states,” said Alejandro Lopez-Bezanilla, a virtual experimentalist in the Theoretical Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lopez-Bezanilla is the corresponding author of a paper about the research in Science Advances. “We showed that a magnetic quasicrystal lattice can host Read more about Qubits put new spin on magnetism: Boosting applications of quantum computers[…]

Knots smaller than human hair make materials unusually tough and (de|re)formable

[…] In the latest advance in nano- and micro-architected materials, engineers at Caltech have developed a new material made from numerous interconnected microscale knots. The knots make the material far tougher than identically structured but unknotted materials: they absorb more energy and are able to deform more while still being able to return to their Read more about Knots smaller than human hair make materials unusually tough and (de|re)formable[…]

Reaserchers propose Organoid intelligence (OI): the new frontier in biocomputing and intelligence-in-a-dish

[…] Human brains are slower than machines at processing simple information, such as arithmetic, but they far surpass machines in processing complex information as brains deal better with few and/or uncertain data. Brains can perform both sequential and parallel processing (whereas computers can do only the former), and they outperform computers in decision-making on large, Read more about Reaserchers propose Organoid intelligence (OI): the new frontier in biocomputing and intelligence-in-a-dish[…]