Danh mục: Tin tức

There’s been no slowing down in the LK-99 alleged superconductor breakthrough saga. Yet instead of it becoming clearer whether or not LK-99 is “the First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor” as claimed by the original Korean Authors, we’re left with more questions than answers. The original poster of one of the Billibilli videos circulating on the Internet and seemingly proving LK-99’s levitation ability has come forward, and admitted his clip was a hoax. 

The video in question is allegedly from the University of Science and Technology in Beijing and purports to show a small black substance floating in the air as it follows a magnet. According to the video’s poster, he did it for “attention grabbing purposes” – it was a way to coast the hype around LK-99. Well, he did write “LK-99” and “levitating”, which sounds about right for the purpose. You can see the original video below (if you expand the… tweet? X?).

This original (and now debunked) video doesn’t look very good, no; the angle is a weird one to choose (but it’s not like everyone has to also be a cinematographer); and there’s an overall sketchiness to it. But even if it looked great, it could still be a fake as could any of the videos we’ve reported on in our coverage. 

We should note, however, that there are at least two other LK-99 levitation videos circulating, which have not been withdrawn or disproven. As we reported previously, these videos come from Huazong and Wuhan universities.

Whenever a claim as momentous and potentially civilization-changing such as “we’ve found the world’s first room-temperature superconductor” is made, noise is bound to follow. And sometimes the noise gets to you, which is why it’s important to note that whether LK-99 is or isn’t legit is still very much up in the air.

Granted, the scientific community usually doesn’t have to deal with social media-spread videos when it’s evaluating whether or not a given paper has merit. But even focusing on the hard science (which we want to be clear, replicable, and truthful) and moving on to the boundaries of peer-review scientific process, it becomes difficult to deal with the noise. 

After all, papers have been published in Nature claiming “near-ambient” superconductivity that have been proven as hoax and described as “a very disturbing picture.” And let’s not forget that the Korean author’s paper is still pending the outcome of a proper peer-review process. 

Superconductors are attractive because they are impactful, and everyone wants their own black swan. However, materials science is a messy affair that plays in the same realm as quantum physics. 

The original paper also lacks crucial information that you’d think would be there. Neither the cooking time (how long at what temperatures the mixtures have to stay within a vacuum oven for LK-99 to be synthesized and whether there’s thermal variation at any moment) nor the quench rate (the same, but when it needs to cool down) are, however, well-documented.

The video poster ultimately claimed that the experience of being a part of the noise had changed him, and that he’d be more cautious with his actions and words in the future. 

We should all be so lucky.

The RTX 4060 Ti 16GB might be one of the least attractive GPUs due to its $500 price point, but according to a review by Daniel Owen, the GPU is substantially quicker than the $100 cheaper 8GB model in several modern games. In his review, Owen compared the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB to the 8GB model to see how much of a performance difference the extra VRAM capacity would provide. He found the RTX 4060 16GB provides roughly 40% extra performance in several modern 2023 titles at 1080p and 1440p resolutions. At 4K resolution, the additional VRAM is even more beneficial, giving the 16GB card twice the performance of the 8GB model (on average).

It’s worth mentioning that the 4060 Ti 16GB’s capacity is only advantageous in games that spill over 8GB of memory capacity. Nonetheless, Owen’s review found that quite a few 2023 titles will take advantage of more than 8GB of memory.

The tech YouTuber compared the 16GB version of the RTX 4060 Ti to the 8GB version in seven modern AAA 2023 titles, including Rachet and Clank: Rift Apart, Jedi Survivor, Forespoken, Cyberpunk 2077, Resident Evil 4, Remnant 2 and The Last of Us Part 1. Testing was also conducted at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions with various game settings (including RT settings) to see how the GPUs behave in different scenarios.

Rachet and Clank: Rift Apart is one of the most sensitive applications to the 4060 Ti 16GB’s extra memory capacity. At 1080p Very High with RT enabled, the 16GB was 34% faster than the 8GB model. At 1440p, this lead was boosted to 43% and at 4K, the 4060 Ti 16GB was 85% quicker. With RT disabled, the 4060 Ti 16GB lost a bit of its lead but was still more than 30% faster at 1080p and 1440p, and over 50% quicker at 4K.

Lowering graphics quality settings to High (with no RT) made the 16GB card a whopping 50% quicker than the 8GB model at 1080p. We’re not sure how this is possible, but we suspect this might be a bug with the game. So take this result with a grain of salt.

Another VRAM-sensitive title is Resident Evil 4 (2023), where the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB was 12% faster at 1080p, 9% faster at 1440p, and 24% quicker at 4K — with the game running at its maximum settings with RT effects. Tho interestingly, the 1% lows in this game are particularly sensitive to the 8GB limitation on the lower-end 4060 Ti, revealing a 77% to 113% performance advantage in 1% lows for the 16GB card at 1080P, 1440P, and 4K.

However, not all of the latest 2023 releases need more than 8GB of memory to perform well. Owen found that the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB saw no noteworthy performance improvements with Remant 2 and Jedi: Survivor at 1080P or 1440P — even with both games running in their highest graphical settings (with RT enabled on Survivor). The only exception is at 4K resolution, where the 16GB card was 7% faster in Remant 2 and 14% more performant in Jedi: Survivor compared to the 8GB model.

For a full breakdown of the rest of the games Daniel Owen tested, check out his full review on his YouTube channel.

As far as VRAM utilization is concerned, all of the games that performed better on the 16GB card did not use the whole 16GB. The most demanding title was Resident Evil 4, utilizing just 12.1GB of memory at the game’s maximum settings at 4K resolution. The rest of the games (and tested resolutions) sat below 12GB, with most hovering in the 9GB to 11GB range. This is great to see and means the RTX 4060 Ti 16GB will have the additional memory capacity to spare as it ages.

Daniel Owen also tested VRAM utilization with resolution upscaling to see how that might benefit the RTX 4060 Ti 8GB. Interestingly Owen found that DLSS 3 frame generation negatively affects VRAM consumption and consumes more video memory than standard DLSS upscaling with frame generation disabled.

In testing with Cyberpunk 2077, he found that the game will consume 8426MB of VRAM at 1440P RT Ultra settings on the 16GB 4060 Ti. With DLSS Quality, memory usage drops by over a full Gigabyte down to just 7249MB, but with Frame Generation enabled, VRAM usage goes back up to 8GB (or 8000MB) roughly.

The RTX 4060 Ti 8GB suffers from the same problem, but less so since the game is approaching the hardware’s 8GB limit. The 8GB memory is still a bottleneck, providing less FPS than the 16GB card, even with DLSS enabled. (To clarify, DLSS quality mode saw the closest performance gap between the two cards.)

Overall, Owen found that the more expensive RTX 4060 Ti 16GB can be substantially faster in some games, particularly at 4K resolutions, than its 8GB counterpart, proving that 8GB can be a bottleneck even on a mid-range GPU like the 4060 Ti. However, Owen’s results also demonstrate that the 16GB’s additional capacity is not-beneficial in all games, at least for now. It’ll be interesting to see how games evolve down the road and if we’ll see more of a performance gap between the two cards if games utilize more than 8GB of memory.

With all the rage on superconductors zipping through the news (looking at you, LK-99), it’s sometimes easy to let other stories fly under the radar. But science happens everywhere, all the time: now, a research team with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a superconducting device that they say will bring improved energy and thermal efficiency to electronics. Their work was published in an online issue of Physical Review Letters.

Like LK-99 (which is still going through a messy replication and peer-review process), the MIT-designed diode (a kind of switching device) is still in its design infancy. Yet even so, Jagadeesh Moodera (lead author) et al. say this diode is already twice as efficient as previous diode architectures when it comes to carrying current (and preventing losses), with ample design room left to improve its characteristics.

It could even impact quantum computing. And in fact, this development came as a serendipitous discovery as the team looked into Majorana fermions, one of the building blocks of topological qubits, a yet-to-be-vindicated qubit design that’s been pursued by none other than Microsoft. The team soon realized their Majorana-inspired work on superconducting diodes could be easily transferred into the realm of classical (i.e., non-quantum) circuits.

Diodes are a crucial part of any chip, and are an integral part of a circuit’s design. While transistors are used to amplify input signals from low resistance circuits to high resistance circuits within the chip, diodes are usually responsible for converting alternate current (AC) to direct current (DC). 

With chip design being forcefully constrained by the amount of heat generated by electrical losses (a bottleneck that’s seen increasingly more complex transistor designs and new cooling technologies that deal with these issues in a limited manner), the benefits of lossless diodes in improving computing and thermal efficiency shouldn’t be underestimated.

All the hallmarks of a superconductor were required to make the super-efficient diodes. The MIT research team showed that tiny differences between the edges of the diode devices could be optimized (by adding serrated edges, or applying other deformations). That’s why the design is still open for optimization: the amount of possible design variations is enormous, and there’s only so much time to find what the best asymmetrical configuration is. 

The design quirk shows that even microscopic differences in materials can result in disproportionate results. These diodes also have superconducting hallmarks such as the Meissner effect and the ability to lock into pre-existing magnetic fields (known as flux pinning).

Speaking with SciTechDaily, Philip Moll (Director of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Germany and not involved in the research) said that the MIT team’s paper showcases how superconducting diodes are now an “entirely solved problem from an engineering perspective”. He also added that the record efficiencies showcased by the design were hit “without even trying”, with structures being “far from optimized yet”. That sounds like perfectly smart (although still hard) science.

Crucially, the team says its superconducting diode is robust, and is able to operate over a wide temperature range while potentially opening the door to new technologies and designs. Adding relevancy to the discovery, the engineers say these diodes’ design is simple and compatible enough that it’s easily scalable – millions of them can be produced across a single silicon wafer.

So let’s get them out here already?

Intel’s 14th Generation Raptor Lake Refresh processors will definitely fight for a spot on the list of best CPUs. It shouldn’t be long before Intel unleashes its new chips as benchmarks of the Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K have started to emerge.

The Core i9-14900K is a 24-core processor with 32 threads, containing eight P-cores and 16 E-cores. It serves as the direct replacement for Intel’s Core i9-13900K, the current flagship of the 13th Generation Raptor Lake lineup. On the other hand, there’s the Core i7-14700K, which will succeed the Core i7-13700K. However, the Core i7-14700K has a minor upgrade in its core configuration. Whereas the Core i7-13700K features eight P-cores and eight E-cores, the Core i7-14700K sports four additional E-cores.

Being a refresh, the Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K will logically have higher clock speeds than their Raptor Lake counterparts. It’s a shame that the Crossmark benchmark doesn’t show the processors’ clock speeds. If the early rumors are legit, the Core i9-14900K may have a 6-GHz boost clock, 200 MHz higher than the current Core i9-13900K but on the same level as the Core i9-13900KS.

As with any preliminary benchmarks, we recommend you throw some salt over the results. According to Crossmark, the Raptor Lake Refresh processors were inside test systems with 16GB of DDR5-4800 memory, which is an intriguing choice since Intel’s new platform seemingly supports DDR5-6400 out of the gate. Both systems also had the GeForce RTX 4090 as their discrete graphics card.

Core i9-14900K, Core i7-14700K Benchmarks

Overall, the Core i9-14900K was up to 14% faster than the Core i7-14700K. If we look at the individual results, the former had 15%, 12%, and 20% higher productivity, creativity, and responsiveness scores. Unfortunately, that’s the extent of the comparison because the Core i9-14900K and Core i7-14700K results were significantly lower than their existing counterparts. Since the results aren’t accurate, comparing the chips to its AMD Ryzen rivals doesn’t make sense.

It’s possible that the tested chips were ES (engineering sample) or QS (qualification sample) silicon with lower clock speeds. One of the tested chips was inside an Acer PC, suggesting that it’s an OEM system, which we know nothing about, for example, the power configuration or cooling.

At any rate, we shouldn’t get our hopes up for Raptor Lake Refresh, bringing a considerable performance improvement. As per alleged Intel performance projections, the new hybrid chips may only be between 1% to 3% faster than Raptor Lake. Remember that this is a refresh and probably the last breath of air for Intel’s LGA1700 platform.

Raptor Lake Refresh rumors point to an October release. However, the announcement may come sooner. Intel has scheduled its Intel Innovation 2023 event for September 19 to 20; therefore, we could see a Raptor Lake Refresh unveiling. Intel did confirm that it’ll talk about Meteor Lake at the event, so that’s something to look forward to.

Kioxia on Monday introduced one of the industry’s first families of solid-state drives for hyperscalers featuring a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface and capacities of up to 30.72TB. The CD8P line-up of SSDs is designed for mixed use and read intensive workloads and feature all the reliability features that one comes to expect from datacenter-grade SSDs designed to work for 24/7.

Kioxia’s single-port CD8P solid-state drives come in E3.S and U.2 form-factors and offer a wide range of capacities starting at 1.6 TB and ending at 30.72 TB. As for performance, the manufacturer rates the drives at up to 12,000 MB/s sequential read speed, up to 5,500 MB/s sequential write speed, up to 2,000,000 random read 4K IOPS, and up to 400,000 random write 4K IOPS. 

The new drives are a bit slower than enterprise-grade CM7 SSDs launched a year ago. Those drives are designed for enterprise workloads and have different performance (up to 14,000 MB/s) and feature set requirements (e.g., dual-port, FIPS SED). 

The new CD8P SSDs use Kioxia’s proprietary SSD platform consisting of its own NVM 2.0-compliant controller, firmware, and 112-layer BICS 5 3D TLC NAND memory that supports the company’s 7th Generation flash die failure protection to ensure reliable data storage, power loss protection, and end-to-end data protection. In addition to regular CD8P models, Kioxia will also offer SKUs supporting Sanitize Instant Erase (SIE) and Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) capabilities. Meanwhile, CD8P will not be available with FIPS SED capability.

It should ne noted that Kioxia will offer its CD8P SSDs in two types of configurations: the CD8P-V for mixed-use workloads (up to three drive writes per day) will come with 1.60 TB, 3.20 TB, 6.40 TB, and 12.8 TB capacities, whereas the CD8P-R for read-intensive applications (up to one drive writes per day) will be offered in 1.92 TB, 3.84 TB, 7.68 TB, 15.36 TB, and 30.72 TB capacities. 

While Kioxia is introducing its new CD8P SSDs at the Flash Memory Summit and plans to show them up and running at the show, it does not disclose when these drives are set to be available. Given that they are aimed mostly at hyperscalers, Kioxia will ship them once its customers validate and qualify them in their environments.

If your 3D printer does not deposit enough filament during printing, it might have under-extrusion issues. When the printer is supposed to extrude a specific amount of filament, it falls short of that amount, resulting in various issues with your print quality, like poor layer adhesion, stringing and oozing, and even imperfections in the surfaces. Under-extrusion can result from many factors, and you need to take your time to know the root cause and fix it. Below we highlighted the different ways you can use to fix under-extrusion problems.

Method 1: Clean the 3D Printer Nozzle

Start by checking the nozzle for any blockages and clean it. You can use a sharp needle or wire to see if it will unclog the nozzle.

If it doesn’t, you can try the cold pull method. Follow the steps below to use this method.

1. Remove the Bowden tube from the extruder.

2. Heat the hotend to the temperature suitable for the filament type you have been using. For example, 200-220C if you are using the PLA filament.

3. Cut a small length of filament to use for the cold pull. Ensure it’s from the filament you will be using. 

4. Insert the small filament into the hotend, then wait till you see it starting to ooze out.

5. Cool down the hotend until it reaches around 60-90C. 

6. Apply a little pressure, then quickly pull the filament out of the hotend. The goal is to ensure that the filament has much contact with the nozzle walls to remove any debris as you pull it out.

7. Inspect the filament and check if it has any signs of debris. The cold pull successfully cleaned the nozzle if it had residue at the tip, but you can still repeat the process if more clogs are present.

The above method should fix the issue, but you should consider removing it and soaking it in a cleaning substance if it doesn’t. Follow the steps below to do so.

1. Heat the hotend to the normal printing temperature for your filament like we did above.

2. Soak the nozzle in a container with a cleaning solution like acetone. Then allow it to soak for a few minutes to loosen any clogs or residue that might be stacked.

3. Wipe and dry the nozzle using a soft cloth, then reassemble it back into the hotend, ensuring it is properly seated and tightened.

4. Load the filament again to the extruder and see if it extrudes consistently.

Method 2: Check the Extruder Components

Some parts of the extruder, especially the tensional arm and the gear system, might experience wear and tear over time, and this can result in cracking or breakage at some point as it feeds and pushes the filament to the hotend. This is a common issue in Ender 3 users, as indicated in the responses on the under-extrusion issue on Reddit.

A broken 3D printer extruder may not apply even pressure on the filament, leading to inconsistent feeding. So, inspecting the extruder and seeing if any part is broken and, if necessary, repairing or replacing it is crucial. If your 3D printer uses a plastic extruder, you should consider switching to a metal one.

Moreover, even if the tensional arm and gear systems are okay, applying too much or low pressure to the filament on the extruder might cause issues. So you should check the strews or tensions on the extruder to ensure that they are not too tight or loose.

Method 3: Check Your Filament

Inspect the filament for any tangles or knots that can cause resistance and affect the smooth flow of the material. It’s also important to ensure that the filament you are using matches the diameter of your nozzle. You can measure using a caliper or a filament gauge. Also, make sure the filament spool is mounted correctly, allowing the filament to unwind smoothly.

Additionally, you should ensure the filament you are using is of high quality as those of low quality might have irregularities in the diameter and even inconsistency in material composition. Impurities can also contribute to under-extrusion issues, so using a clean filament is essential.

Also, properly store your filament in a dry and dust-free environment, as moisture absorption can affect the filament’s properties. Consider using airtight containers or filament dry boxes to maintain optimal filament conditions.

Method 4: Inspect the Bowden Tube for Severe Wear and Tier

Any wear or damage to the Bowden tube can affect impact filament flow, leading to under-extrusion issues. Though this is not a common cause of under-extrusion, it’s important to take the time to check if it has any issues.

You can examine the entire length of the Bowden tube for any visible signs of wear or cracks as you pay attention to areas where the tube bends or enters fittings.

If possible, you can remove it and inspect it more closely and ensure that the inside diameter of the tube is smooth and free from any obstructions, such as melted filament or debris. Any blockages can hinder the smooth flow of filament. If you notice any severe issues, you should consider replacing it with a new one.

Method 5: Perform Extruder Calibration

Calibrate the extruder steps per millimeter to ensure it accurately feeds the expected amount of filament. Before adjusting your extruder settings, you must know if your extruder setup is Bowden or direct drive. In Bowden, the motor is located on the frame of the 3D printer, and in direct drive, it is mounted directly on the print bed, usually above or beside the hotend.

Follow the steps below to calibrate your 3D printer extruder.

1. Remove the tube from the hotend and cut the filament at the end of the tube if you are using a Bowden extruder.

If you are using a direct drive, you will take a caliper and measure around 100-150mm, then mark the filament at that length.

2. Send a G-code command to your 3D printer to extrude a specific length of the filament. For example, G1 E100 F100 will extrude 100mm of filament at a 100mm/min speed.

3. Measure the distance from the mark on the filament to the entry point of the extruder if you are using a dual extruder. This measurement represents the actual extruded length. If you are using a Bowden extruder, you will measure how much filament came out of the tube.

4. Calculate the new steps/mm value using the formula: New Steps/mm = (Current Steps/mm) * (100 / Actual Extruded Length), then update it.

5. Repeat steps 4 to 7 a few times to ensure consistency. Calculate a new steps/mm value each time and update the firmware settings accordingly.

Method 6: Adjust Your Slicer Settings

There are settings in your slicer that can affect extrusion. One of those settings is the temperature. Ensure that the settings you use are appropriate for your specific filament material. You can consider printing a smart temperature tower to determine the ideal temperature for your specific filament.

The temperature tower comes with different temperature segments, allowing you to identify the temperature that produces the best print quality. 

You should also check the flow rate compensation settings. This is an option to compensate for flow rate variations within a print. This feature can help address under-extrusion issues in specific parts of the print. You can find these settings in the Experimental section of the slicer.

Also, consider adjusting the print speed to ensure the extruder can keep up with the required filament flow. Reducing the print speed can help prevent under-extrusion, especially in complex or detailed parts. 

In addition to temperature and speed settings, ensure you set the filament diameter accurately in your slicer material settings. If you are using Cura slicer, go to Preferences > Configure Cura, then select your material. In my case, it’s PLA filament, so I will click Generic PLA then adjust the diameter.

If the value is incorrectly configured, it can lead to under-extrusion issues during 3D printing.

Method 7: Check Hardware Components

Begin by checking the extruder motor for any physical damage or abnormalities. You can also look for signs of overheating and loose connections. After that, check the stepper drivers and motors and ensure they are correctly set and not slipping.

You can inspect all wiring connections and ensure you insert and secure them correctly in their respective ports.

Remember that tangled wires could cause intermittent issues with the motor’s operation.

Method 8: Adjust Retraction Settings

Fine-tuning the retraction distance and speed as the hotend moves between non-printed sections can effectively resolve the issue. This adjustment improves filament flow control during non-printing movements, preventing filament oozing and ensuring consistent filament deposition when the print head reaches the intended 3D printing section. 

When the retraction settings are not set correctly, you might experience under-extrusion in some sections, and other sections will experience over-extrusion as the filament oozes. Also, there can be issues with stringing.

You can access retraction settings in the Travel section of the print settings.

Optimal retraction settings may vary, but you must experiment with different retraction distances and speeds and perform test prints. The retraction test model from Thingiverse is a good test print that you can use to find the correct retraction settings.

If you try all the above techniques, you should be able to fix the issue. If not, you should consider replacing the entire extruder and see if the issue has been resolved and the print quality has improved.

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Whether the Radeon RX 7900 GRE deserves a spot on the list of best graphics cards remains to be seen. With the latest Navi 31-based graphics card starting to be globally available, it may not be long before we see how it stacks up to AMD’s other RDNA 3 offerings.

The Radeon RX 7900 GRE (Golden Rabbit Edition) retails for $649 in the Chinese market. However, the graphics card is slowly becoming available outside China via system integrators. German retailer MemoryPC has as many as six different prebuilt gaming systems powered by the latest Radeon RX 7900 GRE. Pricing varies between $1,098.25 to $1,922.76, including value-added tax (VAT) and free shipping.

The cheapest prebuilt system revolves around the Ryzen 5 5600, 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, and an Adata Legend 710 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD. Meanwhile, the high-end systems feature the Ryzen 7 5800X3D or the Core i9-12900K, two of the best CPUs for gaming. The former has 32GB of DDR4-3600 with a WD Black SN850X 1TB SSD, while the latter comes with 32GB of DDR5-5600 and a WD Blue SN570 1TB drive. As for the Radeon RX 7900 GRE, MemoryPC is utilizing the XFX-branded MBA (Made by AMD) reference design for its gaming PCs.

The Radeon RX 7900 GRE has also made its way over to Australia. PLE Computers is currently selling a prebuilt PC for a whopping $2,277.54. The price tag is a bit excessive for what’s inside the gaming system, but computer hardware is typically more expensive in Australia.

The Australian gaming PC comprises the Ryzen 7 7700 paired with 32 GB of DDR5-5600 and a 2 TB Crucial P3 Plus SSD. Like MemoryPC, PLE Computers has used the XFX Radeon RX 7900 GRE for the prebuilt machine. Besides XFX’s reference model, Sapphire and PowerColor have announced their Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE and Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, respectively so there are at least two more custom options for system integrators. Unlike the MBA model, the custom SKUs will likely carry a slight premium due to their aggressive design and factory overclock.

Thus far, we haven’t seen any U.S. system integrators offering Radeon RX 7900 GRE-based gaming PCs. For the impatient, you can always buy the retail Radeon RX 7900 GRE off one of the Chinese online retail platforms, such as JD.com, but you’ll end up paying more than the $649 due to customs duty and shipping. Give it some time, and we’ll probably be able to purchase the Radeon RX 7900 GRE through a third-party merchant at Newegg or eBay, like countless other hardware.

Hundreds of people around the world are lining up around orbs to get their irises scanned for WorldCoin, Sam Altman’s world identity project. But when a Proof of Personhood can also net you a $50 return and promise you an anonymized world identity ID, there may be reasons to accept.

Hundreds of people the world over are lining up to get their irises scanned by looking into a seemingly bottomless steel orb. It’s not that they’re trying to peer into the abyss and that it stares back; rather, most are hoping to collect 25 units (~$50) worth of WorldCoin, the divisive cryptocurrency that’s the brain-child of Sam Altman and co (yes, that same Sam Altman from OpenAI and ChatGPT). 

But while free money – even if it’s digital – is always an enticing prospect, questions surrounding the technology have given detractors more than ample reason to urge caution. It’s not everyday you have to give up your biometrics to enter the party – dystopian fiction has been written on much less impactful premises.

Of particular concern to detractors is the fact that WorldCoin aims to build up a “real human” database  that’s both an identity and a financial network. Identity through iris scans; financial network through the WorldCoin app actually being a crypto wallet compatible with the project’s own WorldCoin token (as well as the big two of Bitcoin and Ethereum).

As Altman sees it, the world’s future hangs in the balance of being able to accurately separate human entities from non-human ones (such as bots, AI agents, or others) – something known as a “proof of personhood.” Human relationships depend on an unspoken trust: you are human, and so am I. When you can’t identify what’s on the other side, how do you openly interact with it? What are the rules of engagement? Is it a person with a history, pain and experience, or a chatbot agent trained to spread misinformation? In a way, the uncertainty of whether you’re talking to a human or a bot is a problem unto itself.

Of course, for AI companies such as Altman’s OpenAI, there’s also the “small” issue of data provenance. Until research conclusively shows that AI engines can be safely trained on their own outputs without going MAD, AI companies have all the interest in being able to separate what data has come from a human being (in this case, emergent data, or the data that’s naturally produced through the record of life) from the data produced by an AI matrix (in this case, referred to as synthetic data).

So there’s also a vested economic interest behind WorldCoin — one that seems to be built on a positive feedback loop between collecting profits from AI products, and distributing those AI-generated profits throughout the world’s humans. It’s good, then, that most of the project is open-source: public scrutiny seems a necessary and desired outcome. And there are reasons why WorldCoin isn’t still available in the U.S.

That database — and the where and how that data is being collected through WorldCoin orbs – are the oft-cited complaints against the project. On the darker side of the story, are reports of deception, exploited workers, and cash handouts, with forgeries and stolen identities already being present in a growing black market. On the better side of the story, perhaps we can already count the two million plus users that WorldCoin has seemingly built most of its database (to date) on. 

The issue of digital literacy is present; it’s likely that some of the people scraping by below the poverty line of $2 a day were scammed out of their return – you still have to be able to sell the WorldCoins you receive in your wallet and convert them into the currency you actually need (however many steps that might take). That’s a lot of steps to take for some. For others, however, it will result in them receiving the equivalent of a month’s work. That can alleviate a lot of pressure, and perhaps even offer turnarounds for some human beings.

But then again, at what cost?

WorldCoin assures us that our identities are anonymized unless we expressly wish otherwise. This is achieved by encrypting the iris data as it’s being scanned: by operating as an L2 (Level-2) Layer blockchain built atop Ethereum, WorldCoin’s “Identity” data is encrypted using zero knowledge proofs. If correctly implemented, this method should be “flawless” at anonymizing the iris data, “scrambling” it into a data pattern that’s unique (and because you did it in person staring into the guts of a vaguely Oblivion-looking orb, there’s the proof of personhood).

But it’s easy to see why people could be wary: the possibility of your immutable, personal and intransmissible digital identification card based on your (encrypted) iris scan being leaked, stolen, or misused presents incredibly increased risks compared to losing your usual government-issued ID card. 

This iris scanning becomes even more of a problem when you take into account that WorldCoin does want to become the world’s leading (we’d think unique) digital identity system, which invariably means that governments and other third-parties too will be able to verify your identity using WorldCoin’s system and infrastructure. 

WorldCoin, like OpenAI, is one of those companies that launch such tremendously impactful projects that they’re almost certain to succeed – somehow, somewhere. For every person who dislikes the idea of AI or a digital identity system running on blockchain, another one sees potential in it. WorldCoin hopes  (and expects) to hit one billion sign-ups by the end of 2023.

It’s not uncommon to find scooter rental services is many major cities across the world. But when things don’t work out and the businesses close shop, they usually take spare stock with them. However, when Spin backed out of Seattle, many residents discovered unused scooters scattered throughout the city. Upon closer inspection of these abandoned devices, or should we say dissection, it was uncovered that they each have a Raspberry Pi 4B inside.

This discovery was recently shared to social media where Pi enthusiasts are simultaneously befuddled and ready to book their tickets to Seattle. Legally speaking, if the scooters are abandoned then snagging one for the Pi inside is fair game but it’s currently not clear if Spin has plans to recover their remaining assets.

The Seattle government has an official blog available to the public where we were able to confirm that Spin was originally welcomed to the city back in 2021 as a fourth scooter rental option. However, the company did not renew its license for the most recent cycle as they gear up to shift focus to other markets. Because of this, you can find a few remaining Spin scooters around the city.

As of writing, it’s not clear what the Raspberry Pi 4 Bs were actually used for inside the scooter. At first glance, it seems like an overpowered option for something like an electric scooter but without exact confirmation of its purpose, we can only speculate. No doubt it requires much more power than something smaller like a Raspberry Pi Zero.

In the meantime, residents have taken to finding these scooters and exploring their insides for the hardware left behind. We can see the Pi 4 is attached to a HAT and has something resembling a NoIR connected to the camera module port. Again, the exact purpose of each component and how it was implemented is unclear.

If you want to get a closer look at the insides of one of these Spin scooters, check out some of the pictures shared to social media. We’re not suggesting anyone fly out to Seattle any time soon just to harvest Pis as they’re much more affordable now that the supply has replenished. That said, it’s still fascinating to find something like a Pi 4 out in the wild and in an abandoned state.

India has revised its unexpected decision to restrict PC and tablet imports without a license, now offering companies a three-month window to obtain the necessary documents. The licensing mandate is set to take effect from November 1, reports Bloomberg. This move comes after large PC makers halted imports due to the surprising directive.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) clarified late last week that companies could continue their electronic imports, including laptops and tablets, without a license until October 31. To facilitate this transition, the government is streamlining the licensing application process, with the possibility of approvals within just a day. This move is not just about regulation but is part of a broader initiative to boost local manufacturing and position India as a global tech manufacturing hub. 

There is a problem with local manufacturing of PCs. While major electronic manufacturing service companies like Foxconn have established their presence in India, companies like Apple cannot really make their PCs at those factories since they require advanced tools and a lot of engineering. 

India’s government seems to understand that it is difficult to transfer production of state-of-the-art PCs to the country as major EMS companies do not have advanced factories in India. That’s why they are rolling out a financial incentive worth $2.1 billion that aims to attract global tech manufacturers to India. The initiative may make sense, though, as many companies are looking to diversify their supply chains away from China.

The initial decision caught the tech industry by surprise, especially with significant events like India’s Diwali shopping season and the back-to-school phase on the horizon. Major players like Apple, HP, and Samsung paused their imports of their desktops, laptops, and tablets to India following the abrupt order. The industry was left in a lurch, trying to navigate the sudden change and its implications for their operations in the country. 

But now that PC makers have three months to obtain import license, they can continue business as usual. Furthermore, chipmaker Intel expects limited impact on its sales in the country, partly because if a global player reduces shipments of Intel-based PCs to India, a local player will pick up the baton and will get CPUs from the blue company.

“The legal and regulatory landscape for the semiconductor industry is constantly evolving, and Intel respects the relevant regulations of the jurisdictions in which it operates,” an Intel spokesperson told Tom’s Hardware. “We continue to examine the new requirements issued by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry and expect limited impact to Intel and our customers.”

Right now at Newegg, you can find the WD_Black SN770 2TB SSD for one of its lowest prices to date. It’s currently marked down to $109 as part of a Shell Shocker deal but using promo code SSCU3A89 will take the price down even further to $88.

We reviewed the WD_Black SN770 SSD when it first debuted late last year and regarded it as a quality SSD. It stood out with fast performance speeds and was already set at a good price making today’s deal that much more worth it. The offer is scheduled to expire by the end of today.

The WD_Black SN770 SSD comes in a range of capacities starting at 250GB, going up to 500GB and 1TB. Today’s discount applies only to the 2TB model, however. All of the drives in this line have an M.2 2280 form factor and connect using a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface. They use a WD NVMe Architecture controller and Kioxia BiCS5 112L TLC memory. The 2TB edition can reach speeds as high as 5150 / 4850 Mbps.

The purchase is supported by a limited 5-year manufacturer’s warranty from Western Digital that voids should the drive reach 1200TBW. This limit changes depending on the drive capacity. Users also have a 30-day return policy through Newegg they can take advantage of.

Visit the WD_Black SN770 2TB SSD product page at Newegg for purchase options and don’t forget to use promo code SSCU3A89 at checkout.

A parodical open letter addressing the scientific community was published before the weekend. Taking its tone from the quite alarmist Pause Giant AI Experiments paper, which was published in March and included signatories such as Elon Musk, the new open letter asks humanity to Pause Random Superconductor Experiments.

The parody letter gets off to a galloping start with its subheading calling on “all labs and kitchens to immediately pause for at least 6 months the making of conductors with lower resistance than copper.” Then the letter quickly establishes its case for caution, pausing superconductor experiments that could cause astonishing challenges. It asserts that the worlds of physics and technology could be changed forever, and this is backed by “top scientific institutions and Russian anime cat girls.”

Our last quote from the opening paragraph, as you must go and enjoy this ‘open letter’ fully for yourself, delivers a barb to famous names like Mr Musk. It echoes the Pause Giant AI Experiments letter by fretting that the level of planning and management is falling short. Thus scientists may be unleashing “ever more potent superconducting materials that no one – not even the crypto bros turned AI bros turned superconductor bros themselves – can fully comprehend, predict, or reliably control and hype.” Should we say Ooof?

We have left you a lot more of the Pause Random Superconductor Experiments letter to read and enjoy, including a warning about “unelected scientists.” However, we were particularly delighted by some incidental flourishes from the creators of this parody.

For example, the new open letter is hosted at FutureofLiff.org, while its inspiration is to be found on the Future of Life Institute’s campaign site for steering transformative technology (FutureofLife.org). The Future of Liff clearly takes its inspiration from The Meaning of Liff (1983), a witty dictionary of toponymy and etymology written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd.

We also feel compelled to point out that the “number of signatories” to the parody is 293K, which hasn’t changed since we saw this humorous post yesterday. This is certainly due to 293K being equivalent to room temperature in Kelvin.

For some readers, the cherry on the parody cake will be the delicious selection of signatories. Of the ten individuals, who are unquestionably leaders in their fields of expertise, we would most like to know more about: Sir Percival Ferroflux, Magnet Magnate; Countess Valentina Quenchfield, Inheritor Emerald and Copper Mines Company; and Baron Reginald Cryogenius, Executive Director of Superconducting Infrastructure and Cryoplumbing Development.

For more serious semiconductor coverage, please check out our recent articles on the Messy LK-99 Superconductor Creation Process and our updated piece on how recent independent demonstrations have shown Superconductors Levitating At Room Temperature.

When it comes to revitalizing old hardware, no SBC is quite as versatile as the Raspberry Pi. You can cram a Pi into anything from an old typewriter to a Commodore 64 with some exciting results depending on how far you want to take it. Today, we’re sharing another cool project that revitalizes old hardware with new tech created by Saugat Gamuwa with Maker Sci over at YouTube. In his latest video, Gamuwa shows us how he managed to transform an old CRT TV into a smart TV.

It doesn’t take any special PCB or niche hardware to pull off this project. All you need is a Raspberry Pi capable of streaming video so anything from a Pi 4 to a Pi Zero will suffice and the right adapter to output said video to the CRT. In this case, he’s got an AV to HDMI adapter on hand which is more than capable of giving us the compatibility we need.

There are several different ways you can take advantage of a project like this and it mostly boils down to the software you decide to implement on the Pi. For example, while Gamuwa is using a Pi to make a smart TV, you could easily turn this into a gaming project by setting up an emulator for retro consoles using something like RetroPie or Lakka.

Gamuwa provided a full list of hardware used in this project. Most of it is necessary but some of it is specific to his project because of the model of Pi chosen. Gamuwa is using a Raspberry Pi Zero W which has a mini HDMI port. Because of this, he is using a mini HDMI to HDMI converter to connect the Pi Zero W to an AV to an HDMI adapter. This adapter connects the Pi to the CRT.

For the operating system, Gamuwa is using a tool called OSMC. This is an open-source tool that stands for Open Source Media Center. It provides the smart TV functions we need that let you play videos not just locally on the Pi but from streaming apps and more. OSMC has an app store so you can customize your setup any way you like.

If you want to get a closer look at this Raspberry Pi project, check out the full video shared on YouTube. It’s a relatively simple idea but the results are too cool to ignore if you’re a fan of retro hardware.

Intel will detail its upcoming codenamed Meteor Lake processors for client PCs, Emerald Rapids processors for data centers, and its client PC roadmap at its Innovation event on September 19th and 20th, 2023, at the San Jose Convention Center in San Jose, California, as the agenda of the event reveals (h/t VideoCardz).

Intel plans to reveal in-depth details about its ‘latest client hardware platforms, including the highly anticipated Intel Core Ultra processors’ codenamed Meteor Lake, and give attendees a glimpse of its future roadmap at the ‘Intel Client Hardware Roadmap and the Rise of AI’ session. The company also plans to present its ‘bold vision for AI’ at the event, so expect the company to talk about software.

It is unclear whether Intel will present its actual Meteor Lake CPU lineup for desktops and laptops with specifications at the show, but it is reasonable to expect the company to reveal some more details about the performance of its future processors for client PCs compared to existing offerings. The launch timeline for Meteor Lake isn’t too surprising, as Intel said in its last earnings call that the new chips are due this quarter.

In another session, Intel plans to talk about how its 4th and 5th Generation Xeon Scalable processors, codenamed Sapphire Rapids and Emerald Rapids, solve business and operational challenges. The session is dedicated to ‘highlight optimized solutions and instances available for customers today, as well as the wide set of software tools and supporting resources’ to assist software developers to take advantage of features of the latest Intel Xeon processors.

While we do not expect Intel to reveal the specifications of its Emerald Rapids processors, which are due in 2024, it will be logical for the company to give attendees a taste of what is coming.

Apart from core count and microarchitectural innovations, Intel considers its Advanced Matrix Extensions as well as built-in Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA), In-Memory Analytics Accelerator (IAA), and QuickAssist Technology (QAT) as key features of its Sapphire Rapids and Emerald Rapids CPUs. That said, it is more than likely that Intel will focus on these innovations at the presentation.

America didn’t get around to really addressing child labor until the late ’30s when Roosevelts New Deal took hold and the Public Contracts Act raised the minimum age to 16. Before then, kids could often look forward to spending the majorities of their days doing some of the most dangerous and delicate work required on the factory floor. It’s something today’s kids can look forward to as well.

In Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History, venerated watchmaker Rebecca Struthers explores how the practice and technology of timekeeping has shaped and molded the modern world through her examination of history’s most acclaimed timepieces. In the excerpt below, however, we take a look at 18th- and 19th-century Britain where timekeeping was used as a means of social coercion in keeping both adult and child workers pliant and productive.

HarperCollins

Excerpted from Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History by Rebecca Struthers. Published by Harper. Copyright © 2023 by Rebecca Struthers. All rights reserved.

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Although Puritanism had disappeared from the mainstream in Europe by the time of the Industrial Revolution, industrialists, too, preached redemption through hard work — lest the Devil find work for idle hands to do. Now, though, the goal was productivity as much as redemption, although the two were often conveniently conflated. To those used to working by the clock, the provincial workers’ way of time appeared lazy and disorganized and became increasingly associated with unchristian, slovenly ways. Instead ‘time thrift’ was promoted as a virtue, and even as a source of health. In 1757, the Irish statesman Edmund Burke argued that it was ‘excessive rest and relaxation [that] can be fatal producing melancholy, dejection, despair, and often self-murder’ while hard work was ‘necessary to health of body and mind’.

Historian E.P. Thompson, in his famous essay ‘Time, Work-Discipline and Industrial Capitalism’, poetically described the role of the watch in eighteenth-century Britain as ‘the small instrument which now regulated the rhythms of industrial life’. It’s a description that, as a watchmaker, I particularly enjoy, as I’m often ‘regulating’ the watches I work on — adjusting the active hairspring length to get the watch running at the right rate — so they can regulate us in our daily lives. For the managerial classes, however, their watches dictated not just their own lives but also those of their employees.

In 1850 James Myles, a factory worker from Dundee, wrote a detailed account of his life working in a spinning mill. James had lived in the countryside before relocating to Dundee with his mother and siblings after his father was sentenced to seven years’ transportation to the colonies for murder. James was just seven years old when he managed to get a factory job, a great relief to his mother as the family were already starving. He describes stepping into ‘the dust, the din, the work, the hissing and roaring of one person to another’. At a nearby mill the working day ran for seventeen to nineteen hours and mealtimes were almost dispensed with in order to eke the very most out of their workers’ productivity, ‘Women were employed to boil potatoes and carry them in baskets to the different flats; and the children had to swallow a potato hastily … On dinners cooked and eaten as I have described, they had to subsist till half past nine, and frequently ten at night.’ In order to get workers to the factory on time, foremen sent men round to wake them up. Myles describes how ‘balmy sleep had scarcely closed their urchin eyelids, and steeped their infant souls in blessed forgetfulness, when the thumping of the watchmen’s staff on the door would rouse them from repose, and the words “Get up; it’s four o’clock,” reminded them they were factory children, the unprotected victims of monotonous slavery.’

Human alarm clocks, or ‘knocker-uppers’, became a common sight in industrial cities.* If you weren’t in possession of a clock with an alarm (an expensive complication at the time), you could pay your neighborhood knocker-upper a small fee to tap on your bedroom windows with a long stick, or even a pea shooter, at the agreed time. Knocker-uppers tried to concentrate as many clients within a short walking distance as they could, but were also careful not to knock too hard in case they woke up their customer’s neighbors for free. Their services became more in demand as factories increasingly relied on shift work, expecting people to work irregular hours.

Once in the workplace, access to time was often deliberately restricted and could be manipulated by the employer. By removing all visible clocks other than those controlled by the factory, the only person who knew what time the workers had started and how long they’d been going was the factory master. Shaving time off lunch and designated breaks and extending the working day for a few minutes here and there was easily done. As watches started to become more affordable, those who were able to buy them posed an unwelcome challenge to the factory master’s authority.

An account from a mill worker in the mid-nineteenth century describes how: ‘We worked as long as we could see in the summer time, and I could not say what hour it was when we stopped. There was nobody but the master and the master’s son who had a watch, and we did not know the time. There was one man who had a watch … It was taken from him and given into the master’s custody because he had told the men the time of day …’

James Myles tells a similar story: ‘In reality there were no regular hours: masters and managers did with us as they liked. The clocks at factories were often put forward in the morning and back at night, and instead of being instruments for the measurement of time, they were used as cloaks for cheatery and oppression. Though it is known among the hands, all were afraid to speak, and a workman then was afraid to carry a watch, as it was no uncommon event to dismiss anyone who presumed to know too much about the science of Horology.’

Time was a form of social control. Making people start work at the crack of dawn, or even earlier, was seen as an effective way to prevent working-class misbehavior and help them to become productive members of society. As one industrialist explained, ‘The necessity of early rising would reduce the poor to a necessity of going to Bed bedtime; and thereby prevent the Danger of Midnight revels.’ And getting the poor used to temporal control couldn’t start soon enough. Even children’s anarchic sense of the present should be tamed and fitted to schedule. In 1770 English cleric William Temple had advocated that all poor children should be sent from the age of four to workhouses, where they would also receive two hours of schooling a day. He believed that there was:

considerable use in their being, somehow or other, constantly employed for at least twelve hours a day, whether [these four-year-olds] earn their living or not; for by these means, we hope that the rising generation will be so habituated to constant employment that it would at length prove agreeable and entertaining to them …

Because we all know how entertaining most four-year-olds would find ten hours of hard labor followed by another two of schooling. In 1772, in an essay distributed as a pamphlet entitled A View of Real Grievances, an anonymous author added that this training in the ‘habit of industry’ would ensure that, by the time a child was just six or seven, they would be ‘habituated, not to say naturalized to Labour and Fatigue.’ For those readers with young children looking for further tips, the author offered examples of the work most suited to children of ‘their age and strength’, chief being agriculture or service at sea. Appropriate tasks to occupy them include digging, plowing, hedging, chopping wood and carrying heavy things. What could go wrong with giving a six-year-old an ax or sending them off to join the navy?

The watch industry had its own branch of exploitative child labour in the form of what is known as the Christchurch Fusee Chain Gang. When the Napoleonic Wars caused problems with the supply of fusee chains, most of which came from Switzerland, an entrepreneurial clockmaker from the south coast of England, called Robert Harvey Cox, saw an opportunity. Making fusee chains isn’t complicated, but it is exceedingly fiddly. The chains, similar in design to a bicycle chain, are not much thicker than a horse’s hair, and are made up of links that are each stamped by hand and then riveted together. To make a section of chain the length of a fingertip requires seventy-fi ve or more individual links and rivets; a complete fusee chain can be the length of your hand. One book on watchmaking calls it ‘the worst job in the world’. Cox, however, saw it as perfect labor for the little hands of children and, when the Christchurch and Bournemouth Union Workhouse opened in 1764 down the road from him to provide accommodation for the town’s poor, he knew where to go looking. At its peak, Cox’s factory employed around forty to fifty children, some as young as nine, under the pretext of preventing them from being a financial burden. Their wages, sometimes less than a shilling a week (around £3 today), were paid directly to their workhouse. Days were long and, although they appear to have had some kind of magnification to use, the work could cause headaches and permanent damage to their eyesight. Cox’s factory was followed by others, and Christchurch, this otherwise obscure market town on the south coast, would go on to become Britain’s leading manufacturer of fusee chains right up until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

The damage industrial working attitudes to time caused to poor working communities was very real. The combination of long hours of hard labor, in often dangerous and heavily polluted environments, with disease and malnutrition caused by abject poverty, was toxic. Life expectancy in some of the most intensive manufacturing areas of Britain was incredibly low. An 1841 census of the Black Country parish of Dudley in the West Midlands found that the average was just sixteen years and seven months.

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